The Royal Contract

It was a welcome change that she was entertaining a man in her apartment without them ripping their clothes off as soon as the door closed.

She had never entered a committed relationship with anyone since college. She had no plans to do so anytime soon. Her affair with men was usually short-lived and just casual sex.

She had been more focused on her career and not on relationships. She had a goal that she had to attain. She was almost there, and she could not afford any distractions.

“You have a lovely home,” Lance commented, seeing the well-decorated living room.

He walked further inside the spacious room and checked the rest of the place. He was curious at the rate a reporter liked her earned in this profession. She must be famous to afford an apartment like this.

He was not a fan of reporters or anyone in the media. So, he would have no idea of her status in the industry. But based on the reaction of people around her, she seemed to be well known.

.....

“You have to thank the previous owner. I just bought it and lived in it.” Eida disinterestedly said as she moved to the other side of the room, which was the kitchen.

She remembered the first thing she did with her biggest paycheck. She looked for a place. When she saw this one, being in the center of everything, she bought it, including everything in it.

The owners were moving far away, and they had no interest in packing up their things. Therefore, they offered it to her at a discounted price. She never bothered to change it since she moved in.

“I must say they had an exquisite taste.” He could see the exquisite pieces displayed on the walls and around the place. He believed she was lucky to buy such a nice place.

He followed her to where she disappeared and found her moving around the counter. Once again, his eyes roamed around the smaller space compared to the other room, but still, it looked like she had barely used it.

“Would you like something to drink? Coffee, wine, scotch, or water?” She offered, opening her refrigerator to get what he preferred.

She knew she could use strong alcohol at the moment. But she was not entirely sure if that was wise. Drinking while driving was unacceptable but drinking while she was horny might be worse.

Suddenly, taking the prince into her apartment seemed to be a terrible idea. She regretted suggesting it now. But, she could not throw the prince out of her apartment after what she had to do to get him to agree to the interview.

“I think coffee will be great. I need something that will wake me up if I have to talk about myself all night.” He replied to her offer.

He believed a drop of alcohol might not be a good idea based on his condition. He needed his full wits and self-control if he would last the night with her in this apartment without pouncing on her.

“Ok. That is a good idea.” Eida agreed with him, hoping that the caffeine would wake her up from her madness.

She immediately placed some water on the coffeemaker and arranged the coffee and the cups. All that was left to do was wait for the coffee to boil.

“Should we continue with the interview while the coffee is preparing?” Lance suggested, hoping to get the task done and be gone at the soonest possible time.

“Yea, I guess that is another great idea.” Now, she sounded dumb. She felt like she was a busted recording machine, repeating her words because her mind was failing her at this instant. “Let me get my phone. So I can record it.”

She believed she needed time away from him to calm her nerves and get her bearings. The small space in her kitchen had been a little suffocating with his massive presence.

After a minute of deep breaths, she grabbed the bag she left in the other room when she entered the apartment. Then, she took her phone out before returning to the kitchen.

“I thought you got lost in your apartment.” Lance jokingly said as she returned with him, tending to the pot of coffee.

She suddenly realized that she might have taken longer than she thought. “Anyway, shall we start?” She had no excuse for her long absence. Therefore, it was better to ignore his statement.

She took her place on the other side of the counter while he returned to the other side with the two hot cups of coffee. He handed her one while taking a sip on the one in his hand.

“Go ahead. Fire away.” He told her, prepared to answer her question he deemed necessary to her story and ignore those that might be sensitive to disclose.

She stared at her notes on her phone about the list of topics she had prepared to ask him but suddenly felt awkward discussing them. She scanned a bit more until she found a slightly nonintrusive question.

“News is quickly spreading that the Council had deemed Prince Edward unworthy to take the throne.” She read on her phone but suddenly realized that her target market would not appreciate the question.

She aimed for the young female population, looking for a real-life prince charming that would save their day. This line of questions would never attract them.

“In your opinion, do you think Prince Alexander would finally come home to take his place?” She continued, finishing the question that she believed would never see the light of day.

It would not sell if she focused on politics. She knew that it was not the topic she wanted for this story. She only added that to make it a little relevant.

“I never like telling my opinion. Especially if it involved a decision of another person.” He answered her candidly, glad that she was talking about matters about the palace and not about himself.

She scrolled again, but all she saw were topics about his love life and career that they had already discussed in the car. She could not ask about his family since everybody already knew about them.

“Ok.” She mumbled more to herself as she read the first question at the top of her list. “How many girlfriends did you have as far back as you can remember?” She had no more choice.

“Well, I think I have five or six, but some of them were when I was young and immature.” He admitted there was a time that he also dated without thinking much about it.

But he had changed. The last relationship he was into lasted more than a year, but it just did not work out for them. Now, he had no idea if he would be able to find the girl that was right for him.

“Are you in a relationship right now?” She suddenly felt like she was the one interested to know his answers. Was she only using this interview to get more information from him?

“No. I am not.” His answer abruptly made him think.

He suddenly remembered what Rick said but quickly buried it in the deepest recesses of his mind. He did not need his words to remind him that he had been out of sex for a long time.