Chapter 313 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“I should hurry up? I thought this was a we thing? Didn’t you talk about warming me up a moment ago? I thought you changed your mind,” Bryan said with a slight frown, and Sonia laughed softly.

“What did I do to deserve someone with such a dirty mind as you? I only meant that you need to shower and change into something dry. I’m going to change into something else, and then find something else for you to wear, so go in and have a warm shower before you catch a cold,” Sonia suggested as she checked out the clothes.

“Fine,” Bryan muttered as he walked into the bathroom, making Sonia grin.

“I was going to ask you earlier, are all of these clothes yours or Benne’s?” Sonia called out to him curiously, wondering why there were so many clothes in the closet. She was certain that he hadn’t traveled down here with all of these clothes.

“Mine. For reasons best known to Benne, he ensures that the closets in each of our bedrooms are filled with clothes of different sizes in case of whenever we visit him,” Bryan called back as he turned on the hot faucet of the shower. He didn’t shut the door so that he could still talk with her as he showered.

“That’s some billionaire shit man! I should definitely check out Jade’s closet. I’m sure I’m going to find some really nice designer outfit that would fit,” Sonia said happily as she picked out a boxer, and then denim baggy shorts and a red t-shirt for him.

Bryan shook his head in amusement when he heard the excitement in her tone. He couldn’t understand why she continued to behave that way when she could afford stuff for herself. And even if she couldn’t afford some things, they both knew that he could, so why was she excited by this?

“I’ve set the clothes on the bed. I’m stepping out to find Jade’s bedroom, and then I will join the others downstairs, so come over when you’re done,” she called out to him before leaving the room.

Bryan didn’t need anyone to tell him that she was leaving earlier than him because she didn’t want to be teased again.

************

“Why are you quiet? You don’t feel okay with me going back with you, do you?” Jade asked as she watched Harry.

“It’s not a problem. I’ve handled being around you for the past couple of days so I’m sure I can manage for another night. It’s not a big deal,” Harry said, and Jade snorted.

“I’m very sure this is the most fun you’ve had in your boring life. Manage? You wish.”

If this was a few days ago, she would most likely have been offended by what he had said, but she was fast getting used to his way of speaking his mind, and she also had adopted his style when communicating with him. It had to be blunt for blunt.

Harry said nothing to that as he continued to drive, but he thought about what she had just said. He couldn’t say being with her for the last couple of days had been fun, since half the time she had been invading his privacy when all he wanted was to be alone, but then again he had been sent there so that she wouldn’t be alone so he had tried his best to accommodate her.

Since he was an only child and the closest to a sibling he had was Benne who had also been his roommate in college, it was his first time spending this much time with someone else. So yes, it had felt different having her around, but did that qualify as fun?

“Do you have any plan for tonight?” Jade asked when he still didn’t say anything after some time.

“Yes.”

“You do? What kind of plan?” She asked, surprised, and equally curious to know what he was going to be doing.

“The same kind of plan that every normal human has at the end of every exhausting day. I intend to sleep.”

“Oh, that!” Jade said in amusement, wondering why she had been expecting anything else from him.

“So what? You’re just going to go to bed when we get home?” She asked incredulously.

“Do you have a problem with me doing that? Or perhaps do you need me to sing you a lullaby before going to bed?” Harry asked dryly, and Jade giggled.

“You have a weird sense of humor, uncle Harry,” Jade said slapping his arm playfully, and Harry glared at her, which only made her laugh even more.

“So, I was thinking. How about we hang out tonight? Bills on me. Think of it as a thank you from me, for inconveniencing yourself to help me.”

“I didn’t do it for you, so you don’t have to thank me,” Harry said, and Jade sucked in a deep breath.

“Is there some kind of kick you get out of being difficult?” Jade asked irritably.

“Why? I’m difficult because I’m saying you don’t have to thank me?” Harry asked in confusion.

“Fine. I’m not thanking you. Let’s hang out tonight. It won’t take all night. You can always come back to sleep,” Jade offered.

“And I already told you, I’m exhausted. I need to get proper rest. I’m going to the office tomorrow,” Harry reminded her.

“You know what? Suit yourself! I’m going to go out and have fun tonight whether or not you come with me!” She snapped at him.

