Chapter 4
1937 Words
Jason
I just couldn’t look away.
I knew I was in a meeting now, a very important one, but whatever James or Ricardo was saying, nothing entered my mind. Got in my left ear and ran away from my right one. My body was here yet my mind was somewhere else.
My attention was fully on the beautiful girl sitting three feet away from me.
I could tell she was avoiding me, like usual. She took Ricardo’s right side because she didn’t want to sit in front of me, afraid I would be looking at her. It was useless, I could see her clearly and she had met my eyes countless times and immediately looked away, flinching herself in her chair like a bouncing rabbit.
She was so adorable. Appealing. Tempting. And f*****g mine.
“What do you think, Jason?” Until James’ voice broke my mind as I blinked and looked at my buddy beside me. His piercing blue eyes were set on me. Merely looking. He didn’t expect anything from me. James already knew that I was not paying any attention to what he was saying or even asking. What the hell did he ask me?
I cleared my throat. “Nothing to ask, for now, Mr. Greene.”
He smirked cheekily and turned his eyes back to Ricardo. “That’s all I need to explain, Mr. Williams.”
Ricardo nodded his head in approval. “I’m sure the people from the Aston Martin group won’t mind if I give out some interesting ideas for them. I trust Jessica and she will send you the complete picture of what they want from us later.”
“Thank you.”
“Well, if that will be all, this meeting is dismissed. Thank you for coming, all of you. I will be waiting for the next update,” Ricardo said and we all stood up. Both bosses shook hands as Christine went to Jessica, probably talking about the next project. Those two would be communicating frequently because their bosses would be working together on this project.
James and Ricardo were amazing. They could grab Aston’s attention. They were about to launch a new product and surprisingly, they chose Ricardo’s and James’ company and did some collaboration. I was sure they already had their own consulting agency, but one of them knew Ricardo and James and wanted them to take care of the launch.
Me? I was just here to help. James said it could help me expand my business, especially when I was based in London and Aston Martin was from England. Maybe I could take care of it back in London which I hoped…I could.
“You were not listening at all,” James came and half annoyingly said.
“I was.”
“Yeah, you were listening but nothing that I have said or Ricardo’s were digested in your head.” Ouch, bullseye. He smirked and continued, “Maybe you should ask him to not bring his secretary again when the three of us have a meeting next time.”
I laughed. Well, maybe I should or should not. f*****g dilemma. Not having Jessica would mean I could concentrate more but if she was around, I could see her for two hours straight with the cost of losing my hearing ability. “Sorry about that.”
He sighed and turned to Jessica who was still talking with Christine. “She’s a nice girl,” he murmured.
“She is.”
James slowly turned to me again. “Maybe she could help you,” he predicted and I lost my smile.
Maybe. Maybe not.
I always wanted that.
Someone who could help me. Someone who could save me. Someone who could pull me out of the darkness. I’d been there for far too long and I was sick of it.
You like it, the Satan spoke.
I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. James was aware of my condition as I looked away. I didn’t want to show the embarrassing state of mine in front of him again. Not like last time.
He patted my shoulder. “Sometimes you have to reach out for someone, Jason. Don’t hide anything from anyone anymore. Everyone deserves to be saved.” His statement dumbfounded me, and he walked away, heading to Christine as she parted with Jessica, leaving me cemented on the carpet.
I didn’t expect James would say that. Maybe thanks to his personal experience. James had gone through too much. His father demanded him a lot, dirtied his hands by bribing all universities to reject his application to study the medical field, and finally, he lost him and his mother. Shutting down his heart to everyone, including me.
I thought James would be like that forever. Unloved. Uncaring. Cold like a robot without a soul. It was in his program to work and work and continued working.
Until he met an angel who accepted him fully, embracing his dark side and remaining good side like beautiful roses. All the positives and negatives, Eva swallowed them all. She embraced his darkness to show her light to him. She saved his broken and lonely soul and James came to love her. An angel for a devil. The girl was white while the man was black. Perfect match.
Everyone deserved to be saved, and he was saved by Eva.
Jessica turned around to me and our eyes met.
James’ words kept echoing in my mind.
I deserved to be saved.
I wanted to be saved.
And I was looking at my potential savior.
