The Royal Contract

As soon as she was out of the office, Jacky bombarded her with questions about the meeting.

"It was nothing important." She answered Jacky as she walked past her toward her office. She wanted to find another solution to this. Not wanting to give up yet on her case.

But Mr. Jenkins asked her to keep a tight lid on this matter until the matter was resolved. It would seem that Mr. Princeton wanted it to be settled quietly. Sooner than later.

She did not regret declining Anita's request to be her wing woman tonight. She was not up for a chit-chat with a blind date. She would rather have a quiet drink and drown her frustration in the warmth of a bottle of alcohol with her friend Jacky.

"What about a drink tonight? Are you up for it?" She asked Jacky who still following her inside her room. She needed to release some of her tension, so that tomorrow, she could focus back on her work.

"You're on." Jacky agreed easily. She was already giggling with excitement at the idea of a night's out.

Jacky was not the type to turn down a possible night of fun. She was more than willing to accompany her anywhere as long as there were alcohol and men involved. The bar would surely be swirling with men, something Jacky would be looking forward to.

"Then get out of here and let me finish my work." She told Jacky, pointing to the door. Jacky stood from the chair with a wide smile, oblivious to the internal battle she was having.

A light buzzed and a few laughs with her friend was what she needed. It would be a perfect distraction from the zillion things that were going through her mind. First, another case that was going down the drain. Then, the mystery man that she hoped would remain a part of her past.

Lastly, she was seriously contemplating leaving her present law firm to look for a better one. Although she believed in what the company was fighting for, it would seem that it was not enough for her anymore.

"I'll see you tonight then," Jacky said as she moved to the door and closed the door on her way out.

She returned to her papers. Looking at another client that was sure to fail again for lack of evidence. She could not even hire a decent detective to help her dig for information.

Jacky agreed to meet her at their favorite bar. It was quiet and classy and they could just hang out and talk. She was not the type to party and get wild on the dance floor, but Jacky would prefer that scene.

The place was barely seeing life when she walked in. Several familiar faces were present, but no one she particularly knew. Just like usual, Jacky was late and would probably show up in a few minutes in her first drink.

"Hey Dani, I've missed you. Been a while since you last visited." Jake, the owner of the bar served her usual drink.

"What you doing behind the bar? Where's Aries?" She asked, looking for her regular bartender.

"His wife just gave birth to their first son so I have to take his shift while they get settled." He explained their situation.

"Oh. That's great news. I guess I had been gone long enough." She admitted. "What about you? Anything new?"

"Nah. Just the same. You know the bar is my first love and my life." Jake proclaimed, pretending to hug the bar.

She took a sip of his famous drink, Volcano Explosion. Jake liked to experiment with the drinks. He typically named it with what he felt would be appropriate with the mixture. Ever since she tasted this concoction, she became a fan.

"This is great." Raising her drink to him. "I'm sure going to miss this if I ever decide to leave." Now, she caught Jake's attention. He had become a friend when she first started becoming a regular in his bar. He wanted to be more, but it just did not work out for the two of them.

He was one of the reasons why she stopped trying to establish a relationship again. It just complicated things. She was just glad that she did not lose his friendship when their failed night together did not pay off. Now, you know why she took that part of her life as far away from home.

She figured that relationship just led to heartbreak and she was better off not having one. One night with a stranger in a different place away from where she lived saved her from the awkwardness of seeing him again. Simple. No complications.

"Why? Are you leaving Dani?" Someone at her back suddenly asked with a little edge on her voice.

Jacky showed up just in time for her great reveal. She slumped down on one of the vacant stool just beside her on the bar. "Hi, Jake." Jacky greeted their friend, then focused her attention back on her.

"I'll leave you girls. I have customers, but seriously I will miss you if you ever decide to leave." Jake said with sincerity. He would hate to lose connections with her.

"I'm thinking of resigning and looking for a new job." She finally confessed to Jacky what she was thinking of ever since Mr. Jenkins asked her to drop her case.

She could not keep telling her clients that they lost because she was not able to do her best. There must be another law firm that could provide what she needed. Although she was expecting that there would be compromises that she would have to take. It would be much better than losing all the time.

Well, no matter what decision she made, it would surely create a ripple effect on her plans. The only question would be. Would it be good or bad? "I hate it when my dad was right?" She mumbled to herself. It was too low that Jacky did not hear it.

"Wow! That's not such great news." Jacky exclaimed sadly while slumping down her shoulders. "I thought we went out today to celebrate." She stated, maintaining her gloomy reaction.

"I'm sorry, didn't mean to drag you with my problems." She grabbed her drink and chugged all its content in one go. She wanted the warmth to ease her troubles.

Another case in the drain. By tomorrow, she had to inform another client that he had no case. Despite all her efforts, there was not enough evidence to even make it to court. But, out of the goodness of the company who ruined his life, they were willing to give a consolation prize.

She hated it when justice was not served. She wanted to give everybody a chance for a fair trial, but the law was so flawed that many got away with the many loopholes in the system. She was not naïve about it, but she was not prepared for the severity of it.

"So, what's your plan," Jacky said, drinking her martini as she tried to support her friend's decision.

"Check other job prospects. Find a bigger firm who could offer me a bit of leeway to do pro bono cases." That was like looking for a needle in a haystack, she knew, but it was worth a shot.

Bigger law firms had bigger resources, which meant bigger chances of winning. Although she would have to play ball with the managing partners and the other lawyers in the firm. If she could just win some of her pro bono cases, then she thought it would be all worth it.

"I would hate to see you go," Jacky said as she was almost teary-eyed. They had become close since she moved into her office. She would also hate not to see her every day.

"Ssshhh. Don't cry. Hear me out first." She said to her friend. "If ever I land on a good job, why don't you work as my assistant instead?" She offered Jacky.

She was sure with her credentials she could easily get a job. Many did offer her a job when she first graduated but she opted to work for Mr. Jenkins. But it would seem that ideals were not exactly enough to get what she wanted. She needed to find another way to be able to help.

"You'll do that for me." Jacky was now ecstatic, already thinking of the possibility.

"Of course. I will." She hugged her friend to show her how much she valued their friendship.

She thought of her plan. As a new junior partner in a big law firm, she was sure that the likelihood that they would pay for her assistant was very slim to none. She would just have to figure out how to pay her on her personal account. She was still rich. She just opted not to touch her inheritance.

Jacky hugged her back and smiled. Just like that, she was back to her jolly self. "Jake gave us another shot," Jacky shouted. "We're celebrating." Jake acknowledged and prepared another set of drinks.

"Jacky, fancy seeing you here." Another voice joined their conversation.

She already heard the timbre in that voice earlier. She was sure it was the same one. She did not need to see the face of the man to know who he was. She could feel he was only standing not far behind her.

Jacky looked up at Dani's back to see who greeted her, and then she saw recognition in her eyes. A wide smile appeared on Jacky's lips. She more than liked the party crasher. "Mr. Princeton, it's nice to see you here."

She suddenly had the urge to ran and hid once again, just like earlier. This day seemed not to end so fast enough. Maybe tomorrow she would have a different break because as of now, she felt that she was running out of luck.