After a few minutes, the CEO entered with the Qaresman contingent in tow. They were chatting amiably, and Edmund directed them to the table to sit. Jada and the other managers greeted the clients and smiled politely. For the majority of the meeting’s opening, Edmund explained what the deal would entail in terms of tech development, use of international facilities, and the like.
Jada followed along, less interested than her colleagues, her impending departure coloring her feelings on the matter. She knew how important the deal was to Edmund, however, and hoped dearly that the men sitting at the table found his proposal interesting and worth investing in. They continued to chat back and forth for a bit, and Edmund introduced the managers of the different departments, explaining how each department could help the Qaresman businessmen’s future dealings, both in their own country and in the U.S.
It all seemed to be going off without a hitch, and that was when the door flew open.
Looking less like the pristine doll than she had before, Evelyn stormed into the glass office.
“It’s a sham! A sham! Don’t sign anything.”
Everyone at the table stood at the intrusion, and Edmund dialed security on the phone near him. The faces of the entire crowd paled, especially those of Jada and Edmund. The room was buzzing with murmurs of confusion, and through it all Evelyn wouldn’t stop screaming. She paced around the table until her eyes landed on Jada.
“You! You think you can just take anything you want? He was mine! I worked on him for years!”
Her voice was shrill with madness, and Jada backed away as Evelyn jabbed at her with her finger. She was shrieking and waving around a small piece of paper like a crazy person. Security entered and tried to grab the woman and drag her from the room.
“It’s fake! Just look at this! It’s not real! His license is forfeit!” Evelyn’s voice continued to ring throughout the room as the men from the security office forcibly escorted her from the premises.
But it was too late.
The small scrap of paper that she’d thrown at the Qaresman businessmen had floated down to the table and landed on the papers in front of them. One of them picked up the paper and read it over.
“A 500,000-dollar check made out to Jada Phillips—the manager of the marketing department, correct?”
The accusation in his voice was plain, and Jada froze. The managers around them began to shuffle out of the room, avoiding the confrontation that was clearly about to occur. Edmund tried to calm the situation.
“Gentlemen, that is completely absurd. I assure you this is just a case of a disgruntled ex-employee.”
The men assembled didn’t seem convinced.
“This is your signature, Mr. Hays. We are quite familiar with it, having looked over both your marriage and business licenses ourselves.”
“Gentlemen—”
“No. There’s nothing you can say that will convince us this is just a mistake. You clearly married this woman for no other purpose than to obtain the business license, and we will not do business with someone who treats marriage so recklessly. Good day, sir!”
With that, the men stormed out of the office. Jada couldn’t believe it. The whole scene had taken place in a flash, and she had just stood there, frozen. She felt terrible for not saying anything, but in truth, she didn’t know what she would have said if she had the ability to go back in time and say it.
The entire reason she and Edmund were together had just gone up in a flaming shitstorm of smoke. After everything they’d been through, the billion-dollar deal was off the table. Everything had blown up in a matter of minutes. Jada felt terrible.
She turned and watched as Edmund fell into the chair at the head of the table. He hung his head in his hand and sighed loudly. Jada walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. After a few deep breaths, Jada broke the silence.
“I’m really sorry, Edmund. I know how much this meant to you. And I had no idea Evelyn would lose it like that. I never should have let you just fire her like that yesterday.”
“Do you honestly think you had much of a say it that?” Edmund looked up with a weak smile.
“No. You were pretty determined. Look—” Jada pulled out the chair next to Edmund and sat down. “—I know I’m probably the last person you want to see now that this has happened, and I totally get that, but I’m here for you. I know I don’t really serve a purpose for you now, with the deal gone, but I said I would be there for you, and I will be. If you’re okay with that.”
Jada had started playing with her nails and was staring at her hands. Edmund lifted up her head and held it until her eyes met his blue stare.
