Oh my God, sis, your new house is beautiful. This look like a castle.” Janette smiled and ushered her sister into the enormous sitting room.
“I know right.”
“Woo, look at the staircase and the wall. It’s magical.” Michelle stared at the staircase in amazement.
“Feel at home. I’ll be right back.” Janette shuffled her way to Jackson’s office room and gently knocked on the door. She welcomed herself inside when she heard his muffled voice from the inside.
“Hey, you are back. How’s Switzerland?” Jackson slowly raised his head from his system to look at her as she wobbled her way to his table.
“Well, fancy seeing you Jan, Switzerland was fine.” He paused and then ordered her to seat. “Where the hell have you been?”
Janette shifted in her seat, playing with the strap of her bag lying on her thigh. “I was with my parent.” She whispered, biting and chewing the inside of her mouth nervously.
“And why haven’t you been answering my calls?”
“I’m s-sorry for not answering your c-calls. I have been busy and the p-phone was in silence.” Jackson stared at her for a minute and then shook his head disappointedly. He wondered what in the world he will do to make her measured. Perhaps he needs to hire a tutor that will properly educate her on social duties.
“Why did you disobey and bring your lazy boyfriend into my house?”
“I did not bring Solomon here; why do you think I brought him to your house?.” She lied. “Why do you lie a lot? I have cameras all over this house. Janette pressed her lips together and tried not to look at him. If Jackson had several of the cameras scattered throughout the house, then he might properly see when she and Sol entered her room.
“Do you have a camera in my room, too?”
“I should probably insert one there, too.” She quickly shook her head, “no, no forget I ask.”
“Where is my credit card? I need it back. I gave you my credit card for one day and you almost make me go bankrupt?” Okay, maybe he was just exaggerating. “You used my money to shop for your useless toy boy. Don’t even try to deny it.” Guilty Janette dropped her head to face her laps and muttered something under her breath. She pondered what she was going to tell him concerning his broken credit card. Perhaps just give him and pretend you know nothing about the broken part. She thought. “My credit card Jan.”
Janette fumbled for the broken credit card inside her bag and meticulously brought it out, contemplating if to give him or lie that she misplaced it. She raised her head and glanced at him. The look in his eyes made her nervous, her hands having the mind of their own, reached out to Jackson. Jackson stared at it for a moment and then collected it.
“Why the f**k my credit card wrapped in a piece of paper?” Janette remained quiet, glancing at him now and then as he busied himself unwrapping the credit card. When the object finally come to sight, Jackson frowned at it. He seemed not to understand why his credit card has a visible line in the middle. Carefully, he took it between his fingers and suddenly half part of it dropped on the table. Too shock to react, Jackson moved forward with his ankle on the table and both hands on his cheeks, staring directly at her.
After a few minutes of awkward and tense, silent, Jackson rolled his eyes towards the white ceiling as if beseeching God for patience. “Your stupidity and ignorance is astonishing and out of this world,” he muttered, but he did not say it like it was a wonderful compliment.
“I’m sorry for destroying your credit card. It was a mistake.” She managed to say, but refused to raise her head and look at him. Save by the soft knock on the door, Jackson glanced at her one more time before dismissing her. Janette slight the door open to reveal a very beautiful, hot brunette smiling lovingly at her. Who is she? She pondered, with her eyes still lingering on the lady. Janette saw the lady’s mouth moving, but she could barely make out what she was saying because her heavenly beauty captivated her. Not that she’s into girls, but she might make an exception for this brunette standing with a dazzling smile before her.
“Hey, you must be Janette?”
My God, her voice is heavenly and divine! Janette whispered,
“Sorry?” Danielle asked, looking at her confusingly.
“Oh n-nothing, I’m sorry. Yes, I’m Janette.”
“You even look better in person. Nice to meet you Janette. Hope you don’t mind me calling you Jan.” Janette whiffed her head, smiling brightly at her. “No, really, I-I d-don’t mind.” She shuttered and secretly scolded herself for being an idiot before this gorgeous damsel.
“If you finish making fool of yourself, then you give way for my guest.” Jackson’s voice floated to the open door. Janette squeezed her face like used tissue and turned to glare at him, making the other woman chuckled. She excused herself and moved out of the way for Danielle. Danielle send an appreciative smile towards her and closed the door when Janette was fully out of the way. But Janette did not leave immediately. The moment Danielle closed the door, Janette quickly placed her ears on the door, listening to their conversation.
Danielle leaped into Jackson’s arms and pressed her lips on his, Jackson softly moan and pulled away from the kiss, staring at her with great affection. “Danielle, how have you been?” Danielle, her name is Danielle! Janette muttered outside the closed door.
“I’m fine, sweetie. I missed you a lot.”
“I missed you too, my love.” Janette frowned and pulled her head away from the door. She was greatly troubled by the kind of pet names she was hearing. My love, does it mean Jackson has a mistress? Does that mean he’s cheating on her with Danielle? She wondered. Janette moved her brunette hair to the front and stared at it for a moment. Seemed he has something for brunettes! She whispered. Janette moved her ear to the door again but quickly pull back. She decided that she had heard enough for the day. She turned and swished away, her chin in the air.
