Sophie noticed the faint smile on Nicholas's face and she was wondering what he was thinking. The man was busy scribbling some notes and numbers and all the while his face was filled with a sweet smile.
"There..." Nicholas gave his note to Sophie. "I think we can finish everything within one month and you can open your tavern right away."
"Mm... thank you," said Sophie. She accepted the note and checked whatever things Nicholas wrote there. "You are very detailed."
"Yeah, years of doing managerial work makes me an expert on planning," said Nicholas with a chuckle. "Don't you know that a king is basically just a glorified manager? We make plans. delegate work, and supervise the process to make sure the country runs smoothly."
Sophie chuckled too. Nicholas had self-deprecating humor whenever he talked about himself. Sophie remembered when they met for the first time in Hastings, she told him she really wanted to see the capital and Nicholas said Lievstad was actually boring.
He also claimed his family was dull and there was nothing interesting about them. Now, he made his role as the king of this country seem so unimportant.
"This is great," Sophie read the notes and then scribbled her own note under his writing. "I will prepare my plan properly before I meet all these people so they can immediately work after we have our discussion."
"Very well. You already have the keys to your shop. My assistant has gone to the builder and designer to make an appointment for you at the shop. You can meet the builder tomorrow. I will go with you," said Nicholas. "The designer can come too."
"Oh, wow, you already sent an assistant?" Sophie looked at Nicholas in disbelief.
"The builder did some renovation work in the palace last year. I think he will do a good job with your shop," said Nicholas. "As for the designer, it's actually my assistant's older sister. She is excited to help."
"Oh, that's very helpful. Thank you," said Sophie.
Nicholas waved at the servant who was standing nearby and motioned her to bring him a pot of tea. The servant bowed down slightly, left the lounge, and returned not long after with a tray filled with a pot of tea and two cups.
She poured the tea into the two cups and served it to the king and his guest. "Here you go, Your Majesty."
"Thank you, Loraine," said Nicholas to the servant. He turned to Sophie. "I think you should hire an assistant to help with your work. Don't do everything yourself. This person can manage the tavern on your behalf and during the renovation, he or she can also supervise the process."
He added, "That way you don't have to keep going there every day to make sure that everything is going according to plan. Don't forget you have young children and a baby on the way."
"Assistant?" Sophie was uncomfortable with the suggestion. She didn't have a lot of extra money left after she paid for the shophouse, and then renovation and supply. If possible, she wanted to save costs and not hire unnecessary staff.
Also, an assistant almost meant her right hand. Who could she trust to help her do things like that?
"Yes, someone offered to work for you and help you do most of the heavy lifting," said Nicholas. "I think you shouldn't pass on the opportunity to hire him."
"Him?" Sophie furrowed her brows. "Who?"
Nicholas chuckled. He sipped his tea and motioned Sophie to do the same. "It's Max. He came earlier to visit the kids and also to give us the invitation to celebrate Lucas' and Lily's mating ceremony."
"Oh..." Sophie felt touched because Lucas and Lily still considered her important enough to ask for her presence to celebrate their union together.
Lily and Nicholas were quite close when Lily helped the king in his progress to promote peace between humans and lycans in Riga. So, it was understandable that Nicholas was invited to their ceremony.
However, Sophie was the former Luna of their pack and now Lily took over her title, while Lucas took the title of the Alpha that Leland gave him. Considering the circumstances, Sophie thought their relationship would turn awkward after she left the pack. She was wrong.
"When is their mating ceremony?" Sophie asked.
"They postponed it until the next full moon. So, next week," said Nicholas. He took out a beautifully crafted scroll from his cloak and gave it to Sophie. "We can go together if you want."
"The kids will be excited," said Sophie. "They must miss the people there."
Sophie felt so touched by Nicholas' explanation. She didn't know Max cared so much about her children that when the opportunity came, he decided to come and help them. It so happened that Sophie was in need of an assistant.
She thought about it again. Nicholas was right. She would save a lot of time and energy if she had someone she could trust to oversee the process of the shop renovation, and later the tavern's day-to-day business, while she just focused on the managerial stuff.
"Well... if Max can get Lucas' permission to come and work for me, I will hire him," said Sophie. "You are right. I have the kids to think about. So, it will be better if I delegate all the heavy lifting to Max."
"Great! I have asked Max to come and meet us at the shop tomorrow when we talk to the builder and he can take it from there."
"Thank you."
Nicholas and Sophie talked some more about her plans and when Anne woke up crying, Nicholas took his leave. He didn't want to take too much of Sophie's time while she had to take care of her sick baby.
Nicholas was glad when Max came and they talked about what happened in the pack after Sophie left and he told Max about Sophie's plan to open her business.
Max who already assumed that Sophie would get back together with Nicholas was so impressed to know that Sophie insisted to be independent and take care of her children alone, that he impulsively offered his help.
His suggestion was well accepted by Nicholas. He advised Max to talk about it with Lucas so there would be no misunderstanding between them. Max agreed and immediately returned to the manor to speak with his new Alpha.
Nicholas was determined to make Sophie's life as easy as possible, so she could focus on her children. Oh, come to think of it, he must advise Sophie to see a doctor to get her pregnancy checked.
Nicholas was slightly worried because as an Alpha, his senses were so heightened that he should have been able to easily detect Sophie's baby at almost 3 months in. However, he couldn't sense it as well as he should. The heartbeat of the lycan fetus at that stage was supposed to be really strong, but Nicholas could only hear a faint one.
So, he wanted the doctor to find out what was happening.
"I am not sure if it was me that has weakening senses, or if it is the baby..." Nicholas muttered to himself. He didn't want to say anything to Sophie because he didn't want her to freak out.
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