by Jo Iles
Jack looked up at her as she drew lines with her fingers across his chest, and he felt in a serious quandary. He didn’t know what had inspired Sonia’s sudden amorous mood, seeing as how she’d been an absolute ice queen of late. Jack wondered whether he should give her some of her own icy medicine and tell her to get lost. However, his primal urges overtook his head. He was only human, after all, and it had been a long time since he’d received any genuine affection from her, let alone sex. Plus, maybe it would bring them closer together and do something to repair their damaged friendship—maybe even go some way towards making their charade of a relationship into less of a charade.
In a swift move, Jack rolled Sonia over onto her back so he was lying on top of her. Although they both said nothing, it was a clear act on Jack’s part of him trying to assume some control over what was happening. A flicker of vulnerability crossed Sonia’s face and Jack kissed her slowly as he sought to reassure his old friend.
As their kiss grew deeper, Jack felt familiar stirrings down below and Sonia’s body seemed to respond as though she was definitely enjoying herself. All of a sudden it was like a switch flipped inside her and she just had to have him that second. Her hands were all over him, pulling him into a deeper kiss and fumbling with his boxer shorts.
Jack was too engrossed and frantically trying to keep up with her to think clearly about what was happening. All he knew was that Sonia was writhing around underneath him, her boobs hanging out of her chemise and her legs getting increasingly wider and wider apart. Sonia had managed to undo the buttons on his boxers and she was rubbing his hard dick between her legs.
The moment he entered, a voice started to speak loudly in Jack’s head and he pulled out gently.
‘I’ll just get a condom,’ he said, starting to move away from her.
‘No need,’ she said, pulling him back towards her and trying to guide his cock back inside her.
‘What do you mean?’ Jack said, using his physical strength to hold her away from him.
‘I’m on the pill,’ she replied with a tinge of irritation as she tried to force herself closer to him.
Now the little voice in Jack’s head turned into full-scale alarm bells. He leapt out of the bed. This was the first he’d heard about Sonia being on the pill and he didn’t believe her for a second.
‘You’re so bloody transparent, Sonia, do you know that?’ Jack asked her rhetorically, virtually spitting his disgust at her. ‘There’s no way I’m fathering any kid of yours given the current state of what’s going on between us.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Sonia said, dramatically clutching the duvet to cover her exposed breasts.
‘Don’t pretend you’re so fucking naïve. You haven’t been anywhere near me for months and now you’re all over me like a rash and not wanting to use protection. You’re fucking nuts,’ he ranted at her and stormed off to the bathroom to take a cold shower. He was furious with her for trying to entrap him, and cross with himself for getting so carried away with her. Desperate or not, he vowed that he would never have sex with Sonia Shum again.
Chapter 76
Jessie was at it again. Ignoring Tom’s repeated pleadings that she steer well clear, Jessie had agreed to be an extra pair of hands at yet another wedding. Unbeknown to Jessie, an extra pair of hands for this particular wedding actually involved decorating the reception venue, hand-tying all seven bridesmaids’ bouquets, table planning for over two hundred people she’d mostly never met, and countless other tasks that no one else could find the time to do—or, more likely, just couldn’t be bothered to do.
The wedding in question was that of Nick Donaldson, Charlie’s best friend, and Nadia So-and-So, the cousin of Natalie Donaldson née McAllister. The marriage of Nick and Natalie had been over pretty much before it got started, on account of Natalie falling in love with her new boss. Apparently the couple had split on good terms and Nick and quickly taken up with Nadia of the big boobs. Obviously remembering Jessie’s heroics at Natalie’s wedding, Nadia had called her to ask her to be part of the wedding party, seeing as they’d ‘really connected’ whenever they’d met before. Jessie had fought the urge to roll her eyes, but had politely accepted the wedding invitation and offered her assistance. That last bit had been her only mistake.