“By all means, please have fun,” Harry encouraged, and Jade sucked her teeth as she turned her back to him and looked out of the window.

Why was she upset this time? Didn’t he have the right to choose what he wanted to do with his evening anymore? Harry mused as he parked the car in n front of a five-star restaurant.

Their outfits were too casual for such a big restaurant, but he didn’t mind. He wasn’t here to impress anyone after all. Once he got out of the car, he walked over to the other side and opened her door, “Are you going to come down, or do you intend to stay back here and sulk?” He asked, but Jade ignored him as she got out of the car with all the dignity she could muster.

Harry handed the car key to the valet stepped back for Jade to walk inside when they got to the door.

Why she always let him get to her was beyond her, Jade thought with annoyance as she walked past him.

“Harry!” The owner of the hotel who looked about the same age as Harry greeted, when he sighted Harry walking in behind Jade, and he hurried towards him.

“Hello, Philip! It’s been a while,” Harry greeted with a polite smile as he shook hands with the young man.

“It’s good to see you. You look… Different,” he observed with a smile, and then glanced at Jade who was waiting some feet away from them for Harry to finish with his conversation.

“I guess it’s because I’m not dressed in a suit as usual,” Harry said, ignoring the curiosity he could see on the young man’s face.

“I don’t suppose you made a reservation?” The man asked.

“No, I didn’t. My little friend here…” Harry said loud enough for Jade to hear him, “…is hungry, so we decided to stop by,” Harry said, and Jade scowled at him, making Harry stifle the urge to chuckle.

“That is not a problem then. I’ll just escort you to a private table if you don’t mind. And maybe you can introduce me to your little friend.”

Little friend? Did he really just refer to her as his little friend? Jade asked herself irritably as she followed both men. It was quite obvious that he enjoyed annoying her. He seemed to know the best ways to annoy her.

She had only wanted to hang out with him because she genuinely felt grateful that he had come around. Spending the last couple of days with him was the most fun she had allowed herself to enjoy since her cheating ex-boyfriend died.

She had withdrawn from everyone, and even though she tried to sound like she was fine while talking with her family over the phone, she had been very far from okay. She barely ate well nor took care of herself. She had buried herself in her job and overworked herself until he had come along and forced her to come out of her shell and communicate with him every day.

The offer of hanging out with him was out of the table now. She was going to go out without him. It had been four years already since she last went clubbing, and she wanted to do just that. The last time she went clubbing was with Todd, two months before his accident. To think that she hadn’t even realized that he was cheating on her.

“Esquire?” Harry called when he noticed that she had a distant look in her eyes and wasn’t paying attention to what was going on around her.

“Huh?” She asked, blinking rapidly as she tried to focus her gaze on him.

Harry looked slightly concerned, “Are you okay?”

“Sure.”

“Then sit,” he said, making her realize that he was still holding out her seat.

She had almost forgotten how much of a gentleman he was. Or perhaps he was just old-fashioned? He was only a gentleman when his mouth was closed.

“Thanks,” Jade said as she lowered herself to the seat, and Harry took the seat opposite her.

Philip cleared his throat as he took the seat adjacent to theirs, “So?” He asked, looking at Harry with a hopeful smile, reminding him that he wanted to be introduced to the pretty little friend. He figured that since Harry had introduced her that way, perhaps she was nothing other than that to him.

“Philip, this is Jade Delgado. Jade, meet Philip Foreman. He is the owner of this restaurant.”

“Jade Delgado? You are not related to Benedict Delgado, are you?” Philip asked with a friendly smile, which for some reason, put Jade off.

Although he was good-looking and she had caught him staring at her with interest a moment ago, she didn’t like the look she noticed on his face when he heard her name. Even if he had actually been interested in her, it seemed like his interest doubled upon hearing her name. From the way he asked the question, she could tell that he already knew the answer.

Harry didn’t miss the change in Jade’s countenance when the guy asked about her relationship with Benne, and he had a feeling that she wasn’t going to answer the question, so he decided to answer the question instead and observe her reaction.

“Yes. She is Benne’s only sister. The spoilt Princess of the Delgado family,” Harry said with a note of humor in his voice, and he picked up the menu to place his order when two waiters, a male, and female, joined them.

