Harry watched as Jade ate quietly, and he wondered why she had suddenly become quiet. It was very unlike her to not have one thing or another to talk about unless she was upset about something.
“Did I say something to upset you?” He asked in concern after failing to come up with anything he could have said to upset her.
“No, you didn’t,” Jade assured him as she sipped from her can of juice.
“Are you sure? I’m sorry if I did,” Harry said, and this time she smiled at him as she licked her bottom lip, a gesture which drew Harry’s eyes to her lips, and his heart skipped a beat when he remembered how she had licked his lips like that before sucking on his tongue. Butterflies fluttered in his belly, and he blinked to clear his head so that he could focus on what she was saying.
“Trust me, you did nothing wrong. By now you should know that I won’t hesitate to call you a jerk if you’re being one,” Jade said, and Harry gave her a nod before moving his gaze away from her lips to look at his wristwatch.
He needed the distraction since he didn’t want to keep staring at her lips. He couldn’t think clearly when his eyes kept following every movement of her lips that way, evoking memories that made him uncomfortable.
“I know I have taken up enough of your time today, thanks for letting me do that. I should let you get back to work now,” Jade said when she noticed how he was staring at his wristwatch and assumed that he wanted her to leave.
Somehow now that she was willing to let him get back to work, he was feeling hesitant to let her go. Especially since she had been so quiet earlier, and he didn’t know what was going on inside her head.
“So, where are you heading to now?” Harry asked as she pushed away from the table.
“Benne’s office. I will spend some time with my brothers and then stop by Celsie’s office to say hello to her before leaving,” Jade said with a small smile, “Since I might not be at your apartment by the time you get back, I guess this is goodbye for us until we see each other again… Unless of course, you decide to stop by the house to wish my dad a happy birthday,” she added, hoping he would do that so that she could see him again.
“Let’s see how that goes,” Harry said, not wanting to make any promises as he pushed away from the table, and they both stood up to leave.
“You will be fine on your own, right?” Harry asked with concern as they walked out of the cafeteria.
“I should be. I was fine before you came,” she said, even though she doubted that things would ever be the same again. He had succeeded in altering her routine under such a short duration of time.
Although she would have liked to ask him to go back with her for her to finish the case and then return with him, she didn’t want to be selfish. She didn’t want to keep him away from his job just to babysit her, and she also knew that if he returned with her, he would likely see Aurora again and go on a date with her. She’d rather they go on their date without her help or knowledge.
Harry gave her a nod, “Okay. You can return to our suite at the hotel if you’re not comfortable with staying at your apartment alone.”
“I will just return to my apartment. The suite won’t be the same without you,” Jade said, and Harry gave her a nod.
He knew that he was nodding so much like a lizard when he should be speaking. But what else could he say? “Don’t hesitate to call me if you need my help,” Harry said, and Jade nodded, unable to say anything because of the lump that had formed in her throat.
Her heart suddenly felt heavy because this felt like goodbye. From the way Harry was sounding, it was as though even if she came to work in the company, he was not going to be so close to her anymore.
Neither of them said a word as they stepped into the elevator. Since they were going to the same floor, Harry pressed the button for the seventh floor. Once they got to the seventh floor, they both stepped out of the elevator and faced each other.
“I’m going to miss you,” Jade confessed softly as she stepped forward and embraced him.
He knew that he was actually going to miss her more, even though thankfully, he would be able to focus on his work and breathe more easily without her around, “I will miss you too,” he said quietly, surprising Jade, who hadn’t expected him to admit that.
She had a wide smile on her face as she broke the hug, stepped back, and looked into his face, “Do you mean that, or are you saying it just because I said so first?”
“I actually wish I was,” Harry said with a slight frown, and she giggled as she embraced him again and then kissed his cheek before stepping back once again.
“I’m going to call you every day. Make sure you receive my calls when you’re not busy, and call back if you miss my calls,” she told him, and he gave her a nod.
“I will.”
“I don’t need to set a reminder like Aurora did, do I?” She asked with a teasing smile, and Harry chuckled.
“You don’t.”
“Good. Now return to work. I hope to see you at Benne’s tonight,” she said with a hopeful smile and waved at him before walking away, while Harry remained where he stood and just watched her until she disappeared into Benne’s office.
Once Jade walked into Benne’s office, her brothers stopped their conversation and looked at her curiously, “How did your tourism go?” Benne asked as she took the seat next to Bryan and crossed her legs.
“It went well. Why are you both staring at me with so much curiosity? Is there something you want to know?” She asked with a slightly raised brow.
“Is there something you’d like to tell us?” Bryan asked hopefully.
“Like what?”
“Like why you were clinging to Harry? Do you like him?” Bryan asked before Benne could stop him, and Jade grinned.
“Is it that obvious?” Jade asked, and Benne chuckled when Bryan glanced at him.
“You were clinging to him while he was begging to be rescued. So yeah, it’s obvious,” Benne said, and then his expression turned serious, “So you now like him after trying to matchmake him? How did that go?” Benne asked, and Jade sighed.
“Oh, please don’t even remind me of that. He just told me he’s planning on going out with her on a date,” Jade said sadly, and Benne shrugged.
“I don’t think that matters. I actually think he likes you,” Benne said, and Jade sat up, interested.
“You think so? Why? Did he tell you something?” Jade asked, hopefully, while Bryan watched his siblings discuss. Although he thought it was weird for them to be trying to matchmake their younger sister when they were supposed to be possessive and protective of her. Still, after hearing about Harry from Benne and seeing now that Jade was interested in the guy, he was relaxed and very curious to see how things would play out. He couldn’t wait to tell Sonia about this since she seemed interested in the two.
“He didn’t say anything, but I think so because right from our college days, he has always shown a lot of interest when I talk about you. And I suspect you were part of the reason he came home with me that Christmas,” Benne said, and Jade shook her head in disbelief.
“That can’t be possible.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.