Jessie Slaymaker's Non-Existent Love Life (The Jessie Slaymaker Series) (24 page)

‘What kind of trouble?’ Jessie asked, leaning forward and softening her features even more. She’d flipped from being annoyed to being genuinely concerned for him.

‘I don’t know where to begin,’ Jack said, fighting back an urge to hold his head in his hands.

‘Start from the beginning,’ Jessie said gently, giving Jack’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

Jack told her everything. He told her how when he’d first come to China, he’d borrowed a substantial amount of money from Sonia’s father on the basis that he’d never become romantically involved in any way, shape or form with the tycoon’s daughter. Jack told Jessie that he didn’t think of Sonia in that way at all. Not just because of the deal with her father, but even before that. He told her that in all the time he’d known Sonia there’d never been the merest hint of anything happening between them until last night. Jack told her he’d apparently had sex with Sonia and couldn’t remember a single second of it because he was so drunk.

Jack even told her how disgusted with himself he felt and that he felt totally ashamed of his behaviour. He couldn’t believe he’d done such a thing to one of his oldest and best friends. Jack felt he had used Sonia despicably to vent his frustrations at Jessie. He told Jessie how he’d obviously felt the need to have sex to get back at her and Sonia had been the convenient option.

Then Jack told Jessie about the kind of man Mr Shum was. That he was mega-rich and someone who was most definitely not to be trifled with, let alone disobeyed, as Jack had done. Jack cited examples of when people had crossed Mr Shum and they had disappeared. The rumors were rife regarding the legality of some of Mr Shum’s associates.

When Jack had finished confiding his tale of woe to Jessie—like she was an old friend, rather than someone he’d known for a matter of weeks—it was clear he thought he was done for. Literally. Jessie had listened patiently to him and had refrained from asking any questions. He was obviously in a state and needed to offload, and she daren’t interrupt him whilst he was in full flow. He seemed to be teetering on the verge of breaking down and she thought it better to avoid breaking the rhythm that Jack was clearly clinging to. But that didn’t mean that Jessie didn’t have any questions to ask him. Not by a long shot. She’d been making copious mental notes of things to ask as he’d rambled on.

‘You’ve missed something out. What was Sonia’s reaction this morning when you told her you’d fucked up?’ Jessie asked assertively. Regardless of how she felt about Jack and Sonia’s liaison, she had entered her objective analytical mode, and she wanted to be in possession of all the facts before she was able to offer advice or maybe even a solution.

Jack didn’t reply straightaway, so Jessie repeated her question, thinking he may have zoned out temporarily. When he still didn’t look up, Jessie looked up from her burger and fixed him with a stare, which was pretty pointless seeing as he couldn’t look her in the eye.

‘Jack?’ Jessie said firmly. ‘Let me guess, you wimped out big style and didn’t say anything meaningful about her father and the deal you cut with him. Is that about right?’

‘Kind of,’ Jack replied meekly.

‘Kind of? What do you mean “kind of”? Is it worse? How could it be worse than that?’ Jessie responded, feeling her volume rising. ‘I can’t help you if you don’t tell me everything,’ she added, asserting control of herself once again. Jack finally looked at her and screwed up his face as though in pain.

‘After I woke up I went to the bathroom, where I realised what must have happened the night before. When I went back into the bedroom, Sonia was there…’ Jack faltered.

‘Yes?’ Jessie pushed, feeling her normally saint-like patience fading fast.

‘Sonia was there…’ Jack faltered again.

‘Yes, I gather that,’ Jessie said, her impatience now audible. ‘Sonia was there looking all delicious, and so she fucked you again to remind you of last night. And you let her,’ Jessie finished for him, unable to hide the hurt from her voice at the realisation of what he was trying to tell her.

Jessie sat there feeling stunned. She’d listened to his little sob story thinking he’d just got drunk and made a mistake. Jessie knew about making mistakes in the whom-to-take-to-bed department. She’d bought the bloody t-shirt on this trip. But the extra revelation told her something else. When it was dangled in front of him on a plate, Jack was just like any other man. He must have been cacking himself this morning knowing he’d broken his agreement with Sonia’s father, but he’d still found the time and inclination to re-shag the woman.

‘How did you leave things with Sonia?’ Jessie asked, attempting to sound detached and businesslike, back to fact-finding and not feeling.

