"What the fuck was that?" Jade asked when she finally got to be alone with Levi in an empty room.
The party had died down, and the only people left were the household staff Dr. Nate and his daughter Skylar, who was sleeping in one of the rooms, Jade, Levi, and Keith. And they all stood in an empty room, each of them talking at the same time.
"You know Jade?"
"What the hell just happened?"
"We need to do damage control ASAP Levi."
"Can we all just say one thing at a time," Levi demanded, taking a seat on the bed, his hands in his hair. This was not how today was supposed to go at all, it was all planned out until fucking Vanessa Langford pulled her stunt.
"I'll go with Jade first. So basically, we just got engaged. I'm sorry for putting you on the spot but you were there and I was desperate." Levi said, she opened her mouth to say something but he continued speaking. "Yes Nate, I know Jade because she works for me. I'm sorry I didn't say anything, but I didn't think I needed to. She applied at R&N and I saw her application and gave her a job. Nothing more."
"Damage control Levi, what are we going to do? The media has carried the news of your engagement and they have pictures of you and Jade now. What do you want me to do about it?" Keith asked.
"I guess we have no choice but to stay engaged," Levi said looking at Jade.
"Am I a joke to you? Do you think you can toss me around as you like just because you're my boss?" Jade said, her face filled with anger.
"I don't want to be engaged to you and I don't want to be in this dress. And these shoes are fucking tight." Jade said, taking off the shoes. "And the ring is not even my size." She took off the ring too and then dropped it on the table.
"Jade I'm sorry about…" Levi started but she cut him off.
"I don't want to know but I will not be used as you see fit. I am an actual human and not some fucking robot you expect to respond to all your demands." She finished.
"Can I at least take you home?" Levi asked.
"No. Thank you."
"Let me take you home instead, Jade." Nate offered but she turned him down too.
"I'll get you a cab, it's the least I can do," Keith said and Jade nodded. And with that, they both left the room.
"Fucking Jade Hart?" Nate exclaimed when Keith and Jade walked out of the room.
"Do you like her?" Levi asked suspiciously because if he didn't, there was no reason for him to be upset.
"I don't. It's just that Jade is…she's not cut out for all these kinds of drama. I know that much. And then you don't really know anything about her." Nate replied.
Levi sighed, he knew that too. Jade was way too quiet and he hardly heard her speak and today even if she didn't show it much, he knew she was livid with anger. He would find a way to mend things, but then again what was so wrong with her marrying him? He is Levi Reynard, and any girl would want to marry him, apart from Keith, Jade, and Vanessa, probably.
"I hear you, man. Listen, I've got to go, I have a Zoom meeting to prepare for." Levi said, leaving Nate behind.
Jade sat on the stool near her mirror, her hair styled in an elegant messy bun with a few of her curly strands fanning her face. She looked really beautiful, and if it was under different circumstances, she would've loved it. But she was no Cinderella, this was the real world and there was no way Cinderella's glass slippers were that fucking tight.
The dress fitted her only because Vanessa had requested her dresses to be two sizes smaller. If not, she was sure she wouldn't have been able to fit in it. The hairstylist had even mistakenly called her Vanessa absent-mindedly, and she couldn't blame her. She was filling someone else's role. Like an understudy or a supporting character, she was anything but the main one.
She honestly didn't know how to feel. Well, she was angry, but her anger right now seemed pointless because she still had to go to work. Well, Levi had the power to fire her. So she would just let it go. It's not like they were actually going to get married or something. So she would let bygones be bygones and continue her job. Making money was more important than anything she felt right now.
The next morning, Jade gathered her courage and went to work. She was nervous, first, she didn't want to see her boss and then she didn't know what to say to Keith. It would be awesome if she didn't have to run into any of them. Her luck ran out when she entered the elevator, Keith was there with files in her hands.
"You don't have to be awkward with me Jade," Keith said a few seconds after Jade got in.
"I'm not. It's just that I don't know it's all weird." Jade replied, her eyes on the ground.
"Don't worry, Mr. Reynard is not at the penthouse. He went on a business trip so you're safe till he comes back." Keith said, hoping it would relieve her anxiety a bit.
"Okay, thank you."
"I want to answer all your questions, but I think you and Mr. Reynard should talk it out," Keith said, and then the elevator doors opened.
