Jessica woke up very late the next morning, as it was a weekend so she didn't have to go to the office.
She rolled over and furrowed her face into the pillow so that the bright sunlight from outside the window didn't get to her eyes again. She felt demotivated and not feel like getting out of bed.
Right when she pulled the duvet over and ready to get back to sleep, Leila called,
"Let's go shopping," Leila said, without any preambles.
Jessica figured it might be better to walk around with Leila a bit than sleep the whole day off, so she agreed, "Fine."
"Wait a minute. You sound like you're half dead."
"Not that exaggerating, but I don't feel like doing anything today."
"Wow! That's a serious one. You're seldom like this. Let me guess. You're falling in love with someone who's either a not human being or not loving you back?"
Jessica couldn't help but smile, "He's a human being and has feelings for me, but I'm not sure about it."
"What? You're serious? Oh my! Come quickly and tell me ALL about it." Leila sounded excited. She had never seen Jessica in such a state for any man before.
When Jessica arrived at the mall, they got a tea house, and Leila ordered bubble tea.
Handing one cup to Jessica, she said with a wicked smile, "Alright now, spill the bean. The tea's for your story."
Jessica took the tea over good-humoredly and said, "Fine. It's nothing actually. I've just started working at JS Group a few days ago, right? On my first day, I ran into this guy at the pantry in the office and we became some sort of friends as we found a lot to talk about. Then last night, at the company's anniversary party, we danced. Remember the girl called Candy? Surprised she didn't wear the dress she bought the other day, the one I designed, but I wore mine, and she accused me of stealing hers. Right when everyone was pointing their fingers and things were looking bad for me, Jordan, the man I met at the pantry, came forward to defend me, saying that he had given me the dress as a gift, a token of love."
Leila's eyes were opened wide, "Wow! So gallantry and romantic! Tell me he's not bald or wrinkled-old."
Jessica rolled her eyes, "No, he's neither. He's young and actually quite good-looking." She blushed a bit.
"Then what are you hesitating or gloomy about?" Leila gave her head a fake whack.
"Well, he kissed me too, right there in front of everyone, as if he was afraid that they would not believe his words."
"Gosh! That's so sweet! And you enjoyed it, right? Tell me you enjoyed it."
Jessica's face was crimson, which was literally a "Yes" to Leila's question.
Leila laughed, "Why are you so shy about it? Oh oh oh! I remember! You've never kissed a boy before."
Jessica said coyly, "I only found out later that he didn't have to do that to prove his words because he could just say anything and nobody would dare to lay a finger on me again."
Leila's eyes open wide again, and stared at her in suspension, "What do you mean?"
Jessica sighed and said, "That's the problem. He's the boss of the company. Am I going to date my boss while working there?"
Leila looked dumbfounded, "Did you just say the guy who kissed you and claimed 'ownership' over you is actually Jordan Sanders, founder and boss of the JS Group?"
Jessica was surprised, "You know him?"
Leila didn't know if she should laugh or cry, "My goodness! Jess, everyone knows OF him. The Sanders is one of the four noble and biggest families of the city, and Jordan Sanders was a child prodigy showing extremely good business acumen from around 12 and founded the JS Group at 16. Only someone who's living like a hermit like you doesn't know of him."
Jessica looked dejected, "So I should've recognized him when I first met him? I thought he was there for a coffee break just like me and a regular employee like me too."
Leila said, "Well, you wouldn't have recognized him coz the whole family including him have been very low-key, with zero pictures of him on any media. It's said that he's made it a rule that nobody who's met him should take pictures of him, not to mention posting any on social media. Nobody dares to mess with the Sanders so they all obey the rule. So, unless if you've met him in person before, you wouldn't have known."
"Okay. That makes me feel better." Jessica said somehow sardonically.
"Jess, almost all girls in the city have dreamed of having a relationship with Jordan Sanders. Why aren't you rejoicing for your good fortune?"
"Lei, you know me. I'm just a simple girl and rich or not, or noble or not, I just want to find the right man, and that's why I've not really been going out with all those men who've come my way these years."
Leila put away her playful smiles and said seriously, "Yes. I know. I was just joking. I guess it's not that you don't like him, but that it's happened all so fast? You just need a bit of time. It could be quite overwhelming especially when you've never experienced anything like this before."
"That's one of the reasons. Also, my mum never likes showy or famous people. All she's been doing her whole life is avoiding attention. If I'm with Jordan, I would be doing exactly the opposite thing she likes."
"I don't know why your mum's so secretive. They two are just ordinary people trying to live a life. To be honest, even if you two go out on the street parading around with trumpets, people wouldn't remember you the next day."
Jessica smiled, but then said seriously, "It's all true, but Lei, I suspect that there's more to my mum's past and she wouldn't tell me. I've tried not to ask, but maybe that's why she's been like this."
"Well, I do hope that she's not a fugitive who's killed someone in the past or something, but your mum's one of the sweetest people I've known. Anyway, that shouldn't be the reason to stop you either. There'll always be a way if it's true love."
Jessica sighed. She had never been as brave as Leila when it comes to a romantic relationship. She had told her the obvious reasons for her concerns if she was to date Jordan, but deep down, she felt like there were some hidden reasons even herself was not really clear about.
Whenever she thought of it, uneasiness lurched from deep down her stomach. And her dreams, which were hard to comprehend or deciphered. Was it really just coincident that Jordan happened to appear in her life and look exactly like the man in her dreams? And why had she been dreaming about the same man for so long?
She wished she could just tell Leila about her dreams, but when she had the thought, the uneasy feeling was there too.
"Come on, Jess." Leila poked at her with a finger, jolting her out of her reverie. "Let's go and get started with today's agenda. You'll have to help me buy the perfect outfit for a party next week. It's..."
Before she could finish, an angry voice sounded from behind them, "Jessica Wring, you bitch! How brazen you're to try and steal my man!"