The Royal Contract

She was barely seated in her chair when Jacky walked into her office. "This just came for you." Jacky went straight to her table and placed the large bouquet of roses on top of it. "You should have told me that he was the one sending you the flowers."

It was clear that despite their long conversation last night, Jacky was still slightly upset with her. Jacky was lacking her usual bubbly self. This morning, she went for a jog and when she came back, Jacky was already gone. Jacky left the house early just to avoid her.

"Come on, Jacky. Please forgive me." Using a pleading tone, hoping that things between them would finally go back to normal. "Promise, I will never keep anything from you again." She stood up from her desk and pulled her friend in a hug.

She did tell her friend everything that she needed to know about her current situation with Alex. She even explained to her about Alex's proposal and the contract.

But she never mentioned the incident that happened more than a year ago. That was something that would remain buried in her mind for the rest of her life.

After her revelation last night, Jacky said that she needed time to process it before leaving her in their living room as she went to her room. She was not angry, Jacky expressed, just disappointed.

Now, inside her office, she stared at Jacky as she stood in front of her table, waiting for her response to her apology.

"You know you are the only family I have, so you keeping something from me this big is hard to accept. I need to know these things. What if something happens to you? How can I help you if I have no idea of what's going on with you?" Jacky expressed her grievances and concerns.

Jacky was orphaned at a very young age. She fought against the many challenges of being in and out of the foster family system. She worked hard to get to where she was now. Many of the people she knew who grew in the system were not so lucky, but she managed to survive it.

Landing a job at their previous employment was a tough break for Jacky. Meeting her friend, Dani, was the greatest thing that ever happened to her. In her opinion, that was fate giving her a lucky break.

She would do anything for Dani because she was not just her boss, her friend, but a sister she never had. Dani was her only family. Trust was not easy for her, but she trusted Dani with her life and she was willing to give hers for Dani if the need arose.

"Ok. Fine. But make sure that it will never happen again." Jacky hugged her back and let go of her immediately. "I still have a lot of things to do, and you have tons too." She pulled herself away from her friend before she started crying.

Jacky might be a jolly person, but she could easily tear up too when she became emotional like this. Jacky quickly went back to her table to get some work done, while Dani was left thinking of what happened last night.

She turned around and gazed at the beautiful view of the skyscrapers outside. Compared to her old office, this was a great improvement. But her thoughts were nowhere near the scenery in front of her.

She went back to the point where she introduced Alex to her mother. She could still imagine the initial shock on her face. But her mother was able to easily masked her surprise with a friendly smile.

"Mom, I want you to meet Alex, my boyfriend." She held on tighter to Alex's arm so that her mother would not suspect anything unusual about them.

When her mom quickly recovered from the astonishing news, she quickly responded by greeting Alex back and extending her hand for a graceful handshake.

"How long have you known each other?" Her mother prodded, wanting to know more about this sudden change in her relationship status.

Her mother knew her from the inside and out, so to learn that she was keeping something this big from her was hard for her mom. She could see the slight hurt in her eyes, but she was good at hiding it behind the façade of a smile.

She was still thinking of what was the appropriate time frame for their relationship when Alex beat her to it. "We've known each other for more than a year, but just recently reconnected." He replied with so much confidence that it was almost believable.

"Oh! That's wonderful. But my daughter seemed to forget mentioning anything about you." Her mother looked at her, with those inquisitive eyes.

She could feel the guilt building in her guts as her mother started probing into their relationship. She had to act fast before she suspected anything amiss with their story.

Luckily, Alex was also quick in making up stories to satisfy her mother's curiosity. All she could do was support Alex since she could not come up with a lie in front of her mother. She just wondered if they managed to fool her mom about their fake relationship.

Back to the present, she stared at the flowers in front of her. She knew that Jacky was still dismayed at her when she found the note still untouched. Written on the note was a message for her.

DANI

LOOKING FORWARD TO OUR DINNER TONIGHT.

I'LL PICK YOU UP AT 6 PM AT YOUR PLACE.

ALEX

She placed the card back in its case and shoved the flowers at the side of her table. She was still not sure if she could agree to the contract that was still locked in her drawer. Last night, if she would think about it was a success despite their lack of preparation.

However, did she need to do this? Why would she help him in the first place? Was all of those benefits he kept pointing out, worth it? She carefully assessed the available information she had at the moment.

She knew that there were several good reasons why it was beneficial for her to accept this. But there were also several consequences if his plans failed and their deceit discovered.

The question now remained. Should she sign the contract? Because once she agreed to this, she would be an accomplice to his plans to deceive their families. Once she said yes tonight, there would be no turning back.