Ten months, she recited to herself closing her bedroom door behind her. She had been married for ten months and not one time did her ‘husband’ call to see if she was still there or not. Jassi could have left for all he knew, but she had given her word to her grandmother and Bowen Glenson so she would stay her year then she would leave.
Jassi shook her head at her thoughts placing her back pack on the floor next to her bed before she headed to her small bathroom. She chuckled softly while she undressed thinking that at least he was nice enough to give her a room with a bathroom. It was better than the room at her grandmother’s house although she believed that it hadn’t been her grandmother’s decision.
She took a quick shower and was getting dressed in a pair of black leggings with a long shirt in a nice shade of blue that brought out her eyes, or so she had been told when there was a knock on her door.
“Come in,” she called out brushing her hair knowing that the only ones who ever came to her room were the servants.
Anita walked in as Jassi put down her brush leaving her hair to dry naturally hanging past her shoulder blades and she turned with a questioning look.
Anita was pale. “A man collapsed downstairs and Mr. Waren is trying to help him, but no one seems to know what to do. An ambulance has been called, but…”
She didn’t finish her sentence as Jassi run out of the room and down the stairs with Anita only a few feet behind her.
As Jassi reached the ‘party room’ that she named when she first seen it, she noticed the crowd around her husband bent over a man lying prostrate on the floor.
“Give him some room,” she said in a stern tone the same one she used in the hospital making her way through the people.
She dropped next to the man reaching for his pulse and she pushed her hair behind her ear leaning down to listen to his breathing.
“Shallow breathing,” she mumbled before she grabbed her husband’s wrist tilting it so she could see the face of his watch. “Excuse me.”
She watched the hands counting the beats underneath her fingers and she sighed letting go of her husband’s wrist. “Slow heartbeat.”
She looked up scanning the crowd before her eyes landed on a woman who was crying heavily. “Does he have a heart problem, high blood pressure; do you know what kind of medicine he is on?”
“Now look,” Waren said grabbing her hand in a tight grip.
Jassi kept her eyes on the woman who looked stunned at her questions before she said haltingly. “He has high blood pressure. The doctor prescribed him medicine to lower it.”
She gave Jassi the name of the medicine and Jassi swore under her breath before asking quickly already turning to the man lying on the ground. “Did he drink any alcohol?”
The woman shook her head immediately until another female voice said, “I gave him a glass of wine.”
She stepped from the crowd giving Jassi a smug look. “I don’t see how that could’ve harmed him.”
“By itself, no,” Jassi stated just as she lost a pulse. She didn’t have time to explain starting CPR but in order for her to start, though, she had to yank her arm away from Waren’s grip leaving a red angry mark on her wrist.
Alternating chest compressions and breathing, she listened for the sound of the ambulance hearing it almost a minute later. By that time, she had a pulse going although it was weak and his breathing was still shallow.
“Excuse me,” a male voice called moving through the crowd only to hesitate briefly when he saw Jassi before going into action. “What do we have, Jassi?”
“Shallow breathing, slow and irregular heartbeat,” Jassi said in her professional voice. “The patient’s heart stopped a few minutes ago.”
“It is slow and irregular,” the other EMT worker confirmed checking the patients’ vitals giving Jassi a small smile.
Jassi continued informing them of his high blood pressure and medicine she was told he was on while also informing them of the wine he had ingested.
The EMT workers listened without question while they worked and when they started to lift him up on the stretcher, Jassi helped them without question or being told what to do.
She helped get him into the ambulance as the woman who she believed was his wife climbed in behind them. The doors closed on the male EMT worker while the female looked at Jassi and smiled.
“Didn’t you just get off shift, Jassi?” She asked giving Jassi a look before she hurried to the driver’s side not waiting for a response.
Jassi only shook her head pounding the back of the ambulance giving them the ‘all clear’ to leave.
She watched the ambulance take off lights flashing before she sighed and started back inside raking a hand through her loose hair aware that her feet were bare while her wrist throbbed.
“Will he be all right, Jassi?” Anita asked when she reentered the house.
Jassi frowned before speaking honestly, “I don’t know, Anita. His heart stopped for a few minutes before it started back up, add in his high blood pressure then I can’t say. He will probably be admitted at least for a few days to monitor both his heart and blood pressure for any irregularities.”
Jassi shook her head ignoring the people who stood around her listening in awe. “Other than that, I can only surmise what the doctor will do.”
Anita nodded her head seeing the tiredness around Jassi’s eyes before she said firmly, “You need to eat something.”
“I’m fine,” Jassi said.
“Did you have lunch?” Anita asked ignoring her remark and Jassi tilted her head slightly to the side a frown covering her face. “If you have to think about it, then you didn’t eat. Come on.”
She grabbed Jassi by the arm and pulled her to the kitchen both unaware of the eyes that followed them.
Bowen said a few minutes later, “I think we should call it an evening” and his guests began to leave.
The next morning Bowen along with his youngest son Brody and his wife Siria, and Waren who for the first time since he got married stayed in his parents’ house sat down for breakfast.
