by Jerilee Kaye
She immediately scanned her brain for that name. Then she remembered, one time she heard Jin talking to a guy called Gatwick on the phone.
“What can I do for you?” she asked.
“Can we sit in the coffee shop?” he asked.
“Why?”
“Because Jin wants me to give you something and I’m not very comfortable giving them to you in the streets.”
“Oh. Okay. Let’s go to the shop next door.
They went inside Jord’s Café, a coffee shop on the ground floor of Adams Industries Headquarters. The coffee shop was owned by Jordan, one of her cousins.
Julianne led Gatwick to a corner table.
“Do you want anything?”
Gatwick shook his head. “I won’t be long,” he said. “And I can’t be seen with you.”
Julianne’s eyebrow shot up at him.
“Don’t get me wrong. You’re a very beautiful woman. I can totally see why Jin’s smitten,” he said.
Julianne’s eyes widened in shock.
Just how much does he know about us?
Gatwick immediately noticed her expression. He shook his head. “Do not worry,” he said. “I’m not Jin Starck’s friend. I’m his personal assistant. I’m paid to know and keep his secrets.”
“Okay, so… shall we go down to business?”
He took a black box from his pocket.
“Mister Starck wanted me to give you this.”
Julianne opened the box and found another Van Cleef & Arpels five motif gold and diamond bracelet, and a pair of matching motif diamond earrings.
“Holy mother of crap!” she cursed.
Gatwick grinned. “Wow! You’re my kind of woman.”
“What the hell is this for?”
“A present,” he replied.
“You bought this?”
Gatwick cleared his throat. “I picked it up at the store. But he chose it and paid for it.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “Tell him I cannot accept it.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t accept the last one. What makes him think I would accept this one?”
“My boss is… persistent.”
“Stubborn is more like it,” she muttered. “Well, I’m just as stubborn. Probably more.” She shook her head. “I won’t accept that.”
Gatwick was surprised. “Excuse me?”
“I’m not going to accept that,” she repeated. “And next time, tell your boss that if he wants to give me a present, he must give it to me, himself. So, I can personally reject it.”
She pushed the box back to Gatwick. Gatwick looked like he couldn’t believe that she would reject a forty-thousand-dollar gift. Then finally, he took the box back from her and slid it to his coat.
“Your message will be relayed—every word of it.”
“Good.”
Gatwick sat up from his seat. “I shall be on my way. As much as I want to stay here and enjoy your company, I’m afraid that my boss is a jealous man. And only he has the power to fire me.”
He gave her a final nod and then he went off.
Julianne’s hands were shaking when she dialed Jin’s number.
“Ma belle,” he greeted her after two rings.
“Who told you to give me another insanely expensive present?” she started scolding him.
“Wow. I’m assuming you’ve already met my assistant.”
“Met him. Spoke to him. Rejected what he brought from you.”
“Rejected?”
“As in… I took a peek but didn’t even touch it,” she replied. “You do not learn, do you, Jin Starck?”
He sighed. “I’ve always hated gold-diggers. And now, the only woman I want to spend money on won’t take any of my gifts.”
“And you didn’t get the message the first time. I don’t want those. I’m okay without them.”
“And I told you every time you reject my presents, they will just keep coming… and each one will be more expensive than the last one.”
“Jin! Why do you insist on giving me jewelry? It’s not even my birthday.”
“Because you’re my girlfriend, Arabella,” he reminded her. “I don’t think a man needs an occasion to give his woman a present.”
She sighed. He does have a point. Adrienne received a lot of presents from Justin and many of them weren’t given on special occasions.
“But does it have to be overwhelmingly expensive?” she asked.
He was silent for a moment and then he said, “You’re Julianne Sanders. Are you forgetting that? I want to give you a present that’s fit for an heiress like you?”
She sighed. “Jin, if I weren’t an heiress, would you even consider pursuing me? Because if you won’t, then we might as well stop this now.”
“I didn’t know you were an heiress when I met you, remember?”
“Exactly. I am still that girl.”
“Okay, okay. I get it,” he said. “Can we stop arguing now?”
“Fine.”
“So, tell me, how’s your day so far?”
“Busy,” she replied. “Work is hectic. And I’m organizing a housewarming dinner on Saturday.”
“Oh, wow. Why this Saturday? I’m not there.”
“You cannot be there, remember?”
He groaned. “Now, I remember. Okay, have fun then. Are you cooking?”
“Yes.”
“Damn! Now, it makes me wish that I could be there even more!”
She laughed. “I’ll cook for you when you come back. I’ll prepare for that.”
“And we’ll tell Jared about us.”
Her heart pounded in her chest. Has the day really come for him to know? She figured that before they tell Jared about them, she must tell him first about Jared.
“We’ll talk when you get back,” she simply said.
“I can’t wait,” he said. “These past few days have been hell. I miss you so much.”
