Jessie Slaymaker's Non-Existent Love Life (The Jessie Slaymaker Series) (14 page)

They checked in, and Jessie for some inexplicable reason felt relieved that they were on different floors. Jessie scolded herself for being so fickle. Just because he hadn’t taken her to some five-star establishment, now she didn’t want to be near him? A few weeks ago, she would have eaten her own arm off for the chance to be in a hotel with him. Of course she still liked Charlie. She was in love with him, wasn’t she?

‘Meet me in the lobby in an hour and we can go for dinner,’ Charlie said, interrupting Jessie’s internal debate. ‘We should try and stay awake until normal bedtime to get into a normal routine,’ he continued as they stepped into the elevator.

‘Okay,’ Jessie replied automatically. ‘See you later,’ she managed as she exited the lift, rolling her case behind her. She felt relieved to be on her own. The whole paying-for-the-taxi thing had weirded her out slightly, not to mention the questions she’d been asking herself about the strength of her feelings for Charlie. Jessie told herself she was sleep-deprived and not thinking straight, which explained away the whole taxi episode. She’d always thought of Charlie as a generous guy, so she felt sure he genuinely only had large unpopular notes in his wallet. But not taking a receipt because he’d looked at her in a disapproving way? Well, that was just ludicrous. Now, Jessie was more annoyed at herself for not asking for a receipt. She was on a bona fide business trip—of course she could claim back an expense from her company, like transporting her from the airport. How daft could she have been?

Jessie showered and changed, feeling a little more revived. She was determined to have a pleasant dinner with Charlie and get their trip back on the right track in terms of both their personal and professional relationships. She had to stop automatically thinking the worst of him. She was here first and foremost to do her job; and to do that properly, she had to give him her wholehearted support.

Choosing what to wear was something of a challenge, Jessie found as she stared at the contents of her hotel room wardrobe. In England she could get away with wearing a dress in the summer bare-legged, then wearing the same dress in the winter, only adding a coat and some tights. Hong Kong was another fashion story altogether. In Jessie’s limited time in Hong Kong she had already concluded that it was a city of contrasts. Stepping outside the airport, she had been hit by its intense heat and humidity—which only seemed to be magnified by all the hard and reflective surfaces. However, once inside the taxi, and again inside the hotel, she was chilly, having been assaulted by the over-exuberant air-conditioning systems.

Not knowing what Charlie had in mind in terms of dinner, she was a little bit at a loss for what to put on. She decided to go with comfort after her long flight, and if she felt at all underdressed she would simply have to get through dinner and then she could plead tiredness and go to bed. Surely Charlie would understand that. After much wardrobe staring, Jessie opted for a short-sleeved, lemon yellow, shortish dress with some lace detailing. She teamed this little number with some metallic flat sandals and a mint green pashmina to protect herself from any potential air-con attacks. She hoped she would do, but resigned herself to the fact that she was traveling with limited fashion choices—and before too long, she’d be too tired to care anyway.

Charlie was late. He didn’t appear in the lobby until a good fifteen minutes after the arranged time.

‘Hi, shall we go?’ he said without so much as a
hello
or a
you look nice
or an apology for making her wait. He’s probably just tired, Jessie told herself as she was ushered into a taxi by the doorman. Benefit of the doubt, she repeated to herself silently, must give him the benefit of the doubt.

‘So where are we going?’ Jessie asked, forcing herself to make polite conversation as her attention was taken up again by the densely packed towers whizzing past her.

‘Oh, just a nice place my brother mentioned once,’ he replied, giving her a visual once-over for the first time. Jessie felt acutely aware of his lingering glance, taking in her dress and general appearance before his eyes finally settled on her legs. Well, the middle of her thighs, where her dress stopped, to be more precise.

Jessie tried not to notice and continued to stare out the window at the bright colours, people, and sheer life that seemed to be literally everywhere she looked. The taxi pulled into a smart-looking entranceway and Jessie went for her purse again, automatically assuming that Charlie still didn’t have any smaller notes.

‘I’ll get this,’ he said, pushing her hand backwards towards her bag. ‘You got the cab before, I’ll shout this one,’ he said, giving the taxi driver a crisp fifty-dollar bill.