Waren told Anita while she served breakfast. “Call Jassi down. I would like to speak with her.”
Anita nodded her head, but when she went into the kitchen she told Miss Willa, the cook, “Mr. Waren wants to see Jassi, but Jassi left almost two hours ago for her shift.”
Miss Willa shook her head uttering, “She has been living here for over ten months and they are just now starting to take an interest in her. They should just leave her be and let her finish the year out.”
Anita nodded her head before she asked, “What should I tell them?”
“The truth,” Miss Willa stated turning back to the sink where she began to wash the breakfast dishes.
Anita frowning slightly headed back to the dining room and explained to the family that Jassi had left for work.
“Where is Jassi?” Brody asked as his wife, Siria, looked up from her plate.
Anita glanced over at him. “Jassi left for work over an hour ago.”
Bowen gave her a narrowed look before pulling his cell phone from his pocket and dialing a number lying it on the table after putting it on speakerphone.
“Good morning, Bowen. This is a surprise. What can I do for you this morning?” Dylan’s voice echoed over the speaker.
“Where does your granddaughter work?” Bowen asked bluntly foregoing politeness.
There was silence on the other end before his question was answered. “You mean to tell me that Jassi has been living with you for months now and you don’t know where she works.”
Bowen gritted his teeth while Waren’s jaw clenched and Brody looked at his wife with a frown although Siria merely stared at him before she shook her head going back to the food on her plate.
“No, we haven’t asked her,” Bowen said tensely.
The woman laughed on the other end. “Jassi is a nurse at St. Kitt’s Memorial. She has been working there ever since she graduated nursing school three years ago
.”
Before he could ask another question, she hung up and Bowen swore under his breath while he ended the call.
There was silence at her words and Waren got up walking out of the room while Siria said pushing her chair back. “Jassi didn’t bother telling anyone what she did for a living because no one bothered to ask her.”
“You knew,” her husband told her.
Siria looked at the man she loved, but at that moment she was upset with him as well as her father-in-law and brother-in-law. “I asked her almost two weeks after she moved in.”
With those words, she walked out heading to the garden that she was taking care of and cultivating by herself.
Brody stared after his wife before he turned back to his father. “Dad…”
Bowen sighed heavily shaking his head. “Let’s just leave it alone, son. She is Waren’s wife so if he wants to do something about it let him.”
Brody scowled as his father got up from the table and walked out of the room before he followed him.
He headed out to the garden where he knew his wife was and as he headed over to her she spoke without glancing over at him. “Jassi keeps to herself because it is easier for her to live here. She has two months left according to the contract that your father and her grandmother arranged so maybe Waren should leave her be. He hasn’t bothered with her since the day he married her so he shouldn’t start now.”
“Siria,” Brody said wrapping his arms around her. “You like her, don’t you?”
Siria leaned back against Brody her hands resting on his lower arms admitting, “Maybe you should be more observant and you will realize that I’m not the only one.”
She squeezed his arms before she pulled away and he watched her work before he went back inside.
He headed for the kitchen stopping outside the door when he heard Jassi’s name mentioned.
“Did she eat this morning, Mrs. Willa?” Anita asked from the table where she was shelling beans.
“Only a cup of coffee and one of my strawberry muffins,” was the response.
Anita shook her head while Mrs. Willa murmured, “She is going to make herself sick if she keeps up at this pace.”
Brody closed his eyes hearing the worry in their tones and he realized that his wife was right; he had been very unobservant of how the household was treating his brother’s wife.
He stepped away from the kitchen heading out grabbing his things as he went because there was nothing he could do about it. When Waren got something in his head, nothing could change it and Brody’s face hardened thinking about the woman who had did that to his brother.
Waren walked into his office with angry strides stripping off his suit jacket his face a stony mask when his office phone beeped.
“Yes,” he said in a clipped voice.
“Miss Pricilla called and would like you to call her back, sir,” his secretary, Savannah Chester, told him.
“Thank you,” he said politely although his voice was cold and she shivered with unease after he disconnected.
He leaned on his chair looking down at his watch and the scowl reappeared on his face. He could still feel her hand on his wrist even though it had only been for a minute before she let go and he remembered the feel of her own slender wrist under his hand when he grabbed it.
“A nurse, huh?” He muttered a touch of disbelief in his voice before a mischievous wicked smile crossed his face and he sat down with look in his brown eyes that would’ve made anyone shiver as he got to work. He pushed Pricilla from his mind because he knew what she was after and he was enjoying the game with her, but he had other things to do at the moment instead of playing.
A few hours later, a knock sounded on his door and before he could answer it, the door swung open.
He glanced up with a narrowed look when Pricilla came sashaying through the door as if she were on a runway.
“Waren, you didn’t call,” she pouted her full lips a bright red and pursed at him.
“I’m busy,” Waren retorted shortly indicating the files on his desk.
He watched Pricilla’s eyes narrow for a second before she laughed and said demurely, “Even the boss has to eat so how about we go out for lunch?”
