"This way…"
"Just give me a minute." He held his hand to silence everyone around him, asking them to go ahead without him.
"You know how important this project is to me." Then, he returned to his phone conversation. "Don't mess it up again. I want this done yesterday."
He could not fuck up this negotiation since it was his ticket to the international business world. The only thing left was to wrap it up and sign the deal.
"Jeez! Watch where you are going!" He felt his phone slipped from his fingers as a woman bumped into him.
His instinct prompted him to move, catching whoever collided with his body and saving her from crashing on the floor.
"What the heck!" Quickly, he lifted her back to her feet before letting her go, not bothering to look at her.
His immediate concern was picking up his phone on the floor and checking if it was still functioning. Unfortunately, his phone appeared broken as it lost its power.
"Damn it!" He frustratedly ran his fingers through his midnight-black hair, hating that he did not finish his call.
Nonetheless, he was already late at the party, so he turned and moved along the hallway. However, he barely made two steps when a woman's familiar tone caught his attention.
"I am sorry." A woman's voice echoed in the empty hallway. But it did not sound apologetic.
"Yeah, I was not looking at where I am going, but I think you should apologize too since I doubted if you were also looking at where you are going."
That was a mouthful, but that was not what made him stop. He believed he recognized the voice as he turned to look at the offending party.
"You!"
"You, again!"
Both expressed their shock upon bumping accidentally into each other again.
"What are you doing here?" He automatically asked, noticing her clothes.
She did not wear her usual tattered jeans, shirt, and denim jacket. Instead, she was in a uniform.
"Work." She reluctantly answered, sounding a little pitchy. "Anyway, I think I better get going."
"You should be going, too. The Princess is already waiting for you inside." She quickly added, reminding him that he had a Royal engagement.
"What about you? Where are you going?." He countered, assuming she was about to leave the party since she walked toward the exit. "I thought you were working."
"It is my break," she calmly answered when he held her wrist, preventing her from leaving. "So, if you don't mind letting my arm go," she slightly struggled against his grip.
"Oh! I thought you were already leaving." For some reason, he did not want her to leave her side.
If he had a choice, he would prefer to spend the night with her than attend the celebration inside. But he could not keep putting off the engagement announcement.
"Charlie, can we talk?" He quickly added before he reluctantly let go of her.
"I am sorry, Your Highness, but as you can see, I am working." She gestured to her waitress uniform.
For a minute, he could not look away as if mesmerized as he stared into her eyes, noticing it was dominantly brown under the bright light of the hallway.
He did not care what she wore. To him, she was indeed beautiful.
"Maybe after your shift. I think we have a lot of things to discuss." He did not understand why she had not contacted him about the contract.
Most women could not wait to be in a relationship with him, but this woman seemed to be doing the opposite. On the contrary, she appeared to be running away from him.
With the wealth he offered her, she did not need to work these menial jobs. But, so far, she had not agreed to any of it.
Was she not interested?
"Excuse me, Prince Elijah. I hate to interrupt you, but everyone is already waiting for you inside." His Chief Advisor walked to his side, tapping him on the shoulder.
He knew that.
But he did not want to leave until he got her answer. "Please, Charlie, I will wait for you." He begged her.
Damn! He was not used to this. But he could not let her walk away. He had to talk to her even if he had to go down on his knees.
"Fine!" She finally agreed. "After the end of my shift. But you should go. You should not keep your fiancee waiting." She turned and exited the door.
However, he did not miss that tone in her voice. It was the sound of pure jealousy, if not mistaken. Somehow, it gave him hope.
She was jealous because of the engagement. Why else would she react in such a way? But he would clear that misunderstanding later.
"Damn, my Prince. You are completely and utterly fucked up." Nolan taunted him once they were alone. "Are you sure about your plans?" His friend sounded doubtful.
"What if you could not give her up in the end? Are you ready to give up your throne?" His friend added, this time appearing worried and concerned.
"I don't know." He could only shake his head. "But for now, I want to keep seeing her. I would worry about the future later." He knew that was irresponsible behavior for a Crown Prince.
But he knew he did not want to stop seeing her. She had invaded his mind and haunted his dreams. Was he in love? He did not know. But he was obsessed with her.
"You need to be careful about this. If the King learns about this, you know he will disown you." Nolan reminded him again about the consequences of his actions.
"That is why I need you to cover for me." He turned to his friend, demanding for his support. "You could not let anyone know about this."
"Are you sure she is worth all this risk? From what I heard, she is nothing but trouble." Nolan again became his voice of reason. "Maybe you should reconsider your plans."
"I only want her. Besides, don't you see?" He asked his friend, who looked confused. "You won't have to clean up my mess. I won't get involved in one scandal after another."
The media had branded him the Century's Most Eligible Bachelor. Therefore, they automatically branded him a player whenever he dined with a woman on a date.
Although he would not deny that he enjoyed a woman's company from time to time, it did not mean that he had slept with them all.
"Yeah, I guess it has its benefits." His adviser finally agreed with him. "But just be careful." His friend warned him. "The last thing we needed is for this to turn messy."
"It won't." He assured his friend as they entered the grand ballroom.
His plan was perfect.
"Please, let us welcome our special guest, Your Highness Prince Elijah Drummond." Quickly, he heard his name as he joined Princess Jasmin on stage.
The Princess was the perfect cover for his plans. His new business would require him to visit this place more often. He had it all planned out.
The only thing left was her consent.
But that was the problem.
How could he convince her?