Levi leaned closer. “Do you not know Paciano?”

“I’m not sure,” Cassie whispered. “I don’t know everyone’s name.”

“Paciano did give us a summary report about late arrivals to events at the palace,” Noelle said. “We’re running everyone through Interpol, but we haven’t had any hits.”

Levi straightened and focused on the screen again. “I’d like an update by tomorrow.”

“I’ll drop my notes in an email for you tonight, and we can discuss the most immediate issues tomorrow,” Jeremy said.

“Sounds good. Thank you.” Levi ended the call and angled his chair to face her. “Should I be worried that your father assigned someone to assist us that you don’t even know?”

Her heart sank. She didn’t want to admit her callousness toward her own servants, but she also didn’t want Levi’s suspicions to get in the way of her returning home. “No. If anything, you should be disappointed that I know so few of my staff members’ names.”

His eyebrows drew together. “What do you mean?”

She drew a deep breath. How to explain? “I’ve lived my whole life with people always standing nearby, watching my every move. It didn’t matter that I craved privacy,” Cassie said. “This is the first time in my life I’ve received the simple gift of being able to go for a walk without an entourage or finding my own way to the kitchen without guards trailing behind me.”

“What does that have to do with knowing your staff?”

“I know my staff. I don’t know their names.” Another deep breath. “I found if I didn’t take the time to learn about them, I could pretend they weren’t there.”

Levi stared at her a moment as though recalling a memory. “So if I had come to work for you in your family home, you never would have noticed me.”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Cassie said. “I probably would have noticed you, but I would have tried not to.”

“I see.”

“I don’t think you do,” Cassie said. “Please understand how different my life has been from yours. Until arriving here, I didn’t know it was possible to find any sense of normalcy while also being a royal.”

“And now?”

“Now I want what Garrett and Janessa have.”

“Their relationship with their staff isn’t something you can create on a whim,” Levi said. “You can’t go from not caring about the people serving you to expecting them to invite you into their lives.”

“Please don’t judge me for who I was. I look back now, and I cringe when I think of how I chose to ignore the people who were so dedicated to protecting me,” Cassie said. “I hate that people were injured and killed because of me, and I didn’t even know their names.”

“Do you want to know their names?”

“I do,” Cassie said, “but not only the ones who were injured. I want to know everyone who works at the palace. I want to create the kind of environment I’ve witnessed here at the chateau.”