The Royal Contract

That bitch. Dani thought, realizing that Jacky had set her up again. "Fine. Just give me a few minutes to finish up on this. Can you handle ordering the food? Because I have no time to eat out." She challenged, raising her brows in the process.

"Of course. Do you prefer anything?" Alexander confidently asked with a dashing smile. Satisfied that he won this round.

"Anything's fine." She dismissed him. She buried herself with the papers spread across from her. Focusing on her task and not on the man who was busy roaming around her office.

After a few more minutes, she cleared up her table and took out the files that she needed for the meeting.

"Shall we proceed?" She ushered him to the conference room where they could better discuss the projects. She presented the ongoing first, indicating the different progress, the status of its development, and the pending immediate problems that still needed addressing.

He could not help but be impressed with the way she had presented everything and her knowledge of her craft. He now saw what Mr. Jenkins found in her when he hired Dani straight from college as his intern.

The way she moved around the table as she explained her client, left him mesmerized. He had never seen perfection. He did not realize that his focus shifted on her, the way her body moved, the way her eyes sparkle as she discussed her case, the way her lips opened as she passionately verbalized her ideas, he was hooked.

She suddenly stopped. All too aware of the way he was openly staring at her and not at what she was saying. She immediately felt self-conscious, when she turned around, she was trapped in those beautiful eyes. She traveled back to the night he had fulfilled her craving. Her eyes wandered down to his lips, reminiscing the time it explored her body.

"Excuse me. Delivery for Mr. Princeton." A commotion by the door interrupted them from their trance.

"That would be me." He immediately took the food and paid for it.

"I think we should eat first before we proceed to the next files." She suggested as she laid the food out of the paper bag.

They remained silent for a while consuming their food. Lost in their thoughts.

"How did you wind up working for Mr. Jenkins?" He was genuinely curious about how she ended up with such an eccentric man. Maybe a light conversation could ease the tension between them, he figured.

"I like what they were fighting for, so I felt that I am a good fit in this firm." She made a short narration, not wanting to encourage further personal questions.

"I admire people who work hard for their dreams." He confessed. He always considered himself as such and anyone else who did not use money, power, and influence to get to the top was someone who truly earned his respect.

"So, are you saying that you have reached your position only because of hard work and not because of your family and connections?" She asked unexpectedly. The question was out before she could stop it.

"That's a long story." He just said as he picked up his water.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry." She excused herself, chastising her nosiness.

"It's ok. Anyway, I believe this company benefitted from your hard work. Mr. Jenkins only has high regards for you." He stated.

"I couldn't take all the credit. Mr. Jenkins is a good boss and I learned a lot from him and my other co-workers here. Mr. Jenkins is an integral part of this firm." She admitted.

"From the day I set foot on this company, there was no doubt that I belonged here. It's just a shame that I would be leaving soon." She continued.

He swiftly turned to her when he heard her next statement. "What do you mean?"

"I'm resigning. I'm planning to find another company." She had no idea why she was opening to him about that.

"Why?" He was not aware of this. Mr. Jenkins did not mention anything about this.

"I'm looking for a bigger firm. A company that could give me a good opportunity." Saying those words over and over again might convince her that she was doing the right thing.

"Would you mind if I ask which company you're thinking of?" He asked.

"Nothing yet. I just thought of it yesterday. So, I still am planning about it." She said. There was no use in keeping it a secret.

"Are you sure you're ready for it?" He commented.

His question rubbed her the wrong way. "If you have any doubt of my capabilities, I assure you that I take pride in what I can do and if ever I'm lacking, I don't make an excuse of it and make sure to make up for it." She blurted out heatedly.

"I'm sorry. It came out the wrong way. I didn't intend to demean your competency." He apologized sincerely. "I'm impressed with what you already achieved in such a short time. It will be a big loss for this firm that you are resigning. Any company will be lucky to have you."

"Fine. No harm is done." She said calmly when she felt the honesty in his words. It was not like her to be easily riled up, but when her reputation was at stake, it was a different story. "Are you done?" Indicating the empty boxes in front of them. When he nodded, she cleaned up the table.

They proceeded with the remaining files, discussing one by one the merits of the case. She was back to being serious, and the easy exchange was gone.

A knock on the door made them looked up. "Alexander. Are you done? We have a flight to catch." Marcus said as he appeared at the door.

"We're almost done." If he was being honest, he never really needed to see her and discussed the case. He just used that as an excuse to see her and to spend time with her.

He did not have any justification for it, but ever since he saw her again, he could not stop thinking about her. Not that he stopped thinking about her since he met her.

"Good luck with your new endeavor." He said as they packed up the files and got ready to leave.

"Thanks, I guess." She said, holding on to the files in her hands.

"See you around." He said as he walked out of the office.

Today, he got a glimpse of her life that he particularly liked. It changed his perspective about her and his interest only intensified. He wanted to get to know her more and he had a perfect idea of how to do just that.

This time, the table had shifted as they reversed their position from the hunted to the hunter.