His Escort

Chapter 9

The ride to Jesse's mansion is not long. I sit quietly in the back seat, my eyes closed. I'm not thinking at all. It's one of those moments when I just shun away everything in life and stay in my little cocoon.

David opens the door for me and I step out. I sling my bag over my shoulder, my eyes scanning the building before me. This is going to be my new home for as long as it takes to raise the amount needed at the hospital.

David opens the front door for me and I walk in, feeling like I'm intruding. This house is meant for Kate yet here I am.

I let out a sigh as I take the stairs to the first floor. Choosing a room is quite easy; I just head to the one on the farthest end down the corridor. The further I am from Jesse, the better for everyone.

I am not sure where the master bedroom is but I doubt it's on the first floor. From Jesse's expressiom earlier today, I doubt he'd want to be anywhere close to me.

Not that I care. I'm here for my mom's sake.

The bedroom is furnished in black and white. The four poster bed is white and the couch has black throw pillows. The dresser is white and so are the walls. The curtains are a nice blend of beige and white and the nightstand is black.

I place my bag on the dresser before heading to the walk-in closet. It's spacious and still very new and I briefly wonder if anyone could own enough clothes to fill such. My clothes would probably take a quarter of the space and I always imagined that I had a lot of clothes.

I trace one of the shelves absently, my mind on my mom. She has to wake up soon.

She just has to.

My stomach growls and I glance at my wrist watch. It's a few minutes to noon and I'm very hungry.

I get rid of my Cardigan before walking downstairs. I trace the kitchen easily. It's just as I thought; Big, spacious, sparkling clean and classy.

I find eggs in the fridge and I make an omelette for myself. I pour some cold mango juice into a glass then I sit on the island to dig into my meal. I'm not keen on food so this is enough for now.

My phone rings as I take the last bite and I groan when I realize it's Meg. This won't end well.

"Hey Meg?"

"Are you with Jesse?"

I frown.

"No. Why would you ask that?"

"Where are you?"

"With a client." I lie without missing a beat. I don't want a lecture from her right now. I have serious s**t to deal with.

"Jesse's PR team just issued a statement saying that you are not pregnant."

"Umh, okay. I mean, it's a good thing, right?"

"I guess. They didn't deny the fact that you two are having an affair."

"They didn't confirm either, did they?"

"No but from their choice of words, it's like they were trying to imply that you are seeing each other. They just didn't come out in the open about everything."

"That shouldn't bother you, Meg. It's no big deal."

"It is a big deal. I told you that guy has fishy plans for you. I'm just glad that you said no to his stupid proposal of you two moving in together."

I close my eyes and release my breath heavily.

"Right."

"Well, I'll see you at the apartment later tonight. I have s**t to do."

"See yah."

I hang up and carry the dirty dishes to the sink. My heart is beating a little bit to fast as I think about Jesse's words. He said that he will give me the whole amount but it will come with a price. What will I have to do to get the money? Is it legal? I'm not exactly looking forward to dinner. Whatever he has in mind for me might change my whole life.

I wash the few dishes quickly before heading back upstairs. I lie in bed feeling lost and I have no idea when I finally drift to sleep. I barely slept last night so I have a long nice nap. When I wake up, it's almost five and I sit cross legged on my bed to go through my emails; something I have been postponing since time immemorial.

A sharp rap on the door makes me look up and I say a muffled 'come in.' The door opens, and Jesse walks in. He is still in the grey fitting suit he wore to the office earlier today and I assume he just got home.

He sits on the edge of the bed and looks at my face with a tiny frown.

"Have you been crying?"

I shake my head.

"I slept. Maybe that's why I look like shit."

"Did you have lunch? It never crossed my mind that you'd be hungry."

"I prepared an omelette. I'm fine."

I'm looking everywhere but at him. My heart is racing and I'm a bit scared of him. He didn't bother me before when all I had to do was meet him and go back to my apartment; it bothers me now because we'll be living under the same roof.

He stands up and I quickly release my breath. He was too close and that was making me nervous.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" He asks smugly.

"Not really. Just a little bit nervous."

"Why? You were so talkative and lively when I saw you yesterday. What changed overnight?"

Taking a deep breath, I decide to tell him the truth, to voice my fears.

"Meg thinks you want to use me for something."

He shrugs .