So here she was, a day before the wedding, tear-arsing round all over the place while Nadia was off at the spa being pampered from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toenail extensions. Tom had flatly refused to help, crossly telling her that she’d gotten herself into this mess and he didn’t have time to help her even if he’d wanted to. Which he didn’t anyway. Jessie felt thoroughly cheesed off and not at all in the mood to celebrate a wedding. Still, feeling alone and frustrated wasn’t going to get her commitments done. She went about her jobs with an efficient calmness and vowed that she wasn’t going to another wedding for at least the next two years.
Chapter 77
Jack and Sonia hadn’t spoken since he’d quit their bedroom for the relative safety of the bathroom. They were now downstairs in the hotel cafe waiting for Jack’s mother to arrive for their official introductions. The atmosphere was cold, to say the least, and Jack was fighting the urge to stand up and walk away.
‘Look, I’m sorry, Jack, but you have to admit, having a child with me is all just part of the plan. Perhaps I jumped the gun a little, but I’m keen we stop wasting any more time,’ Sonia said out of the blue once their coffees had been served.
Jack looked at her, flabbergasted.
‘I’m sorry. What plan is that?’ Jack asked flatly.
‘Don’t play so dumb, Jack. It doesn’t become you,’ Sonia replied loftily. ‘You know very well the plan is for you to marry me and give me as many babies as I see fit, all the while appearing to be my doting and loving husband.’
‘Do I get a say in this plan, Sonia?’ Jack asked her bitterly.
‘You’ll see it makes perfect sense. If I can’t persuade you, then maybe your mother can. All mothers want this for their sons. A wonderful wife and grandchildren.’
‘My mother is not like most mothers,’ Jack responded through gritted teeth.
‘I warn you, Jack. If you don’t do as I say, I can make things very painful for you when it comes to my father. After all, you did defile his little girl,’ she said, not even trying to hide the maliciousness in her voice.
The threat of her words sank in and Jack stared solemnly at the carpet in silence. This was the life she had decided for him, and it was clear she would do anything to have her way. This was his punishment for breaking his deal with Mr Shum. Jack started to consider what the ramifications would be if he left Sonia. What would Mr Shum do to him then? Could it really be any worse than a life and children with his nutcase of a daughter? Jack was starting to think that it might be better to just take his chances with the dad.
Chapter 78
And there she was. She was a good thirty metres away across the hotel lobby, but Jack knew it was definitely her. He remembered her as clearly as though he had just seen her yesterday. Thankfully, Sonia had left and gone off to a business meeting, leaving Jack and his mother catching up on news and artfully avoiding the subject of Sonia. When Jack’s attention had completely deserted her, his mother looked around to see what he was staring open-mouthed at.
‘Ah,’ Mrs Davenport said loudly.
‘What do you mean, ah?’ Jack replied, finally snapping his attention back to his mother, with narrowed eyes.
‘You know very well,’ she said with a wry, knowing smile on her face. ‘Well, off you go then,’ Mrs Davenport snapped when Jack didn’t do anything.
Jack didn’t need telling twice. With the help of a nudge from his dear old mum he was across the floor and marching towards Jessie in the blink of an eye, watched by his curious mother. Once he was within touching distance of Jessie he suddenly felt utterly clueless as to what to say to her. Thankfully she had her back to him as she spoke to someone at the reception d
esk, so she wasn’t able to witness his indecision, or the fact that he was loitering behind her like a madman.
Peering over her shoulder, he spied what looked suspiciously to him like a seating plan and subsequently put two and two together.
‘You’re getting married?’ Jack blurted out, feeling suddenly alarmed at the thought.
‘Ahhhh!’ Jessie screamed, high and sharp, completely dropping the sheaf of papers she’d been holding. She turned to look at him, a look of sheer utter shock on her face for a few seconds, before she forced herself to compose herself and they both dropped to the floor to pick up her papers.
‘Not me,’ she said after a couple more moments, standing back up again, smiling tentatively up at him. Jack felt a surge of relief wash over him.
‘So how have you been?’ she asked, when he didn’t say anything.
‘Fine. You?’ he said, unable to stop himself from gawping at her.
‘I’m good, thanks,’ she replied a little awkwardly. ‘How’s Sonia?’ Jack fought the urge to keep his face neutral but something told him by the way her expression changed to one of concern that he had failed.
