The first time had been uneventful. Jordan was tailing a woman who wouldn't accept a divorce decree from her partner, Jordan's client, even though the husband suspected her of cheating on him and he did a DNA test on their five years old child who ended up not being his child.
After confronting the woman, instead of being contrite and repentant. She called her husband a liar and accused him of having trust issues. She wouldn't leave the house nor did she accept the court summons sent repeatedly to her both at home and work.
She left home one day with the boy without saying anything to Jordan's client parking most of the man's belongings with her.
The main reason why Mr Andrews contracted Jordan was that in as much as the papers had not been signed by her, they are still technically married and issues could stem from that later.
Baleria had a divorce law whereby the court could make a decree to have a marriage dissolved without assent from both parties in as much as there was enough evidence to ascertain that the marriage was not functioning anymore.
The need for evidence was the reason why Jordan was contracted. So he decided to let Valencia in on that since she was not so busy with paperwork at the moment anyway and she had shown interest in learning more about being a private investigator.
The stakeouts had taken less than a week before they got all they needed. She had been very helpful too as she was able to get into places Jordan couldn't enter without brows raising at him. Like the saloon where Valencia had caught the woman on camera talking to a friend about how she intended to make life a living hell for Mr Andrews. She had a plan, she had told the friend gleefully.
Everything had been caught on camera plus evidence of her affairs before and after their separation. The DNA had been the nail that cinched it tight. The court gave the irreversible order of instant divorce between the couple and a restraining order against the woman. One she couldn't flout unless she wanted her child taken away and put in the system under the charges that she was an unfit mother.
That had got her in line fast enough and Mr Andrews had been so grateful to the duo that removed the shackles of a vicious woman from his life. Apart from the initial payment, he gave Alarick PI Firm a substantial bonus too.
A week later, Valencia came to him with a serious look on her face. He was in his home office and he had not seen her that day. He realised that it was already dusk when she came in.
"Hi, Jordan got a minute?" she said as she entered.
"What? Oh okay," he looked at her distractedly. He had been engrossed in research that had nothing to do with the firm at all. He had been discovering some interesting things about what his father had been involved with over the years before his death.
It was funny how you think you know everything about someone then the next moment, you discover something and realise just how little you know about such people.
"Yes, you want something?" he rubbed at the bridge of his nose as he looked at Valencia very well. She was always impeccably dressed whether she was in the colourful suits she seemed fond of or casual wear like the one she had on at the moment.
Her fluffy, chiffon blouse was tucked into tight-fitting jeans with a nude-coloured cashmere jacket with matching boots. Jordan might not give much attention to fashion but he knew when one's wear was top notch and Valencia had never dressed shabbily once since he had met her. It made him wonder once why she would want to work in a one-man PI firm that might not do much for her career, whatever that was.
He had stopped himself at the last minute the other day from doing extensive research on her. It was one thing to snoop when it was work but doing it on Val; made him uncomfortable so he had let go but looking at her now, he couldn't help but think again that she was far from where she was used to.
Valencia came from money.
She wiped at her face self-consciously as his gaze lingered "What? Do I have something on my face?"
Jordan blamed himself for acting like a cad.
"No, no. don't mind me. My system must be sluggish from the fact that I haven't pumped some coffee into it in the last several hours. Molly did say I was becoming an addict" he said with an awkward smile as her expression reminded him of how she had looked at him the first day she pressed the doorbell and he had stood there gaping at her.
Good job Jordan. He thought to himself. She did look good, downright gorgeous in fact despite how much she tried to tone it down by scraping her platinum hair back in a bun and he had never seen makeup on her before. That didn't detract from her beauty though and even he…
"You look good" he blurted out, telling himself he had no time for silly thoughts. No, not when the probable cause for his father's death was burning holes through the table in front of him.
Valencia smiled, self-assuredly even as she cursed her milky white skin that was quick to blush. "He only complimented your look girl, get it together," she thought to herself.
Valencia had a crush on her boss, one she had finally admitted to herself started that first day when he stood gaping at her at his front door.
She had never let herself get too close to any man in a long while, not after she realised that the one she had thought was the love of her life had only shown interest in her because his dad asked him to.
Rafael's father and hers had been in the same…business and the father-son duo had thought the most clever way for them to cinch a lifelong partnership would be by getting Rafael to marry Valencia or at least show enough interest in her to get him to speak in their favour in front of her dad. Valencia had discovered the truth, through Rafael's real girlfriend.
That was the first time she had truly stood up for herself not only had she been hurt when her father had learnt about it and all he said was that she should be grateful that she was beautiful enough for someone to think that she was an asset. Abd for being his daughter of course.
Now that Valencia was away from all the drama and thought about it very well, that was the first time she had truly stood up against her father. It had been the beginning of her true fight for freedom. She had not let anyone in since then.
And now she had a crush on her boss? Who looked at her most of the time like he was looking at his files? Way to go girl.
She reminded herself that she was not there to analyse what she felt for her boss but on an important mission.
"Thank you," she said, entering the office fully. "Do you want me to get you some coffee then?"
"No" he dismissed the offer with the wave of his hand then laughed "The fear of Molly braining me with her spatula if I should go in there for a coffee instead of food was more the reason why I haven't been to the kitchen for a refill. Wouldn't want you to be martyred in my place"
He laughed again and Valencia joined him.
Molly had been put out since Jordan had hired Sally, the cleaning lady and she had declared that the kitchen was her turf. Most of the time, she would be seen in there making one thing or the other for as long as her legs would allow her. Whether Jordan ate or not, she was always making him meals and most of the time, she put down her feet and ensured that he ate.
The fear of Molly was truly the beginning of wisdom as her spatula was used these days more as a weapon than for stirring.
"You've closed up the office?" Jordan asked her as he looked at the time.
"Yes, I was heading home then I remembered that I have something to tell you" Valencia replied.
"Yeah, what is it?" he picked up his pen, absentmindedly thumping it against the sheaf of paper in front of him.
Valencia decided to plunge right into it "You know I studied criminal justice, yeah?"
"Yeah? In the great Ucama university itself," he looked at her in confusion. Why are you…?"
"I would like to be a PI. your apprentice. I want to learn from you" she blurted out.
He looked at her blankly for a white then "Wait…what?"
Self-consciously, she repeated, "I would like to…"
"Yeah, I got that part. The question is why? Wait, let me rephrase that. Why do you want me to be the one to teach you when you can just take up courses on that?"
Was that suspicion she saw in his eyes? Valencia was not sure. What was she supposed to tell him? That she thought PI might be the career for her? That she wanted to find ways to…
No, she couldn't. She tried flattery "I want to learn from you because you are the best PI I have come across and practical learning would be better than any theory. Since I have the basics with my course of study I just felt…" she shrugged
"Hmm," he hummed with a keen look in his eyes.
What did that mean?
Valencia thought anxiously.