‘I didn’t know what to tell her. She doesn’t know about the agreement with her dad. I just told her I had some errands to run and left,’ Jack answered.

‘Smooth,’ Jessie said, unimpressed. ‘Did you ever sign a contract stating that you’d steer clear of his daughter?’

‘No, it was a verbal agreement.’

‘Well, that’s not worth the paper it’s printed on then. At least you haven’t broken any legal contract,’ Jessie said.

‘That’s not what I’m worried about, Jessie. I wish it were just a legal problem. At least then I could get a lawyer.’

‘What do you seriously think this Mr Shum could do to you?’ Jessie asked reasonably.

‘He could kill me,’ Jack said plainly, looking her directly in the eye for the first time in awhile.

‘And then he’d go to prison. This isn’t the Wild West, you know.’

‘No. This is China. Short of moving to the International Space Station, I don’t have any options,’ Jack said glumly.

‘Of course you have options,’ Jessie countered. ‘You made that deal with Mr Shum a long time ago. Things may have changed. Seeing how successful you’ve become now, he may be delighted to have you courting his daughter.’

‘Courting? Is that what you call it now?’ Jack asked sarcastically.

‘Are you sure he’ll find out anyway?’ Jessie asked, doubting that Mr Shum was this all-seeing eye that Jack had made him out to be.

‘Oh yes. Of that there is no doubt,’ Jack replied.

‘Perhaps you should come clean to Mr Shum then, admit that it happened so gradually, that you didn’t realise it until you were head over heels in love with Sonia. Or you could tell him that you got drunk, had your wicked way with his daughter, and you’re now prepared to pay for your sins,’ Jessie suggested.

‘You are joking, aren’t you? No to
all
of the above,’ Jack sulked.

‘Well, there’s only one solution then,’ Jessie tempted.

‘What?’ Jack said, a ray of hope flashing across his face.

‘You have to tell Sonia what’s gone on. I’m sure she won’t be too pleased with you for making a deal with her dear old dad, but then again, if it was me I wouldn’t be too chuffed with him either. She’s your protection, Jack. If her father loves her enough to pay you to stay away from her, then he’ll not cross her if she insists on you staying safe. He won’t run the risk of Sonia cutting him out of her life. All you have to do is keep Sonia on side. What do you think she’ll want?’ Jessie asked, feeling full from her dinner and suddenly tired. If she was completely honest, she wanted to wrap this uncomfortable conversation with Jack up and toddle off to bed.

‘She wants me,’ Jack replied sadly. ‘That much is clear to me from this morning. She’s been biding her time for the past seven years.’

‘Oh, right,’ Jessie said, equally sadly, then downed what was left of her wine. ‘It seems to me you’ve made your bed, Jack,’ she said, getting up and giving him a quick peck on the cheek before walking away.

Chapter 59

Jessie went back to her room and collapsed fully clothed onto the bed. She felt numb. So many things seemed to have happened in the space of forty-eight hours and she needed time to process. Her normal excitement quotient had been spread out over years, decades even, rather than all the good stuff and crap that had gone on since she’d been in Hong Kong. Jessie thought about Jack. Jack and Sonia. How did she feel about Jack and Sonia? It hurt. She was lying to herself if she said it didn’t. But what claim did she have on him? He didn’t belong to her. He could sleep with whomever he bloody well pleased. Twice, so it seemed.

It was difficult to see Jack feeling sorry for himself and regarding himself now as a ruined man. Maybe even a dead man. It all sounded a bit medieval to Jessie, but Jack knew this Mr Shum and the world in which he operated, so she presumed he had a better grasp on the situation than she did. Something rankled a bit with Jessie though. Jack had known Sonia for a long time and was adamant that nothing had ever happened with her before. It seemed a bit odd that they’d chosen this moment to get together. A coincidence maybe, but slightly odd timing, nonetheless. Plus the fact that Jack had no recollection of the night in question. Something just didn’t feel quite right.

Jessie spent a restless night tossing and turning with intermittent sleep and visions of Jack, Charlie, Sonia, a faceless Mr Shum, and Mr Chan all making guest appearances in her dreams. She woke up early the next day, her last full day in Hong Kong, to find that a small white envelope had been pushed under her door.

