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Rather than waiting in the guest area with her brother, Lena decided that she would wait in the dinning room since she was certain that Samuel would be brining the food out once he was done.
While waiting she decided to look through her phone to make sure that she didn't miss anything important as she had fallen asleep much earlier than she usually did. There were always a few little things that would need her attention, but it didn't seem that after the call she had gotten, her father had made any contact with her again. Considering how early it was, the princess wouldn't be that surprised if Zane hadn't come back home yet.
Looking at the time again and thinking back to what Leo had said, she wondered if Samuel did have a hard time sleeping well or if he was just up early because of the new schedule they were going to have to both be working with for the next few weeks. It was something that she could ask him when he was done cooking.
Not being ready to start anything yet and knowing that Samuel would probably be done soon, she stayed in her place at the table and rested her arms on the table and laid her head on top of them, closing her eyes as she thought about the best way to construct her own schedule for the next few days.
"Oh Lena. I didn't expect you be awake already." by the tone of his voice, it was evident that he was surprised to see her awake and at the table.
"I could say the same to you." She replied as she opened her eyes to look at him. She noticed that clothes appeared to be covered in flour, from what, she wasn't sure but it made her curious.
"You know you could've woken me up so you could've slept better as well." She told the other as she sat up. Samuel gave her an awkward smile when she said this.
"I know, but I didn't want to wake you up since it seemed like you were really tired. Plus it wasn't that bad to sleep out on the futon even though Leo was also there." He replied.
"Next time though, don't worry about waking me up and just do it. You also need to be getting enough sleep since there's a lot you're going to have be doing these next weeks as well. You're new schedule is going to be starting today." Lena reminded.
"And what are you doing that ended up making such a mess?" She asked pointing the flour that was on his shirt and pants. He glanced down at himself to see what she was looking at as though he didn't realize that he was covered in flour.
"Oh. I was working on making turnovers for breakfast. I probably used a bit too much flour when I was rolling them out. It's nothing that brushing this off won't fix when I'm done." He replied as he looked at this clothes.
"I'm surprised that you're able to get away with making such a mess in there. Ryan doesn't generally like anyone making a mess of his kitchen." The princess commented. At least that was how it had been when she was younger. She was allowed in the kitchen as long as she didn't make a mess of things. There had been a few occasions however that she had been removed for not using the flour the way flour was meant to use and Ryan couldn't handle it because had too much work to keep an eye on her and he didn't have nearly as many members of his team to help out.
"He said he doesn't mind that much since I told him that I would be cleaning it up when I'm done, plus the mess is just concentrated to the area that I am working in." Samuel replied as he turned around to head back to the kitchen.
"They'll be done soon if you want to have breakfast." He told her over his shoulder.
"You can tell them that they can bring the food to my office. There's some stuff that I need to work on this morning." She replied as she stood up from the table. She may not have had to go into the office early that morning, but there was still a lot of work that she needed to get done. Plus she was sure that if Zane came back soon he was going to want to talk with her. Which wasn't a problem to her as there was stuff she needed to go over with her father anyways.
Once she was actually in her office, she realized that she should've requested to have coffee brought to her as well. She needed something to help clear her head so that she could focus on everything that she needed to get done. After eight, everything was going to start getting busy and she still needed to carve out time to make a few extra calls related to setting up the various pieces prior to the engagement.
Picking up the phone on her desk, she pressed the number that she knew would connect her with Ryan in the kitchen. She was going to start with one cup of coffee but she was fairly certain that she would need more before the day got too far along.
Since she only drank black coffee, she wasn't surprised that it didn't take that long for the knock on her door to come after she had requested it. She told the person on the other side that they could come in, but she was expecting it to be one of the other staff members, not Ryan himself delivering her office.
"To what pleasure do I owe this visit?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. Although they had known each other for years, it had been quite some time since they had taken the time to hold a conversation.
"I just thought that I would come and pay a visit for once since there's someone else handling the kitchen right now and I don't actually have to hover to make sure that nothing gets broken or burned down." Ryan replied as he set the cup of coffee of her desk.
"How have you been? I have been hearing about this whole engagement thing with Sam, but to think it's progressed as far as you falling asleep on someone else's bed? That's certainly an interesting turn of events." He teased with a smile. The princess rolled her eyes at his comment.
"Leo really needs to learn when to hold his tongue better." She grumbled as she picked up the cup coffee, blowing on it before she took a sip. It was still a little bit warm for her tongue, but she enjoyed the taste of the dark liquid as it slid down her throat nonetheless.
"Oh, I didn't actually hear this from him this time. This actually came from Samuel himself. His explanation for why he wanted to occupy my kitchen so early in the morning when hardly anyone else is awake." Ryan replied as he took a seat in one of chairs set further away from her desk.
"The same thing would still apply to him as well." Lena retorted. It wasn't that she minded that it was something that happened, but rather, she didn't want everyone want to be hearing about the shift in her personality that could be traced back to this new person who had come around. At least not until everything had gone smoothly with the engagement and she was certain as to what her own feelings were.
"I don't think it's a bad thing. It wasn't like he was giving you a hard time about it either. He talked about it very matter-of-factly. Perhaps maybe a touch concerned for how tired you are." Ryan clarified, but it didn't do much to make the princess feel better about it.
"Who knows, maybe he'll end up being good for you. Still a while to go before the engagement is official though?" He then asked looking at everything was placed on Lena's desk.
"Mostly just a bunch of small pieces that need to be put together and then my father will take care of inviting the guests. Some things still need to be decided." She replied as she looked at the calendar on her computer. She had put a lot of appointments on it already, but there was still a lot more she had to add.
"You'll of course be expected to make something that would be fitting for the event." She told the chef who didn't seem bothered by this.
"This is exactly why I have over the years continued to request for my crew to expand, precisely for events like this. Never thought I'd get to see the day when you get married though." Lena gave him a look that said 'nothing is final yet'
"What about you? You're a few years older than me, shouldn't you think about finding someone?" her question caused Ryan to laugh.
"Right with the little time I have. Maybe once I am able to train someone who can work as efficiently as me and would allow me to take some off I'll consider it."
"Don't wait too long otherwise you'll end up getting too old for all of that."
"Nah. I still have another ten good years or so at least before I really need to worry." he replied, brushing off her comment.
"I should be heading back to the kitchen now though. I trust Samuel, but those turnovers will need to be pulled out at the right time to keep them soft and I'm not sure he knows how long that is." Ryan told her as he stood up from the chair. He picked up the princess's now empty coffee cup before he got ready to leave.
"I'll also make sure that this gets refilled and brought back by someone else." He could tell that she was going to need more coffee to help her get through the day.
