The Royal Contract

Chapter 644: Chased by the devil

Eida was pissed with Lance for not taking her calls. She thought they were over this kind of bullsh*t. But apparently, the prince was still an immature prick.

He promised her a story. Then, he had the nerve to ignore her call after standing her up for their lunch appointment. She would have accepted a reasonable explanation, but the prince just kept playing with her.

“Are you sure that he is not in your office, just hiding from me?” Eida kept asking his secretary earlier as she repeatedly called his office to get in touch with him.

But his secretary only replied the same line to her. He had been out since that morning and had no plan of returning to the office today.

“Pick up the phone.” She mumbled as she dialed, once again, his number.

She had been calling him up since his last voice mail. Well, his only voice mail. But he never picked up any of her calls or responded to her text messages.

She was driving when he called earlier and was in a tight situation, so she failed to answer him. But she immediately called him back after she heard his voice mail.

.....

“What is wrong with you?” She talked to her phone, staring at the name on the screen as his voicemail answered her again.

She was confused by the way he was acting. From the call, he seemed desperate to see her. She recalled how he was apologizing to her in the voice message. He had seemed to be sincere about it.

Suddenly, he disappeared off the face of the earth, never to be found. She had already tried his apartment, but he was not home, based on the doorman that she gave a good tip.

“Answer your damn phone.” She mumbled frustratedly to the phone as she parked at the last place she believed he was likely to go when he was nowhere to be found.

She looked at the almost empty parking lot, wondering if he could be here this late at night. Although she could still count a few cars within her sight, she doubted if any races were going on tonight.

But she did see some people still lingering in the building. The lights were still bright inside the arena from where she was standing. Maybe there was still someone racing tonight. Maybe practicing.

“Excuse me, but I am looking for Prince Lance.” She approached the girl she remembered as Gian. The source of this ᴄontent is (F)ire

She was not giving up on her story just like that because he changed his mind. He would show the prince that he could not just ignore her and back out from their arrangement.

“Ms. Harlowe, it is nice to see you again.” Gian greeted her, of course, recognizing who she was. She did mention that she was a fan. “Is the prince expecting you?” Gian asked.

“Ah, about...” Her words were cut off when Gian spoke again. She was already concocting some form of a lie. However, it would seem she did not have to.

“Of course, he is. You have to forgive me. Force of habit.” Gian excused herself, remembering how the two looked so sweet together.

She could only wonder if the two ended up together as lovers or just friends. It was time to find out as she asked her to follow her in the direction of the arena.

“Thanks for helping me out.” Eida gratefully said, appreciating her help.

At least Gian saved her time from trying to convince the receptionist to give her information about the prince. Now, she had confirmed that he was here.

As they neared the entrance to the arena, she could already hear the loud motors of the engines as they raced around the tracks. She figured one of them must be the prince.

“Does he race on the weekday often?” She asked the young girl, wondering what he was doing here. “How long has he been here today?”

“Usually, he only came here on the weekend. I seldom see him during a workday. Unless the tour is very near.” Gian answered her. “For this day, I think he was already here by after mid-afternoon. Just not sure what time.”

She stopped asking questions when she finally stood in front of the pit stop where Gian first took her. She recognized a few men who stood on the sidelines but could not remember their names.

“Thanks.” She told Gian, waving goodbye to her when she left. Then, she greeted the man who she remembered was the team captain. “Rick, hi!”

“Pleasant surprise to see you here, Ms. Harlowe,” Rick answered, not remembering Lance mentioning that he had a guest today. But the prince could be unpredictable sometimes, just like the last time.

He still offered her a seat on the sidelines as they waited for the last three laps to finish. He could only wonder what the relationship between the two was. But he was not about to snoop around for answers.

“I am here to see the prince, but he was not expecting me.” Eida finally admitted as she watched the fast-moving cars with awe.

She admitted that the prince taking her for a ride in his race car was still one of the most thrilling experiences in her entire life. She might want to do it if given a chance.

But she was not here for a ride in his car. She needed the story that he promised her. Her boss was right. She had been too focused on this family that she lost her touch on the big picture.

“I figured as much because he usually tells me if he has plans on dating in his car.” Rick jokingly responded to her admission.

“It was not a date.” She quickly reacted to his statement, suddenly feeling embarrassed that everybody must have thought that. “It was an interview. A professional appointment.” She clarified.

Did everyone really think the last time she was here? She went on a date with him. What about now? She remembered the way Gian reacted to her presence. She was almost giggling while talking to her.

“Call it whatever you want. But you are here now. In the middle of the night, seeking him out.” Rick said as if that should mean anything.

He returned to his job, looking after his boy, who should be focusing on the road. And not on the barriers that stood in his way.

But he had seen the chemistry between the two. He could not deny that he had seen sparks fly when the two of them were in the car. It was just a matter of time before the two would finally admit that they had a connection.

“You are wrong. This is purely business.” She denied his claim. She could not believe that this man was presuming she was here for a booty call. That was simply absurd.

She admitted that she felt some attraction to him. Oh, damn. She was totally attracted to him. But it did not mean that she would allow that to control her.

“Fine.” The man said as he observed the car as it made its last turn. Just a few more, he was about to beat his own record. He predicted, looking at the clock in his hand.

He could see that his prince was troubled. Lance never came here without a schedule unless he wanted to run away from something. It was the only reason he was here today, racing as if he was being chased by the devil.