The paper quality was exquisite and Jessie couldn’t help but run her fingers over the softness of the envelope several times before curiosity got the better of her and she opened it carefully. Inside was an invitation. From none other than Sonia Shum herself. Jessie’s mouth opened wide in surprise. Sonia was having a black tie party up on The Peak that night. Jessie couldn’t understand for the life of her why she’d been invited. Perhaps it was one of those ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’ situations. Or maybe she was just being nice.

‘Not everyone has an ulterior motive,’ Jessie told herself as she went off for her shower.

Chapter 60

It was the last night of Jessie’s stay in Hong Kong, and she’d decided to celebrate. Although no decisions had been made officially as to where her future working location would be, Jessie wanted to toast her successful Hong Kong trip. She’d been offered a new job, her shadow banking project had earned her a huge amount of praise already, and on the whole, she’d had a brilliant time—if she only counted the professional and sightseeing portion of her trip. Affairs of the heart had not been quite so brilliant, but hey ho, she couldn’t have everything.

Jessie had been sitting on the fence all day about whether to go to Sonia’s party or not. She hadn’t felt so totally undecided about something in a long time. She hadn’t known if it was really appropriate for her to go, considering her feelings for Jack, and what she now knew about Sonia and Jack’s relations together. There was also the chance that
he
would be there too—and she didn’t want to feel embarrassed in front of them or, worse still, make a complete prat of herself. Jessie had virtually decided to not go, despite the fact she’d been out and bought a rather lovely dress, when Mr Chan called her soon after three and asked her to accompany him to a party on The Peak to discuss his proposition further. He was happy to hear that Miss Shum had also invited her and suggested they go together.

‘A little strength in numbers,’ he’d chuckled.

Bolstered by the idea that she’d at least have someone to talk to, Jessie had accepted his kind offer. Plus, she was, as always, curious. She wanted to see more of Sonia and attempt to pinpoint what it was exactly that gave her a niggling feeling about the woman. And more to the point, what gave her that same niggling feeling about Sonia and Jack.

As the hour of the party approached, Jessie looked hot to trot and she knew it. Taking a leaf out of the Hong Kong twiglet fashion bible she’d done a little credit card flaunting in one of the exclusive shopping malls that seemed to litter the city. She’d selected a midnight blue silk gown with a relatively conservative V-neck in the front, which showed only a hint of cleavage. All the drama was in the back of the dress where the V was considerably more daring. The dress was figure-hugging and clung to all her curves, with a flare from the knee which allowed her to just about walk. Her dress was accompanied by her very own pair of skyscraper high heels. They were a bitch to walk in, but did wonders for her posture and gave her the wiggle factor that her dress demanded.

Jessie had spent more time than usual primping and preening herself, and titivating her hair and makeup. As she inspected herself in front of the mirror she was pleased with the end effect, and a flutter of butterflies awoke in her stomach as her mind wandered to the evening ahead. In all honesty, she didn’t really know what she walking into, nor what Sonia’s real motives for inviting her were. At the very least, she would have Mr Chan to chat to for a little while. Jessie’s plan aside from that was to observe Sonia—and hopefully Jack, if he attended, would cop an eyeful of her fabulous dress. She knew her actions had effectively turned Jack away from her, but it definitely wouldn’t hurt her self-esteem to have him notice her and see what he was missing out on now that he was probably going to have to spend the rest of his days with Sonia Shum for fear of getting bumped off.

‘Oh well,’ Jessie sighed into the mirror one last time as she grabbed her bag and went downstairs to meet Mr Chan. ‘The one that got away,’ she said sadly, closing the door behind her.

Chapter 61

The view from The Peak at night was breathtakingly spectacular. The panorama overlooking the city gave Jessie tingles down to her toes as Mr Chan’s car drove the winding road up the mountain. Jessie’s attitude towards views was simple. For her, everything looked beautiful in the sunshine, but witnessing the city’s variety of coloured lights playing off each of the buildings, she forced herself to concede that in actual fact, everything looked even more beautiful at night.

That’s without mentioning the luxurious properties that actually sit on The Peak, seemingly looking down their noses at the buzzing city going about its business in the distance. On the journey to the party destination, Mr Chan had played the part of tour guide terrifically well as he pointed out some of the amazing properties that could only just be glimpsed at through the trees, where some of Hong Kong’s super-rich elite resided.