I like that I am finally talking to Chad, I feel like I should have done this sooner. Talking to him feels nice and refreshing. We have been talking for about half an hour and he has not even mentioned Jen once or asked how she is doing.I believe that he may still be hurt by their exchange a couple of nights ago, so I am treading carefully, trying not to mention Jen.“I want to invest the rest of the loan money in a business,” I tell him over the phone and he chuckles.“Why are laughing?” I ask him and he quiets down before speaking.“You did not loan that money, Robert,” He says to me and I feel my heart sink. How in the world did he know that?“And who told you that?” I ask him as I laugh nervously.“It’s no use playing dumb, I saw the check. It was not the bank you took the money from, the lady who bought your company gifted you the money,” He explains and I am left speechless. “How long have you known?” I ask him after a couple of seconds of silence and he scoffs lightly.“Two d
I am not really a breakfast kind of person, my appetite is usually incredibly low in the morning, making it hard for me to eat. But this morning is different, I have an unusually big appetite and I have cleared all the food on my plate, which was a lot. “This is so strange,” James comments as a small smile clings to his lips. “What is?” I ask him without looking at him. “You eating real food in the morning,” He says and I finally look at him. I can’t help but chuckle. “So cereal isn’t real food?” I argue harmlessly with him, causing him to roll his eyes playfully. “According to my standards, not even the slightest,” He replies and I place my hand on my chest as if I have been hurt by what he just said, causing Carlos to laugh. We are all done eating and the table is being cleared by the helpers. It has been an hour, why is Jen not here? She said she was right across the street. I feel so tempted to just go and get her and jake but I also don’t want to let my emotions control me
“Don’t do this, Robert,” Jen says as she closes her eyes briefly while wagging her head slowly.“Do what?” I ask as I laugh humorlessly.“Tell me what you are thinking right now,” I demand her and she stands to her feet.“You should have not lied, but you got that money not to blow it on girls or in the club, you did it for us,” She reminds me.“And that I will always be grateful for that,” Her words calm me instantly. “I trust you, and will always,” She says as she closes the distance between us and hugs me. For a second, I stand not knowing how to react. She acted the exact opposite way that my brain told me that she would.But then it is like my instincts kick in and I hug her back. She smells like lavender and baby food.“You smell like baby food,” I say to her when we break the hug and she laughs. James and Carlos also find what I said to be funny, for they are chuckling.“I’m sorry that I got upset,” I apologized because I feel slightly guilty for my outburst.Jen and the other
“Hello,” The guy speaks to me, he sounds tentative as if I would be nice to him, considering that I treated him almost like he was nonexistent the last time.“Hi, you’re that guy from the night of the argument,” I say while I point my finger at him.“Yeah, I am,” He chuckles nervously, and looks at the guard who has a stony look on his face before looking back at me.“Are you here for something?” I ask him and he nods.“Yes, I was trying to get this guy to understand that Jen invited me over,” He says and I raise my eyebrows in surprise.“Oh, she did?” I ask him and he smiles politely while nodding.I don’t really have a problem with this guy being at the house but at this hour? It is almost nine at the night, could he not come over the next morning. What is Jen’s plan?Yes, she did. It is concerning some business plans,” He makes himself clear and I can’t help but chuckle.Jen is calling this guy over to help with business plans? What is she thinking? I hope he isn’t trying to scam h
“Jen made an offer?” I ask no one in particular, James and Carlos look as shocked as I am, and they both shrug when I look at them.“Yeah, after you explained about the loan to us, I decided to call Rob and have a talk with him,” She begins.“I made a very hefty offer to him and he said he would think about it,” She explains and I am still left confused, because where would she take a hefty amount from? The money I got from the lady who bought the company from me does not even reach a billion, and all the other offers on the table are billions.“I still don’t understand,” I say as my forehead wrinkles in confusion. Jen and Rob share a look and they both smile as if they just passed said something to each other, but silently.“As Jen said, it is really not about money, money doesn’t mean crap,” Rob says and by the look on his face, I can tell that he really means what he is saying.“Yeah, for you, but money has meaning for me,” Carlos joins the conversation and James nods in agreement.
As I dive into the pool, the water is just right. The temperature, everything, it is just perfect. I emerge from under the water and I use my hands to remove my wet hair from my face and lay them backwards.“A midnight swim?” I hear a familiar voice and when I look toward it, I realize that it is Robert. He has showered and is wearing pyjama pants and a long-sleeved woolly shirt.“Yeah, I felt like I needed it,” I reply to him as I swim to the edge of the pool.Robert walks toward where I am and he squats so he can be closer to me. His hair is unruly and looks like Jake’s, which makes me chuckle.“You’re laughing at me?” He asks as a wobbly smile clings to his lips. “No, your hair just reminds me of Jake’s right now,” I let him know why I am chuckling and he laughs.“It’s night and I am going to bed, do you expect me to gell my hair backwards?” He asks in a soft tone. I like how soft his voice can get, it is such a turn-on.“No, I get it, Mr Jones,” I say and a look crosses his face,
The next morning meets Robert and me in our bed, cuddled in each other arms. I don’t think we have slept like this for a while and I missed it. Robert groans as he awakes, and I try to untangle myself from his body. As much as I love being here with him and I would love to be like this forever, but we live in the real world and there are things that we have to get done today, including looking over the legal documents and perhaps signing them for the properties from Rob today.“No, stay in bed with me,” Robert begs me as I drag my naked body from the bed. He tries to pull me back to the bed but I am already out of his reach, his attempts are comical and they have me giggling.“Robert, you know that we have to meet Rob today and there is so much to do,” I remind him and he rolls his eyes playfully, which causes me to laugh.“You are being such a child,” I tell him as I try to find my way to the bathroom in the room, which is quite easy.“I am a manchild!” He says loudly so I can hear
“Hello, Chad?” I say hopefully into the phone, expecting him to speak.“Hi, Jen,” Another voice startles me mildly but I recognize it in a heartbeat, it’s Naomi.“Hello, Noami,” I reply to her after sighing. I still have not forgiven her for how much she has affected my life and everything around me, but let’s face it, my life was not a fairy tale before she kidnapped Jake, so it’d be best to give her the benefit of the doubt.“You don’t sound like you are going to chew my head off,” She says and I chuckle.“Yeah, you got a point,” I say in a breathy way.“I know you called to talk to Chad, but he is not here. He went to the store a couple of minutes ago and left his phone,” Naomi informs me, and I nod as if she can see me.“But we could talk until he comes back…” She suggests tentatively and I laugh. Is she being serious? She does not like me and I don’t like her also, we just tolerate each other because of Chad. But I guess we could try to talk and see where it leads.“Sure,” I agre