The Royal Contract

But she welcomed the busy schedule because it stopped her from thinking much about her father. It was not easy when she sat at his office, which he had occupied most of his life.

His absence had continued to haunt her, although she had every belief that it would eventually lessen through time. She just hoped it would be sooner than later.

“Are you ready for this Annual Charity Ball?” A voice by the door asked, making her lift her head from her desk to see a dear friend. “I believe you ask me to come.”

Dani could not help the smile that showed on her lips, always welcoming visitors who could brighten up her day. “Hey, Haley. Come in.” She immediately greeted her friend and gestured for her to join her.

Haley had been a great help in organizing this event. Since she did not have not much experience in such a task, she accepted all the help she could get.

Besides, this event was not just any ordinary party. It was one of the grandest fundraising affairs Ethan used to host yearly. It had supported many charitable institutions and had many benefactors also supporting the cause.

.....

Everyone in the industry, the high social standings, and the political world wanted to be part of this event.

“I hope so, but thanks, Haley, for all your help. I know I would be lost without you. You and Jacky have made this all possible.” She knew they were still far from over, but she could already guarantee success because of their assistance.

Therefore, she could not mess it up, especially when this was one of the legacies her father had worked hard to build.

Now that it was her turn. She believed she should at least maintain its integrity. At least for her father, she should uphold the standards her father had set for the world to follow.

Many lives were at stake since many depended on the funds raised in this charitable event. Dani knew she could not let her father down on her first act of being his replacement.

“It was Jacky who you should be thanking. That girl is a machine.” Haley praised her future sister-in-law, crediting the task to their friend since both knew Jacky deserved it.

But still, she believed that Haley also had a big part in this preparation, so she deserved the commendation despite what she said.

“Speaking of Jacky, where is she? She is not at her table.” Haley asked as she placed a folder on her table, which she would assume was another proposal for the event or new benefactors who would like to partake in the once-a-year opportunity.

“I ask her to do an errand. I don’t want her to be here because I want to discuss something with you privately.” Dani told her friend as she closed the folder she was working on and devoted her time to her friend.

“Oh! I like secrets.” Haley clapped her hands excitedly. “Does this mean that Jacky should not know anything about this?” Of course, that was what Haley would deduce from the situation.

She pulled out an envelope underneath her desk. A plan that she had been working on for a week now. “I need you to help me with this.” She walked to her friend and handed her the file. “And yes, Jacky should not be part of this planning.”

She knew that Jacky was the best at organizing things. She had proven that time and time again. But not this time in her new project. Dani did not want Jacky involved or near it.

“That is interesting,” Haley responded, looking at her full of curiosity. She knew that she and Jacky always worked closely together, so for her not to include her friend in this was intriguing.

Haley started skimming on the papers she gave her. It had everything, up to the tiniest detail she wanted for her new project, but she needed it accomplished soonest.

She preferred that it was ready by the time of the Charity Ball. “Do you think it is possible?” Dani asked her friend, who was still studying the file.

Her friend was not a miracle worker, but she believed Haley could pull this through with her connections. Compared to her, she admitted there were things that she would never be good at, but she was great at delegating.

“Hmmm!” Her friend looked like she was still contemplating the situation as she closed the file before looking at her.

Eventually, her face changed into a wide grin. Then she clapped her hands as if a child who was just given a big Christman gift but only realized it after it registered in her brain.

“Ok. I can work on this too.” Haley finally agreed, taking the file and shoving it in her bag before anyone else saw it. “Give me a few days. Then, I will give you an update.”

With that settled, they returned to their actual business of dealing with the problems of the Annual Ball. Organizing such a big event did have issues popping up at the last minute. With almost short of a week, they had to finalize everything.

“So, do you think the decorations would work, or should we scrap it and find a new one?” Dani asked Haley, who had been in charge of the venue.

“Upon my review, I think we should change while we still have a little time,” Haley suggested while she agreed.

In her opinion, it was the right thing to do. But since Haley had a better grasp of these things, she would leave it up to her to make the final decision.

“Hey, you started without me.” Jacky accused the two of them as she walked into the door of her office, carrying a few more files that she had asked her to do.

“You have already done enough, so we thought we should at least contribute.” Dani teased her friend, but honestly, compared to them, Jacky had put on more work on this than them.

She deserved a little break from working too much, carrying most of her load because she believed that as a friend, she should.

But she had enough. She did not like that people were tiptoeing around her, thinking she might break at any minute. She admitted to being in pain from her father’s death. And she would continue hurting for a while.

But it did not mean she would break down at every chance she might think about him. But she could not also blame them because love could make people do crazy things and pain something insane.

“Anyway, I saw Sebastian earlier. Do you mind if I give him an invitation?” Jacky asked Dani, who quickly looked at her. “He wished to meet with you, so I told him I would discuss it with you first.”

Well, she remembered him. He was a nice guy and would have been perfect for Jacky, but it just was not meant to be. She did not know that they still communicated.

“Of course, set it up so I can see him again and hear what he had to say.” Dani excitedly told Jacky.

She believed that the more got involved in this Charity event, the better. But they were already expecting a pack of participants from both the private and public sectors.

“Sure. I will discuss it with your secretary.” Jacky informed her as she joined them in discussing the rest of the planning for the event.

“What about your Mom? How is she doing? Would she be joining us in this event?” Haley interrupted them, her eyes landing on a family picture on her desk. It was the three of them when she was a bit younger.

Her mother was the one who usually organized this for her father. If Jacky was great at this, her mother excelled in it. She created many fabulous and exciting Charity Balls over the decades. Something that many talked about for years.

“She is doing great, but I know she is still in pain. So, I did not ask her to do this. But she promised that she would attend to support our family in this event.” Dani explained to her friends.

She could tell her mother was going through a tough time, although she did act like she was ok. Still, she did not trust that she could handle such a big task.

She still believed that dealing with an event of this magnitude might consume her with too much grief. It would constantly remind her of her father, who would not be there to join them.

But she had faith, just like her, her mother would be able to pull through. She would eventually accept the loss of her husband and continue to live for herself and their family.

“I know your father and mother would be so proud of you for doing this,” Jacky told her, knowing that the Board almost canceled this event, thinking they should not do this with Ethan gone.

But she had fought for it.

She promised she would keep doing what her father had done. It was what had made his company great. It was not always about what he could gain but what he could give.

She remembered how much she hated her father for being a power-hungry, grabbing man, but only to realize that she was wrong about him. Those were lies that his enemies smeared against him.

In truth, he had been the complete opposite. He was not perfect, but he had tried his best to be an honest and generous man. A real-life great father that she would always be proud of and thankful to have in her life.

Now, it was her turn to continue the legacy her father had started.