“Jada.” He smiled. “I couldn’t care less about that stupid deal. There’s so much more to life than the pursuit of money; you showed me that, and I’ll never forget it. Honestly, I figured they were bound to find out at some point. It just happened sooner than expected. And yeah, Evelyn seriously needs to sit down with someone and talk about things. I have what I really want. I have the love of a beautiful woman who makes me a better person every second I am with her. I don’t know where it is that I go when I’m with you, but wherever it is, it feels like home.”
Jada couldn’t hold back her cry of happiness, and she rejoiced openly by leaping into Edmund’s lap and kissing him for all the world to see beyond the glass.
Edmund pulled her tightly against his chest and returned the kiss with more of his own, not caring who saw them. It was exactly what Jada had wanted, and she didn’t even have to speak the words. She didn’t want this ridiculous deal to work out; she didn’t want to be his wife by business. She wanted to be his wife because that was what they wanted—which brought Jada’s mind back to her conversation with her parents.
“Look, there’s something else I want to tell you.” Jada lowered her eyes to his chest as she sat close to him.
“Before you say anything more,” Edmund reached to the bottom of a stack of papers and held a paper-clipped set in front of her. “I’d like you to sign these.”
Jada looked down at the forms, confused.
“What are these?”
“They’re divorce papers, Jada.” Edmund’s voice held the hint of nervous tension his body was doing a better job of concealing. “I don’t want us to start off like this. I want to do our relationship right. Then I’ll be able to ask you to marry me for real and you’ll know it’s for the right reasons. Is that…all right?”
Jada leaned in close to him, her face inches from his, and reached for the pen that was in his pocket. She clicked the pen’s top. “Honey, you read my mind.”
Turning to sign quickly, Jada dashed the pen across the paper and then returned to Edmund with a passionate kiss.
Chapter Nineteen
Six Months Later
Jada had spent the past six months in a delirious haze of joy and sex and dates and more sex. Edmund had officially changed the name of the company to Edmund Hays Tech, and Jada was thrilled that the awful Jackson was never to be seen again. She remarked each day on the kindness and humility this wonderful man was capable of; though not much time had passed, she felt like she knew everything there was to know about her former employer, and he about her.
As the lunch bell rang for the second time, signaling the end of break, Jada smiled to herself. She’d been hired at the school—in no small part due to her former boss’ recommendation—and enjoyed every minute of teaching the kids about art and how to express themselves through paint and paper. A good handful of them were really talented, and she encouraged them to go on to art school and beyond.
Edmund had, of course, offered to pay for Jada’s father’s surgery, and the transplant had been a success. In fact, her parents were coming up from Arizona to visit this weekend, and Jada was eager to introduce them to Edmund. They had heard all about him over numerous phone calls, but meeting him in person was an entirely different matter.
Edmund had overhauled his business and begun investing in a number of charitable causes, espe
cially those recommended by Jada, and they had worked hard to create a women- and diversity-friendly environment at the office.
Soon after quitting her job, Jada had set up her website where she sold paintings she made on the weekends, and quite a few of them had already been purchased, and not by Edmund either.
Jada walked back to her classroom, grateful for the extreme 180 her life had taken. As the students piled in, she directed them to their tables and told them they had free time to work on their projects from the previous week. They got to work, and Jada sat at the desk in the back corner to grade past assignments.
After a few moments, another teacher, Ms. Davis, entered and sat down next to Jada at her desk.
“So, this weekend is the big dinner with your parents, right?” Julie was a total gossip, but a sweet one.
“That’s right. Why?”
“Well, come on, the parents get to meet Mr. Perfect CEO guy. I’m curious how you think it will go.”
“I think it will go fine. They’re really excited to meet the guy who helped save my dad’s life, and Edmund is glad to be meeting my family. He doesn’t really have any of his own.”
Jada smiled, happy that the one-time orphan was finally finding a family of his own.
“So, where are you going?”
“Julie, you’re insufferable. I’m trying to grade papers!”
