The Royal Contract

"Jacky, I promise. I will meet you there tomorrow." Dani remembered swearing to her last night before she left her in the office to be alone to finish her work.

Jacky wanted an affirmation that she would not ditch her and their friends tomorrow on their date. She even offered to fetch her, so she could have some guarantee that she would arrive on time.

But she declined the idea, only vowing that she would not forget and be on time. Although her words were not exactly reassuring. There were several instances where she had forgotten about her commitment to her friends due to work.

"Did you forget something?" She shouted when she heard a movement just outside her door. She automatically thought it was Jacky returning to get something or remind her again of their plans.

She did not even look up from the files she was working on, already convinced that Jacky would show up in her office any minute now.

"I hope I am not disturbing you." A manly voice uttered in the silence, the sound reverberating in the four corners of her room.

She quickly looked up to see the unexpected visitor, finding a man standing by the doorway. Although the tone sounded familiar, she was still slightly startled, not expecting any other company.

"Hi, Gerald." She quickly greeted, recovering from her initial surprise. "Not at all. What are you doing here so late?" She asked as her heartbeat decreased upon learning that she had nothing to fear.

It was just one of the partners, probably wanting something from her. Since the case they were working on had ended in a legal settlement out of court, there was no more reason for them to see each other.

He did help her in the case of Jacob, but only at first. Then, she managed to handle the situation by herself, not needing his assistance again.

"I had planned to see you earlier, but I found myself buried under a new case. I only have time to see you now, so I took the chance, wondering if you are working late." Gerald explained why he was standing by her office after office hours.

But, he already had an idea that she was still around. He had observed that she had been working overtime in this couple of weeks. 

"I am hoping that I can finish some of my paperwork before I take my leave." She informed him. "I don't want to leave anything in a mess." Then, she realized that he was still by the door. "Please, come in." She invited him inside the room. 

She planned to take a very long vacation before and after the wedding. Her work had been her priority since she became a lawyer. But now that she was getting married, she wanted Alex to be on the top of the list.

So, for now, she did not want her clients to feel that she abandoned them and just handed them off. She would make sure that her cases were either resolved. At least, they had some initial assessment before passing them to the next lawyer.

"That is what I admire about you. Your work ethics are commendable." He could not help but compliment her as he took a seat on the available chair.

He had experienced firsthand how she handled herself during difficult situations. She had acted calmly and professionally even in stressful conditions. She had been a great asset to his team.

She never allowed her interest to cloud her judgment, always thinking of what would be best for her clients. She did not do anything to gain recognition but only sought fair justice.

"I know you are no different from me. We both want to serve what is best for our clients." She instantly reacted to his praise.

She did not want to think that what she did was anything special. She believed that many lawyers liked her, and Gerald still thought of the client first before their own.

"By the way, I have a new case. I only thought that you might be interested in working on it." He offered to her, bringing a file with him to her attention.

He knew that it was unlikely that she would accept the case, but he would like to try. He was impressed with her performance when they had worked together. He would like to partner with her again.

She took the folder he held close to her and peeked at its content. Based on the initial summary of the case, it would seem intriguing. But she would only know the entire story of the case once she reviewed all the information.

"This looks interesting." She closed the file and gently placed the file in front of her. "If I did not have a prior commitment, I might take a deeper look at it. But..."

In her initial assessment, she did find the case something that she might work on if she had the time. But as it happened, she could not commit to anything new when she was about to leave and did not know when she would be back.

"But, you are getting married and taking a long break." Gerald decided to finish the statement for her, disappointed with her answer.

He did see the memo that she had filed a leave of absence for two months. It was in preparation for the wedding ceremony and the afterward celebrations and honeymoon.

He did not want to think that he had lost her for good. But it was just a temporary setback in his plans to have her for himself. He still believed that if fate meant her to be with him, and then he would find a way.

"Yes." She said with a bit of regret, looking at Gerald in the eyes. She did enjoy working with him. He was easy to get along with because of his light humor. She also learned a lot from him.

Working on cases that challenged her mind at the same time helped those who were deeply in need were close to her heart. She would not have declined it if the situation was only different.

She already promised herself that this time work would be the least of her priority.. She planned to devote all her attention to only one thing or one man.