Larry sighed. “I’m not a kid anymore, so why are they still worried about me? You, on the other hand, will have Archie and Benny worrying about you if you reach home late.”
The look in Roxanne’s eyes turned tender when she thought about her children. At that moment, the warm lights by the hotel doorway shining on her gave her a gentler appearance.
That was the sight Jack was greeted with when he turned to say something to them. He felt as if the sight of Roxanne had shot an arrow into his heart, and he could not help but gulp. In fact, he had even forgotten what he wanted to say to them.
“I’ll just give them heads up later. It’s late, so it’s best for me not to trouble you, Larry,” Roxanne rejected with a chuckle.
Larry’s gaze darkened. He knew that she would not be easily convinced, so he had no choice but to give up. “I’ll wait here with you for a while, then. It’s late, and I’m worried about leaving you here alone.”
Roxanne assented with a smile.
“I’ll send Ms. Jarvis back,” came Jack’s voice from the side. Roxanne froze, and she quickly said, “It’s fine.” Even though they were close enough to be considered friends, Roxanne did not think that they were that close enough for Jack to send her home.
She rejected Larry’s offer because she felt that it would be inconvenient to do so. However, she rejected Jack because she felt that they were not close enough for him to send her back.
Naturally, Jack could see the difference between Larry and him. Still, despite knowing that, he was disappointed.
“There’s no need for you to be this courteous with me, Ms. Jarvis. We’ll be working together in the near future. I just wish for us to get closer so that we can work better together.” Then he tamped down the rising strange feelings in him. “Also, I’m about to go back to my place, and your house is on my way. It won’t be troublesome at all.”
A crease appeared between Roxanne’s brows.
Every excuse she could think of to reject Jack had been dismissed by him before she could even voice it. Even though she still felt that it was inappropriate for him to give her a ride, she simply could not come up with any reason to reject his offer.
Larry didn’t think much of it as he chimed in, “In that case, just accept Mr. Damaris’ offer, Roxanne.”
Without a doubt, Larry would rather have Jack send Roxanne back than have Roxanne take a cab home. Since they both had said that, Roxanne had no choice but to agree to it. “Sorry for the trouble, then, Mr. Damaris.”
Jack let out a sigh inwardly and gave her a reassuring smile in response. “It’s nothing but a small matter.”
The three of them then waited for the two drivers to come by the hotel entrance as they talked about the collaboration. In the middle of their conversation, various footsteps could be heard from behind them.
They guessed that a group of people had just finished their meal and were coming out of the hotel together.
Hence, the trio stepped aside to open up a path for the people behind them without turning around.
“Slow down, Jessica!”
The few young women behind them were supporting a drunk Jessica with worried looks on their faces.
After leaving the event earlier, Jessica had downed countless glasses of wine and became drunk. She was angry the more she thought about what had happened earlier.
It took her friends a long while of persuasion to convince her to stop. Then, they tried to support her out of the hotel to return home.
Jessica was truly drunk out of her mind. As the women supported her out, she continued to mumble under her breath, “Roxanne Jarvis, huh? Just you wait! Jack’s mine…”
Just as the few young women were about to respond to that, they lifted their heads to see Roxanne and the two men.
Jessica was still cursing away.
“Jessica, stop it!” one of the young women said.
However, Jessica shoved that young woman’s hand away and snapped, “Don’t touch me! You’re on Jarvis’ side, aren’t you? How dare you defend her?”
The young woman who was shoved aside glanced at Roxanne. Then, Jessica began swearing in her face, and the young woman’s eyes reddened in panic.
When Jessica looked at the spot where her friend was looking, she saw Roxanne and the other two. It took her a while before she realized that the woman in the trio was Roxanne. “Roxanne!” Jessica stumbled over to the other woman. Roxanne furrowed her brows, and her expression darkened.
She had hoped to avoid unnecessary trouble by pretending that she did not hear Jessica. Moreover, Jessica was someone Jack knew; Jack would be placed in a tight spot if she were to start a fight with Jessica.
Yet, who would have known that Jessica would notice her, let alone storm over to her?
“Jessica, what are you doing?” Jack stood in front of Roxanne grimly. Jessica was drunk, and she had lost most of her inhibition and rationality. Therefore, when she saw Jack defending Roxanne, she became even more enraged.
Despite that, Jessica was still gentle with Jack. “Move aside, Jack! This has nothing to do with you.” In fact, she still tried to squeeze out a smile for him.
Jack frowned. “Jessica, we’re in a public space, so please mind your behavior. Go back soon if you’re drunk!” With that, his eyes flitted toward Jessica’s friends, a sign of him wanting them to take Jessica away.
They immediately understood what he meant and carefully came over. However, just as they were about to reach Jessica, Jessica spotted them.
“Get lost, all of you!” Jessica shouted hysterically before turning to look at the spot behind Jack. “Come out here,
Roxanne! What are you scared of?”
Roxanne met her gaze with a frown. “Ms. Hightower, sober up. I’m only friends with Mr. Damaris.”
Even if they did have a relationship, Jessica had no right to intervene in it. After all, the only thing between Jessica and Jack was that Jessica had a crush on the latter. Still, those words were not hers to say.
“Friends?” Jessica laughed mockingly. “You have plenty of friends, don’t you? It’s already so late, but Mr. Morrison and Jack are still keeping you company. I knew it. You’re a minx who’s going after two men at once. You’re smug, aren’t you?”
The moment those words were out of her mouth, the expressions of the trio darkened.
“Jessica Hightower,” Jack bellowed. “Mind your words. You and I have no romantic relationship to speak of. Ms. Jarvis is only a business partner and a friend to us. What nonsense are you spouting?”
Jessica was stunned by his words, and she said aggrievedly, “Jack, what are you talking about? I like you!”
Then she moved closer to Jack and stretched out her arms to hug him. Realizing what she was trying to do, Jack creased his forehead and instinctively pushed her away.
Jessica stumbled and stood transfixed for a long while. Roxanne’s frown deepened. She wanted to support Jessica, but Larry grabbed her arm. “Roxanne, you can’t always be kind to others.”
The icy tone that Larry had was one that Roxanne had never heard before. Roxanne halted in her tracks. When she thought about the animosity the other woman had toward her, she chose to remain in her spot.
“You’re drunk!” Jack shouted, trying to keep his anger to himself as he stared at the stunned woman supporting herself by the wall. “Go home now, and I’ll pretend that this never happened.”
Realizing how grave the situation was, Jessica’s friends quickly stepped forward to grab Jessica. “Jessica, Mr. Damaris is angry. Let’s hurry off now.”
“Mr. Damaris, Dr. Jarvis, we’re really sorry. Jessica’s drunk, so please don’t hold her accountable for this.”
The words of persuasion and the apologetic speech sounded at the same time. The young women then hurriedly tried to support Jessica again.
However, before they could even touch her, Jessica clumsily straightened up with the help of the wall. The women sighed in relief, thinking that Jessica had sobered up. “Jessica—”
“It’s all because of you!” Jessica glared at Roxanne. “You b*tch! If not for you, Jack wouldn’t treat me like this!”
As soon as she said that, and before the people could react, Jessica lunged toward Roxanne. Jack had pushed her closer to Roxanne just now, so there was no one between the two.
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.
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