She looked around her to make sure no one she knows was within earshot. Then she whispered, “I miss you too.”
“Why are you whispering?”
“You know why.”
“No, I don’t. Say it again. I didn’t hear it.”
“I miss you too,” she said, a little bit louder.
“I still couldn’t hear it.”
“Jin Starck!” she raised her voice and then she suddenly realized what she’s done.
“Ooopps!” he teased.
“Oh, damn it!” In spite of herself, she couldn’t help giggling. Then she heard him take a deep breath on the other line. “Are you okay?”
“More than okay. I can’t wait for all these secrets to be out in the open,” he replied.
“Are you going to tell your parents?”
“What makes you think my father doesn’t already know?”
“Jin… don’t tell me…” she trailed off, unable to believe the possibility that Jin could have already told his father about them.
“Well, I haven’t spoken to him in more than a week,” he said. “So, I don’t know if he knows.”
“If you didn’t tell him, then he doesn’t know.”
“Well, soon, love, you will meet the great Alexandre Martin. My father’s cousin, his right hand—the steward of the Starck family.”
“And?”
“And he knows everything that goes on with all the members of our family.”
“You—you told him?”
“I never tell him anything. But he still knows everything.”
“Should… should I be worried?”
“Of course not,” Jin chuckled. “I’m just giving you a heads up. He knows about you. He knew about us seven years ago. I don’t know how long he can keep that a secret from my Dad. So, whatever it is you’re planning to do before telling your family about me, better do it fast.”
“You’re putting so much pressure on me!” she groaned.
“I’m not!” he laughed. “I’m just telling you the odds and variables, so you can make the right decisio
ns.”
“Okay,” she said. “First we talk so I can tell you my plan. And then we tell Jared. And then Adrienne and Justin and then everybody else.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Okay, I have to go. I only have ten minutes left on my lunch break.”
He chuckled. “I’ll make it up to you,”
“You better!”
“My pleasure.”
When she hung up the phone, her heart was pounding through her ribcage. She felt nervous as hell, but she also had a big smile on her face and she couldn’t be more excited to see him again so they could finally set things right.
27.
Julianne brought Jared home the following Friday evening. The first thing he asked for was his room. And when Julianne showed it to her, he was ecstatic. She videotaped the whole thing because Jin wanted to see Jared’s reaction.
“Mommy, this is so beautiful!” he beamed happily. “You got me a Rubik’s cube room. The painting is so beautiful! Did you do it Mommy?”
“Umm… no. I’m not that good at painting. But Mommy’s very good friend is a painter. He did this especially for you. I told him you wanted a Rubik’s cube inspired room.”
“Mommy, your friend is a good painter. I wish I could paint like that.”
“Someday, you will, sweetheart,” she told him. “It’s in your blood.”
She thought of the day when she could finally tell Jared that the one who painted his room was his father. And that someday, he would be as good as him.
“I want to see the rest of the house, Mommy! Do we have a garden? Can I play outside?”
Suddenly, she heard a loud hammering sound from the other side of the wall that she shared with her neighbor. She remembered that Janis sold the house next door. Her neighbors must be getting some works done.
“What’s that sound Mommy?”
“I don’t know. Must be our neighbors renovating,” she said. “Come, let’s go outside.”
She was ecstatic to bring Jared to the backyard. Before Jin left, they created a vertical garden with different colorful flowers. Her heart swelled just looking at the beautiful garden they made together. As Jared squealed and jumped around the garden, she couldn’t help the tears from peeping in her eyes. Jared was the first beautiful creation she and Jin made.
“Can we put a trampoline here?”
“What? No. There’s not much space.”
“Please, Mom? It would be so cool! I will never leave this house if I have a trampoline!”
“Oh, okay, in that case, I think we can arrange something.”
“Really?”
“I’m not saying yes yet. We’ll go to the store later and see if they have something that fits.”
“They will have!” he said positively. “If they don’t, we can ask Uncle Jin to find one for us. He knows where to buy cool stuff.”
Julianne smiled. “I’m sure he does.”
Suddenly, everything turned really bright. Halogen lights were turned on from the other side of the fence. They heard some people shouting followed by the loud sound of a jackhammer.
“What’s that?”
“I think they’re doing some work. Come, sweetie. I don’t think it’s safe out here.”
But the noise from the other side kept on going. It seemed like they were working overnight as well. The next day, Julianne couldn’t take it anymore. She went over to her neighbors to ask what was going on.
She rang the bell and she was surprised to see Janis. She seemed surprised to see her too.
“How are you?” she asked. “Have you moved in?”
“Ah, yes. Just last night,” Julianne replied. “May I ask, what’s with all the noise?”
“Oh, yeah. I sent a notice to your office regarding this. Didn’t you get it?”
Julianne had no idea what she was talking about. “No.”
“Oh sorry. We gave a notice that there will be major renovation works going on here and in the garden for another two weeks or so. We’re really sorry. But we’re rushing to finish this ASAP.”
