Jessie Slaymaker's Non-Existent Love Life (The Jessie Slaymaker Series) (26 page)

Jack considered putting up a protest, but then thought better of it. He managed to give Jessie a rather helpless and apologetic-looking shrug before Sonia demanded his full attention. Despite the fact that she’d descended the steps like an angel, she now required Jack’s considerable assistance to get back up them. This obviously required lots of touching and extremely close proximity to each other. Jack regarded this performance as something that was clearly meant for Jessie’s benefit and he felt sad, embarrassed and humiliated at the position he now found himself in.

Chapter 63

‘Well that was me told!’ Jessie said to herself as she turned to look at the view once again. Sonia had well and truly come and marked her territory in their brief greeting. If she had been a dog, then Jack would have been covered in piss. Jessie had received Sonia’s message loud and clear. As far as Jessie was concerned, Jack was off limits. Jessie stayed outside for a further ten minutes, finding her enjoyment of the view now somewhat diminished. Petty as it sounded, even to her own ears, but Jessie considered that she had committed a small act of defiance by not following Sonia’s orders to find Mr Chan immediately, but instead remaining out on the terrace.

When she did eventually catch up with Mr Chan sometime later, it was clear that he had not been looking for her at all. Feeling slightly embarrassed after interrupting Mr Chan from an in-depth conversation he was having with a good-looking sophisticated woman, Jessie politely apologised for disturbing them and promptly left them to it to refresh her drink.
Some party
, Jessie thought glumly to herself as she decided to prop up the bar for a bit.

Things looked to be well and truly over with Jack, before they had even gotten started. It was clear from their brief encounter that Sonia was no friend of hers, nor did she have any desire to become one. Understandably, Mr Chan had done his duty by her for the evening, and didn’t want to babysit her any longer, especially when he clearly had affairs of the heart on his mind. Jessie scanned the room, feeling like she’d never felt so alone in a room full of people in all her life. Time seemed to disappear as she observed the waiters going to and fro, and listened to the hum of the party grow as more and more alcohol was consumed. Jessie kept a watchful eye out for anyone of interest. Well, she kept an eye out for Jack. But he was nowhere to be seen and no one else in the room compared. Then she spied something that piqued her interest automatically.

On the far side of the room was another doorway which presumably led to yet another bit of outside space. Probably to the pool or something equally glamourous, Jessie mused to herself. Sonia had detached herself from the delectable Jack and was talking earnestly to another man in a tuxedo, who was most definitely not Jack. Sonia seemed to be talking to him at a million miles an hour and she seemed to be trying to usher him out the double doors. Jessie concluded that either this chap wasn’t welcome or that Sonia was obviously trying to get this man into a more private setting in which to continue their conversation-slash-argument.

Jessie stealthily dismounted from her bar stool and began to circumnavigate the large room, trying to get closer to Sonia and the mystery man without looking like she was making a beeline for them. To anybody watching Jessie’s movements they would have thought her a complete loon, for she seemed to meander all over the place like a total drunk, never taking her eyes off Sonia and Mr Mystery Man, with the nice broad shoulders and, come to think of it, slightly familiar posture. Fortunately for Jessie, all the other party guests were far too entrenched in their important conversations to bother noticing the random footfall patterns of a nobody like Jessie Slaymaker.

When it looked like Sonia was going to get her wish and get Mr Mystery Man outside, Jessie hurried her pace a little to try and get closer to the pair. For some inexplicable reason, Jessie knew she had to find out what was going on. Something just seemed fishy to her. Sonia’s facial expressions had completely changed—from being all serene and calmness, playing the confident consummate hostess, to looking like she was thoroughly harassed.

As soon as Sonia disappeared out the door with her chap, Jessie bolted the remaining distance—as best she could in her four-inch stupid shoes—and managed to reach the door before it had completely closed. After a quick glance behind her to check that she hadn’t caused too many heads to turn with her mad dash, she quietly slipped outside again. She figured if anyone questioned her presence out there, she could simply play dumb and say she was looking for the bathroom.

