The Royal Contract

"Where are we going again?" She asked, still a bit stunned by his sudden appearance in her office.

She was indeed expecting him to pick her up, but she assumed he would arrive a bit later. Maybe an hour or two more. It was almost a week since her accident. She was still trying to catch up with her work. 

She still had at least two cases she wanted to review before the weekends. She was way behind her schedule with all the other activities she had been doing on the side. 

"Therapy. It is something that will help your feet get better faster." He announced as he started closing the files in front of her. "But we need to hurry. It will be a long drive. By the way, I already packed a few things that you'll need for the weekend."

He knew that he still owed her a weekend getaway. He had been planning this for weeks, but something always came up. They did not even celebrate their first month anniversary because both of them did not even remember it.

Now, he planned to make up for his slack and double his effort to use this time, creating a memorable experience for the two of them. In addition, if they did not do this now, who knew when they would have this opportunity again.

"Stop that. We talk about this. You said that you would not interfere with my job again." She uttered in exasperation, reminding him about their talk not so long ago. She tried to open the file again, but his hands prevented her from doing so.

"And I am not. Technically, your work expired approximately three minutes ago, as soon as I entered your office. So, I believe you are free to go." He explained, pulling the file from her hand and putting it back on the file on the side of the table.

Although he was guilty of using a loophole in his promise, he only did it for her. She needed intervention for her safety and health condition. If he did not do this, she would not stop working this weekend.

"It doesn't mean that I can pack up and leave just like that. I still have a few papers to finish." She quirked her brow at him, unamused with his reasoning and action.

"Your next job will be on Monday. I assure you that you will be here on time. You can finish it by then." He cockily said as if he had all this precisely as planned. He also seemed to have an answer to all her questions.

"Really? That is how you are going to play this." She gave up, waving her hands in the air, realizing that she would not win with him and his logic no matter what she tried. 

"I am only doing this for your welfare. It is what the doctor exactly ordered." Repeating what the doctor said about relaxing and not overdoing it.

"For my foot to heal faster, I have to travel to an unknown destination that only you know where." She mockingly said to him and looked at him as if he had gone mad. 

"Not exactly. I told Jacky all the information, just in case of an emergency, and she needed to contact us. But don't bother to pry any details from her because she is not going to spill." He advised her.

He knew that Dani would still try to find out his surprise from Jacky despite what he said. But this time, he felt secure that Jacky would not say anything because this was her idea in the first place.

Dani was a workaholic like him. They had been working hard these last weeks, then the accident. He tried to plan for a getaway, but he always ended up postponing his surprise for one reason or another.

"That is not fair. Why does it always have to be a surprise when you can share the idea with me? It will be much better if we can plan it together." She tried a new tactic to make him spill the bean.

She never did like surprises before, maybe because of a traumatic incident in her past. But lately, she never minded Alex's creative imagination and his effort to make it unexpectedly great.

She found herself looking forward to it, even excited if she dared to admit it to him. But she would not because she did not want to inflate his ego. 

But then again, he had never shown that he had an ego to inflate. Dani only said that because she could not beat him in his game. Maybe she should up her game too, so the next time, it would be her giving him a surprise.

"I like to surprise you. Even if you say that you don't want it, I can see it in your eyes how much you enjoy it." He pointed out, remembering the times her eyes brightened and twinkled like a Christmas light in the things they did.

He slowly lifted her from her seat, and then he sat on her chair, pulling her to his lap. He cradled her in his arms and pulled her for a kiss. He had wanted to do that since he entered her room.

"Can I say no to this trip?" She asked when her breathing had even out, but already knowing what he would say to her.

"Are you?" He answered her question with a question, daring her to say it. But deep inside his heart, he already knew her answer.

"Let's go. I don't want us to be late." She stood up and leaned on her desk for support. Although she could already step on her injured ankle again, she still felt slight pain when she leaned her weight on it.

A few minutes later, they were in his car, driving in the mildly growing traffic. As he informed her earlier, she saw her bag in the backseat together with his. 

She wondered what kind of clothes he packed inside. It would give her a clue of where they were going. But she already gave up on knowing his plans. "I figured we could grab a quick bite on the way. Maybe stop by a local diner if you don't mind." He asked, continuing to concentrate on the road ahead.

"I don't mind at all." She had no problem with eating in diners. She would not mind doing anything with him as long as they were doing it together. 

She noticed the car of his men following them not too far from them. Just enough to come to their rescue if they would need them. She wondered if she would ever get used to them just like him.

Will their lives always be in danger because of who he was? She was born wealthy but never felt the fear for her life. But since she associated herself with him, her life had turned upside down.

She quickly shut down where her thought was going. She looked at the man at her side and concentrated her attention on him. She was going to enjoy this unexpected road trip and looked forward to their extraordinary, new adventure.