The Royal Contract

"I'm sorry if I am making you work late, but we are on a bit of a deadline." Gerald looked up from the papers he was working on to check on Dani, who sat across from him in one of the conference rooms.

For the first time, it was just the two of them going through the files tonight. They had to present their case the next day through the courts, and they still had a few wrinkles to iron out.

Usually, Andrew, one of the associates, and a paralegal worked with them. But they were working on something else, leaving Gerald and Dani to take on most of the bulk of the job. 

"I don't mind. I am used to this. The sooner we finished this case, the better." She smiled at her boss, assuring him that she was ok with their situation.

She focused her attention back on her work. She took some notes on the documents she was reading, transcribing the relevant facts of the case.

"Do you like Chinese? I thought of having a working dinner to save time." Gerald told her, grabbing the phone to order.

He could see that it was past dinner time, and they still had a few more things before they could call it a night. The least he could do was treat her to a nice meal, not that Chinese was his best choice.

But this was not a date. Gerald was not doing this to impress her, not yet anyway. If he wanted to make a move on her, it would not be in such a lame way.

"Yes, but you don't have to do that. I can always eat at home." She was not hungry anyway. She was still hoping that she could finish soon so she could have a late dinner with Alex.

"No, I can't do that. I can't starve you when I am working you like a slave." He reasoned as he dropped down his pen and moved towards the door. "I am getting myself a coffee. Will you like one?"

He could not help but glance at her whenever he had the chance. She was everything he ever imagined she would be from the first day he had met her. Any man would be lucky to be with her. Alex was a lucky man to be marrying her.

He needed caffeine in his system if he would survive this night. He required his focus on the files in front of him and not the girl sitting across from him.

"I guess you are right." She smiled at him, agreeing with his assessment. "I deserve a little treat for all my hard work." She kidded with him, enjoying their casual interaction.

She was finally starting to be comfortable around him after the few weeks they had been working on their case. She always thought that he might be stuffy with his reputation, but she realized that he did have a good sense of humor.

"What about that coffee?" He asked as he kept waiting by the door. The mini kitchen on this floor was just a few meters away. It would be a good idea for him to take a break to divert his mind from thinking about her.

She had been a distraction all night. He had barely done much work since she came into the room. It was the reason why it was taking them some time to finish their work.

"Ok. I will have one. Can you put some cream and sugar on it?" She was grateful for his offer. He saved her from a trip to the coffee room.

Caffeine could help her sharpen her mind and concentrate again on her work. She was starting to feel the exhaustion, not physically, but more from processing too much information.

"Coffee, with sugar and cream, coming up." He saluted in her direction before leaving her in the room.

He wondered how long he would feel this attraction he had for her. He knew that he did not have a chance with her now that she was engaged. But he could not stop the way he felt about her.

He could probably keep admiring her from afar, just like he was doing right now. But, he contemplated if that would be enough. Would he settle not having her for himself?

After a few more minutes, he returned, carrying the hot cups in his hand. "One delicious coffee for you." He gave the one with the cream and kept the black one in his hand.

He barely moved from his place when the delivery guy arrived with their food. He took care of the payment and brought the food back to the desk. 

"Thanks. I badly need it," Dani took it in both of her hands, careful not to have her fingers scorched by the hot mug.

After one sip, she immediately helped him with the food. She cleared a portion of the table from their files while he took out the different Chinese dishes from the brown paper bag.

"I do love the smell of Chinese food." Gerald sniffed on the delicious aroma coming from the packaging as he watched Dani's reaction.

He still had a lot of things he did not know about her. He always felt that she might share a lot of the same interests as him. One thing was for sure, their love and passion for the law already bonded them together.

"I also do." Again, she evoked a memory of when she was starting her career in her old office where she could smell the delicious food in the restaurant just outside her window.

"Well, it would seem that we have some common interests after all." He concluded as he started picking his food with the chopsticks in his hands.

He felt satisfied, knowing that he had discovered a new thing about her. But he wished he would get the opportunity to do more. He dreamt of taking her on a date, but he could not simply ask her out.

As he leaned forward to get a dumpling on the table, his fingers accidentally bumped with hers when they ended up going after the same thing.

"You go first," He gentlemanly offered as he pulled his hands away. He could still feel the excitement that coursed through his skin when he felt their connection. It might be a short one, but to him, it told him what he needed to know.

"Ok. Thanks." She took one piece before retracting her hands as she continued to eat her meal.

She remained unaware of his true feelings for her. She was oblivious to his watchful stare. She never had a clue that her boss, working with her, already had feelings for her.

They continued to work while eating their food, discussing the case in front of them. Finally, both found a rhythm, forming a system to work together.

"I want you to see something in this file." She kept reading the file to make sure that she was not mistaken.

She found a discrepancy in the two files she was looking at and figured one could be a falsified document. It could be a smoking gun that they could use against their opposing team.