The Royal Contract

It was not the people looking at him that had caused this tension on his stomach and trembling in his hand. He could handle a crowd like putty in his hands.

“I came here not just to celebrate the building of this great project or the celebration of our friend’s birthday.” The back of his palm automatically went to his forehead to wipe the trickle of sweat that moistened his skin.

Then, his eyes scanned the crowd below the stage, searching for someone. The glaring sun on the other side made it hard for him to look, making him squint his eyes and slightly cover them from its rays to see more clearly.

Finally, after going from right to left, he saw the person he was looking for, sitting quietly at the front table, closely watching him. Her face was a picture of beauty, minus the exhaustion and the curiosity in his eyes.

He thought that she might be wondering what he was doing on the stage. Based on her facial expression, she was still clueless about his intention to sabotage the party she had arranged.

“I am here for another reason.” He scratched the back of his head, feeling his veins were about to pop out from his nervousness. Who knew that this would be this hard? Certainly not him.

.....

He could effortlessly fight inside a courtroom, defend their company from any corporate attacks, or speak on podiums about his plans for a great company.

However, he believed that this was worst than anything he had experienced before as his hands uncontrollably shook just thinking of what he had to say next.

“Anyway, I hope you will indulge me for a few more minutes of your time before we conclude this celebration.” Marcus could see the others nodding their heads as if confirming their permission.

Eventually, the time had come for him to proceed with his next step. He could not prolong the inevitable anyway since time would not wait for him.

“Wait for a second.” He pointed his finger in front of him, waving at the crowd, asking everyone that he would not take long, begging for everyone’s patience. “Hold this.” Handing the microphone to the host, believing he would not need it anymore.

The crowd seemed to be confused by his action but remained quietly waiting. His feet speedily moved down the stage, walking fast in one direction.

As soon as he reached his destination, he stopped. His face shifted down, staring at the woman sitting on the chair, surprised to see him before her.

Shock covered her lovely face, raising her high eyebrows in the air with her questions. Who could blame her when she was included in the list of people not allowed to know about his plans?

“What are you doing?” She finally asked, her tired voice floating in the air. To some, she had a loud voice most of the time, but to him, it was the sweetest melody he had ever heard.

It sounded so cheesy even to him, but admittedly he was starting to like those things. Lately, he had stopped asking his secretary to do him favors. This time, he did buy his flowers and gifts, making sure to choose her favorites.

Instead of answering her right away, he grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet. “I think you should come with me, Jacky, on the stage to find out.” Then, he whispered something in her ears.

“A surprise that he and Alex had prepared,” Telling her privately as if it was a secret between them.

“Oh!” She willingly went along, assuming it was for Dani. It was not his fault since, technically, he did not lie. But in truth, he had been planning it for her for a while.

“What is the surprise?” She asked since she had no clue, still thinking she should be on it, but he was not about to ruin it by telling her right then and there.

“You will know it once we are on the stage.” That was all he could say as he guided her to the stairs and on the platform.

As he escorted her on stage, holding her hands, he wondered if she could feel the trembling in his hands. But then again, he believed his hands had stopped shaking. Maybe her warm hand had calmed him slightly down.

“Can you stand over there?” Picking the center of the stage where everybody could see them while their friends stood just a few feet from them.

Her face kept looking at their friends as if asking what was going on, but Alex only shrugged his shoulders while Dani mouthed something like I do not know. Honestly, Alex was lying, and Dani was clueless.

“What for?” Jacky questioned him, probably thinking about being in the limelight.

One of her deepest secrets was her stage fright. Although there were moments she could handle being in front of the people, it was different when the spotlight was on her, just like now.

She had kept looking at him as if she was ready to bolt at any moment as her eyes kept looking at the mass of people gathered below the stage.

“Because I need to do something.” Marcus stood straight in front of him, tapping his breast pocket to get something.

Unfortunately, he could not seem to find what he was looking for as his hand came empty after checking his left and right pockets. He knew he had taken it earlier and stored it safely somewhere.

Then, after what seemed an eternity of patting his body in front of everyone, he finally found it in his pants pockets. Probably in his nervousness, he might have thought that he had placed it in his breast pocket, breathing a sigh of relief.

He looked at everyone around them with expectant faces as if they were nervous for him. Even Alex looked worried as he watched him.

“What is wrong with you?” Jacky asked her, seemingly confused at his unsettling movements.

Her hands reached out to him, touching his arms to assure herself that he was ok. But when her eyes met with him, something flickered in them as if she figured out what was happening.

Her gasp told him that she was shocked by this discovery. Then, she started fanning her hands across her face as her breathing became unstable. He believed she was suffering from a mild panic attack.

“Are you ok?” Immediately, worry lines also etched on his face, watching her in such a state.

But Jacky quickly recovered, using his arms as support as she held on to him. Then, she took deep breaths to calm herself down. Anxiety still glazed her eyes, but she never looked away from him.

“Please, say you are not doing what I think you are doing?” With a croaky and broken voice, she asked him.

His eyes watched her scan the area, seeing the entire crowd gathered to support them. Her face was pure horror as she looked at him and back to the people around them. Her fear had become more than just a stagefright.