10 The Contract

Jeannie looked down at the contract or rather the contracts that the prince's lawyer had brought over. It seemed that he had decided to hurry up the process and was not even going to wait till they had the so called 'date'.

She had not slept for hours now and ever since she had learned of the woman's cheating, she had been having a headache. She had slowly studied the discrepancies and come to a horrible conclusion. She would have understood if Nina had only robbed the money. She would have somehow made up for it and maybe let her go with a tough warning. Maybe the woman had been in need.

But Nina had not done something just spur of the moment. The accounts showed that Nina had carefully planned everything so that if there was a problem, the axe would not fall on Nina but on Jeannie's head. The woman had been devious to this extent. And this was the woman for whom Jeannie had fought hard in the court! Just how long the woman would have continued to do this criminal act if that prince had not pointed it to her.

More than anything, Jeannie accepted that this was a kick to her pride. She had always believed in the goodness of the people and giving them a chance. And now she would have to pay the price. Even if she fired Nina or called the police, she would have no way to prove her own innocence. The only way left for her was to return the amount that had been stolen. But the total of thousands of dollars... was not something she had in her bank. She would either have to beg her friend or succumb to the prince's threat.

She had just called in Nina to confront her over this but before she could handle that and confront her this black suit had entered the office with his supreme air of entitlement and the big stack of documents! If there was one thing Jeannie hated, it was paper work! Paperwork was like a punishment designed by the Government to dissuade people from starting up anything. Licenses and contracts had been designed by the Devil himself to torture people.

The lawyer sat stiffly in the office and let the woman peruse the papers silently. He had been ordered by the prince to explain everything but this woman was really scary. She had not even offered him a seat and glared at him as if he was a wanted murderer when he had introduced himself.

Usually when he went somewhere to represent the prince, people would bend backwards to please him and welcome him. But here, he felt as if he had been sent to the guillotines!

He had thought that the Prince Christopher Sebastian Lucille Spark was the only one who had such a terrifying and menacing aura. But this woman.. No wonder the Prince had chosen her as his bride. She would probably not be scared of the dangerous prince. But then another thought struck him and he was horrified to what would happen when these two scary people joined forces. Thinking of the future, he decided that taking the high and mighty route with this person might not work.

Clearing his throat, "Director Boon. I understand that you are busy and me dropping in without a prior appointment is a big burden but the prince's work is urgent you understand. The first contract is a non disclosure agreement. As per the agreement, you would be bound to recompense the Prince with a 10 million dollars if you disclose any part of your future or past interactions with anyone regardless of whether you sign the agreement or not... Since you are a responsible businesswoman, the prince is sure that you would agree to something so reasonable and sign the agreement so that future agreements will be easier."

The lawyer paused in between now. Maybe she would have something to ask. But director Jeannie just leaned back in her chair and cocked her head and stared at him with narrowed eyes. He really wanted to loosen his tie. Lawyer Lim's fingers itched with the need to fidget but he controlled himself and continued," The second contract is the proposal for the marriage. You can see this and make any 'open to reason' amendments' to it. Prince Christopher wants you to know that he is willing to negotiate on certain things."

Again a pause. Again no question.

A long inhaling sigh later, Lawyer Lim continued, "The third contract is a Pre nuptial agreement. In this you will notice that the Prince has been extremely fair. While any property you own will belong to you only, the Prince is promising you a 100 million dollars as alimony. Apart from this, you will be allowed to keep any jewelry that is gifted to you during the course of marriage, apart from the ceremonial crown and a few other ancestral pieces. Of course this is if you maintain decency and do nothing to embarrass the prince or the nation. the Also, though the arrangements in the previous contract certifies that there will be no physical intimacy between the two of you, if on the off chance a child were to occur in this marriage, the Prince will be the custod..."

The lawyer tapered off mid sentence when the woman suddenly stood up with a jerk.

"Lawyer Lim. Please get out and take these contracts with you. I don't need them."

Breathing a sigh of relief, the lawyer stood up and bowed," The prince said that you would say this. Thank you for your time. I will leave the contracts with you for your perusal. Goodbye, Director Boon."

Saying so, the lawyer raced out of the office as if there were wolves chasing him. Working for the prince was well rewarding in terms of monetary work but if he had to negotiate with such people, he would have to ask for hazard allowance!