CHAPTER 3: New Environment
It was a bright and sunny day when Jazmine's flight landed in Chicago. She came out of the airport gates wearing a simple sleeveless white gown, a pair of sandals, and a beach hat to keep the sun at bay. White, fluffy clouds drifted slowly across the clear, blue sky. The weather looked beautiful.
Jazmine dragged her large suitcase with one hand behind her carefully. In her other hand, she held her phone and dialed a string of numbers. Watson had arranged a cab driver for her before she left LA, and it was the driver she was trying to reach now.
After a few rings, the call connected. An elderly man's voice greeted her from the other side, and he asked if she had arrived. She replied that she had, and he told her where he was waiting before Jazmine ended the call and started to make a beeline to where he had said.
The man helped her put her suitcase in the trunk and started the car to take Jazmine to the apartment that had been arranged after she signed the contract. According to Watson, the apartment was only a seven-minute walk to the company. That way, she wouldn't be late to work.
That was actually very thoughtful of Watson because Jazmine was almost always late to work. It was either her alarm didn't ring, or it did at the wrong time, or it rang and she turned it off, or she couldn't get a cab quickly. Whichever it was, Watson had given her solutions to them.
Through the long ride, Jazmine kept staring at the roads they passed. There were lots of people walking on the sidewalks, chatting happily, but only one caught her sight.
It was a woman who looked to be about her mother's age and a young lady who might just be Jazmine's age mate. They sat at a table in front of a small cafe, laughing heartily.
The scene reminded her of when her mother had not been diagnosed with cancer. They used to go out for coffee every weekend. During the coffee time, they would chat and laugh, just like the two she had just seen.
Thinking about the past made Jazmine's eyes water. She leaned her head on the window, lost in her own little world until she drifted to sleep, only to dream of her mother.
The cab driver's voice reached Jazmine, causing her to jerk her eyes open. She saw that the car had stopped moving in front of a building. The building was a one-floor bungalow, and was surrounded by a short iron fence. Surrounding it were colorful flowers and well-groomed trees.
Just when she was about to ask whose house it was—because it couldn't be her temporary home—the driver spoke.
"Mr. Watson says to drop you off here, ma'am." He reached for the key in his pocket and handed it to Jazmine, but she only stared at him with wide eyes. "He also said to give you this."
Jazmine broke off her silly trance and took the key from the man. After examining it for a while, she met his eyes. "Who else lives there?"
"I do not know, madam," the man apologized, shaking his head, "I'm sorry."
Jazmine nodded with a small smile. The driver also came out and helped her remove her suitcase from the trunk. He handed it to her with a smile and turned to return to his cab when Jazmine halted him.
"Wait!" The man turned to her, wondering what it was.
Jazmine opened her handbag and pulled out all the cash in it to give to him. It wasn't much, maybe only a hundred and fifty dollars. She would just find an ATM point later.
She handed the money to him. "Here it's not much, though."
The man shook his head and smiled. He refused, saying, "All expenses have been covered by Watson, ma'am. Thank you."
Jazmine's brows rose. What exactly did Watson stand to gain in all this? She would never know what that shrewd man was up to anyway, so she dismissed his thoughts and shook her head.
Jazmine held out her hand even more. "Take it as a tip. From me."
"I insist," she added with a little pout.
The driver smiled, amused by her reaction. She seemed very open, he thought, and took the money from her.
"Thank you," He bowed low, and Jazmine's smile widened as she waved the man off into his cab.
Once he was gone, she turned to face her apartment—maybe mansion—and sighed.
After a few seconds, she trod forward and let herself past the fence. The pathway from the fence gates to the main doors of the house was decorated with marble stones, and she walked on them, feeling like some celebrity on a red carpet until she reached the front doors. Jazmine inserted the key, twisted it, and pushed the door open, only to freeze on the spot.
Immaculate...
That was the first word that came to Jazmine's mind when she saw how big the living room was. The room sparkled, as though it had just been washed. The furniture and electronics were covered in pieces of white fabric to keep the dust off them.
Jazmine took a raspy breath, letting it out slowly as she walked inside the house, letting the door close behind her with a small bang. As she walked further into the room, she ran her fingers on the covered furniture, overwhelmed and yet, unable to comprehend why someone would go this far to ruin another person's life.
With a very small shake of her head, she let the thoughts be and looked around the room. Far behind, there were three doors. She opened the first one to find a well-equipped kitchen.
"Mum would kill to have this," she muttered, her voice drooping to a husky tone when she thought of her mother. She couldn't call as her mum might be sleeping. Later, she decided and closed the door to open the one a few steps from it. That one was a large bedroom, painted white from floor to ceiling with a large bed in the middle of the room. In a corner of the bedroom were two doors which she opened to find a bathroom and closet. The third door at the side was a bedroom too.
So, in all, the house was a two-bedroom apartment where she would remain until further notice.
Jazmine dropped her suitcase in the bedroom and returned to the kitchen. She wanted to get familiar with the house before taking a quick nap. Maybe later, when the sun was setting, she would take a stroll outside to get familiar with the street.
Almost an hour later, she had taken a shower and decided to call Watson. It rang for a few minutes before Watson picked. His voice came out cheerily when he spoke.
"Arrived?" he questioned, for Jazmine to hum in response, wondering why he sounded happy. "Good!" he added her with a small laugh. "Get settled in. Tomorrow's Monday and I expect you to be at the office before eight am, Jazmine Roosevelt."
Jazmine let out an inaudible sigh.
"Better than having to come in at seven, sir," she replied with a smirk on her face. "Will do, sir. Thank you."
"Keep me updated." Watson ended the call after that.
Jazmine tossed the phone aside, feeling jetlagged. She laid down on the bed with her back facing the ceiling, and in a matter of minutes, she had drifted off to sleep.