His Hired Girlfriend (10 page)

Brandy followed him. “Do you
know what size she is?”

Jay crocked his head to one
side in thought. What size was Alex anyway? She must be a small,
since she was rather tiny in person as a whole.

“She’s about this high,” he
said, indicating with his hand to his chest. “And this thin,” he
continued, also indicating with his two hands of the space in front
of him.

“I don’t think we can measure
the size of her bras from that.” Brandy shook her head. “But from
what you’re telling me, she must be a size small?”

Jay nodded.

“I think we should try a size
12. Now do you know what cup she is?”

Jay widened his eyes.
“What?”

“Cups. Do you know what cup she
is? A, B, or C like mine?” Brandy pointed down, drawing out her
chest just a little bit for him to notice.

Not looking at the sales
assistant who was obviously begging for his attention, Jay glared
at the arrays of bras and tried to fit the bras in front of him on
to Alex’s breasts that he had glimpsed on Sunday night.

Shit!
The memory came to him vividly, and instantly,
his mind started reeling, wild with imagination.

‘
Now, now, Hot Shot, pause
right there! Don’t you dare go any further. Think what cup she
could be. Think, man, think!’

B!
He was pretty sure that she was a B.

He said to Brandy, “B.” Then he
turned back and picked one that was a size 12 with a cup B, which
was designed very beautifully with light pink laces.

Brandy said, “You’re done?”

Jay nodded.

Once his purchase was done, Jay
thanked Brandy for her help and left without a backwards glance. If
he were to look back he would have seen that young Brandy was
watching him with longing as he was walking away.

Jayden strolled the short
distant to SAN Café and waited for Alex to turn up. He found the
place very pleasant this evening, as compare to the hectic of that
Saturday afternoon. The mood and atmosphere, he thought, was just
right for a first date, what with that lovely soothing, south-east
Asian classical music, the golden hue of light from the waterfall
chandelier, and cosy décor of red, gold and brown. A pretty young
waitress placed two menus in front of him, poured him a glass of
water and politely told him that she’d be back when his friend
arrived.

Jay nodded pleasantly and then
scanned the menu. Very nice, he thought. Very nice. A moment later
he saw Alex entering the restaurant. His heart was glowing as she
smiled and advanced towards him.

“Hey,” she greeted, sliding
into the chair opposite him.

“Hey,” he replied. “How was
work?”

“Fine. Have you ordered?” she
asked, taking off her jacket.

“No, I was hoping you’ll be
able to help me,” he said sheepishly.

“That I can,” she stated,
picking up the menu. “Don’t worry. The food here is very healthy.
Do you like barbeque?”

“Yep.”

“Good. I think you should go
for the Fusion. You get all kinds of barbeque meat in Cambodian
style.”

“Sounds good. I’ll have
that.”

“Okay,” Alex said, smiling.

Once the young waitress had
taken their orders, Jay thrust out the shopping bag towards Alex.
“Here.”

Alex glanced up to see the pink
bag, which looked oddly familiar, dangling in front of her. “For
me?”

He nodded.

She took it and peeked inside.
She saw the neatly folded singlets and bra. The singlets were
exactly the same one he had spilt beer on and the bra was unlike
any she had ever used before. This one was very pretty with pink
laces and frills. She usually wore plain black or white.

She blushed and gazed at him,
her eyes large. “You don’t have to do that, you know.” She couldn’t
imagine how on earth he had managed to buy her underwear. She
herself had always been embarrassed every time she went to buy
herself such items.

“I know, but I want to
considering the fact that I’ve destroyed your singlet,” he said.
“Well, aren’t you going to thank me?” He grinned.

Alex blushed and smiled. “Thank
you.” She really didn’t mind accepting the gift. After all he did
damage her singlets. Not that it was completely damaged, of course.
It was still wearable.

“Hey, I’ve got something for
you as well,” she said and took out his jersey from her bag.
“Here.”

“Oh whoa, thank you very much,”
he chuckled. “You didn’t forget after all.”

“Nope, I didn’t,” she said. “So
okay, let’s get down to business then.”

Jay leaned forward then. “Look,
I’ll be leaving in two days time. How much are you asking?”

