by Donna Alward
But now she was back in his life...and he wanted to end all of this. Now. He had zero interest in talking about his life...or sharing his home and privacy with anyone.
But Kara had pleaded with him to do this interview and deep down he knew it was the right thing to do for the charity. He would take part in the interview but he would control it at all times. And shut it down whenever he wanted to. He would only talk about the things he was comfortable discussing—his sporting and financial careers. There was plenty of material and life lessons in both. Enough to fill the hour-long podcast. ‘Before we start I think I should make it clear that I’m not given to overthinking or self-inspection—I will answer your questions but please don’t expect any great insights.’
She sat down, still frowning. Went to speak, stopped, studied him some more, but then with the slightest of shrugs said, ‘How about we just give it a go? People are sometimes surprised at how much they learn about themselves by taking part in the interview.’
He made a disbelieving sound. Her response was yet another shrug and with a hopeful smile she said, ‘Here we go,’ before pressing the ‘record’ button.
‘Hi and welcome back to the YA Together, Person Unknown podcast, where we meet the person behind the fame and explore their life lessons. I’m your host, Toni Clarke.
‘So guys, this week I am beyond thrilled with who I’m getting to interview. But before I introduce you, let me give you some teasers to see if you can work out who it is. I’m on a Mediterranean island that I reckon should be famous for its three Bs: beauty, beaches and banging cocktails. Right now, I’m sitting in the coolest office I have ever visited, a brilliant blue summer sky visible out the window, and we’re surrounded by art galleries and bars and restaurants. It’s Friday evening and people are out partying. The vibe here is amazing. And across from me is my interviewee. An international gold medallist and now successful CEO. I think it’s fair to say that we all know of him, but not many of us know him, the real man. Oh, and did I mention that he’s also royalty? Can you guess who it is? Yes, it’s Prince Ivo of Monrosa. Welcome to my podcast, Your Highness.’
‘Thank you.’ Her style was upbeat, intimately chatty, and he guessed well suited to her young audience. It left him dreading what was to come. He had to hand it to Kara. She was a master at picking her moments in persuading people to commit to things. Last night she had brought Gabriela to visit him in his apartment in the palace, on the pretence of discussing his role as Gabriela’s godfather at her christening on Sunday. But as he held Gabriela, terrified but in awe of just how perfect every tiny detail of her was, Kara had asked him once again to take part in this podcast, arguing that people would be inspired by the struggles he had faced to achieve sporting success. For a while he had wavered, knowing he should provide more support to the charity, given that he hadn’t been able to commit fully to his role as its ambassador in recent years as he’d built up the business and taken over his role as special advisor to the treasury, at Edwin’s request. But then Kara had admitted that it would entail the interviewer, Toni Clarke, moving in with him for four days. The thought of being all alone with the beautiful Toni Clarke for four days had been a tempting proposition...but his home was his sanctuary. Sharing that with anyone was a step too far. He had been about to say no but then Gabriela had started to cry. And, as she paced his apartment with a fretful Gabriela, Kara had described her concern for Toni.
At Luis’s wedding, Toni had been an exhausting, exuberant and excitable chatterbox. But when they had danced he had seen a different side to her. A more vulnerable, troubled side.
‘Of course, this isn’t the first time that we’ve met—as some of you know, my best friend is Alice O’Connor, who is married to Prince Luis. When they married, I was bridesmaid and Prince Ivo the best man.’ She met his eyes, her cheeks growing warm. ‘The wedding day was incredible, wasn’t it? But we didn’t get to spend much time getting acquainted.’
‘No.’
She waited for him to say something else. But what was he supposed to say? That in fact when they had danced, thrown by her silence, he had attempted to make conversation with her and asked her if she was enjoying herself. She had answered, ‘I’m trying to,’ and her eyes had held such a sadness that he had without thought murmured, ‘Everything will be okay.’ He had followed her when she had bolted away. Horrified that he had somehow upset her. And when he had apologised out in the palace gardens, she had sobbed, soaking his shirtfront in the process. Not able to get any sense from her what the matter was and at a loss how to help her, he had simply held her until she said she needed to go and call her boyfriend. He hadn’t realised that she was in a relationship given that she didn’t have a partner attend the wedding with her.
‘It was an emotional day. Gosh, I think I cried more in that one day than I did in my entire life. They were all tears of joy of course. Weddings are such moving affairs and Alice was such a beautiful bride.’ Pausing to draw a deep breath as though to say that drew a line on what had happened between them at the wedding, she tilted her head to the side and continued, ‘You’re variously described as being the youngest of the three Monrosian Royal Princes and an international rower. But if you were to describe yourself, what would you say?’
See, it was questions like this that he hated. How was he supposed to answer it?
I keep to myself. I don’t overthink things. I get on with life and I don’t spend too much time navel-gazing.
‘I like to work hard.’
‘And outside of work?’
‘I have my royal duties and in particular my advisory role to the Treasury.’
Shifting back in her chair, she frowned and silence fell between them. Raúl, the Director of Royal Communications, had attempted several times to counsel him on the art of interviews, but Ivo couldn’t see what was wrong with a blunt approach. It avoided wasting time. He had zero interest in the personal lives of others, so he never understood why anyone would have an interest in his.
‘Your company Pacolore Investments has become incredibly successful in a very short space of time. What do you think is behind that success?’
At last. A question he was comfortable answering. ‘I set up Pacolore before I retired from rowing, so I had a clear view of what my business plan would be from the very start. But the key I believe to our success is that I recruit a wide diversity of people. I want people who think differently, who come from different backgrounds and life experiences. We see opportunities that other investment companies miss.’
‘Where does that policy come from?’
He knew the odds stacked against those who operated outside the usual social norms and expectations. It was a bugbear of his that the confident talkers, those from a certain background, those who followed a conventional path in life were snapped up by employers. Those who were different left behind. Which was why he never followed the normal process of interviewing but instead made his recruitment decisions based on past performance and their completion of an online skills assessment. He judged people on their actual skills, not on how well they could sell themselves. ‘I studied Financial Maths at university and after graduating I heard about how some of my brightest classmates didn’t thrive in the more conventional investment firms—if they managed to get in the door, many didn’t even get beyond the interview stage. I ran Pacolore for many years on my own while I rowed, investing my own money, making mistakes and learning from them. Through that work, I joined online investment discussion groups and I realised the wealth of talent out there...hugely intelligent and lateral-thinking people who just because of the fact that they didn’t go to the right university or lived on the other side of the world, never got the opportunity to work in an investment firm. I was determined to recruit as diverse a group as possible. I like difference.’
Her expression intrigued, she asked, ‘Why?’
‘Because it is those who are different, who don’
t fit the mould, who often live on the periphery of groups and wider society, who are the true innovators and change makers.’
‘Do you see yourself as being different?’
He heard it in her tone, the suggestion that he couldn’t be different. How could a person born into such privilege, class themselves as being outside the norm? But in truth he had always felt separate from those around him. ‘In ways.’
She waited for him to expand, her expression growing more quizzical but when she grew tired of waiting, she asked, ‘Before university, where did you go to school? What was your childhood like?’
Confusing and lonely. Terrifying at times. Not that he’d admit that to anyone. ‘I was sent to boarding school in England when I was ten.’
‘Did you like it there?’
‘I grew to like it.’
Her eyes took on a softness that made him shift in his seat. ‘You went to boarding soon after your mother, Princess Cristina, died. It must have been a tough time for you.’
Copyright © 2021 by Katrina Cudmore
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ISBN-13: 9781488073649
The Heiress’s Pregnancy Surprise
Copyright © 2021 by Donna Alward
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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