“Jan, where have you been?” Michelle asked, standing up from her seat to meet her sister by the staircase.
“I’m sorry for keeping you waiting. I was with Jackson.”
“Where’s he? Can I meet him, sis?”
“Maybe later. He’s with someone at the moment.” They climbed the staircase and strode through the narrow hallway. They came to a halt in front of Janette’s door. The room was just messier enough to show that she was able to let her creativity roam free; Michelle’s eyes wander around the big room, the un-made bed against the lavender wall shows that indeed it’s her sister’s room, the contrasting black and white bedspread is all over the place and the white and blue pillows look like they have been thrown out of a hurricane.
“Jan, you still haven’t learned how to keep a clean room.” Michelle carefully raised the bedspread that was half lying on the ground, dropping it on the bed; she looked towards the small wooden bookcase that was s’posed to be a perfect reading nook and shook her head disappointedly, “Jan, why are your clothes on your reading nook?” Janette shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly and disappeared into the bathroom, leaving the door slightly ajar. Michelle gathered all the clothes and walked over to the opposite wall facing the window ledge, and opened the large closet. She sighed loudly and dropped the clothes inside before closing it back. She moved back and almost trip over the pillows that never made it to the bed.
“Jackson is lucky to have a separate room with you.”
“Well, not like am bothered anyway. Do you want something to eat?” Michelle nodded her head and went to seat on the bed. “Yes sis, I’m famished.”
“It’s almost lunchtime. Perhaps you can watch something on Netflix before luncheon time.” Janette sat down and closed to her sister staring at the closed door. She allowed the thought of Jackson and Danielle to linger in her mind. Who’s Danielle? She asked herself.
“Sis, are you okay?” Reluctantly, Janette nodded, tilted her head and glanced at Michelle with a faint smile on her face. Her sister picked the remote on the nightstand and flipped to random station.
“But, sis, are you really happy here?” Janette wasn’t expecting such a question from her younger sister. She didn’t know how to answer the question, so she slightly nodded her head, smiling at her. “Yes, yes, of course. Why do you ask, though?” Michelle looked at the remote in her hand and then raised her head to look at Janette; “because you don’t look happy to me, I feel you are just pretending to be fine.
“Michelle, I’m happy here. Look around you. I have everything I want. But to be honest, I just missed Sol.” She confessed, staring at the TV.
“I know that, Jan, I want you to be happy.”
“Don’t worry about me, dear; I’ll be fine here.” She moved closer and embrace her sister in a tight hug.
Janette swallowed another knot of tears as she stared at the pile of books before her. She picked the first one and scanned the title: the manners that win, win what? She pondered, she opened the second one at random and began to read: never open your mouth when chewing food in any social gathering, don’t bite your fingernails, it would be considered as a gaucherie in the presence of others. Janette hissed and thumped the book shut. Trying to read all these trivial things seemed useless. Who doesn’t know is bad to bite their fingernails? But she still does it, anyway.
She was still sitting alone on the table inside the library when with the stuck of books waiting to be open when Jackson entered the room. “Do you know how to read?” He asked, looking down at her.
“Yes, of course. Why am I even answering that? I’m not an illiterate. Jackson I...”
“Then you’ll need to start studying these, all of it. We’re going out tomorrow night.” He picked one of the books and scanned the title and then dropped it on her thigh. “You can start with this one. I don’t have time to teach you proper etiquette and some of the things you failed to learn.”
“Where are we?..”
“When you finish reading them, I still have more to give to you, so you can study on your own since you said you don’t want a private tutor.” Janette stood up and glare at him. Without saying a word, she shuffled her way to the door, but Jackson was quick to stop her.
“Where do you think you are going to?” She turned to face him with her flushed face, trying hard not to give way to anger.
“Perhaps you should tell me who Danielle is. Are you cheating on me? Do you have a mis...”
“Waite, are you seriously accusing me of cheating? I’m the one parading my lover all over the place?” Jackson asked. “You shouldn’t stress yourself too much. Soon you’ll know who Danielle is.” The frown on her faced deepened, very soon you’ll know who Danielle is! Is she his sister? Perhaps cousin, talking about sister. She suddenly remembers that she’d never seen any of his family members.
“Do you even have a family?” Jackson raised his head from his phone. Glancing at her, he wondered why the sudden question.
“Who doesn’t have a family, Jan? What are you thinking?” He asked and tucked his phone inside his black suit. “Danielle isn’t my sister, if that’s what you are thinking. I’ll suggest you go back to reading those books. It will do ya good.”
“If you have family, why then I haven’t seen any picture or see them come around?”
“Do I really need to answer that?” He slowly walked across the table and sat down in her seat. Janette did the same. She sat down beside him and turned to face him. “well if you must know; my parents are late.”
Janette continence immediately change. She looked at him pityingly. “I’m sorry for...”
“My younger sister is working with one of the top modelling companies in Spain.” Danielle looks exactly like a model. Could she possibly be his sister and he doesn’t want to say it? Janette wondered.