Chapter sixty-eight: He Came Back

Chapter sixty-eight: He Came Back

Jessica

"Don't say anything stupid to him." I warned Janice as we neared the company building.

Even after seven months, I still felt butterflies coming here because a small part of me wondered if Jeffrey would suddenly appear in the office with open arms and a smile that could cure cancer. But I was just getting my hopes up every time.

"Okay, since it is your birthday today, I guess I will be professional just for you." She shrugged.

"I can believe you are turning twenty-one, you are so fúcking old now."

"Shut up!" I laughed.

"I am just looking forward to this party tonight to be honest."

"So are you excited!" She grinned and I gently pushed her shoulder.

Sadly it was raining, so apparently the weather didn't want to cooperate for my birthday.

"Maybe a little, I just need to let loose. You know?"

I swiped my card and headed up to Jorge's office. It felt weird seeing the familiar now replaced by JP. I walked into the busy office space and Juliet immediately greeted me.

"Mr. Peters is ready to see you, Miss Silver."

"Oh that was fast. Thanks, Juliet." I motioned for Janice to follow me and I walked into Jorge's office.

All the furniture was still the same, the decorations had of course been replaced by Jorge's possession. The atmosphere still felt like Jeffrey though.

"Hi, Jessica." He greeted me.

"Hi, Jorge. This is my friend, Janice. I hope it is okay if she sits in on the shoot today." He shrugged with a friendly smile.

"It is not a problem at all." He extended his hand to Janice and they shook hands. I could see in Janice's eyes that she was completely smitten. Jorge on the other hand, was simply being friendly.

"It is nice to meet you."

"It is nice to meet you too." She replied.

We went over the typical consent forms and I signed away. I could see Janice in my peripheral vision checking Jorge out every chance she could. I held back a smile, knowing fully well that Jorge wasn't going to see her more than just a college student.

"So, I will have Daniel take you down to the studio so you can change and get started." I guess Daniel is the new vice president.

"I am going to take these papers to the marketing department and then I will come down in a few minutes."

He paged his vice president and soon a young man probably a year or so older than me walked in. He had hair like Sam's, dark roots and blond ends, styled in a similar quiff.

"Daniel, please take these two ladies down to the studio on the tenth floor."

"Yes, sir."

We followed him to the elevator and down to the tenth floor where the photoshoot was already set up and he directed me immediately to my dressing room so I could get hair and makeup done.

Even sitting in the dressing room was bringing back memories of the first time Jeffrey and I… No, I needed to focus on the shoot right now. I didn't want to think about him but goodness me, I always think about him. It also made me wonder how much he thought about me if he even did at all.

Jorge eventually showed up after about ten minutes into the shoot. As he directed the photographer on what kind of looks we wanted and what poses we should try, I glanced over at Janice as she lounged on the couch and was glued to her phone.

Suddenly, her eyes widened at something on her phone and she looked at me and then back to her phone. She began mumbling words to me which was extremely hard because I was horrible at reading lips. My heart skipped a beat when she mentioned something.

"Jeffrey is back." She said but I knew that wasn't possible. I waved my hand and just decided to talk to her after.

Once we finished, I pulled my silk robe back on and talked to the photographer about the shots we were thinking of using. I felt a nudge on my arms and I turned to face Janice.

"Jeffrey is in the county." She whispered and I furrowed.

"What?"

She showed me her phone which had an article displayed on the screen. It was talking about how Jeffrey touched down in Shoma city last night. My heart skipped a beat at the fact that he is back in the country and was sending my mind into a frenzy.

"He is in the country." She said, I shrugged, hoping that if I told myself that enough times, I would stop worrying if he would come back to the city or not.

"Yes, but that was last night. Who knows where he went now?" She looked at the screen and scrolled through the article.

"It says he stopped in some petrol station for fuel and some minor sightseeing, that is all. He was alone and got back on his jet early this morning."

"To where?" I asked, even though part of me didn't want to know. She shrugged.

"I don't know, nobody is talking about it enough. I need details."

As we were packing up to go, I realized that I had left one of my bracelets on a stool by the backdrop when we were charging outfits. I walked over to grab it, and when I turned around. I noticed a talk figure walking past the door. It was just a glimpse but I would recognize that curly hair anywhere.

He is here?

I felt my face pale and I looked at Janice.

"We need to go," I said to Janice, she looked at me confused and then I whispered.

"I think Jeffrey is here." I whispered and her eyes widened.

"Well, why don't you go see him? Go get him back." I hastily shook my head as I tried to pull her towards the back door.

"No, I am not ready. I am not prepared to see him yet."

"Jessica, if he is here. Don't you want to know why? What if he is here for a long time? Even if he is not, at least you will know."

I bit my lips and I could feel tears pricking my eyes. I couldn't face him, not after the constant avoiding of his phone calls and texts. I bet he hated me for that. I shook my head and walked out the door whether Janice followed or not. I couldn't face Jeffrey not until I knew what to say to him.

I waited at the elevator for Janice, but she still hasn't followed. I anxiously tapped my foot, hoping she would get the hint that I wanted to leave, sbe eventually appeared.

"I tried looking for him but I didn't see him." She muttered, I nodded and we went down to the lobby, she unlocked her car.

"The car is unlocked now, I am going to use the restroom before we go."

She left me alone and I sighed at the idea of having to go out in the rain. I sucked it up though and walked outside, the rain instantly peppering my body like little wet kisses.

It wasn't even up to two seconds of me being outside that I laid my eyes on him. He was drenched as if he had been standing outside for ages. His eyes were beautiful, his lips parted as if he couldn't believe I was standing right in front of him.

This is exactly what I was trying to avoid, the silence, the stares, the uncomfortable feelings in my stomach. I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn't seeing a mirage but he is really there, in the flesh and blood.