The Royal Contract

Still, he did not mind squeezing his body among his co-workers as he made his way to the top floor. He was looking forward to working on his project and seeing her again.

He still could not fathom what he saw in her, but every day he spent with her brought him closer and closer, admiring her very much. He believed he had not met anyone like her. She was so different from most of the girls in his circle. It was refreshing.

“You look like Sylvester, who just swallowed a yellow canary with that grin on your face.” Alona greeted him as he walked past her desk. “I gather you did not heed my advice.” Her brows rose in her forehead, challenging him to answer.

Of course, he had an idea of what she referred to with that remark of hers. Honestly, he did feel like he was floating, although he still did not reach cloud nine. However, he was in no hurry to get there.

“Can a man just be happy to be alive?” He avoided answering her question as he continued to his desk, dropping his things on the side and quickly checking on his emails and things to do for the day.

“I hope you know what you are doing.” She still proceeded with her assumption as she walked into his desk and dropped a folder on its top. “I don’t want anybody getting hurt at the end.”

.....

He understood her meaning since he believed she had looked into his past. He was not someone who would have a stellar record when it came to women. But in his defense, he had never found the right one.

But come to think of it, he was not looking for her either. He believed he was still young to think of a serious and committed relationship. Suddenly, he wondered if that had changed.

“Of course, I think you are an excellent mentor and have taught me well. I promise I will not get hurt in any way.” He jokingly responded to her comment.

Besides, he had no intention of making her cry. He only intended to get to know her and determine his fascination with her. It was not as if he was declaring undying love to her and offering marriage to get her into bed. He believed that was not his style.

He admitted that he had been in many relationships. But he had never intentionally hurt any of them when they separated ways. It just did not work out in the end.

“You know that is not what I mean. But anyway.” She shrugged her shoulders at him but shoved the folder closer to him. “Since you did a great job on your last project, Sir Alex wishes to congratulate you and reward you.”

“What is this?” He asked, staring at the folder before him.

“Sir Alex needed you to meet with a client tonight. He wanted to see you in action.” Alona explained to him.

She instructed him to review the contents of the folder, information about the profile of the client he was to meet, and the details of his responsibilities.

“You mean you are entrusting this to me.” He took the file, excited about the new challenge. He knew that one of his strengths was meeting people and convincing them. It was one of his charms. He believed he could do this with flying colors.

“I think you earned it,” Alona said, smiling genuinely at him. “Besides, Sir Alex would not have given you that file if he did not believe in you.” She assured him.

He was glad that their boss finally recognized his efforts. He thought their CEO only saw all his mistakes and judged him from the first day they had met. But he could not blame him if he did. He was indeed an asshole back then.

The entire day had his schedule bombarded with work. He barely had a lunch break, let alone a bathroom break. He wanted to see her, but it seemed the other side of the office was busy as well. But at least he had seen a glimpse of her when she occasionally passed by the hallway.

“You should leave now.” Alona reminded him about the dinner that he was supposed to attend.

“Yeah, I am leaving.” He said as he gathered his materials for the meeting. He had hoped he would still bump into her, but he had not even seen her shadow.

He could see her again tomorrow, but now Alona was right. The last thing he needed was to be late for the meeting and make his clients wait. It would be another terrible first impression, remembering his first day on the job.

Barely thirty minutes later, he was at the assigned restaurant, sitting at his reserved table with an expensive bottle of wine. The best way to impress a client was to dine and wine them. And he came prepared.

“Sir, your guest are already on their way.” The waiter he tasked to inform him of their arrival told him.

He quickly stood from his seat, ready to greet his guests. As they walked inside the restaurant, his smile suddenly vanished, replaced by confusion. He was not expecting someone he knew would accompany his guests to the dinner.

What was she doing here? With them? They seemed to be chatting with her animatedly that she had not bothered to look in his direction. When she finally did, he also noticed the surprise in her eyes upon seeing him.

“Mr. Whitman, this is my associate, who will join us tonight.” The woman said as she ushered them to their seats, introducing him in the process.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Whitman.” He immediately uttered, recovering from his shock to see her there.

“Zach, what are you doing here?” She immediately whispered near his ears when she moved toward the last available chair beside his.

“I should be asking you the same question.” He replied, still dumbfounded by her unexpected presence as he helped her to her seat.

He guessed they would not have the answer until they had returned to work. In the meantime, they seemed to have no choice but to work together again.

Would it be so bad? Not all.