Branch Eighty
“We will be going on the trip tomorrow,” Xavier said as he came out of the closet to meet Jessica in the room.
Jessica suddenly remembered that she had promised Dawson that she would accompany Xavier on his business trip.
“Oh, how many days are we spending there?” she asked.
She had to ask so she could pack accordingly she did not want to over pack or under pack.
“What is the weather like too?” she asked. She did not want to be careless. She was supposed to be the wife of the richest man in the city she would at least act like one once.C0pyright © 2024 Nôv)(elDrama.Org.
“In Aurora Haven, it is cool this time of the year and we should spend three days at most,” he said.
She nodded and moved to the closet. She could have her bags ready so she doesn’t delay him. It’s not like she wanted to go but she would try her best not to get on his nerves.
As she passed by him she remembered her interaction with him on Friday. It was Sunday and she had not seen him since the party.
She turned to face him and his eyebrows went up. “I am sorry about what I did during the party,” she told him looking down at his feet.
She could not bear to look at him in the eyes. How could she? She was the one at fault here so she would apologize. Maybe if he did not tick her off she would have acted normal and steered clear of the alcohol.
This was not a time to justify herself on who was at fault. Instead, she should accept the fault so they could move on.
“I must have lost my mind for a second there” she added in a low voice as she raised her head.
Xavier pressed his lips together for a minute as he watched her. She did some cute things when he tried to leave her but it was obvious she did not remember.
“It’s fine. Everyone gets drunk at least once in a lifetime. I would just ask that you don’t drink like that next time” he said.
Why was he being so considerate? It was unlike him. He was supposed to be mad at her. She shifted uncomfortably. She had prepared herself mentally to go back and forth with him but he had stopped the argument before it could progress.
“Oh,” she cleared her throat. “Thank you then,” she said as she went to the closet.
She looked through her new clothes. If she was going to impress the man they were going to meet she needed to look as sophisticated as possible. She needed him to know that she was the wife of the Delgado family.
As she pulled out a dress her phone rang. She pulled it out from the back pocket of her jeans. I read James. He was the realtor who helped her secure the spot for her restaurant. Thinking about the restaurant gave her a warm feeling that she could not explain.
“Hello James so nice to hear from you”
“Hello Mrs. Delgado”
To be true to herself being called Delgado still sounded foreign to her. Maybe it was because her husband had yet to acknowledge her as his wife. She sighed and cleared her throat.
“I am calling because of the interior decor. My wife would love to come see you to go over the details. When would you be free?” he asked.
She had forgotten that she asked for an interior decor and constructor so she could get the business up and running.
“Oh James,” she said as she thought of how well to schedule the meeting. “I am going on a trip so when I am back I will give you a call” she added.
“I will follow up as soon as I see the news that you have landed back in Chiachester,” James said.
He knew that those high up there could be carried away by the happenings with them.
“I would appreciate the reminder,” she said turning around to see Xavier standing there watching her keenly.
“Bye then,” she said as she dropped the call.
“You were on the call for a long time”
“It was James,” she said when she saw his judging eyes. “James the Realtor” she added when he did not move.
“I know who James is. Haven’t you signed the papers?” he asked.
“I have,” she said turning back to pick out a dress from none of the racks.
“So why were you on the phone for that long then?” he asked.
“Di I need to report to you who and who I am talking to?” she asked feeling a sense of annoyance.
It’s not like he had apologized for what he did but now he was here asking her questions to which she did not understand.
“If you have nothing to hide then you would not be angry about the question,” he said pressing his lips tightly together.
“I have nothing to hide from you and I do not owe you an explanation,” she said facing him.
How dare he try to act like a person who cares when he had been doing the opposite of it all this while.
“You should answer the question so I don’t misunderstand,” he said calmly.
“You can misunderstand for all I care. There is no way I am spilling out to you” she said.
He walked calmly towards her. He hated that he had to watch numerous men hit on his wife while she stood there watching. He had to admit that he thought she was beautiful but when he saw all those men swarm toward her during the party he could not handle it.
As she watched him come closer she unconsciously began to move back until her back was firmly placed on the rack behind her.
“Why are you doing this?” her voice came out in a whimper.
Why did her voice come out that way? It made her sound helpless and she hated it.
“Why don’t you answer the question?” he asked as his eyes fell on her face.
He wanted to run his hands over it but restrained himself. Why would she want to do that? He did not like her. He was sure of that at least. What she did recently was just getting on his nerves a lot lately.
“I don’t want to” she answers breathlessly when she looks up at his gaze. It was strong and she had never encountered anything like it before.
She had been in a long-term relationship with Burke but she never saw him gaze at her like that before. She shifted on her leg as she looked down.
His hand went to her chin and lifted her face so he could see her.
“Stop it” she whispered and looked away.
He pulled away from her and walked away. He did not want to do anything they both would regret even though his lips were itching to touch hers.
“What was that?” she asked herself as she used her hand as a fan to cool herself off.
“Be ready we leave early tomorrow” she heard his voice.
She looked up at him and nodded feeling the tight knot unable to dissolve in her throat.