"That's right."

I barely conceal my gasp.

"What is it?"

"I told you I'll tell you over dinner tonight."

"Is it something bad?"

"I guess that depends on how you want to see it. You need the money, I need you help. If you just view it that way, like a mutual benefit for both of us, you will take it as a good thing."

"Can you just tell me now?"

I lift my eyes then and he is gazing at me.

" I will. You have to tell me something first. "

"Yeah?"

"What else did your friend say? What does she think about me?"

"Well, she doesn't believe that Kate cheated on you. Neither do I. There is no proof, no evidence at all."

He laughs lightly.

"Okay. What else?"

"Well, she thinks that you only want to have s*x with me." He stays quiet so I lift my eyes to meet his dark gaze before I whisper. "Do you?"

He shakes his head very slowly.

"No, Ava. You are beautiful and all but that never crossed my mind. This is purely to make Kate crazy."

"You're paying me all that money just to make her jealous? Is it worth it?"

"It's my money. You need it so just do whatever I tell you to do. You don't have to worry about Kate. She is none of your business."

"So what do you expect me to do while I'm here?"

"We'll talk about that over dinner. I have some paperwork to catch up on so you'll go with David to the store and get a dress. Buy something to wear in the morning while you await the designer as well."

I wring my hands nervously. I don't have a dime on my card. He seems to read my mind because he speaks up.

"They will email the bill to me."

"Okay."

"Buy a decent dinner dress, will you? Those paps may just attack us again."

"I will."

He starts to walk out, turning at the door to look at me.

"And Ava?"

"Yes?"

"Wash your face before you go. You look like crap."

"Jeez thank you very much."

He smirks.

"Don't mention it."

I smile despite myself.

"Why are you smirking all the time? How old are you, ten?"

"No, twenty eight. But I'll take that as a compliment."

"Go away, Jesse."

"I was thinking you'd take the room right off the landing."

"Why?"

"Because it has purple draperies. Purple is your favourite colour, right?"

I fight a fierce grin. He remembered.

"Right, but I didn't even open the doors. I just headed straight here."

"You can change rooms if you want to."

"No, it's fine. I'm okay here."

"Okay. David is waiting upfront. I'll see you later."

I nod and he walks out. I release the breath I hadn't realized I was holding. I'm almost sure that Meg was exaggerating. Jesse is not the monster she depicted in my head.

Am I judging too soon?

Right now, I don't care what the deal with Kate is. I'll stick around long enough to get the money then go back to my clients.

I wash my face and towel dry it. I sit down to do my make up before I remember that I left everything in my apartment. All I have is lip gloss and eyeliner in my bag.

I sit in front of the mirror staring at my face for a long moment. I have never stepped out of the house without make-up for the last two years. My skin is smooth and clear. I make thin lines around my eyes with the eyeliner and I decide not to wing it. It'll be too much on a plain face. I apply my lip gloss and I'm good to go. I've never prepared myself that fast.

David takes me to a designer store and the prices on the clothes are crazy. I'm hesitant, thinking that Jesse will flip his s**t when he realizes how much I spend. I'm about to walk back to the car and tell David to take me somewhere else when the attendant walks to me.

Her face lights up with recognition and she smiles at me.

"Ava, right? Do you need help with anything? I can help you choose the best qualities."

"You know my name?"

She smiles.

"Everyone knows your name. It's all over the place. Kate used to buy clothes here sometimes with Jesse but they haven't been here for a while now."

My jaw clenches slightly but I force a smile.

"I see."

"So what do you need?"

"A dinner dress and shoes. Maybe a pair of jeans and a singlet."

"Dinner dresses are this way. Come with me."

At the end of my little shopping spree, I have a nice black dress and white high heeled sandals. The dark jeans and a white vest cost a small fortune but the attendant is unfazed as she packs them.

I ignore the camera flash that catches me unawares as David opens the back door for me and I'm quiet the entire drive to Jesse's place. David and I rarely have a conversation. It's either he is too professional or too quiet. I don't know which is which.

Jesse is not in the living room when I walk into the house so I head upstairs to my room. I place the clothes on the bed and walk to the bathroom. There's a new toothbrush on the holder and I brush my teeth before stepping into the shower.

As I stand under the cascading hot water, I hope against hope that Jesse has a reasonable proposal for me