It took a while for Jessie’s eyes to adjust, for now she was standing in almost complete darkness. She appeared to be on another terrace on a different side of the house from where she’d been previously. She could just about make out the shadows of some of the surrounding plants by fully utilizing the crack of light that was escaping from the sides of the window coverings. This part of the grounds was obviously not intended for guests, hence the darkness. Afraid to move too far for fear of stumbling and breaking her neck, Jessie just stood for a moment, her eyes somewhat incapacitated as she tried to make out Sonia’s and Mr Mystery Man’s figures in the pitch black.

Jessie was about to give up and go back inside, when her ears came to the rescue and she heard muffled voices coming from not too far away. She edged herself along the side of the house, as silently as possible, in the direction of the voices. By sticking close to the house she hoped she wouldn’t go ass-over-tit and fall down a ditch or a ravine or something. Who knew what was nearby. She was halfway up an unfamiliar mountain in the dark of night, after all.

Jessie shuffled until she felt the corner of the house behind her back. The voices were getting clearer now and she was pretty certain Sonia and man-of-mystery were around the corner. Feeling like a loser, Jessie silently hitched up her dress and ducked down low as she peeked around the corner. A little voice in her head asked her what the hell she was doing.
Bugger
, that same voice said. She’d crouched too damn low. Jessie slowly raised her head until she could see a little better and her view wasn’t quite so impeded by some random bit of topiary. This side of the house was slightly better illuminated, and she could make out two shadowy figures in the darkness. One was definitely Sonia, as her golden dress shimmered when she moved, catching even the tiniest amount of light coming from the house. The bonus to all this was that if she listened very hard she could even make out most of what they were saying. Well, most of what Sonia was saying, seeing as she was the one who seemed to be doing all the talking. The downside was that Jessie’s half-crouching, half-standing stance was already starting to become uncomfortable, and she began to feel the burn in her thighs. Jessie hoped Sonia and friend wrapped up their deep and meaningful conversation pronto, whilst she also made a mental note to get down the gym when she got home for some power lunge action.

‘I need it by tomorrow,’ the man said forcefully, more loudly than Sonia. Jessie froze as she suddenly realised from whose mouth those words had sprouted from. Charlie. Of course. But with different hair. Spikey. Clark Kent had fooled everyone with a pair of glasses; Charlie had fooled her with different hair and the fact that he had had his back to her from far across the room.

‘You can have it when the information checks out. I don’t know how many times I’ve told you,’ Sonia replied to him, sounding exasperated, her volume now matching his. Jessie guessed this thread of conversation may have been going on for some time.

‘Sonia, you’re not listening to me. The plan to get Jessie to be the scapegoat for taking that information has seriously backfired on me. For some reason they seem intent on believing
her
innocent rather than me,’ Charlie whined.

‘I can’t think why,’ Sonia chipped in sarcastically. Jessie could practically hear Sonia rolling her eyes even if she was too far away and it was too dark to see.

‘I had it all planned out. I thought, worst-case scenario, even if I was suspected, then she’d take the blame for me. She’s besotted with me. Now they’ve gone and offered her a job out here,’ Charlie said bitterly. ‘And now I’m suspect number one thanks to her bloody testimony, the little bitch. That’s why I need my money
now
, so I can get out of this bloody mess.’

‘Wait, they’ve offered her a job here? In Hong Kong?’ Sonia asked incredulously. ‘You said she was useless.’

Jessie hadn’t been able to process the full extent of what she’d heard come out from Charlie’s mouth, but she had zeroed in on the shocked and surprised tone from Sonia. It wasn’t
that
farfetched that she should have been offered a job in Hong Kong. Was it?

‘Yep, she is. But I can’t control any of that now, so your little plan to entrap Jack has an obstacle,’ Charlie said almost gleefully.

‘Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not worried about her. Jack is as good as mine now. As long as he’s in fear of my father’s wrath for breaking their agreement, there’s no chance he’d dare go off with that Jessie woman.’

‘I seriously doubt that she’d move out here anyway,’ Charlie said. ‘She’s just not brave enough,’ he added. ‘I take it the information about Jack and your father proved useful then?’

‘Yes, Charlie. And I’ve already thanked you for that. Look, I’ll see what I can do to expedite the funds to you first thing tomorrow,’ Sonia suddenly conceded, and seemed impatient to conclude this liaison with Charlie. ‘Meanwhile, I have to get back to my party, and I think it best you disappear. I’ll call you in the morning.’

