21: Eerily familiar
**Oliver**
*I hated my uncle.* This was the only thought on my mind as I drove to the small, quaint EJS accounting firm. It was supposed to be a surprise visit, and to make myself feel better about it, I brought along a little apology gift for Jasmine: a pocketknife- a personal favourite of hers, I'd come to discover. Before I could even enter the property, however, I was stopped at the gate by security.
"I'm sorry sir, do you have an appointment?" The short, rather small man asked. I glanced him up and down and cocked a brow.
"You've got to be kidding me. Jasmine hired you to be the security guard on duty?" I uttered with a chuckle afterward, accidentally letting a little bit of "asshole" slip.
He was clearly unimpressed by my comment and, within a split-second, I felt the cold, hardness of his gun against my head. Immediately I raised my hands in surrender, knowing full well that wolves were nowhere near immune to a bullet to the head.
"Do you have an appointment, *sir*." The armed man seethed.
I bit my lip and sighed, "No, I don't. But your boss is going to want to see me."
"Name?" He demanded.
"Oliver. Oliver Michaels."
He raised a brow before stepping into his outhouse and calling Jasmine, I assumed. "Hello Miss Spectra. I have a man by the name of Oliver Michaels here to see you. Let him through you say? Are you sure ma'am? Alright ma'am, understood." With that, he put the phone down and returned to my side.
"She says you can go through. But if you try anything funny, it will be my bullets between those two eyes of yours."
I smiled up at him and winked, "Whatever you say, handsome."
He was about to lose his shit, but I suddenly began driving off, through the gates and into the visitors parking, clearly marked by a sign which was carefully placed in between the beautiful foliage which bordered the entire property of the parking lot.
The moment I stepped foot in the building I was met by the beaming face of the beautiful receptionist. "Hello sir, how can I help you?"
I was about to answer her when my words were cut off by those of Jasmine's.
"Oliver?" She exclaimed. I turned around and couldn't help but mirror the bright smile across her face as she gazed at mine. It had been a year since I'd seen her and, although we didn't at all get along in the beginning, we'd developed quite a good relationship over the years. After all, Jasmine's hear was the opposite of Tristan's. Hers was pure gold and full of forgiveness.
"Jasmine Spectra... it's been a while, hasn't it?" I chuckled. Immediately she began walking up to me and, after an even brighter smile, she wrapped her arms around me. I was startled at first, but eventually, my arms found their way around her body.
"I missed you at the engagement party," She whispered.
We parted and I smiled at her nervously before being honest. "I didn't want to make things awkward for Loren."
When I said this, her smile fell, and she bit at her lip awkwardly. "About that... I-"
But I cut her off before she could say anything, afraid that this would turn into a giant lecture. Looking back at it now, I probably should have let the poor woman finish. But instead, I scratched in my pocket for the intricately decorated box containing the pocketknife I'd gotten her.
"This is an apology present... I felt bad for missing the party."
Her eyes widened and she took the box from my outstretched hand. When she opened it up, she gasped out and removed the pocketknife from the box. "Thank you, Oliver." She uttered. She then placed it back in the box and placed it in the pocket of her blazer. "Now, how about something to drink? Tea? Coffee... whisky?" She asked.
I cocked a brow at her in surprise and then asked, "You drink?"
She shook her head, no and then said, "I don't but... someone else does. She won't mind if I "borrow" it. So, what do you say?"
I contemplated it for a bit. I really hadn't had a drink in a while. Besides, drinking with Jasmine could prove to make bringing up the topic of the Alpha conference just a little bit more casual. And so, I agreed, again, if only I'd thought a little clearer that day.
Jasmine led me up to her office which was simple and smart- a varnished desk, a bookshelf, a photograph of her and Damon... and further along on the desk, and much to my surprise, a photograph of Lucien and her. They were younger then, and the photograph seemed to have been taken at the old Lake. It seemed I hadn't been the only one missing his presence in these three years.
"Take a seat," She pointed towards one of the other soft chairs near her desk, "I'll be right back."
I nodded and took a seat which I immediately left the second she left the office. I was far too curious to take a peek into the life of the great Jasmine Spectra. Her desk was stacked with files, binders and stacks of paper which, from what I could see were hard copies of financial statements. Seemed someone was still a little old school. Perhaps she was taking a precaution keeping so much of her accounting records in hard-copy form as well. I couldn't, however, imagine how much more work she had given herself though.
And then, from the corner of my eye, sticking out from her bag I noticed something rather interesting. It was a box of pregnancy tests. Immediately, the colour drained from my face, and I gulped. Was Jasmine trying to get pregnant? After all these years, she'd never wanted children, yet here she had a box of pregnancy tests in her handbag. Perhaps I'd ask her about them when she returned. Jasmine becoming pregnant would only complicate things further... especially for Tristan. She hadn't even yet come to the hardest part of her mission, and I feared her reaction when the greatest obstacle of her life would expose itself to her.
I was just about to take my seat again, when I heard a pair of footsteps nearing the door. Judging by their graceful and dainty sounds against the floor, they were not Jasmine's. My assumption was further confirmed when an eerily familiar scent of delicate roses wafted in my nose, and immediately the colour drained completely from my face.
"Jasmine, I've been meaning to talk to you about-" But she froze immediately when she took her first step into the room, and suddenly her startled eyes gazed up at mine, almost freezing me in place. She still looked as beautiful as ever. Her dark skin had not a single wrinkle blemishing it, as though time hadn't been able to taint her absolute beauty. Her beautiful, curly black hair had been cut to her shoulders, framing her beautiful face. And as I gazed at the woman I was once bound to , I couldn't help but feel that absolutely nauseating sensation of butterflies erupting in the pit of my stomach, and the burn within my chest. She, however, seemed not at all impressed to see me, and her hands, I'd discovered had begun to ball into tight fists. Fearing a blow to the face, I cleared my throat and smiled slightly.
"Loren, it's-"
"What the hell are you doing here?" She seethed out. I couldn't blame her anger though. After all, I had rejected her once.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