“But I can hear you hammering through the walls even in the middle of the night.”
Janis merely smiled at her apologetically. “Oh, sweetie. Just two weeks. Then you can live in silence.”
“I’ll be deaf already in two weeks if you don’t stop drilling at two in the morning.”
“I’ll ask the owner what we can do to compensate you for your trouble.”
Julianne sighed in frustration. “Don’t worry about it. Just make sure you’re done after two weeks so I can go on with my life.”
Then she turned on her heel and went back to her house. She was upset but she didn’t have a choice. Jared was complaining about the noise too, even in the middle of the night, he couldn’t get a proper sleep.
So, after the fourth day, Julianne grabbed his bags and they went out of the house.
“Where are we going, Mommy?” Jared asked.
“Well, we will come back after two weeks. But right now, I cannot sacrifice your sleeping hours just because the neighbors are running a twenty-four-seven operation on the other side,” she muttered. “We’ll go back to Auntie Adrienne’s house. We’ll stay there for two or three weeks more.”
“But my stuff! My cool fridge!”
“They will still be there when we get back, sweetie,”
She drove the car that Adrienne lent her back to the Adams Mansion.
“That was quick!” Adrienne was practically beaming when they saw her.
“No, unfortunately, we’re still moving. But our neighbors are getting some major works done on the walls and in the garden. They’re working on the other side of the wall twenty-four-seven. I cannot let Jared live like that. So, I decided to move back in. Only for two weeks. Is that okay?”
“You know, you didn’t even need to ask, right?” Adrienne whispered to her.
That night, before she went to bed, she sent Jin a photo of her getting ready for bed. “Back at the Adams Mansion,” she captioned the photo. It’s already morning in Paris, and she didn’t expect him to respond. But she was pleased when she received a message a minute later.
Jin: Why?
Her: Neighbors are doing major works even at night. Like who does that?
Jin: Contractors with clients who don’t care about the money just to get the job done on time.
Her: What?
Jin: I mean maybe they have a deadline—by hook or by crook.
Her: So it would seem. Anyway, it’s too noisy, Jared couldn’t sleep. So, I decided to bring him back here until Janis and her team finish their work. The housewarming isn’t gonna happen too. I cannot bring people there with all that noise going on. You know, Justin had been skeptical about this from the beginning.
Jin: I’m sure he’ll be pleased when he finally sees your new haven.
Her: I hope so.
It warms her heart to remember that she and Jin worked together to make the place perfect for their son.
Jin: What are you wearing?
She bit her lip. She was completely new to all of this—the sweet stuff, coupled with kinkiness. Is this what relationships were supposed to be like? You’re completely comfortable with each other one minute, and then you’re going at it the next?
Her: A silk nightie.
Jin: Sounds delicious. What else?
Her: Nothing else… ;-)
Jin: Jesus, get me home now!
She giggled as she texted, “You’re gonna have to wait. Two weeks will zoom by fast.”
Jin: Two weeks cannot come soon enough.
She started feeling naughty and decided to tease him more. She took a selfie of herself, lying in bed. When she looked at the photo, even she found it—steaming hot, and she was the least narcissist person she knew. Her soft blonde tresses framed her face, as she bit half of her lower lip. The white blanket covered the top of her breasts, but still revealed a whole deal of cleavage. Her eyes looked mesmerizing, she looked innocent and sensual all at th
e same time.
She clicked the send button before she could stop herself. She waited anxiously for his reply. One minute. Two minutes.
Riiinngg!
She almost jumped out of her skin when her phone rang. She smiled when she saw Jin’s number on the screen.
“Hi,” she greeted him.
“If that’s your way of making me even more miserable, you’re succeeding,” he said.
She laughed. “Well, I’m just giving you an incentive to come back after two weeks, like you promised.”
“I wanna come back now.”
She heard him groan in frustration. She could only giggle at his reaction.
Then in a more serious tone, he stated, “You’re so hot… and innocent… sensual…” he paused and added, “Incandescent.”
She smiled. “Thank you.” She liked the word he used—incandescent.
“I’m crazy about you, you know,” he said.
She giggled. “You might have told me that before.”
“I said it at least twice before. And I’m telling you again now.”
“Maybe when we see each other again, you can tell me that in person.”
“Oh, I will. I will tell you so much more than that.”
She sighed happily. Her heart swelled, she couldn’t believe this kind of happiness could be real.
“Jin…”
“Yes, love?”
“You need to sleep now,” she said. “It’s five in the morning your time.”
“The photo you sent was stronger than any coffee I’ve had. I’m wide awake now.”
She laughed. “Now, you need to delete that photo.”
“It’s going to be my wallpaper.”
“Jin! No!”
“Why not? Can’t a guy use his girlfriend’s photo as his phone’s wallpaper? Isn’t it normal?”