Jade was not ready to talk anything out for now and it would help that she won't have to see her boss for some time. He might be pissed at her for how she acted or something. After all, he did say she should do him a favor, or what if he fired her because he didn't want things to be awkward? She let out a sigh when she opened the door to the penthouse. For now, she was going to focus on cleaning and recycling the trash.
The next few days were stress-free. She had fewer things to do at the penthouse, and she visited the estate once to clean out Levi's room, change the sheets, and dust the study. She ate lunch with Claire sometimes on days when they were both free for lunch at the same time. Even though some things still nagged at the back of her mind, she felt like she was fitting in for once.
Claire was nice when you got to know her and had a weird sense of humor, they promised to have drinks after work soon so it wouldn't be like they were just lunch friends. Jade wasn't exactly a social media person since she had no one to text but now she had Claire. They texted often after work and once Claire had called her on her way home because she saw a weird man on the road and didn't want to just walk alone.
On Saturday, Jade settled down and scrolled through her phone. She was looking for an apartment. Something affordable but comfortable, it was high time she left this dump she called a house. It was one of the main reasons she kept her job at the restaurant and decided to go for evening shifts on the weekends. Between her student loans and medical bills, she had to make more money to leave this place.
After a while of scrolling, she decided to quit because everything she saw was either too expensive or the location was too far from her working places. She knew it was going to be tough to find something that fit her budget, but she didn't know it was nearly impossible. Maybe she would ask Claire how to go about it on Monday when she got to work.
The new week arrived, and Jade was extremely happy that her boss was still away on that business trip. She prayed that he could stay longer so she could put off whatever conversations they were going to have because the longer he stayed there the more awkward it got and she wasn't prepared for it.
As the sun began to set, she took all the plants in and did a round check before she got her stuff to leave. As she opened the door, her face dropped. It was her boss. He was standing, his hands caught mid-air since he wanted to open the door before she had swung it open.
Shit.
"Uhh, welcome back. Let me help you with the suitcase." Jade said, collecting herself.
She rolled his suitcase in, took his blazers, and went to the closet. She didn't want to think about anything else, just focusing on what she had to do.
"Should I call the kitchen to fix your dinner?" She asked when she was done with his stuff in the closet.
"That would be nice, thank you." He replied and she went to place the call to the kitchen to bring dinner up for him. She hoped he would be too tired to deal with anything right now so she could make her escape.
Levi went to take a shower, his trip had been long and tiring. Who knew it would be this hard to open a resort? The worst part was that he wasn't even done with the hardest parts yet. But then he was back and there was the issue with his engagement.
Keith had done a fine job by making sure word did not get out about his engagement and who he was engaged to. It would've been a disaster. Vanessa had called and apologized for the whole fiasco. And now he had to figure out a way to make Jade agree to this marriage thing. She was his last option and well by far the hardest.
By the time he was done with his shower and everything, dinner was set at the dining table, and Jade was getting ready to leave.
"Do you uhh… do you think you can join me for dinner?" Levi asked.
Jade paused and looked at him, he had dark circles and he looked really tired, it would be better for him to get some rest before they talked about anything because she was sure that was obviously what he wanted to do, talk to her.
"I think you should probably eat and get some rest. We could talk some other time." Jade replied.
"No we don't need to talk right now, I just want to eat with you. If that's alright with you." He said.
She thought about it. He wanted to eat with her, but why would he want to share a meal with his housekeeper? She didn't harbor any preconceived notions about him, but at this moment, he seemed nicer than the day she first met him and so she nodded yes and they were seated opposite each other at the table.
It was a simple dinner, just steak, and wine with cake for dessert. She ate very little and the reason being that she could not stomach food when she was so nervous and when she dropped her cutlery to signal she was done, Levi did the same. He wasn't so hungry anyway, he just wanted her to stay longer.
"I should be going now," Jade said, picking up her stuff after calling the kitchen to send someone over to clear out the table.
"Do you need a ride?" He asked, and she shook her head.
"I'll take a cab. Thanks for the offer, though, and for dinner, too." She said with a small smile.
"Sure. We'll talk about the engagement soon Jade." He said and then she turned to go with the word 'Engagement' lingering in the air.