Branch Twenty Eight
Jessica wanted to take a warm shower but resorted to a cold shower to wake herself up from the dreams she was having.
Was she just fawning over the body of Xavier? She thought she would never get over Burke. As she thought about Burke her chest tighten. Her mind was flooded with fond memories between her and her high school sweetheart.
Her mind traveled to the day of the wedding which was barely two weeks ago. How he dumped her right before they could tie themselves in holy matrimony.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
She remembers how she waited for hours at the front of the courthouse before she called Burke to confirm where he was. He then proceeded to call off the wedding and even the relationship.
She told herself that she would have understood if he developed cold feet but what he did made no sense to her. He admitted his infidelity to her and showed no remorse.
“Jessica, are you almost done? I would be late for work” Xavier’s voice pulled Jessica out of her train of thought.
“Oh yes I am done,” Jessica said coming out of the shower and wrapping herself in a towel.
She wanted to go out of the bathroom but she was unsure if Xavier was still out there. She did not want to feel embarrassed in his presence by coming out only strapped in a towel.
“Mr. Delgado? Are you still there?” she asked.
She was met with silence so she thought of it as a good sign that he had left her to dress up and left him downstairs.
Today they were going to eat breakfast together and sign the contract and in the afternoon she was going to visit Dawson as she had promised.
She quickly put on a T-shirt and skinny jeans. The pair of clothes was her go-to every time. She put on some lotion and some lip gloss and made her way downstairs.
She entered the kitchen and met only one of the kitchen staff there. Roselle was supposed to be there. She thought they were hitting off today at their breakfast preparation.
“Where is Roselle?” Jessica asked the kitchen staff who stood up to acknowledge her presence as she entered.
“She went to see the Chairman at the hospital” the girl answered.
“Oh okay then. Can you help me bring the dishes to the table for breakfast?” Jessica asked.
The girl thought in her mind that Jessica was kind and lovely. Even if Jessica did not ask her Roselle had instructed that she help her with setting and clearing the table.
“By the way what is your name?” Jessica asked the lovely young girl.
This was the same girl who had brought oats for her late at night and was the same one who woke her up last night.
“Angel,” the girl said looking down.
“Am I scary?” Jessica asked
“No not at all” the girl answered in a rush.
She did not want her lady to have a misconception about her staying here. All of the house staff took a liking to Jessica. She was warm and cool-headed, unlike the young master.
Some of the staff noticed that the young master had not hounded them since Jessica came to stay there. No one knew what happens behind closed doors but they all suspected that Jessica was doing a great job of changing the young master. Little did they know that they had a huge pillow wall between them.
“Then stop dropping your head when I’m around,” Jessica said.
The young girl raised her head and smiled warmly at Jessica to which Jessica returned.
Angel helped Jessica to set the table. Jessica entered the living room where she had fallen asleep the other day to meet Xavier a man who looked around the same age as him.
“Hello, Mrs. Delgado, I am Marcus Gates and the family lawyer,” the strange man said as his gaze landed on the woman.
“Hello Mr. Marcus,” Jessica said taking the hand of the man.
Marcus scanned Jessica. She was in casual wear and had no makeup on. She was different from all the young ladies of the city. Most young ladies who married into big families were almost extravagant and dressed too exquisitely even when they had to stay at home all day.
Despite the simplicity of Jessica’s dress and makeup, she surpassed most of the Chiachester City ladies in beauty. The best part about Marcus was that she wore a smile since she got there. Marcus was enchanted immediately.
He knew that his parents would fight tooth and nail if he ever decided to marry someone like Jessica but he wished that he found her before Xavier did. Maybe he would have been able to change the minds of his parents.
Xavier saw the look on Marcus’ face and it did not sit well with him. It was like Marcus was scanning the whole body of his wife.
“We were just about to have breakfast, would you like to join us?” Jessica suggested unaware of what Marcus was thinking and what Xavier was noticing.
“I would love to,” Marcus said.
He had just had a very big breakfast courtesy of the five-star chef that lived in their house but he did not want to pass up the opportunity to see Jessica more.
He knew that he would most likely have no other opportunity to see her after the signing of the contract until after the divorce. He was set to marry but suddenly thoughts of delaying his wedding till Jessica was divorced flooded his mind.
He could delay and then break up with Gold and then swoop in to have Jessica to himself. Suddenly the terms Xavier made to protect his wife made sense. She was a woman who should be protected at all costs.
Three of them sat down at the table with a heap of pancakes, some sausages, bacon, and eggs. Her homemade syrup sat pretty in one bowl. Marcus sat facing Jessica while Xavier sat at the head of the table.
The meal was quiet and comfortable. Xavier forgetting the lustful eyes of his lawyer was consumed in the sweet taste of the pancakes before him. His mother used to make very delicious pancakes and he had not found anyone who made anything that came close, but the pancakes sitting in his presence made him relish the days his mother was still alive.
“Mr Delgado, your chef is doing amazingly” Marcus commented taking another bite of ten pancakes.
Xavier nodded not saying anything. Jessica wanted to tell him that she was the chef but she decided against it. After all young ladies such as herself should not be caught doing menial house jobs.
“My father’s fifty-four birthday is coming up soon. I must have your chef cook for us” Marcus continued taking a bite of the well-seasoned bacon.
“I’m afraid that would be impossible,” Xavier said. There was no way he was going to allow Jessica to cater for the birthday of the father of the man who almost stripped her just a minute ago.
“Why not?” Marcus asked. It was not a big deal to trade chefs.
“Because my wife can’t be going the cooking for any other person,” Xavier said.
It took Marcus a while to understand what Xavier meant but then it suddenly clicked and he knew that Jessica was the reason behind the delicious meal spread.
All the more reason to love this girl Marcus thought ad he glanced at Jessica who was silently eating her meal.