Waren looked at his watch noting that it was a little after ten-thirty before he commented. “I have a lunch meeting at 1130 so we have to do it some other time.”
Her lips tightened at the comment before she asked sharply, “After last night, you have ignored my calls and now you’re making excuses to not take me out to lunch? After seeing your wife put on a show yesterday, now you want her is that it?”
Waren leaned back in his seat calling out loudly, “Ms. Chester, can you come here for a moment?”
Ms. Chester walked into the room with a blank expression as her boss asked her, “What appointments do I have today?”
Ms. Chester frowned at him since she had already given him reminders of his appointments almost an hour ago. “As I mentioned before, sir, you have that luncheon meeting with the President of Evers Contractors at 1130 and back here at 1230 for a conference meeting.”
She continued on giving him a rundown of the rest of his day and although he heard it before, he listened intently to her words.
“Thank you, Ms. Chester,” he told her with a nod. As she headed out of his office, he asked, “Can you call St. Kitt’s Memorial and see if they have a Jassi, with two ‘ss’, Glenson working there?”
“They may not give me that kind of information,” she cautioned him.
Waren nodded his head in agreement. “We only want to know if she works there no other information. They can tell us that she works there if nothing else.” Then turning to Pricilla, he added in a taunting voice. “If there’s not anything else, Pricilla, or would you like to do some work today?”
Hearing his last comment, Ms. Chester smiled going back to her desk wondering why Mr. Glenson wanted to know where this woman worked before she gasped.
“Jassi Glenson?” She muttered aloud to herself looking back at the office. “So that is your wife’s name?”
Now she was more than interested in her task picking up the phone to do what her boss requested.
In his office, Pricilla flipped her hair over her shoulder laughing not responding to his barbed words although she did shoot him a quick look from heavily made up eyes. “So your wife told you she worked for a hospital? You don’t mind if I wait to hear the news also.”
Waren waved her to a chair in front of his desk focusing back on his work.
Ten minutes later, Ms. Chester came back into the room with a slight frown on her face. “I called the hospital as you requested, sir.
Waren looked up from his work while Pricilla leaned forward with a smug smile.
Waren only nodded his head for her to continue and Ms. Chester said an apologetic tone which Waren found odd. “They don’t have a Jassi Glenson working there.”
Pricilla began chuckling while a frown started on Waren’s face until he saw the uncomfortable look on his secretary’s face.
“What is it, Ms. Chester?” He asked noting her hesitation before she continued.
“The hospital does have a Jassi working there though,” she informed them. At Waren’s questioning look, she continued softly. “The administrator I talked to said they’ve had a Jassi Parks working there for some time.”
Waren’s body froze at the name while Pricilla laughed getting up from her seat. “Waren, I could’ve told you that it wasn’t true although I wonder what the woman hoped to get away with such an obvious lie.”
She shook her head in disbelief before throwing Waren a kiss striding toward the door. “I will see you later, honey.”
She was gone before either of them could say another word, and Ms. Chester continued. “Maybe I should’ve said…”
Waren shook his head catching the time and got up organizing his folders before he grabbed his briefcase already ready with the files he needed for his luncheon meeting.
“I
will see you before the conference, and thank you Ms. Chester,” he told her strolling out of his office a concentrated look on his face.
As he settled into his car, he started the engine even as he pulled his cell from his pocket and called his father. When Bowen picked up, he asked, “What was my wife’s last name?” driving out of the parking lot.
He heard the hesitation in his father’s voice before he admitted gruffly, “I’m not sure, Waren, and didn’t really care since I had assumed that one of her other granddaughters was going to be your wife.”
Waren scowled as his father’s words reminded him of the debt the whole reason for this fiasco marriage in the first place.
He was about to ask his father something else when his father said. “Siria, do you know what Jassi’s maiden name was?”
There was silence before Waren heard his sister-in-law say quietly. “Parks.”
He heard even over the phone the touch of coldness in her voice when his father asked, “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Siria said shortly. “All of her mail comes here with the name Jassi Parks.”
Waren didn’t wait to hear more flipping the phone close and his face became a mask of fury as he pulled up to the restaurant. He had to get his temper under control before he stepped out of the car grabbing his briefcase. As he entered the restaurant his face was a mask of indifference but his eyes flared briefly when he headed over to the reserved table to see Pricilla seated at her leisure.
“Pricilla told me that she was hoping to have lunch with you but learned that you were meeting me,” his best friend, and colleague, Craig Evers remarked a hard light in his eyes.
Waren saw the look in his friend’s eyes knowing that he didn’t appreciate the intrusion while Pricilla smiled at them.
“I invited myself and your business colleague agreed,” she said unaware of the animosity of the man she was seated next to, or the anger of the one who was still standing.
“Waren,” Craig said giving him a narrowed look but waved him to a chair. “Let’s eat first and then we can discuss business.”
The server arrived at the table just as Waren sat down and without looking at the menu, Waren gave an order along with Craig and Pricilla his thoughts divided at the moment which cause a light in his brown eyes.
Arranged Marriage, Wanted Wife Page 2
