Chapter 10
It had taken all of Jessica’s effort to get through that dinner. By the time she and Derrick finished eating, she was full to the brim and had several extra glasses of the 1982 Lafite.
When they reached the underground parking lot, Derrick insisted on driving her home. However, she refused.
“No need. I’m going on a business trip tomorrow, and I have another appointment later. Remember-keep my car clean!”
The way she said it was loaded, yet the words landed like a jab to her own chest. She bit back the sharper retorts on the tip of her tongue. She had drunk more than usual, but not enough to lose control. She still knew exactly why she was there that night.
Derrick obediently took her car keys and got into the car.
“Jess, I love you!” he yelled, peeking out of the window.
The sincerity in his voice was so palpable that Jessica almost believed him. She pressed her lips together in a faint smile but didn’t answer.
Love was cheap-anyone could say it. She had to admit that they had been in love years ago, but that was all in the past.
Tears blurred her vision, streaming down her cheeks as she watched him drive away in her car. She tried to swallow her sobs, but the tears kept coming.
“That slut and that piece of shit,” she gritted out.
The pain in her chest felt like a knife slowly slicing her open, each cut draining her piece by piece. She slumped against the wall, tears streaming down her face. She had no idea how long she cried, but eventually, though, the tears stopped.
Recollecting herself, she smoothed her hair back-only to see Zachary watching her from the elevator. She quickly looked away and rubbed at her eyes, trying to hide the evidence.
“You…” He staggered over, his eyes unfocused. He looked like he might topple over at any
moment.
“Jessica?” His voice was low and slurred, and the pair of rimless glasses he donned only made
him look even more ethereal.
Jessica turned away, but he leaned down, brazenly trying to catch her eyes.
“It’s really you,” he muttered, almost tripping.
She caught his arm in time.
Chapter 10
“Mr. Jones,” she croaked, her voice hoarse from crying.
A sigh escaped Jessica. She didn’t know how she had gotten into this mess. Her boyfriend cheated on her with her best friend, and now she ended up getting involved with her boss.
She thought that this was all beyond absurd.
“Have you been crying?” He was unsteady, half leaning on her.
“No. The dust got in my eye,” she said curtly. “Where is your car? Give me the keys.”
Jessica propped him against the wall and reached for his pockets, only to find them empty. She didn’t dare check the ones in his pants.
“I didn’t drive,” Zachary slurred, tilting his head to get a better look at her tearful expression.
Exasperated, she frowned and grumbled, “Two glasses of wine at a restaurant, and now you’re already drunk? What’s your deal? Did you sleep your way through contracts, too?”
She dialed Joshua’s number.
“Joshua, where are you? Your boss is drunk.”
“Come on, it’s late. I’m off work.”
“Of course I know you’re off work. I am too. But you’re his assistant,” Jessica warned. “Want me to dump him here?”
She had no one to vent to and still had to clean up his mess. Every time she tried to keep her
distance, she ran into him again.
“Where are you?”
“At the underground parking lot of The Mansion.”
After a brief pause, Joshua said, “Put Mr. Jones on the phone.”
She sighed and handed the phone over. “It’s your assistant. Hurry and let him come get you.”
She tugged on Zachary’s wrist, trying to get him to hold the phone. Still in a daze, he glanced at the phone and brought it to his ear.
As he stepped aside to answer it, Jessica took the moment to wipe her face and smooth her messy locks.
“Yes?” Zachary asked.
“Mr. Jones, you’re at The Mansion, right?” Joshua confirmed with him again.
“Yeah.”
Chapter 10
“You don’t need me, right?”
Joshua knew Zachary too well. Two glasses of wine could never knock him down. So, Zachary had to be pretending.
“Yes,” Zachary admitted, marvelling at Joshua’s quick reaction.
“I can be sick on the spot, but tomorrow I want a paid day off,” Joshua said, seizing the opportunity.
“Sure.”
“Mr. Jones, you’re the best. Keep pretending you’re drunk. I’m turning off my phone now.”
“Yeah.”
Men understood each other best, after all. Zachary had sailed through the conversation with only grunts of single-syllable words.
Joshua, on the other end of the line, must be grinning from ear to ear now.
Zachary wandered back to Jessica, draping an arm over her shoulder. She flinched but still supported him, afraid that he would fall.
“Hey, did you get someone to come get you?” she asked.
She snatched his phone and called Joshua again-only to find it switched off. She cursed
inwardly.
Ultimately, she had no choice but to flag a cab on the ground floor. When they got into the backseat, he leaned his head on her shoulder. She turned to the side, taking in the faint scent of his shampoo, thinking that it actually smelled nice.
“You should’ve brought your bodyguards along,” she said, pinching his cheek. “Don’t you know you’re worth a fortune if someone sold you?”
Zachary’s skin was smooth, so she couldn’t resist squeezing his face. She snickered under her breath, and the driver joined in, too.
By the time Jessica wrestled Zachary back to his apartment, it was already past eleven. The bodyguards rushed forward to help, but he waved them away.
“Go away!”
“Dumbass! Do you think I can carry you?” she snapped, sweating as she dragged him to the
couch.
The bodyguards’ eyes widened.
Chapter 10
Just as she was about to leave, Zachary grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms.
“Hey!”
His chest felt as firm as it had that night. It was broad and warm-a sensation Jessica thought was heavenly.
“Don’t go…”
A slap across his face cut him short. Jessica scrambled up, alarmed by her reaction and worried that she had hurt him.
“Sorry,” she said, reaching out to touch his cheek.
Still, Zachary managed to get a grip on himself. He slouched on the couch, gazing at her with lovestruck eyes.
The maid, who was about to come help, was stunned.
Jessica got up, adjusted her clothes, and then turned toward the maid. “If he doesn’t remember anything tomorrow, don’t tell him that I hit him. Just tell him that he fell.”
“Okay.” The maid nodded.
She had recognized Jessica as the same woman who had slept with Zachary before. As such, she didn’t dare disobey her.
Jessica gave Zachary one last look before walking out of his apartment.
In less than two minutes, he adjusted his shirt and took the hangover soup from the table. He hissed in pain as he stroked his cheek, eyeing the door to check if she had already left.
The maid pressed her lips together to stifle a smile. Who would’ve thought that the mighty CEO would stoop to such trickery?
She also hadn’t expected Jessica to be able to resist Zachary. Indeed, that woman was one of a
kind.
Back at her rental apartment, Jessica stripped off the clothes Derrick had touched. She tossed them straight in the trash and headed toward the shower.