Sonia began walking, but Charlie suddenly grabbed her and kissed her. Not just a peck on the cheek either. It was a full-on smooch. If she’d been wearing socks, he would have kissed them right off her. Sonia pulled away and, instead of reprimanding him as Jessie expected she would with a slap round the chops, she just laughed and told him to go in a hushed whisper.

By now, Jessie’s thighs were on fire and cramping like never before in her life. This, combined with the facts she’d just heard and the act she’d just witnessed, caused her to lose her balance, and she stumbled forward. She knew immediately that her blasted shoes had made an audible noise on the paving that couldn’t simply be passed off as trees rustling or some such other outdoorsy noise. Jessie’s only hope now was that Sonia wouldn’t clock her as she made a run for it—or rather swiftly tiptoed, to be more precise—back the way she’d come. She’d barely done any physical exertion, but her heart was thumping and she could hear her breathing coming loud and fast.

Once back inside the house, Jessie hot-footed it to the bathroom on a quest to control her ensuing hyperventilation. Well, that was her plan, but she was, after all, in a maze of a building, and such a thing as finding the bathroom was easier said than done. In her haste and flustered state, she’d had to ask two different waiters for the desired location before she finally found what she was looking for. Jessie leaned heavily on the washbasin for some time before she was able to bring her breathing back under control.

‘So,’ she sighed as she slowly looked up into the mirror to see that her complexion had now turned quite pale. ‘Charlie tried to set me up,’ she said to herself bitterly. And what’s more, the fucking bastard was going round telling people she was useless. Jessie stood still for some time, shaking her head, as she tried to make sense of what she’d just heard.

First, she ran through what she’d learned about Charlie. She’d already known that he’d been in Mr Chan’s office, and had stolen the sensitive information. But now she also knew that he’d deliberately tried to set her up to take the blame for it! Bastard. He’d then sold his precious information to Sonia—and despite his protestations to Jessie that Sonia wasn’t interested in him, there was definitely something going on between those two. That kiss spoke volumes. Conclusion: Charlie was a self-serving lying bastard.

Next, Jessie thought about Sonia. Sonia had paid Charlie for stolen information. It was also clear from what Jessie had heard that Sonia had known all about Jack’s agreement with her father. Jessie felt sure that Jack hadn’t been informed about that little gem of pertinent information. Sonia was totally playing on Jack’s fear of her father to keep him under her thumb. Conclusion: Sonia was not the good girl she made herself out to be. She was a schemer who was prepared to have someone else essentially break the law—for that is what Charlie did when he stole those documents. Winning Jack was the cherry on the top.

It was too much for Jessie to digest as she began to fan herself ineffectually with a tissue. The more she thought about what she’d discovered, the dizzier she felt. She didn’t have a clue what was going on, or how many other people might be involved. It did cross her mind that perhaps even Jack was actively involved and all three of the buggers had been scheming around her and weaving a web of intrigue. She didn’t think this was the case though. She hoped it wasn’t the case. Something in the pit of her stomach told her that Jack was as innocent as she was. Jessie took several more deep breaths, then reapplied her lipstick and brushed her cheeks with some blush to make her look a bit less shocked.

‘But what to do now?’ Jessie asked herself as she gathered up her makeup into her bag. She allowed herself another couple of deep breaths, forced her shoulders back, and prepared to reenter the lion’s den—aka Sonia’s party.

Chapter 64

Jack was having the time of his life—
not
. Fortunately, he’d managed to find a quiet spot near the kitchen where Sonia hadn’t found him yet and where he could sit in relative peace. He was glad to be alone, and contented himself with watching the waiting staff glide backwards and forwards, delivering trays of canapés to Sonia’s guests, whilst he wallowed and continued to feel sorry for himself. Sonia had paraded him around all night, steering him this way and that, introducing him to this somebody and that somebody, all the while feeling like he was a nobody. It was clear to him that none of this Hong Kong set wanted to meet him on account of his success in Shanghai. No, they only wanted to pass the time of day with him because it appeared that he was Sonia’s latest squeeze.