Chapter 37
1/2
After napping for a few hours on the airplane, the team touched down in Sylvaria at 4:00 pm. They changed into thicker clothes and headed to the hotel.
“Here’s your room card, Mr. Jones.”
In the luxurious hotel lobby, Susan handed out the room key cards to everyone. “Mr. Jakerman, you’ll be sharing a room with Mr. Smith.”
Eventually, she arrived before Jessica. “You’re with me, Ms. Lockman.”
Jessica snuck a glance at Zachary and let out a quiet sigh of relief. “Okay.”
They were all staying on different floors with different layouts. Zachary remained in the lobby, pacing and taking a phone call while giving out instructions. Meanwhile, the others headed upstairs.
In a hurry, Jessica followed Susan into the elevator.
When she stepped into the room, she was a little stunned. Their room wasn’t a twin suite, as she had expected, but a luxurious king suite with an oversized bed. How extravagant!
Exhausted, Jessica dropped her luggage and plopped down onto the couch, half–asleep as she
sank into the cushions.
“Mrs. Jones, I’ve unpacked your suitcase for you. If you need anything, feel free to call me,” Susan said from by the closet, still tidying up Jessica’s luggage.
Meanwhile, her own suitcase remained untouched.
“Huh? No, I can unpack my luggage myself. You can do your own thing,” Jessica hurriedly said, standing up.
She still wasn’t used to being called “Mrs. Jones“, which sounded foreign to her ears. Moreover, Susan had already finished unpacking for her, so there was nothing much for her to take over.
At that moment, the bell rang.
Susan rushed over to open the door. Jessica sighed and flopped onto the couch, lying on her stomach with her back to the door.
She wondered if Susan was some kind of secretary who was hired to assist her. Was this part of Zachary’s grand plan? Jessica felt like a powerless doll dragged along for the ride, completely
at his mercy.
There was no sound at the doorway anymore–only the quiet click of leather shoes on the
Chapter 37
floor and the soft hum of suitcase wheels rolling over it.
Then came Zachary’s voice. “Are you tired?”
2/2
Shocked, Jessica snapped her eyes open and tilted her head toward the doorway. Long gone was Susan, who was now replaced by Zachary.
She couldn’t believe it. With a pillow in her arms, she straightened herself and looked utterly confused. She inwardly thought, “I’m finished.‘
Zachary didn’t bother explaining anything. He quietly went about unpacking, casually hanging his clothes in the wardrobe like he owned the place.
It turned out that Susan was just a cover. That confirmed Jessica’s suspicions–that Susan was the assistant Zachary had arranged for her for the sake of convenience.
Just when she was starting to relax, her nerves shot right back up. She inwardly cursed.
“Go rest in the room if you’re tired. We’ll head out for dinner in two hours.”
He sat on the couch beside her, opened his laptop, slipped in his Bluetooth earpiece, and began working.
“Oh.”
Feeling uncomfortable, Jessica hesitated to head into the bedroom, fearing that he might follow her. That would make things even more awkward.
She couldn’t help but recall the blushing mess he had been the day before when he said, “I want you.”
“I’m not tired anymore,” Jessica said, picking up her phone and pretending to be busy.
Then, she texted Hazel. “Hey, Ms. Lockman. I’m bringing Zachary over to your place tomorrow.”
“Are you guys in Sylvaria already?”
“Yeah!”
A video call request came from Hazel, flustering Jessica so much that she quickly tapped the button to decline it. Zachary glanced at her.
Jessica bit her lip, thinking that she had disturbed him. She knew that he wasn’t the talkative type, so she tried to sound calm as she explained, “It was my mom calling.”
His expression flickered for a second. With a slight movement of his fingers, he touched his earpiece and said, “Push the meeting back ten minutes.”
Chapter 38
1/3
Chapter 38