‘She’s fine. Still together,’ he said curtly, making it clear he didn’t want to talk about her any further. ‘What about you, Jessie? You look amazing,’ he said genuinely, smiling broadly at her.
‘Oh no,’ she said modestly, brushing him away. ‘I mean, look at the state of me,’ she said self-deprecatingly, gesturing at her casual appearance.
‘Well, I think you look lovely,’ Jack said firmly, trying to make her believe him.
‘Thanks. You look nice too,’ she said shyly before weakly following up with a question so no one dwelled too long on her compliment. ‘How long are you in town for?’
‘A couple of weeks, then back to Hong Kong,’ Jack exhaled, trying to transmit to her without saying it, that he wished it was for longer.
‘And how is Hong Kong?’ Jessie asked, her eyes lighting up.
‘Hong Kong is Hong Kong. Never still, never sleeping. There’s always something going on in that place. I never really got to ask you if you had a nice time there, what with all my melodramas going on.’
‘I did. Aside from all the drama, it was one of the most exciting times of my life. I absolutely loved the place. Not a day goes by when I’m sat at my desk here, without me wondering about the what if’s, if I’d taken the bank up on their offer,’ she said wistfully.
‘Hold on. You were offered a job out there?’ Jack asked in a more astonished tone than was polite.
‘I didn’t think it was that surprising,’ Jessie snapped, taking offense at his obvious surprise and concentrating on the pages in her hands.
‘I didn’t mean it like that,’ Jack said soothingly. ‘Anyone in their right mind would want you working for them and I mean that. I was surprised that you could have been there when I was out there. We could have seen lots of each other. I’m also surprised after hearing you talk so animatedly about the place, that you turned them down.’
‘Oh, well, que sera sera and all that jazz,’ Jessie replied flippantly, clearly not wanting to discuss her decision-making process further.
Chapter 79
Jessie was mortified. He wasn’t supposed to have been there, and he most definitely wasn’t supposed to have seen her looking so dowdy in her practical, comfy, getting-things-organised outfit and scooped-up hair. She was only supposed to have been in the hotel for a matter of minutes, just dropping the table plan off. No one was supposed to have seen her there. No one. And certainly not him.
Every time she looked up at him and caught him looking her squarely in the eye she had the urge to look away and melt like a little girl. She desperately wanted to touch him again, but an overwhelming shyness seemed to incapacitate her. She was about to make her excuses and flee instead of continuing to prolong her agony any further, when a smart and sophisticated lady approached Jack and gently touched him on his elbow.
‘Jack, darling, won’t you introduce me to your friend?’ the lady said, smiling at Jessie warmly. Jessie found it hard to age her. She was definitely what you’d call a well-preserved beauty, who was probably over fifty but much more than that was hard to tell.
Jack seemed to snap to attention at the older lady’s words and stood up just a little bit straighter.
‘Of course,’ he muttered. ‘Jessie, this is my mother. Mum, this is Jessie. Charlie used to be her boss,’ Jack said stiffly. Jessie felt herself momentarily freeze at the mention of Charlie’s name, and she may have been hallucinating but she could have sworn she was wearing the very same expression mirrored back to her from Jack’s mum.
‘Pleased to meet you, Mrs Davenport,’ Jessie said formally, extending her hand.
‘You too, Jessie,’ Mrs Davenport replied, shaking Jessie’s proffered hand warmly whilst simultaneously flashing her impossibly white pearly whites even more. ‘Please, call me Cicely.’
‘I hope Jack will be spending lots of time with you whilst he’s in town,’ Jessie said a little mischievously. She felt relived that there was a third person to bounce off in their conversation. Even if it was Jack’s mother.
‘I doubt that very much, Jessie. He’s far too much in demand with all his friends to be wanting to spend much time with his old mother. Plus, he’ll probably be running around after that Sonia woman,’ Cicely said conspiratorially, as though Jack weren’t even present. So, Jack’s mum didn’t think too highly of the wonder that was Sonia Shum, Jessie found herself thinking, with more than a minuscule amount of glee.