‘How kind,’ Jessie acknowledged, flashing him a sweet smile. What she had really wanted to say was
how generous of you
in her most sarcastic tone. The fare from the airport had been three hundred and fifty dollars. They weren’t exactly even as far as Jessie was concerned. So much for not having any small bills. Then, she thought about it some more, and it was perfectly feasible and reasonable that he could have changed some of his large bills for smaller ones at the hotel. Yes, that was probably the case. Jessie willed herself to believe this as they got into a lift which took them to the top of a tower. She had absolutely no clue where they were in relation to the city or the hotel. As a result, Jessie felt incredibly disorientated and uncomfortably reliant on Charlie.

As they exited the lift on the top floor, they walked into a smart reception area with a bar to the right and a formal dining room to the left. Very smart in fact. Jessie suddenly felt very vulnerable in what she now considered was little more than a sundress. She quickly scanned her surroundings to see how bad a fashion faux pas she had made. Where was Tom when she needed him? The men all seemed to be similarly attired to Charlie, all chinos and stylish shirts. The woman, on the other hand, looked like they were abiding to a completely different dress code, much to Jessie’s embarrassment. Jessie clocked at least four different ladies who were all wearing full-on cocktail dresses and skyscraper heels to match the nearby buildings.

‘Let’s go onto the terrace,’ Charlie suggested, steering Jessie through the bar and outside. Jessie forced herself to push her shoulders back and exude confidence. So what if she looked like she was going to the beach? There was no point in getting depressed about her choice of dress; it’s not like she’d packed a a single cocktail dress to choose from anyway.

As they went out onto the terrace, Jessie forgot all about her discomfort. She felt her mouth fall wide open and she was utterly powerless to do anything about it. The view was breathtaking. Seriously, take-your-breath-away breathtaking. She’d never seen anything like it in her life. The terrace was open to the harbour on one side and surrounded on the other three sides by glass and stone skyscrapers considerably taller than the one she was standing on. The buildings dominated the skyline, making Jessie feel incredibly small. There also seemed to be flashing lights coming from the buildings, performing in some predesigned sequence that had Jessie totally mesmerised. Jessie felt like this recital was just for her, that she was in her own private theatre. She looked out across Victoria Harbour to Kowloon, which had its own collection of mighty, impressively high towers performing with lasers and lights.

‘This is the famous Hong Kong Light Show,’ whispered Charlie in her ear, making the hairs on her neck stand on end.

‘It’s mesmerising,’ Jessie replied, unable to tear her eyes away from the scenery.

‘Of course, it’s just a gimmick for the tourists. It’ll stop in a minute and we can enjoy the view properly.’

‘I like it,’ Jessie replied, feeling for some inexplicable reason that she should defend this magical wonder that she’d only just discovered two minutes ago. To Jessie it was like watching a dialogue in lights, as a playful repartee was acted out and tossed backwards and forwards across the harbour, passed from building to building.

Then, just like that, it stopped. Jessie stifled a sigh of disappointment that it was all over and replaced it with a contented sigh and the realisation that she was a lucky gal. It had only been a few days ago that she’d been plodding on with her regular job, with zero knowledge that a mere few days later she’d be standing atop a rooftop in a mega-city like Hong Kong, watching a spectacle like that.

‘Great, it’s stopped,’ piped up Charlie. ‘So, what are your first impressions of Hong Kong, then?’ he asked, guiding Jessie by the elbow towards a more private corner of the terrace. Jessie felt her heart flutter at his touch and felt reassured that he could still do that to her. Jessie paused as a waiter suddenly appeared with two flutes of something sparkly.

‘Oh, it’s beyond belief,’ Jessie began, then faltered, conscious that she sounded a tad parochial. ‘The buildings, the skyline, the sheer number of people and life here,’ she continued, seemingly unable to rein in the gushing. ‘It’s a real mix. Lots of traditional Chinese places, and then places like this,’ Jessie continued, gesturing around her.

‘Well this is how we like to roll in Hong Kong,’ Charlie said as he stepped closer to Jessie, fixing his gaze on her. He was so close he blocked out everything other than a minuscule slice of Jessie’s peripheral vision. Jessie smiled awkwardly, feeling like she was about to be prey. He was going to kiss her. Charlie Davenport was actually going to kiss her. On a rooftop in glamourous Hong Kong. How romantic! Now
that
was going to be one for the grandkids.