Alex bit her lip. “Are you sure
you don’t mind about the price?”

“Nope.”

“Thing is I’m not exactly sure
as yet. Can I tell you when I know? It’s basically the full price
for Dad’s heart transplant.”

Jay studied her for a moment
and then nodded. “Sure, when ever is fine. But since I’m leaving
soon, I’ll give you my cell phone number and my email address. How
about that?”

Alex agreed with a nod of her
head.

Their food arrived and Alex
watched as Jay enjoyed his various barbeque meats marinated in a
sauce he had never taste before.

*****

CHAPTER 7

Eight Weeks later

NEW YORK CITY, USA

ALEX WAS VERY tired and
frustrated. Finally, she thought with some small triumph, she had
arrived in New York City. Now standing there at the lobby of
LaGuardia Airport, she just wanted to collapse on the floor and
rest. But of course she couldn’t do that because that would be
weird, considering the fact that there were still people around
even though it was 4am, US time.

Where was Jayden anyway? Oh
God! What if he had forgotten to come and get her? Well she
couldn’t blame him if he had because she was late. She was supposed
to have arrived yesterday afternoon. But being a clumsy,
inexperienced traveller that she was, she had managed to miss a
flight from Sydney to LA and then the rest was history.

She was still
upset that she had missed that flight. It was a first class seat.
Now she would never know what it was like sitting in that
luxurious, comfy seat with the air hostess serving her every
need.
Damn!

Turning her attention back to
her dilemma she thought that if she didn’t see Jay within the next
five minutes, she’d take a taxi and check in to the nearest hotel
and then she’d give him a ring to tell him where she was. She had
called him back in Sydney and again in LA where she had stayed the
night in the very luxurious hotel, with Jay’s expense of course.
She had told him that everything would be fine and that she’d
arrive in New York City the next day.

Now here she was, standing
there like a lost lamb, not knowing what to do or where to go. She
was never any good at finding her bearings in a new country. She
just hoped that she was not going to get lost.

No, no, she reminded herself,
she would not get lost. Provided that she had enough money, she’d
be able to get back to New Zealand safe and sound.

Alex dragged her luggage across
the huge terminal and walked towards the rows of seats near the
window. She searched around just in case Jayden was some where near
by, waiting for her. When she saw only the faces of strangers, she
sighed and slumped on the seat.

“Alex!”

Her stomach knotted. She turned
and her heart soared with relief and happiness. “Jay!” she
murmured. Her throat was so tight that her voice was barely above a
whisper.

She rushed over to him with her
heavy bag in tow. Before she knew what she was about, she dropped
the luggage and hugged him hard, like he was her long lost
relative.

With her face snuggled against
his chest, her arms around his middle and tears brewing in her eyes
– she whispered, “Jay, I’m sorry.” Then it was suddenly too much
for her. Perhaps she was too tired and she couldn’t control her
emotions anymore, and so she started whimpering and tears started
rolling down her flushed cheeks from her eyes.

Jayden
wrapped his arms around her small, quivering form – content just
standing there, hugging her – and people looking at them with a
knowing smile on their faces.
Ah, lovers
finally reunited.

Jayden’s heart had leaped with
happiness when he had first spotted her sitting there. She had
looked scared and lost. He couldn’t help himself. He just wanted
her to not be scared anymore. He wanted to see her smile and be
carefree. He especially wanted to see her smiling at him.

Alex drew back and glanced up
at him, her eyes red, and her lips trembling in the most delicate
way.

Jay saw her face, which was
inches from his, and his heart nearly broke. Damn, she looked like
she had been through hell. He cupped her face in his big hands and
said gently, “Hey, I’m here now. I told you I’d be here, didn’t I?”
Then he wiped her tears with his thumb.

Alex swallowed and nodded. “I
know, but...when I didn’t see you I thought...and then I saw you
and I...”

“Hey, come on. You’re tired,”
he said and then turned to pick up her luggage. “My car is this
way.”

Alex sniffed and then wiped her
tears. “Okay,” she said and followed him toward the exit.

