It was strange for Jamaica to try to learn how to fit into her new home. She had never even visited any place that had staff serving a family, and though it was a small staff of people, there were people who waited on her around the house and a cook who prepared all the meals for the family.
She discovered the cook on accident one morning when she made her way to the kitchen to make herself some breakfast. The cook, an older man named Franz, had been shocked to see her in the kitchen, and though he backed off quietly when he discovered who she was, he was obviously displeased when she began to poke around in the kitchen, pulling out frying pans and taking food out of the refrigerator.
The maid walked in and saw what was happening and went to find Henry to tell him. He walked into the kitchen at about the same time that Franz was about to pass out from stress that anyone was in his kitchen and using it the way that Jamaica was, and that Jamaica was irritated that there was someone trying desperately to stop her from something as simple and easy as walking into a kitchen and preparing her own breakfast.
Looking from one of them to the other he could easily see that the situation would need to be diffused, and he smiled kindly at Franz and asked him to take the morning off, and promised him that he would have his kitchen back in good working order in no time, or at least by lunch time. Franz left them in the kitchen in a huff, and Henry turned to look at Jamaica, who was holding eggs and a container of milk in her hands.
“Do you know what you’re doing in here?” he asked with a tongue-in-cheek smile.
She nodded and raised one eyebrow. “Do you know what I’m doing in here?” she asked pointedly. He looked at her in confusion.
“What do you mean?” he queried.
“I mean, do you know what I’m doing? Do you know what I’m cooking?” she asked, giving him a sweet and friendly smile.
He shook his head slowly. He’d been caught. One of the few things that he had no knowledge of was cooking.
“Do you know how to cook anything?” she asked, seemingly reading his mind.
He shook his head again. “Not really, no,” he admitted quietly.
“Well then, come here please, and I’ll be glad to show you.” She tipped her head toward the stove and his eyes grew wide and glazed over slightly. “Come on! You can do this. I promise.” She laughed lightly and it made him smile.
He stepped toward her and she began to direct him around the kitchen, asking him to bring bowls and spoons and spatulas, and a wide array of things as they began to put a good breakfast together.
Henry learned how to make coffee, how to cook bacon and eggs, how to mix and cook pancakes and how to use the toaster, although he did burn the first two pieces of toast, but he adamantly blamed the cook on that, pointing out that the heat dial on the toaster was set too high.
Jamaica laughed at him and took her time showing him each part of what they did that morning, enjoying being with him, talking and laughing with him, and creating what turned out to be one of the best meals that she had ever eaten, though he said that it was certainly not one of the best that he had ever had. She only laughed at him, but they sat together at a small table in the breakfast alcove and ate everything that they had cooked together.
It felt to them both that their friendship was growing stronger, and they found joy and comfort in it, much more than they had ever imagined that they would. She admitted to him how strange it was for her to have anyone waiting on her, and he shared that it was strange for him to not only have a woman living in his home, but one who was so independent as she was. They agreed that change was bound to happen as they both came from such different places, and that the changes were good, and were part of the growth that they were both going to go through in their new lifestyle.
The days began to pass and Cara came often. She seemed to try to make herself close and available to Jamaica, and it felt to Jamaica fairly early on that she didn’t know what she would do without Cara. She hadn’t expected it, but she was glad to have the other woman’s support, encouragement, and advice.
A month after the babies had come home, a welcoming party was arranged for friends and family of both Henry and Jamaica. She felt nervous about it, because she knew that she would not only be meeting people who had known Henry all of his life, but who also moved in wealthy social circles, and she was worried that she would feel out of place and simple among them.
She expressed her concerns to Cara, trusting in her to help find a way to alleviate her fears and worries. She wanted the party to go well not only for the babies, but for Henry and Georgia as well. She would be representing their family, and she was adamant that she would present a respectable image to anyone meeting her for the first time at the party.
Cara took her shopping and helped her to select a dress that Cara swore to her would be perfect for it. Jamaica wasn’t sure, as she stood in front of a three-way mirror at the dress store, turning and looking at her reflection, but Cara assured her that it was ideal. They bought the dress, and on the day of the party Jamaica stepped into it and looked in the mirror again.
It was a satin dress that hugged her form without showing off too much of it, and was finished at the back with a sheer white sweeping cape that hooked at the shoulders and fell to the floor, following behind her for about a foot.
She frowned, feeling that she was perhaps going a bit too far with it, but she remembered Cara’s words in the shop, telling her over and over that she had to get it and that it was perfect for the event and for Jamaica.