“It’s Friday, and you have the rest of the weekend for that. Humor me.”
“Fine, fine.” Jada abandoned the papers on her desk and turned to face Julie directly. “We’re going to Café La Lune. It’s where Edmund took me on our first real date, and he suggested it be the first place he meets my family as well.”
“Oh my God, that is so sweet! How do you handle so much sweetness?!”
“He provides the sweet; I provide the sarcasm. It’s a good balance.”
“Oh, Jada. So that’s a fancy place. What are you going to wear?”
Jada laughed.
“Actually, Edmund had me go to this great store and pick something out. I’d been eyeing it for a while, but it was so expensive I just couldn’t bring myself to buy it.”
“But your boyfriend’s a billionaire, right? Or am I not following?”
“It’s important to me that I don’t just go crazy because I can. I’d rather that money go to someone who—”
“Really needs it. Yeah, yeah I know. I’ve heard the speech. Well, anyway, I’m very excited for you, honey.” Julie stood up to leave. “Tell me all about it on Monday, yeah?”
“Definitely, and thanks.”
Ms. Davis left Jada’s classroom, and for the remaining twenty minutes, Jada graded what assignments she could.
As soon as Jada entered her apartment, just over an hour later, her phone beeped with a message. It was Edmund.
“Hey, so I’m stuck at the office for a bit. I’ll meet you at the restaurant. Get a cab and I’ll take you home afterward. I’m really excited. See you there!”
Jada smiled at the screen like he could see her. The man was always running late at work as he tried to save the world through his business. He’d taken on so many projects designed to help those less fortunate, and his reputation had changed from Mr. Hard-Ass to one of the most genuine businessmen to ever be called a CEO. He always blamed it on her, a responsibility Jada happily accepted.
Jada rushed into her bathroom when she saw the time. She had just over an hour to get ready, and that would be cutting it close. She hopped in the shower, a little before it was actually warm, and lathered up with the amazing soap she loved so much. With her hair and body cleaned, she turned off the water and stepped out into the steamy room.
As she toweled off, Jada requested a cab to pick her up at her address just in time to make it to the restaurant on time. Dry as she could be with a pile of long hair, she changed into her dress and admired the fabulous garment in the mirror.
It was a long black number that scooped daringly low at the small of her back, with a similar neckline to the wedding dress she’d chosen all those months ago. It hugged her beautifully. Jada finger-combed her hair and chose to wrap the curls into a loose coil at the back of her head. They spilled over on the right side, making her look a bit like a mermaid.
With a peek at the clock, Jada saw she had just a few minutes to do her makeup, so she hustled through her classic black winged liner and red lipstick. She then reached into the back of her closet for the black peep toes and grabbed a small black clutch as well.
On her bed, Jada dumped the contents of her large purse and grabbed only the necessities, tucking them into the clutch along with a bit of powder and red lipstick for touch-ups. The cab pulled up outside her door, and Jada was out in a flash, locking the door behind her. She’d totally forgotten to turn the light off in the kitchen, but she had no time to run back in.
Jada scooted into the cab and gave the man the address to the restaurant. The drive was a quick one, and Jada paid the driver once they arrived, leaving a nice tip. As she walked up to the entrance, Jada was excited to see that her parents had already been seated. The host greeted her at the door and led her to the table. Hugs were exchanged, and her parents told her how beautiful she looked. She couldn’t help but beam at the fact that all the people she loved were going to be eating dinner together.
As she sat, Jada’s attention was finally able to fall on the rest of the restaurant. It was completely empty, and the lighting inside was darker that she would have expected. The light present seemed to be coming from a few candles, one on their table and a few scattered about nearby. The space was very quiet as well, the only voices hers and her parents.
“What’s up with the restaurant? Did Edmund have it closed for us?” She looked at her parents, who just smiled. “Where is Edmund, anyway?”
