The Royal Contract

The meeting this morning took longer than he would have liked. He was swamped with several more meetings today besides the papers that were piling up for his approval.

"Alex, Mr. Duncan canceled his appointment for today. I just learned that his son was rushed to the hospital just this morning." His secretary informed him as she placed several more papers on his table.

That was not good, he thought. This meeting was very crucial in one of his projects. He had to find a way to make up for this delay. "Make sure to send flowers to his son's room." He instructed as he checked his schedule on his laptop.

"I already did." Rosy smiled as she made her way out of his office. He was glad that he decided to keep the very reliable Rosy as his executive secretary when he took over this position.

Marcus walked to the door bumping slightly to Rosy on her way out. "You look lovely, Rosy."

"Thanks, Marcus. I'm glad you noticed." Rosy smiled with the compliment.

"Stop flirting with Rosy." He chastised his friend as he went back to the papers in front of him.

"You're no fun." Marcus sat from across from him, shaking his head at his friend's prude behavior. Although they both knew that Rosy was just joking with them. She was a happily married middle-aged woman who had two sons.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have work to do?" He asked, knowing that he was not included in his schedule and he had no time for unnecessary chit-chats. Not today.

"I heard what happened with Mr. Duncan. What do you plan to do now?" Marcus leaned forward, waiting for his response.

"I am still thinking about it. Maybe we could drop by at the hospital or something, but we need to reschedule the meeting as soon as possible." He informed his friend.

"Let me see what I can do." Marcus took out his phone and started texting. "Now, we just wait." He announced after putting his phone away, but he did not seem ready to leave just yet. He remained sitting on the chair, just whistling as if he still had an unfinished business.

"What now?" He had no time for his friend's games. He appreciated that he was there to help him out, but today was no time for messing around. He had a lot on his plate.

"I just had a heartfelt conversation with your father. It would seem that you are not answering any of his calls." Marcus stated before taking an envelope out of his breast pocket and handing it to him. "So, he felt that as your best friend, it was my obligation to remind you of your birthday."

"I have not forgotten about it." He answered frustratedly. It was one of the things that kept him distracted all this time. "What's this?" He held the envelope in his hand.

"That is the invitation to your wedding." Marcus laughed at his lame joke.

"Funny." He opened the paper and almost pulled his hair in annoyance upon seeing the content of the letter.

It was just not his day, scanning the list of the women that his father chose to be a suitable bride for him. He did not find any of this amusing, looking at his friend who was still smirking on his seat.

"So, you have less than two weeks before your birthday. Do you have any plan yet?" Marcus turned serious this time, knowing that his friend was turning red with the current situation.

"I still have not found a way out of it." He told his friend defeatedly.

He even consulted with the expert in their doctrines if there was an exception in their tradition. But, so far, no one had broken their law. He was now seriously considering to be the first to break it. However, he was also thinking of its possible consequence to his family. It did not seem to be a good idea in the end.

"Then, what do you plan to do now? Your clock is ticking." Marcus reminded him as if he did not know that already.

"I think it's time that I choose from this list." He scanned the list, hoping that he might find someone who would be able to agree to his terms.

"What about Tyra?" Marcus suddenly remembered her ex, remembering the news he saw this morning. "I believed she still has a thing for you. I think she would be perfect for the part."

He had thought of her since last night. He tried to consider her for the role, but after their dinner, he decided that it would not work. She was too emotionally invested in him. She would never agree to a fake relationship.

As of now, he was not ready to commit to anyone. He just needed a girl to present to his family until he could find a way out of marrying her.

"She is not a good fit. If I offer her my ring, she would take it for real. I just could not marry anyone yet." He tried to explain to his friend.

"Then, what choice do you have left? Are you ready to choose from that list, hoping that one of them would agree to your proposal?" Marcus voiced out what he was thinking at the moment.

"I think I don't have any other option but to take that risk with someone I don't know. Maybe you could have their backgrounds check and find any weaknesses that we could exploit." He was feeling desperate.

"Then, I'm on it. But make sure that I will be your best man at your wedding." Marcus just could not help himself. He had to tease his friend a bit more. This was a rare occasion that he had to take advantage of.

"Just get out of here." He tossed the papers back to Marcus, dismissing his friend. "I still need to prepare for my next meeting."

"Don't worry I got your back." Marcus winked at him before walking out the door.

He still had twenty minutes to spare since he was already prepared for his next meeting. He just wanted to get rid of Marcus. He just wanted to be left in peace.

Another idea came up to his mind in that instant. A possibility that was showing much potential. He took his phone out and searched for her name. The girl that kept messing up with his head. When he found it, buried in his contacts, he pressed on her name and waited for her to answer.

He had to see her tonight, whether she liked it or not.