Jessie looked into his staring eyes. Yes, she could definitely read some lust in his baby blues. Jessie licked her lips a tiny bit, like the heroines did in the movies when they were trying to be seductive and get the fella to snog them. Jessie found herself contemplating her next move in the art of seduction when she realised she was still waiting and there was no kissing being done. Just the staring and the smiling. Charlie looked like he was pondering what to do next. Jessie closed her eyes, channelling a Sandra Bullock rom-com, in the hope that he would speed up his internal debate and get on with it. There was still no kiss. Jessie was still waiting and the scene was starting to get uncomfortable. After five more seconds of nothing happening, Jessie gingerly opened her eyes, expecting to see Charlie’s face still blocking out the scenery.

No such luck. Jessie’s peripheral vision had drastically increased and she was now able to take in the magnificent buildings and view around her again. Oh, and Charlie’s retreating back. She could see that as well, and
that
wasn’t such a magnificent sight. She liked his back well enough, but certainly not when it was walking away from her, leaving her standing there like a lemon with her eyes shut, waiting for a kiss that never bloody came. She particularly didn’t like the fact that Charlie was virtually speed-walking across the terrace into the arms of a tall stunning woman who was poured into a clingy black dress, without an ounce of wobble factor.

‘Of course,’ Jessie muttered to herself as she briefly glimpsed down at herself and her yellow sundress. Why would Charlie bother kissing
her
when he could be in the presence of that amazing creature who was all legs and inherent elegance?

Jessie downed her drink and slowly made her way over to Charlie and the beautiful mystery woman. She hovered a few feet away, waiting to be noticed, as Charlie and the beautiful lady swopped hugs, kisses and general greeting pleasantries.

‘So, how is your brother?’ Beautiful Lady asked. Jessie’s ears went on hyper-alert. How did
she
know Jack? Out of nowhere, Jessie’s jealousy gene surprised her and kicked in as she wondered if Jack had slept with this woman. Then Jessie looked at Charlie’s eager puppy face, and she wondered exactly the same thing about him.

‘Oh, he’s fine. Back in London, not sure what to do with himself. He sends his regards,’ Charlie said smoothly, clearly basking in Beautiful Lady’s effervescence. Jessie felt her stomach clamp at the mention of Jack, and she wondered what he was doing. Beautiful Lady’s glance flicked in Jessie’s direction.

‘Oh yes, sorry. I forgot about you there, Jessie,’ Charlie scoffed. ‘Sonia Shum, this is Jessie, a colleague of mine. Jessie, this is Sonia, an
old
family friend.’

Jessie plastered on a smile as she shook hands with Sonia. How could he have forgotten about her? He’d been an inch from her face a few moments ago.

‘Pleased to meet you,’ Sonia said, with only the barest hint of a Chinese accent. ‘Is it your first trip to Hong Kong?’ she enquired, her eyes bright and intelligent.

‘Yes, we’re fresh from the airport, but everything I’ve seen so far has been amazing,’ Jessie replied, warming to Sonia immediately.

‘Well, I hope you have time for some sightseeing whilst you’re here, and Charlie doesn’t keep you tied to your desk,’ she said giving Charlie a knowing look.

‘I hope so too,’ Jessie added, giving Charlie a sideways glance. His attention was one hundred per cent focused on Sonia. She was one of those women who was not only extremely beautiful, with excellent social skills, but who could also talk and smile simultaneously. Jessie was instantly envious.

‘If you both have no other plans, I’m hosting some friends of mine through in the restaurant, and it would be lovely if you could join us for dinner,’ Sonia asked politely, looking eagerly between Jessie and Charlie.

‘That’d be great,’ Charlie answered for the both of them without skipping a beat, let alone a glance in Jessie’s direction or general vicinity. At that moment Charlie only had eyes for Sonia. So off to dinner with Sonia they went. Jessie reminded herself of the promise she’d made to herself earlier about just getting through the food and then she could go back to the hotel to nurse the jetlag which she felt was bound to hit her at any point.

Dinner was a fun affair for Jessie.
Not.
They had joined (or maybe
crashed
would be a better word to describe it) Sonia’s table, which consisted of eight of Sonia’s friends-slash-business-associates. Jessie couldn’t really tell which category any of them fell into. However, Jessie could tell that they were all extremely well educated, exquisitely dressed, and rich—and that they all seemed rather arrogant.