The Royal Contract

He looked at his watch, and it was barely mid-morning. He had already canceled many of his not-so-urgent appointments. Yet, he still had numerous issues to deal with, and he felt he was running out of time.

“Mr. Adam Mason is here to see you, but he had no appointment.” His secretary informed him. “I know you are busy, Sir David, but he insists on speaking with you.”

He never bothered to glance at his secretary as his eyes focused on the papers before him. He was curious why his friend was looking for him. But he also had limited time, and socializing with his friend was not his priority.

He knew Adam had been working on a pro bono case with one of his junior associates under the recommendation of Dani. But he had no involvement with that case. So, what did Adam need from him?

“Fine, send him in.” He informed his secretary, unable to turn his friend away. He would ask what he needed and set another appointment with him at another time.

After several seconds, his old-time friend came walking into his office. Although they were not as close as his other friends back in college, he still liked the man. He had high respect for what he did with his career.

.....

“Adam, it has been a long time. I thought of inviting you to lunch, but my schedule was tight these past weeks.” He proffered his friend into a seat and a drink. His friend took the first one and refused the latter.

He would have offered him a position in his firm as one of his partners, but he knew he would decline it. Although they were friends, they never saw eye to eye about several things.

He knew that his friend would not be a good fit in his company, just like his friend would never accept anything he would offer. It was a mutual understanding between them.

“David, thanks for seeing me. I am sorry that my timing seems to be off. Your secretary told me that you are on a tight schedule. So, I will make this brief.” Adam heard from some attorney about issues with a client, but he was not privy to the rest of the information.

“Yeah, but if this can wait. We can reschedule our meeting first thing tomorrow.” David suggested as he studied his friend, which he had not seen for quite some time.

“Actually...” Adam slightly hesitated, knowing the sensitivity of what he had to say. “It could not wait. I am here to inform you that I am planning to take a case.”

He began explaining who his client would be and who he would be suing. It was not that simple because his possible client was his friend’s sister. He knew he had to inform him about the case, but only the pertinent ones.

He could see that his friend was a bit surprised but not completely clueless. As his client had explained, this was not the first time this had happened to her.

“So, how is she? Where is my sister?” David asked worriedly. As much as his sister believed he was not concerned about her, he loved her.

She was too stubborn to accept that sometimes she had to listen to him and their parents. She was so set on being independent that she always took their opinion as an insult to her character and career.

But he only wanted what was best for her. It was a misunderstanding that had gone too far. It was time that he acted upon it, just like his fiance had suggested several times in the past.

“I set her up in a private hotel under a false name so nobody could track her. We had been in the hospital for her medical examination. Now, I am preparing to file a case against her ex-boyfriend.” Adam informed his friend of his current actions on his sister’s case.

“Then, what is stopping you? What is the problem?” David could sense there was a problem. Adam already did the preliminaries. “Why was the case still sitting on your desk when it should be already in court yesterday?”

“Because your sister is still having second thoughts,” Adam informed him as he stood from his seat, knowing he already had used his time.

“Why are you telling me this? Are you not bound by attorney and client privilege?” David looked at his friend, hoping to read between the lines.

“I am just concerned about her. Besides, she had asked me to represent her, but I still have to accept her as a client.” Adam knew he was getting out of this through a technicality.

He knew he should not talk about his client’s situation to another entity. But David was not anybody. If he decided to take this case, his client would require a family to back her up. She would need moral support.

He doubted she would bother taking him to court for breaching confidentiality. However, he could not keep something this big from his friend. Besides, he believed that David could help in the situation.

“But you are taking her case?” David asked his friend, believing he would be a perfect choice to handle the situation. “Please, she trusts you. I hope you will help her.”

He doubted that his sister would accept him or any of his recommendations. He had history to back that up. But he believed Adam would do everything he could to represent her interest.

“I will if she would pursue the case.” Adam had already decided to take the case. But he needed her to be ready.

If the case proceeded, he could already see the press having a field day on this. He could already foresee that this would be the talk of the town.