The Royal Contract

Chapter 13 - Speedy Escape

"Have we met before?" He inquired, looking at her intensely as he tried to figure out who she was because as far as he could remember, this was the first time he saw her. Although there was this nagging feeling that he might know her from somewhere.

She was suddenly afraid that he was beginning to figure out who she was, so she quickly thought of an answer. "Mr. Jenkins already talked to me about you and your request for me to drop my case." She supplied a possible explanation for the recognition.

"So, you are Daniella Hamilton. The lawyer handling the case against us." He said as if that answered his question. Well, he might not have seen her before, but he certainly heard a lot of things about her from Theodore, the lawyer handling the case.

He was still not convinced that it could be the reason since it was not her name that rung the bell. It was her face and her eyes that sparked something in him.

She decided not to respond since it was not a question anyway. All she wanted to do now was go home and stay away from him as much as possible. Although she sensed her attraction to him, it did not mean she had to follow through with it.

It was one night that she did not intend to complicate by doing it again. That would only lead to more problems that she was not willing to undertake at this point.

"Why don\'t you join us for dinner?" Marcus suggested while looking at Jacky then at her. The question did not quickly register on her brain since she was busy chastising herself for her unwanted thoughts.

When she realized what the question was, it was too late. Jacky was able to beat her to it. "Sure. We love to." The way Jacky was squirming in her seat was not a good sign, Dani thought.

"Excuse us." Dani grabbed her friend\'s hand and walked to the other side of the bar. "What are you doing?" She asked Jacky.

There were a couple of times that the same thing happened to them. Jacky met some guy, then they ended up dining with them. Just like a double date, which was exactly what was about to happen if she could not stop it.

"Please, Dani. Do this for me." Jacky appealed to their friendship with her puppy eyes. "Be my wing-woman just for tonight. I think I have just fallen in love. Marcus was totally into me." Jacky kept on saying the many things why they should go out on a date with them.

She could not believe what was happening. She had turned down Anita\'s offer, not wanting to be involved in a double-date, but here she was, facing again the same situation.

"You say that to all the guys you met at the bar." She protested, but her words did not matter as Jacky begged her to help her. Jacky was about to grovel on her feet, but she stopped her. Jacky did not need to do that, but she was still conflicted about spending time with him.

"This time, I know he is different. Please." Jacky tagged on her arms as she pleaded.

She was not thinking of Marcus and Jacky. She had bigger problems of her own. With the biggest one, still standing a few meters away from them. She could not think of a way to get rid of him or for her to get away.

Despite her reluctance, she knew she could not disappoint her friend. She would endure this night to support her wild idea of meeting her knight in shining armor.

"Ok, but this is the last time that you would do this to me." She said exasperated. Jacky grinned from ear to ear and dragged her back to the gentlemen waiting for them.

"Well, we decided to go to dinner with you." She announced with a lack of enthusiasm that Marcus and Jacky could not care about. But Alex did notice.

"Shall we?" Marcus said as he escorted Jacky out of the bar.

She turned to Jake and told him that she would accompany Jacky. He nodded and signaled to call him if they needed rescuing. It was their usual routine, just in case, Jacky and she got into trouble. Although, she was sure she could handle herself, having a backup was still wiser.

Alexander waited for her and offered his hand, but she just ignored it and walked past him.

"Wait. Did I do something to offend you?" He said curiously. Walking just beside her as they neared her parked car.

"Nope. I\'m not here on a date with you so there is no need for us to act like we are in one." She said indifferently. "I\'m just accompanying my friend. Let me be clear about that."

"Aren\'t you riding with me?" He asked when she unlocked her car. He was certainly amazed at the way this woman was acting around him.

"Nope. Just tell me where we are going and I would just see you there." She said as she entered her vehicle without waiting for his response. She had no plan to play a dating game with him.

"Ok. If that\'s how you want to play this." He said amused at her. He gave her directions and walked over to his car.

As far as she could tell, he did not seem to remember her and that was how it should remain. When she saw him get into his car, she quickly roared into motion and went on her way.

She desperately needed the distance away from him, so she could think coherently. She figured that it was a bad idea to be spending more time with him especially in his car. Besides, she might need her car later if she decided to make a quick getaway.

As she drove away from him, she deliberated if she should show up to this dinner or just skipped it. It was not the first time that she went on a double date with her friend. This kind of thing was a common occurrence ever since they became friends.

However, this time, it was different. She knew him, but all she wanted to do was to get as far away from him as possible. Unlike before, seducing him was the last thing on her mind. Getting a speedy escape was more likely to happen before this evening was over.