The Royal Contract

"How did you like the food?" He asked as he placed the used dishes on the sink and started cleaning the table.

He grabbed his glass and drank the remaining wind in it before including it in the pile that needed a wash.

"It was fine, the same as the last time." She admitted, helping out in the kitchen. 

She might not be the one who usually worked on the chores back home, but she tried to help when she could. Although, she would admit that Jacky was better at doing it.

"Fine. Just fine." He turned around to her with a look of disbelief. "I put my heart and soul into that dish to satisfy your palate, then all you can say to me is that it was fine."

Despite his busy schedule today, he wanted to make this night special for them, even planning this dinner in his mind in between his meetings. So, he was not about to agree with the assessment of his cooking being just fine.

He moved towards her and grabbed her. "Are you sure that you have not made a mistake?" He asked as he kept her hostage by holding her shoulders.

"What do you want me to say?" She stared at him as if she was clueless.

Although she found it hard to keep the smile from showing on her face, she still upheld the charade.

"I want you to tell me the truth." This time, he used his fingers to extract the truth from her, tickling her on her side until she started giggling uncontrollably.

"Stop it… Stop it." She pleaded when she could not take it anymore. She tried to stop him, even running away from him when she got the chance. But he was too fast for her, and she could not get away from him that easily.

"Then, admit it. It was more than fine." He wrapped her arms around her and waited for her response.

He still was trying his best to be gentle in handling her. She looked so fragile that she might break if he applied too much pressure on her.

"Ok." She placed her fingers on his cheek and started pinching the flesh on both sides. "If you are not so adorable, I will never say this. But you're cooking was superb." She pinched it once more before releasing it, giving it a pinkish glow.

"Why does it sound like I am forcing you to say that." He gazed at her suspiciously, knowing that she was up to something no good.

"Because you are." She managed to get out of his hold and ran away again. "You can't take criticism."

"I can if it was true, but I can see through your plans to discredit my cooking with fine. I demand that you tell the truth." He chased her across the living room, around the couch until he jumped on it and caught her hiding behind it.

"Ok. I give up." She raised her hand in surrender. "You did very well. I love every bite of it. Your cooking was so mouthwatering. I could not stop myself from taking another bite until I finished them all." She smiled at him, knowing that she had satisfied his ego.

She had no bad intention of teasing him, but she did enjoy the chase. She could not remember the last time that she was as playful as this. He managed to crumble all the walls she built around her, and she could do nothing about it but let it happen.

"That's better. Because of that." He pulled her closer to him. "I have a prize for you." His head lowered down to hers until his nose touched hers.

He wanted her to take the next few inches and meet him halfway, but instead, she pushed him away and escaped his hold. "Not until we finished the dishes." She walked back to the kitchen, sashaying her waist at him.

"Funny. But you win." He followed her behind, but before he walked past her, he decided to give her a slight smack on her butt, making her shriek in surprise.

"You'll pay dearly for that." She stopped in her tracks and touched the cheeks of her butt. It was not painful, but it did send some thrill in her body.

"I barely touch you. It was just a small tap to make you walk faster." He said innocently.

They spent more time dirtying the kitchen than cleaning it as they played their dirty tricks at each other. As a result, they had laughed more than they could remember in their life.

"That was fun." She uttered as they both sat down on the couch. Both exhausted from laughing than the cleaning.

"It was. Do you want to watch a movie?" He asked, picking up the remote from the side table.

"Sure." She answered, thinking she could use some relaxation. "By the way, what happened with your meeting with my father?"

She suddenly remembered what she meant to ask him since she saw him at her office. But she was too busy then to tackle the task.

"He has a business proposal that he believed we should handle together. A small merger that I could lead, but he would be the silent partner." He related to her the purpose of the meeting, but not exactly going to all the details.

"Are you going to take it?" She asked, staring at his face. She wanted to read his reaction, hoping to get a better feel of his plans.

"I told him that it was interesting, but I wish to run it with my team before I make a decision." He told her. 

He was interested in the business side of the proposal. In his opinion, it was a small lucrative venture that was a bit amateur for the likes of Ethan. But if his guess was correct, he was only doing this to test him.

"That's good. You should think about it more before you agree to my father." She readily agreed with his initial response to her dad's plans. But she was still hoping he did not feel forced to agree to such an agreement because of her.

"Don't worry. I won't agree to this if it would in any way affect my business, and most importantly, our relationship." He could sense that it was the reason for her worried expression. She was trying to hide it, but he still saw a glimpse of it in her face.

"Anyway, enough of my meeting. What about you? How was your meeting with the girl you were talking about yesterday? If she needed help with her baby, I am willing to sponsor the operation." He offered as they continued to watch the movie without understanding it.

"Yes, I already talked to her, and I think I want to explore my plans first before I seek external help." She told him. 

She had to check if her plan would work first before she sought other ways to help the mother and the child. If her plan worked, then she would be hitting two birds with one stone, figuratively speaking.

"Ok." He conceded with her plan, impressing him more.

It only confirmed his initial assessment of her. He was one lucky man because she was no typical woman.