Chapter eighty nine

Oliver

This wasn't supposed to happen. Jenna wasn't supposed to be here, and Dallas wasn't meant to see this now. Two days. That's how long it took for everything to go downhill.

My chest tightened as I saw different emotions flashed through her eyes. Her eyes darted between Jenna and I, a mixture of hurt and anger in her eyes. But she quickly recovered from the shock and plastered a smile on.

“Hi, Jenna. Good to see you too. How have you been?” Her tone was clipped and it was clear she didn't want to hold conversation with her, but she's forcing herself to.

I took note of how she was avoiding making eye contact with me. Well, I did just shove the main reason for her concern about us in her face so I deserve the silent treatment.

I was as less thrilled about the turn of events as she was. I needed to talk to her and explain things. Which is why Jenna wasn't supposed to arrive for the next three hours. That would have been enough time to explain to Dallas and decide whether to accommodate Jenna or not. It was going to be her decision. It doesn't matter that I needed her father, I would have found another way.

But I should have known that mum would go against me. I should have anticipated this. I was just about to ask Jenna to go be somewhere else but here when Dallas showed up.

I wouldn't have accepted mum's request if an emergency hadn't occured. Just few hours after I left mum, I received a call from the prison where Jason was sentenced that he'd been admitted into the hospital.

Apparently, he engaged in a fight and was injured severely by other prisoners. But I knew better than to believe the story. It was clearly an attempted murder. There was conveniently no recording of the fight in the prison's security footage, just the events that led to the fight.

Whoever was behind the murder attempt was exceptionally good at covering their track. Even the joint efforts of Xavier and Ethan have proved futile. The worst part, I was out of trails to follow. The only thing I had was what Alberto let slip few weeks ago. And I couldn't even ask him anymore because he'd disappear off the face of the earth. This time, he didn't make the mistake of leaving any leverage behind.

The last forty eight hours have been frustrating. I have no other choice than to work with what I had. I had enemies every where, but I knew them. I don't piss people off and forget about them. I've never made the mistake. I was certain that whoever was behind everything that was happening lately was an enemy of my father.

But what I didn't know is why they were targeting Kang Chemicals. Or why strike now. And from what I've heard about Ron's relationship with my dad, he was my best shot.

But I'd gladly let him go if Dallas doesn't agree to accommodate Jenna. I wouldn't inconvenience her for my own gain.

“Well, you know, with work and everything going on, it's not easy. But I've been fairing well.” I heard Jenna say beside me.

But I didn't avert my gaze from Dallas despite that she's avoiding meeting mine.

“Good to know. If you'll excuse me, I have to go change out of these.”

That was when I dropped my gaze from her face and let it roam her body. She was in her fencing gear, her hair sticking to her face with sweat. It's been a while since I saw her train, and damn if this sight doesn't make me want to hurl her to the wall and kiss the shit out of her.

She turned and climbed the stairs, taking the steps two at a time. It was after she left I noticed Lisa standing close to the stairs. Our eyes met and she leveled a glare on me before throwing a not-so-nice glance at Jenna.

Yup, I totally deserve that.

When she was done murdering me with her eyes, she climbed the stairs and hurried after Dallas.

“Well, that certainly wasn't the welcome I was expecting.” Jenna sighed after they left.

I finally turned to face her, despite the anger brewing in me. She was clutching her necklace, her engagement ring shining brightly. The sight of it fueled my frustration. I don't understand why she's wearing it when we didn't even have a real engagement. I sent her a ring through mail, for God's sake.

“Stay here.” I trudged towards the stairs, not waiting for her response.

“Wait, where's my room? I need to prepare for a shoot in a few–”

“Stay. Here.” I bit out each word, not bothering to hide the annoyance of seeing her in my personal space.

If she couldn't listen to a simple instruction, I'll throw her out in the next few minutes without a care about the consequences. Six days. That's how long I have to put up with her presence. Ron would be in New York in the next four days. Once I get an audience with him, I don't give two shits what happens to his daughter.

I walked up the stairs and stopped in front of Dallas's room. I could hear the muffled sounds of her and Lisa's voice but I couldn't make out what they were saying.

I placed a knock on the door.

“Go away!” I heard Lisa say as if she already knew I was at the door.

“I just want to speak with her.” I said, hoping she'd allow me in.

There was a long silence before I heard Lisa groan loudly and footsteps approached. She glared at him before sidestepping me and disappearing into the hallway.

I suddenly found myself wondering if she was as good with swords as Dallas. Then I should be worried about my life if I so much as hurt her best friend.

I spotted Dallas perched on the bed, her legs crossed in front of her. I couldn't tell if the smile on her face was real or fake and that was more scary than anything.

“Hi,” she said.

I walked further into the room, not bothering to shut the door behind me. It's not like anyone would eavesdrop on us. I sat on the edge of the bed, far enough to give her space, but close enough to invade her personal space if needed.

“It's really not what it looks like. It's a long story but I can explain. Her house got broken into and the security system is been reinstalled. Mum asked if she could stay here. I didn't agree at first but I later had to. Something happened at the office in D.C so I need her father's help. It's really serious and I can't explain in a rush. I need some information only her father can provide. I wanted to tell you first, but she arrived earlier than she was supposed to.”

I went silent and waited for her to say something. Anything.

“Say something. Please.” I said when I couldn't handle the silence anymore.

“Is she moving in permanently?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper, almost as if she was scared of the answer.

“She's only going to be here until her security system is fixed and the cops catch who broke into her house. But that shouldn't be more than six days.”

I'll make sure she doesn't spend up to five days. I don't care what I have to do to make that happen.

I fought the nagging feeling in my chest when I noticed she hadn't looked me in the eye. Her gaze was trained on the space in front of her.

“When did you agree that she stay with you?”

“I agreed when I found out how bad the situation was at D.C. That was about an hour and half ago.”

It was as if Mum knew to wait till when I was desperate for help before she pitched in her request again. I didn't even have time to ponder on how she knew I needed help at the time, I just said yes. I drove straight home to tell Dallas only to see Jenna on my front porch. The timing was suspicious. I pushed the thought back.

“Just say the word and I'll have her thrown out within seconds, everything else be damned.”

Dallas sighed and threw her head back.
“I certainly don't feel comfortable around her when I'm dating her fiance, but I can't ask you to send her away. Her house was broken into, she must be scared to be alone. I understand.”

“Are you sure?” I stared at her intently.

“I trust you. And she's your fiancee so there's really nothing I can do here.” She shrugged.

“I don't care about that. You're more important to me than she is. I..” a lump formed in my throat and I found myself choosing my next words carefully. “I care about you a lot, Dallas. And I'm really sorry about this. I'll make sure it never happens again. I promise.”

“You say that but you're engaged to her. It'll happen again and you'll eventually get married.” She chuckled but there wasn't a hint of amusement on her face.

“I don't care about the engagement. I care about you and what you want. And we both agreed to see other people. She is less thrilled about the arrangements as I am. She's been forced too.”

It seems like she wanted to say something but decided against it. She drew a shaky breath.
“I believe you. And I trust you. Six days, right?”

I gave her a nod.

“I can manage. I've handled worst scenario.” she offered me a smile.

I couldn't help the pit that had start to form in my stomach. She wasn't okay, she was clearly faking. And it's because of me. I need to do everything to get Jenna out faster. I wasn't going to make Dallas anymore uncomfortable.

My phone dinged indicating a text notification.

“Don't ignore that.” Dallas said when I didn't make any move to check the text.
“It might be work. We'll finish our conversation later.”

I opened my mouth to argue but decided against it. I pulled out my phone, my face fell when I read the text.

Jason is dead.