The cool night air soothed both
Alex’s turmoiled emotions and her overheated skin. She took a few
deep breaths and told herself that everything was all right now
because Jayden was here. Yes, Jayden was going to look after her
and nothing bad was going to happen.

She glanced at him to make sure
that her tired mind hadn’t played tricks on her, that he was real
after all. Just to confirm herself she touched his arm as he led
her to his car.

Jayden flashed her a handsome
smile. “Did you wait long?”

Alex shook her head. She
released her holding on his arm and lowered her head, suddenly
wondering why she had been crying and hugging him like a young
woman reuniting with her beloved boyfriend who had just returned
from war.

“Here’s my car,” he said.

Alex couldn’t
help but widen her eyes with admiration at the black
Mercedes-Benz
.

Jay said, “Hop in,” as he
loaded her luggage into the boot.

Alex wasted no time in sliding
into the passenger seat. “Nice car,” she said, glancing at Jay
beside her.

“Thanks,” Jay replied, starting
the engine.

Alex put on her seatbelt as Jay
backed out and drove the car out off the parking lot. Even this
late at night, or rather early in the morning, the roads were still
busy with cars and trucks coming and going. She wondered if the
people in New York ever sleep. The city itself must be beautiful,
if only she could see. It was rather dark even though there were
streets light everywhere, like dots of stars, she thought
dreamily.

A while later, after her
fascination had waned, she settled herself more comfortably in her
seat and rested her head against the cool window.

Jay glanced at her and said,
“Are you tired?”

She nodded at him with a weary
smile.

“I apologise for picking those
flights for you. I should have chosen a flight straight from
Auckland to New York instead of—”

“Don’t worry about it, Jayden.
I’m here, aren’t I? So everything’s fine,” she said, thinking that
it had, in actual fact, never been fine. As if getting
disorientated and lost in another country hadn’t been bad enough, a
taxi driver back in Florida had ripped her off her cash and had
even made a move on her.

The very thought of that fat,
malicious man caused her to shudder in anxiety. She wondered if all
taxi drivers were like that, trying to rape her because she looked
young and naïve. Lucky she had a strong will. She had shouted at
him to leave her alone when he had driven her to an isolated spot
and had tried to seduce her. Then he had said that if she wanted
him to let her go, she’d have to give him all her money.

She had been
very angry then, and she had thrown what cash she had had at his
face and rushed out the car. Afterward she had found herself
another taxi. Luckily this time the driver had been a woman.
Thank God!

“Are you cold?” Jay
queried.

She glanced at him and shook
her head.

Jayden frowned. He knew
something was wrong. He knew something had happened to Alex, and
she refused to tell him what. He won’t prod of course. He’d wait
until she trusted him fully, then she’d tell him when she was
ready.

He was still angry at himself
for picking those flights for her. He knew very well she was an
inexperienced traveller. She had told him so numerous times via
email after all. He blamed his impatience for this. He had wanted
her to come as soon as possible and had booked her flights for her
before she had even agreed. Now he wondered again for the hundredth
times why he had been so eager for her to come to New York.

His heart skipped a beat.

‘
Oh yeah, you rascal, you
knew exactly why. You had missed her so much that you couldn’t stop
emailing her every day.’

In fact he
had emailed her every chance he had had. Not to mention he had even
visited her Facebook page just to see her profile picture and see
what she had been up to. He had been
that
pathetic.

“How’s Jacob?” he asked,
suddenly feeling guilty at the thought of dragging her away from
her father.

“He’s
recovering well,” she replied, thinking about that dreadful week
her dad had had his heart transplant. In the waiting bay she had
hugged him and wished him luck while her mom had cried and prayed
that the procedure would go well. Then the anaesthetist had wheeled
him off into theatre, and she and her mom had waited in dread for
five long hours. She had sighed with relief when her dad had ended
up back in the ward instead of ICU because that meant the procedure
had gone well. But her relief was short lived when they had found
out a day later her dad had contracted pneumonia. It was from one
of the throat bacteria called
Streptococcus pneumoniae
. The doctor
had informed her that it was quite common for an elderly man with a
low immune system to be infected with it. They had given him strong
antibiotic and within a week he had recovered, and now he was back
home and taking things easy.