They continued to sit, speechless but smiling, at the table. Jada was thoroughly confused, and her heart quickened inside her ribcage.
“Seriously, guys, what’s going on?”
With that, the sound of stringed instruments echoed behind her near a set of stairs that led to a second floor of the restaurant. Jada watched as candlelight from the second floor lit up an old chandelier hanging low. Someone was lighting the candles with a taper, taking their time to ensure that each of them stayed lit.
When the light in the area gave off enough illumination, Jada recognized Edmund.
“Edmund? What’s happening?” She looked from him to her parents, who gestured for her to go over to the stairs.
The music of the string quartet played on, and Jada realized it was a slowed down version of “Walking on Sunshine.” Jada looked around the room, her heart thundering. Could this all mean what she thought it did?
Edmund turned to her and looked down from the balcony of the second floor. He smiled at her and began to slowly walk down the stairs.
“Jada Marie Phillips.”
Tears were already threatening at the corner of her eyes, and Jada covered her mouth with her hands.
“I know we haven’t known each other for all that long, but for me, these past six months have been the best of my life. From the first moment I met you, you challenged me, changed my thinking, and warmed my cold soul with your own. You are the best person I know in this universe. I love you because you’re loud and you’re brash, and I want to hear the vows you wrote when you were thirteen. I want to marry you because you hate horror movies and clowns and fancy haircuts. I want to marry you because you love stubble and sleeping on Sundays. I want to marry you, Jada Marie Phillips, because you took this orphaned boy and gave him a family. I want to marry you because you took this hardened businessman and made him soft enough to feel loved. I want to marry you, Jada, and I can’t wait any longer to ask. So please, will you please do me the honor of being my wife, for real this time?”
Streams of warm tears ran down Jada’s cheeks as Edmund reached the last step, went down to the floor on one knee, and held out a ring before her. The world was gone, and this charming, funny, strong man was al
l that existed for her.
“Uh-huh.”
Jada barely squeaked out her answer. She couldn’t speak. She simply let Edmund slide a ring onto her finger and then jumped into his arms as he stood.
Behind her, Jada heard clapping. When she turned, smiling through her tears, she saw the host, the quartet, and her parents all cheering at the top of their lungs.
“That’s a yes, right?” Edmund smiled at her.
Jada laughed, throwing her head back. “Yes, you silly man. Yes!”
Dinner went by in a blur. The lights had come up and they enjoyed the most delicious food, but Jada couldn’t have told you what she’d eaten for the life of her. They laughed and joked and smiled until her parents were too tired to carry on and Jackson had a limo take them back to their hotel. They would meet up again for lunch tomorrow and go over the details for the wedding.
Her wedding, a real one, with guests and everything. It was really happening.
“So, can I take you home?” Edmund smiled as he ran a hand down Jada’s back. His eyes were hazy with desire and joy.
“Yes, you can, sir.” Jada leaned in to kiss her fiancé and took in the heavenly scent of his cologne.
Edmund called for another limo, and together they left the restaurant to be dropped off at her small apartment. The ride was as passionate as their ride to the airport in Qaresma had been, and the kisses they shared were never dulled by the number of times they enjoyed them.
Edmund helped Jada out of the car when they arrived at her home, and he even carried her across the threshold after she’d unlocked and opened the door. With the kitchen light still on, Jada went around lighting candles instead of turning more lights on, then Edmund shut off the kitchen light and walked with Jada to her bedroom. The space was warm and quiet.
Edmund guided Jada to her bed, and as they kissed and kissed and kissed, he reached for the coil of her hair and let it fall loose. The waves rolled down across her shoulders, and Edmund slid his hand beneath them, grabbing Jada lightly at the base of her neck and pulling her close to him. Between kisses, they struggled to undress each other. The suit jacket and shirt Edmund had on were tricky, unlike the dress Jada wore. The slinky item fell from her shoulders and revealed her braless breasts in moments.
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