The Royal Contract

"Wow." Was the first word that came out of his mouth when the door of her apartment opened. She looked indeed stunning in her dress. "You look great, Dani."

"Thanks, Alex." This time she smiled at him and tried to be friendly. "You don't look bad yourself." 

Six months was a long time. If they were to work harmoniously for that long, she needed to cooperate with him. Just like he said, she also had to get to know him more. Because from this point forward, people would be watching their every move. 

Especially on her part, since her father had taken an interest in their love affair. She was not sure about his family, but her father would surely dig into this relationship as if it was his next project. She just hoped that after she met his parents, they would not be like her father.

"Shall we?" He ushered her out towards the elevator, down the lobby, and into his car.

"Where are we going?" She asked when she was safely secured in his passenger's seat. 

"I thought that you haven't been into my apartment, but I had seen yours. As my girlfriend, you must at least be acquainted with my home." He looked at her, checking if she had an untoward reaction to his plan.

"That seems logical. I will like to see your place." She answered him calmly, thinking that there was nothing wrong with his suggestion. She decided not to overthink everything that he was doing and wait and see where he was going with this.

"I'm glad that you agree with me." He was a bit surprised at the way she was acting.

He was expecting a bit of a fight from her, but it would seem that she was more amicable tonight. He just hoped that this continued throughout the dinner and the rest of the date. In truth, he would like to get to know her more without her guard in full alert.

They drove to his apartment located at the heart of Manhattan. Only the wealthy of the wealthiest can afford a place on this building. She would know since this condominium belonged to her father. She began to wonder who was this man beside her. 

Aside from the few businesses Alex had acquired in the last few years, there was nothing else about his personal life that she could remember about him. She could not recall reading anything about his family at all.

"This is a nice place." She admired the way his apartment was designed as she stepped inside the room.

She was expecting it to be some form of a bachelor's pad, but instead, it had a homey feel to it than she initially thought. As an alternative to a black leather couch, she found on the center of the room a beige fabric textured sofa with some warm earthy-themed throw pillows on top of it. 

It looked so relaxing to seat in. It appeared more inviting and comfortable compared to the one she had in her home.

The inside was brightly lit, while there was a nice view of the city outside his window. Overall, his apartment looked like a place that he actually lived in. "Was the design of this place your idea, or the designer?" She asked, curious if this represented his style.

"The concept came from me, but the designer was able to capture what I pictured it on my mind." He explained as he assisted her further inside the room. "Care for a wine while I finish our dinner."

He walked to the mini-bar just on the corner of the room to pour himself a glass of scotch, while he waited for her answer. 

"I'll have what you're having." She felt she needed something to ease her nerves. Despite how calm she would seem on the outside, she could still feel a bit of uneasiness to be in his apartment. She did not like where her mind was going every time, she would look at him.

He poured them two glasses and handed her one. "Feel free to roam around the place. I'll just be in the kitchen." Pointing to the other side of the room. 

"Sure. I'll follow you in a minute." She said as she took a sip of the brown liquor in her hand as she continued to seat on his sofa just admiring the view outside. 

In a normal situation, she would have offered to help him in the kitchen, but she felt she could use some moment to recompose herself and reevaluate what she had to do in this situation. 

She was not expecting that he would take her to his apartment. She thought that they would just dine out and talked about their history and basic things that they might need to know about one another. 

Being in his home was a different story. This was more personal, more intimate. Although he was right, she should know more about him, even the intimate ones, if they would pass up to be his girlfriend.

"Can you point me in your bathroom?" She might as well check herself before they start dinner.

She decided to check out the rooms on the first floor on her way back to the living room. She found a guest room, she assumed since it barely had anything on it besides the basic stuff. Another room was locked. Probably his office where he kept important matters.

She opened another room, discovering a small gym where he probably worked out every day. She quickly closed the door not wanting her mind to conjure images of him inside that room.

She decided that she had enough. She was not about to go to the second floor to check on his bedroom. She walked back in the direction of the kitchen and checked if the meal was ready.

"Hungry?" He looked at her from the skillet in his hand. "This will just take a minute longer. Why don't you sit down over there?" Indicating on the table that was already set for two.

"Well, the smell certainly is appetizing. Who taught you how to cook?" She decided that it would be a good start for a conversation. Besides, the whole point of this dinner was to know more about each other. That probably included mundane things about themselves.