I felt something when our eyes met for the first time. A connection. It was a strong one even making me confused and lost about what I felt about her. I never experienced this before. Yes, I dated a few women in the past, hoping one of them was the one I was looking for. But none of them were brave enough to take on the journey with me. As much as I hated to admit it, they were with me half-heartedly. And I dated them half-heartedly. I was confident with my face and behavior. I was a great companion. A good lover. A great friend. The best brother. Even so, I always felt that I had nothing like I was a complete loser.
Because you are a f*****g loser, the Satan spoke again as I closed my eyes, head facing the carpet. “Shut up,” I whispered.
“Mr. Ross? Are you okay?” I snapped my eyes open, facing her grey orbs. Mr. Ross? What the f*****g f**k? This was so weird to listen to her calling me Mr. Ross. Oh, right. Because we were in the middle of working. Be professional. That was her line.
I pushed a smile. “I’m all right. I’m glad to meet you today, Miss Jensen.” And her cheeks slightly pinkened. How cute.
“That’s what you said to me every time we met,” she countered.
“Because I’m always glad to see you. It enlightens my mood. Meeting you is something I’ve always been waiting for. Especially when I’m still in London where I can’t see you directly.”
“Are you going back soon?”
“What, are you kicking me away?”
“No, I’m just—”
“Or you’re going to miss me while I’m way out of your touching distance?”
She sighed lazily. “It’s just a question.”
“I will take it like that.” She rolled her eyes and turned around, heading to the door. Whoa, not so fast, Bunny Doll. I accelerated my legs, stopping her by standing in front of her, halting her immediately.
“Please, move, Mr. Ross. I’ve got work to do.”
“Can I take you to dinner tonight?” I ignored her demands.
“Thank you for the offer but it’s a no.”
“Please?”
“That won’t be a good idea.”
“Why? I think it is a good idea. Why do you always refuse my invitation?”
“I don’t.” Her grey eyes flicked to me. “I came to the introduction party with you, remember?”
“As far as I remembered, I practically begged you so you would come and because you had to accompany Ricardo too as his secretary.”
She glared at me. She was losing this battle. Just f*****g give up already. “Why, Jason?” Ah, there she was. “Why do you want to take me to dinner?” Why? There were too many reasons in my head.
Because I wanted to get to know her.
Because she intrigued me.
Because she poked my heart.
Because she was my savior.
Because I liked her.
There were just too many of them. So, I said, “I just wanted to get to know you more.” Good God, I sounded like a p***y.
“There’s nothing to know about me,” she countered. Oh, man.
This was what she always did. Jessica was trying to build a wall between her and people, not just me. I remembered Ricardo told me Jessica was cheated on the night before her marriage with her ex-fiancé. Jessica had no idea that I already knew. I kept my mouth shut; afraid I might trigger the bad memory. I didn’t want to see hurt again. Anyway, he cheated on her for two years before their marriage and she found out literally less than twenty-four hours before the big day. Why bother proposing to her if he kept cheating on her behind her back? What an asshole.
Jessica was a lucky woman. Not everybody had the chance like her. Some wives found out after the marriage. But thank God for that because that led her to me.
I knew how heartbroken Jessica was. She gave that man her heart, her soul, and her body, and he had the balls to destroy it.
He didn’t deserve him.
And you are? s**t, just shut the f**k up already!
“There’s so much thing I would like to know about you. You are a beautiful woman, Jessica.”
“There are women who are more beautiful than me.”
“But only you captured my attention,” I countered, stopping her attempt to talk back to me.
“Jason, we—”
“As a friend,” I cut her first before she rejected me again. “I would like to be your friend, for now. And in order to do that, I have to get to know more about you. I won’t do anything you’re not comfortable with, I just want to know a bit about Jessica Jensen. We’ve been texting but I wanted us to talk face-to-face, not just through digital communication. Give me the chance, Jessica. Please?”
I could see her slowly giving up. I begged her through my eyes. I was nervous. Say yes, Jess. Please.
“Okay.” I smiled widely. “If Mr. Williams didn’t give me an extra job.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. I’m sure Ricardo won’t do that. Your boss never let you do overtime, remember?”
She smiled lightly. “I know.”
“And I’ll make sure Ricardo won’t do it. I’ll be waiting in his office because only God knows what I’ll be doing if I wait for you on your table,” I teased her and her cheeks went crimson again.
Because you’re going to f**k her on her desk, asshole.
For God’s sake, get the f**k out of my head!
- Writer
