The Royal Contract

"I'm glad that you're back." Marcus walked into his office and sat down in front of his table without waiting for an invitation.

"Do we have an urgent matter to discuss?" He asked his friend with a slight annoyance in his voice.

He was not up for casual chitchats since his works had piled over the week that he was away. The downside of being free for the whole week to enjoy was returning to a ton of work.

But he wanted to leave early today because he promised that he would take Dani on a date. He already missed her since they said goodbye yesterday at her doorstep. But from the way his morning was going, it would seem it was impossible to finish on time.

"Not if losing millions means not urgent," Marcus said as he pulled the file on his bag and placed it on the pile of papers on his table. "Then, I could come back later." Marcus was about to stand up and leave.

"Marcus, wait. I didn't mean to snap at you. I was drowning with all of these papers, but if that is very important, let us discuss it now." He offered. 

"What is wrong with you?" Marcus asked, sensing a difference in his friend since their trip.

He could not pinpoint the exact change, but it was there. Since he left earlier than them, he had no idea what else happened after that. 

"Nothing. I am just in a hurry to finish." Alex looked at his friend and returned the question to him. "It is me who should be asking you that."

He put aside the things he had to do to make time for his friend, who was quite obvious, still having some issues with what happened to him on their trip.

"Nothing is wrong with me," Marcus replied as he continued on his way to the door.

"Sit down, Marcus. We need to talk." Alex used his no-nonsense voice as he sat back on his chair and stared at the back of his friend.

"Honestly, how are you? And don't give me that macho crap that you are fine because I won't believe you." He continued seriously.

"We can talk about it later, Alex," Marcus answered his friend, not wanting to discuss his failed affair with him during office hours.

"But we are talking about it now. I don't want this to mess up with your ability to function." He insisted because a distracted Marcus was no used to him, especially when their business was on the line. He needed his focus on his responsibilities. 

He took the approach of being the boss than being a friend to make Marcus listened to him. If he was stubborn, Marcus was worse. He would not easily listen to reason if his mind went philosophical.

"Fine. What do you want to know?" Marcus conceded, knowing that he would do the same thing if they changed position.

Marcus finally slumped down on the chair. He knew that this was not the time and place to talk about this. He preferred to get drank before he spilled his guts to his friend. But his friend was right. It was affecting his work. 

"Are you still interested in Jacky?" He had to be straight to the point.

If he was right, Marcus' problems boiled down to one reason. He liked Jacky a lot more than he was willing to admit. He was in denial that he wanted a relationship with her. 

But if he was wrong, Marcus was only suffering from a bruised ego because he was dump first. A few nights with some random girls should cure him in a few days. But if it was the former, that was a bigger problem, which he had no way to resolve.

Marcus placed his elbows on his knees and buried his face on his palms as he tried to clear his mind. "I want to erase her in my mind," Marcus stated with finality as if that would resolve his problem.

Since his last confrontation with Jacky, he had been in a state of confusion, unable to think clearly of what he wanted to do with her. 

"So, you're saying that you don't want to get back with her." Alex wanted to be sure that he understood him right.

"I want to forget everything about her," Marcus spoke clearer this time. "She wanted a commitment. She must be crazy if she thought that I would agree to that. She can't demand something that was not in our arrangement." He answered him, remembering Jacky's words.

He knew that he was still attracted to her and what they had was very special. But he also believed that it was not enough for him to get committed to her or anyone girl. 

Jacky was not the one that would make him changed his opinion about that. He had his priorities, and she was not originally a part of that.

"So, what do you think would make you forget about her?" Alex asked, not liking his friend's decision but could do nothing about it.

If that was what he wanted, Jacky was better off with her decision to end it with him.

"Maybe you can be my wingman tonight, just like the old times, and helped me find someone new." Marcus could only think of one solution to his problem. That was to get laid.

"Sorry, man. Even if I finish all of this today, I still promised Dani that we would go out tonight." He declined his friend's offer. 

Besides, those times of helping him get a woman were over. Dani would skin him alive if she found out that he did that. He could already see the tigress in her.

"What is going on between you and Dani? It seemed that you are spending more time together than necessary." Marcus studied his friend and discerned that the change he was noticing had something to do with Dani.

"She is now my girlfriend," Alex told him proudly. He would show his friend that there was nothing wrong with a committed relationship.

"I know that. I meant are things between your contract ..." But Marcus was not able to finish when he saw his friend's face. "What?" This time, he was stupefied by what he just realized. "You and Dani." 

"Yes, we decided to try and see where this relationship will lead us. I like Dani, and she likes me. So, we did not see any problem of dating for real." Alex explained as if it was as simple as breathing air.

"Did you have a mind-boggling wild sex with her, then hit your head, deciding that committing at this point in our life was a good idea?" Marcus said incredulously. "What are you thinking? The reason you chose her was to avoid this."

Marcus knew that his friend had always been different from them. He was always the straight one, but it was his flaw too. He let his heart ruled him over better judgment.

The reason they all decided to stay uncommitted with anyone, through all these years, was because of their plans. They could not be distracted from their goal. Now, Marcus was afraid that Alex was about to blow up all their hard work. 

Now, he wondered if Alex could still focus on his goal with a woman clinging at his side. Marcus believed that Dani would only be a distraction that might pull them down and destroy what they managed to establish.

"I haven't forgotten that. But Dani is different. She will never be a distraction to our goals. Instead, she will be my inspiration to do better." He assured his friend that nothing had changed from their plans.

"I hope that you know what you are doing, but Evan and David might also think otherwise. You knew why we formed this alliance. We wanted the same thing." Marcus reminded him.

It was for that similar reason why he was avoiding commitment at all costs. The demand for a committed relationship would not work well with their commitment to their work. It just would not work together.

"Enough about me, what is the meaning of this." He decided to change their topic, diverting Marcus' attention back to the file in his hand.

But his mind went to what his friend said. Did he rush things by committing to Dani without thinking it through? Would his relationship with her cost him his dreams? Was she worth it if that ever happened?