The Royal Contract

She wondered where Dani was until she turned around and found her talking to some kids. She realized she had not greeted her yet since she was too busy with the preparations.

But she also wanted to introduce herself to this new person that seemed to be a nice person. She just loved making friends, especially if she was a friend of her friends.

“Hi, I am Haley.” The other woman accepted her offered hand and shook it. “I just love what you with the place.” Haley continued, praising her for what she had done with the place.

“If you will excuse me, but I think my wife needs my help.” Alex nodded to them, stepping away and going in the kids’ direction.

“Nothing compared to what you planned to do with this place,” Jacky commented, remembering seeing the picture of the house that would stand in the still unfinished structure.

So far, the area still seemed unappealing, but from what she saw earlier, a massive structure would rise in the center of this area, a wonderful house that would serve as a home for many homeless kids who were abandoned or orphaned by their parents.

.....

“This is more of Dani’s idea.” Haley denied being the heart of this project. If not for Dani, this would never have materialized.

“But with your help, it becomes not just a dream but a reality,” Jacky stated, thinking of the many kids just like her and her brother, Andy, who would benefit from this project.

She was fascinated when she first heard about this project from her friend, Dani. She immediately volunteered to help out, thinking that it was her chance to get back to the community.

At the same time, it was her opportunity to help her friend. After all the many things her friend had done for her, she could finally repay her through this.

“Just accept my thanks and my friendship.” Jacky hugged her, not waiting for her to decline her offer. For her, a friend of Dani was also her friend.

“I am sure you have met my boyfriend, Marcus.” She did notice her boyfriend talking to her earlier, but she was too busy to join them.

“Yes, we already met.” This time, Marcus answered her, finally breaking his silence as he stood beside her. “Actually...”

But before he could finish his statement, Haley interrupted him.

“We were friends back in college. But had lost touch until now.” Haley explained, making her smile at the thought of what a small world they had.

“I am glad that the two of you have finally reconnected. I am sure you have had many things to talk about since the last time you saw each other.” Jacky enthusiastically said, simply loving reunions.

Then, her phone rang again, and when she picked it up, another issue was ongoing. She knew she had to take care of it before it became a full-blown problem.

“Will you excuse me again, but something is wrong with the cake?” She planted a quick kiss on Marcus’ cheek before stepping away from him, leaving the two to continue their conversation.

But as she moved away, she sensed that something was off with the two of them. Her spider’s senses were usually correct, making her think they might be hiding something.

But she was not judging since she also had many skeletons in her closet. She just hoped that Marcus would not opt to hide things from her. She wished he would come to trust her enough to tell her everything about him.

While she was walking to the delivery trucks, she bumped into Dani, who was looking for a treat. “Happy birthday, Dani.” She hugged and kissed her friend before showing her where she kept her stashes.

Then, she excused herself again to deal with the issues with the cakes. She moved away from her friend, walking in opposite directions, but she still turned to look back at Marcus and her new friend.

It would seem that they were back in some deep conversation which only strengthened her suspicion of a secret they were hiding. But again, she was not judging.

“I hope you have enough cakes for all the kids attending this party.” She told the baker who had accepted her orders. It seemed that there was a miscommunication on their side, but they were quickly remedying the problem.

“I don’t want anything to mess up this party.” She told all the crews who stood in front of her. “They might be kids, but they are the most special guests here.”

She expected more from the people she had hired since they were the best in the catering business, but they seemed to fail to realize that even if they were not serving the elites of the elites, they still needed to give their best service ever.

These young ones were the boss today, so they better provide them the world-class service they all deserved. Or else they would hear terrible feedbacks from her that would ruin them for their next gigs.

“Yes, Mam.” The head waiter finally acknowledged her words, finding her a little intimidating. Well, they should be because she was not taking crap from them.

“Fix the issues and be ready to serve the food on time.” Luckily, there was still time because the program had not yet started.

There were still several things she had to do before this party started and many more to do before it ended. But she would do everything she could for Dani and those kids.

She walked away from the food crew, looking for the master of ceremonies. She believed it was about time to start the program according to their timetable.

“Should we introduce everyone?” She told the host, who was already waiting for her at the foot of the stage.

She signaled the kids’ chaperones to gather them around and let them settle on their seats. Then, she walked over to her friends to usher them to their designated tables.

Marcus and Haley did not wait for her call as they walked toward them, walking alongside, barely looking at each other. But she dismissed the idea, for now, not wanting any distractions from her task.

She believed relationship issues would have to wait. At the moment, her priorities were to make all the celebrants have the best party ever.