‘Is she here?’ Jessie said, determined to keep her face and voice as neutral as possible.
‘Don’t worry, dear, she’s long gone,’ Cicely said, a touch triumphantly. ‘It’s a beautiful day today—why don’t you two young people go for a walk in the park over the road? Jack, I have some things to attend to, but I’ll see you for dinner,’ Cicely said assuredly, as though there were no room for debate.
‘Jessie, lovely to meet you,’ Cicely concluded, ending the meeting assertively. Then she winked at Jessie. There was no mistaking her. She actually winked. It wasn’t just a friendly wink, either. It was a totally suggestive wink, verging on the lewd in relation to her son. Jessie felt herself blush and was thankful that Cicely had turned on her heel in the opposite direction.
‘She’s lovely,’ Jessie beamed at Jack, once Cicely was definitely out of earshot. ‘Lovely, but rather unsubtle if you don’t mind me saying so,’ Jessie added, smiling, as she felt her cheeks return to normal.
‘I apologise for her,’ Jack said, smiling broadly now, running his hand through his hair in a slightly self-conscious way. ‘She seems to take great delight in embarrassing me and whoever else is around her these days. She says at her age, it’s her only sport.’
‘Come on,’ Jessie said linking her arm through his. ‘You heard the woman, let’s go for that walk.’
Jack didn’t seem to need much persuading. Out of the hotel and into the fresh air he seemed to relax, and the two of them walked slowly in no particular direction as they chatted amiably about Hong Kong and Jessie’s job. It also came up that Jessie and Tom were now an item, much to Jack’s surprise. Jessie found herself defending and justifying their relationship a little too vehemently, even to her own ears.
Although neither of them spoke much, they seemed at ease with each other as they enjoyed the uncharacteristically warm day. After walking for some time they spotted an attractive-looking tree under which they could sit and take a breather for a few minutes, before they turned about and went back to the hotel. Jessie found herself unable to get comfortable, and so gave up and lay flat on her back, looking up at the sky through the canopy of leaves above her. She could feel Jack’s gaze on her as he sat thoughtfully next to her, leaning against the tree trunk.
‘Jack, I need to tell you something,’ Jessie began after a few minutes of comfortable silence.
‘Okay,’ Jack replied warily, his senses automatically bristling.
> ‘Back in Hong Kong, Sonia and Charlie,’ Jessie began.
‘Look Jessie, I think you said everything you needed to say on that subject,’ Jack said firmly, cutting her off.
‘No Jack. You need to listen. I didn’t think you would still be Sonia, so you obviously need to listen,’ she said, raising her head up off the ground and meeting his stern eye. He had the beginnings of a scowl starting to mar his features, so Jessie lay back down and tried to pretend he wasn’t there.
‘Go on,’ Jack said quietly, but there was an authority in his tone which made it sound more like a command.
‘So… anyways, we were at the party, and I felt a little out of place, and kept going off for little wanders outside on my own.’
‘Yes, I remember,’ Jack said, obviously recalling the night in question.
‘Well, on one of my little trips I overheard Sonia talking with someone. It was quite dark, but there was no mistaking what I heard. Basically the gist of their conversation was that they’d been plotting to steal company information from the bank—and they’d also been scheming about entrapping you. Jack, Sonia already knew about the deal you’d made with her father, and she tricked you into staying with her on the basis of your fear of what might happen to you without her protection.’ Jessie raised herself on her elbows once again and saw that Jack was staring blankly at her like she was talking in tongues.
‘So you were eavesdropping?’ Jack asked, clearly not focusing on the key point.
‘Not intentionally. I heard her, Jack,’ Jessie said gently. ‘I know I should have explained it better to you sooner, but I didn’t. Plus, I was… well, I was confused and… angry.’
‘Who had she been plotting with?’ Jack asked his voice dripping in skepticism, as though he already knew the answer. Jessie felt disappointment wash through her. One, he clearly didn’t believe her and two he didn’t seem to care why it was that she had felt angry.