“Wow! I never knew that Benne’s sister was this beautiful. It’s nice to meet you,” Philip said with a pleasant smile as he held out his hand for a handshake.

“Thanks, Mr. Foreman,” Jade said with a polite smile as she shook hands with him and then withdrew her hand when it seemed like he would hold on to it longer than was necessary.

“Call me Philip, please.”

‘So you can call me Jade? I don’t think so!’ Jade thought as she looked away from him and picked up another menu, “I suppose you come here often? What’s the best dish here?” She asked Harry, who was pretending not to follow their conversation, and he lowered the menu to meet her gaze.

“You want me to order something for you?” He asked, and she gave him a nod.

“Okay. We will have two servings of your signature dish,” he said to the waiters, and the female waiter taking the order for food gave them a polite bow before excusing herself.

“Bring them our best bottle of wine. It’s on the house,” Philip said, dismissing the male waiter.

“It’s been a while since I last saw Benne. However, I read something about him showing his face to the world. How is he doing?” Philip asked, and Harry glanced up from the menu, wondering if Philip was asking him or Jade.

Seeing as Jade remained silent, Harry looked at Philip, “He’s doing good. He has just been really busy lately.”

“Ah, I see!” Philip said, wondering why Jade wasn’t talking to him.

“Do we have to eat here? Can’t we just take it home?” Jade asked, not liking the extra company on the table.

She had a feeling that he was indirectly trying to let her know that he was close friends with his brother and Harry. And even if that weren’t what he was doing, she would keep feeling like everything the guy did was targeted to impress her, and she didn’t want to keep listening to him talk.

Home? Was something going on between Harry and Jade? Were they like a couple and were having some sort of misunderstanding hence she was in a bad mood? He wanted to ask, but he couldn’t do it in front of Jade without coming off as rude or nosy.

“Is something wrong? Is the restaurant not to your liking?” Philip asked, concerned.

“Don’t worry about her. She is just being her usual sweet self,” Harry assured Philip before looking at Jade with a slightly concerned expression.

“Why the sudden rush to go home?” He asked, wondering why she seemed to be so uncomfortable with Philip’s company.

For someone who had been trying to get him to be in a relationship and had insisted that she would get a boyfriend before he got a girlfriend, she seemed like she wasn’t interested in getting to know Philip. He was good-looking, wealthy, and polite, so what was her problem?

“I would prefer to spend the evening ALONE with you,” Jade said, making Harry’s brows draw together in confusion, while Philip quickly concluded that they were both in a relationship.

“My apologies then. I’ll just excuse you both. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding,” he said with an apologetic smile as he stood up to leave, and Jade flashed him an equally cool smile.

“Thanks for your understanding,” she said as she watched him leave.

“What was that about? You do realize that you just gave him the impression that there is something between us, right?” Harry asked, looking appalled.

“Something other than the fact that I’m your little friend?” Jade asked innocently just as the waiter came with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

Neither of them said a word as the waiter poured some wine into the glasses, and immediately he left, Harry picked up from where they stopped, “He already figured that I used that phrase because you’re Benne’s kid sister. It wasn’t a big deal. The guy was interested in you, and you just blew him off,” Harry pointed out.

“Why? Are you now interested in my love life? Or did Benne ask you to get me a boyfriend too?” Jade asked as she picked up her wineglass and took a sip. She closed her eyes to savor the taste, “This is really good wine,” she said as she dropped the glass.

Harry just stared at her and shook his head. He didn’t know what was going on in her head. A part of him wished he did, but another part of him didn’t want to know, so he said nothing as he picked up his wine glass and sipped from it.

“So, what is your plan ?” Harry asked after a while when the silence between them became too much.

“What plan?”

“You’ll be seeing Candace tomorrow. Are you going to take her to Jero or bring Jero to her?” Harry asked, and she rolled her eyes.

“Are you incapable of having a conversation outside work-related subjects?” She asked, and Harry sighed.

What did this woman want from him? “What else do you want to talk about?” Harry asked, and she shook her head. It was obvious that the man didn’t know anything outside work.

“Tell me about yourself,” Jade suggested.

“You already know me. You know my name, you know my dad is my only family, you know about my job, you know my best friend, you know my relationship status, you know how blunt I can be,” Harry listed.

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