The Royal Contract

Chapter 1021: Devil’s advocate

He had been staring into a blank space for as long as he could remember. He knew he had several cases to review, but his mind could not focus on any of his work. It kept floating in the air as it reminded him of dinner last night.

After her big revelation, he remembered asking several questions, but after that, he had been quiet, absorbing the news. He had no idea how to react to it. Should he be happy or wary of his current situation? Or rather her situation.

“Did you see David today?” He asked his secretary when he interrupted him with a phone call.

“No, Sir Gerald. He has not come to work yet.” He could hear the sadness in her voice as she reported what was happening to their boss. “But Sir Evan is in his office if you need me to call him.” She offered instead.

He heard about what happened to his fiance. It was a terrible accident, and she was still in a coma. David, the managing partner of this firm, had not shown up for work, not wanting to leave her side.

Evan, the other partner, was probably drowning in his workload. He had to take on dealing with the responsibilities of his partner too. Besides that, he learned that Evan was also busy preparing for a wedding.

“No, I will just drop by his office later.” He informed her, not wanting to bother Evan at that moment. Then he tried to get back to his work.

.....

Gerald had offered to help since he was one of the senior partners in the firm, but it seemed he could not also focus on his job. No matter how he looked at the papers before him, his mind kept going back to the woman he had left in his apartment, still sleeping.

It was one of the reasons he avoided entering a relationship since being involved in a commitment always had its complications, especially in his situation.

If his enemies discovered Haley’s condition, they would think they could use her and his baby against him. Now, what should he do with her? Should he marry her? But that would put him in a tight position.

“Sir, I think you forgot to answer your call.” His secretary knocked on his door, pointing to his phone.

His thought had him going in circles again, forgetting that his secretary had come in because of a phone call. He quickly took the receiver and answered his call.

“I am sorry for keeping you waiting, Governor.” He was expecting his call after his rendezvous with Alfred last night.

He knew that, just like Alfred, he would insist that he take the election seriously. The campaign period would start soon. Several entities showed signs of their wish to be endorsed by the Governor.

But Governor Stanley insisted that he preferred him over the other candidates. Now, he might have an idea why he picked him. The Governor was not as clean as he thought he was, based on his association with Mr. Rosley.

“That is ok. I know that you are a busy man. But I talked with my friend, Alfred. He mentioned that you are planning to propose to his daughter soon.” He heard the old politician say.

News certainly flew fast, but it probably added a few details here and there. He could not remember committing to Alfred yet. However, Haley’s father seemed to assume he had already agreed to his plans.

But conversing with the Governor was like talking to Alfred. The man continued his suggestions for the coming campaign as if his opinion did not matter. He appeared to believe that he would go along with their plans willingly.

“You know what, Governor.” Gerald cut the other man short, not allowing him to finish the remainder of his sentence. “I will call you back when I have some free time.” With that, he ended the call.

He did not care if he offended one of the highest-ranking officials in their state. But he was not ready to deal with Alfred and the Governor and their politics, hidden agendas, and interest in manipulating him.

Nevertheless, he knew that they needed him more than he needed them. Therefore, he could dictate how this situation would go, not them. He would take care of them once he had made a decision.

But first, he had to find a solution to his problem before facing his other ones. At that moment, his first concern was determining what to do with Haley and their baby. Like it or not, he was going to be a father. But was he ready to become one?

“I came as fast as I could. But my hearing took longer than I anticipated.” His friend walked into his room, going straight to his liquor cabinet. “Do you want one? I certainly needed one. That judge was busting my tail.”

Mike continued to complain as he poured himself a full glass of whiskey before taking an empty seat in front of his desk. His friend seemed very pissed.

But he could already guess which judge he referred to with his statement. It was his Uncle, Ben. It still sounded weird to think of him as family. He had high respect for the man and his integrity.

He was one of the few judges they could not bribe or threaten. Once he had made his decision based on the merits of the actual case, there was no retracting that for any price.

But Mike did not know about his connection with the judge. He still had not shared the identity of his biological father with him. That was one secret he would hold on to for a bit longer.

“No.” Gerald refused the alcohol since he wanted his mind clear to think. “But I need to know if you have dug up any other details about Alfred and Haley.” That was his only concern.

He needed confirmation of Haley’s involvement in her father’s affairs. If Mike would clear her of any wrongdoing, he could protect her from his enemies. After all, she was carrying his child.

But if she had betrayed his trust. Then, that would be another matter he had to deal with, and he was not kind to people who aimed a knife behind his back.

“At the moment, I still have no conclusive evidence linking her with her father’s activities. But they could be covering their tracks.” Mike was still unconvinced that Haley was clueless about his father’s operations.

Alfred used his business in many illegal activities, like smuggling illegal contraband with his shipping lines and construction business. His daughter handled many of her father’s business.

“So, there is every chance she had been privy to the underground activities,” Mike concluded as he drained his glass of its content.

“But she may still be innocent.” Gerald contradicted his friend, not wanting his words to be the truth.

“Yeah, that is possible.” Mike agreed. But. “Can you accept it if it is not?” His friend asked.

He did not doubt that Mike was only doing his job as his assistant, who had his back. He believed his friend had nothing against Haley. He had welcomed her like they were old friends.

He knew his friend was only doing his job of keeping him in line and alive. After all, his mistake would cause them the organization and their lives. And his friend would very much avoid being buried alive six feet under the ground.

“You know you don’t have to ask me that.” He grew up knowing he would take over his father’s empire eventually. It meant having a heart was out of the question. Love and mercy had no place in his world.

He lived in a cruel world where there was no space for anything else except power, money, and survival. The only thing that mattered to him was to keep the position as head of their organization.

“Not even for Haley if she chose to betray you.” Mike continued to grill him as if his friend wanted to catch him lying to him and himself. “Can you honestly tell me that you can hurt the woman you love?”

Until now, Mike insisted that what he felt for her was more than just a casual fling, despite how much he had denied it. But if indeed he loved her, though he doubted, he would never admit it to him.

“What is the point of answering your question when you have already formulated your conclusion.” Gerald closed his papers, giving up on working on them, and faced his friend, feeling frustrated more when he thought of Haley’s pregnancy.

“What if she becomes pregnant? Can you still pretend that you don’t care about her?” His friend stood up from his chair and stared directly into his eyes.

Suddenly, his eyes sharpened at his friend’s question, wondering if that was a rhetorical question or did his friend expected an answer from him. Still, he could not help if his friend had heard something about her condition.

Nonetheless, he hoped his friend was only acting like his devil’s advocate.

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