Jamaica went into the party, which was filled with guests all there to see and celebrate the babies, wearing her new gown. It took no more than a cursory sweeping look at all of the guests for her to realize that she was far too overdressed, and she felt enormously overdone.
All of the guests were in day dresses or slacks, and there she stood among them in white satin and a cape and five-inch white satin heels with diamond décor across them. Everyone stared when they saw her, and for a horrible moment she wished that she could fall right into a hole in the floor, but a moment after that, Henry seemed to materialize out of thin air, right at her side, and he took her hand in his and walked with her into the room, telling her quietly that she looked stunning, almost like an angel, and he was glad to have her at his side.
He was so glad that he kept her at his side during the entire party and Jamaica noticed that Cara left the event early. She was going to ask her why she had helped her to choose a dress that was so out of place, but she didn’t get the chance before the other woman was gone.
Henry was indeed glad to have her at his side. He saw that she was overdone, and he knew that there must have been some mistake made somewhere, by someone who had been advising Jamaica. He knew that she would not have ever been to anything like the party that they had hosted before, and he found himself admiring her bravery and strength as she held her head high and moved among the guests, introducing herself and talking with him, eventually making every one of them smile and fall in love with her. He smiled himself, thinking the same thing. She was easy to fall for.
Chapter8
Cara saw Jamaica coming down the stairs toward the main level of the house one morning and stopped her. She smiled and touched Jamaica’s shoulder, wrapping her arm around Jamaica and seeming to confide in her.
“Good morning! Don’t you look lovely!” Cara began. She leaned in close to Jamaica’s ear and lowered her voice. “Listen, I know you’re really busy, but Henry has a business friend in the library, but he’s running a little late and he won’t be here for a few minutes to meet with him. I know you’re really busy, but if you wouldn’t mind just… stepping inside the library and spending a few minutes with him until Henry can join him, I just know he’d appreciate that so much. Would you mind terribly?” Cara pleaded with her, eyes wide and voice light.
Jamaica saw an opportunity to give Henry some help. She felt that he had already done so much for her, and she wanted to give that back to him at every chance and in
just about any way that she could.
She brightened when she heard what Cara told her, and nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, of course! I’d be so glad to help. Should I go in now?” She lifted her eyes to meet Cara’s.
“Yes definitely, go ahead and go in right now!” Cara urged her with a smile and a squeeze of her shoulders.
Jamaica felt her heart pounding in her chest, but she took a deep breath and lifted her chin, and she went full tilt into the library to spend a little time with Henry’s business associate until he could get in there to see the man himself. It was a small way that she could repay Henry for all of his generosity toward her, and she was more than glad to do it.
Cara watched her go, even giving her a little wave of the hand, waggling her fingers at her, when Jamaica glanced once back over her shoulder toward Cara. Jamaica disappeared into the library and Cara stood straight and tall and crossed her arms over her chest, laughing quietly to herself as she eyed the door warily.
She took her time, but slowly she made her way up to Henry’s bedroom on the second floor and she slipped in, closing the door behind her. His bed was rumpled and unmade, but only on one side, and when she saw that, she sighed with relief.
A sultry smile formed on her lips when she heard him turn off the shower as he sang and whistled lightly to himself. She pushed herself from the bedroom door and walked quickly into his large bathroom at the far end of the bedroom, as billows of steam rolled out of it, swirling around her.
He gasped when he lowered the towel from his face and saw her standing there right in front of him. She had a strange look on her face; something like shyness, sweetness, and worry. He hurriedly dropped the towel to his nude waist and wrapped it around himself, covering what she had already seen and appreciated.
“Cara! God… What are you doing in here?” he asked, blinking at her in surprise as she slowly moved toward him and let her eyes move over his fit and tone body, sliding over the wet steamy skin.
“I’m sorry Henry my dear,” she said in a velvety voice. “I just… I had to come to get you. I realize my timing was probably off a little, and I’m kind of sorry about that.” She raised her wide blue eyes to meet his as she tucked a red lock of her hair behind her ear and only stopped a few inches from Henry’s chest. “I just couldn’t wait in good conscience while you are up here and… such a travesty is happening downstairs. I had to come and tell you, to warn you.” She spoke so softly, gazing up and him and staring at his mouth hungrily before looking back up at his eyes.
He felt uncertainty tying itself in knots in his stomach and he tightened the towel around his waist. “What… what are you talking about? What do you mean in good conscience? What’s going on?”
She looked overly pained as she spoke, as if her heart was breaking in her chest as she stood there and there wasn’t anything at all that could be done about it. “Well, Mr. Bailey demanded to be allowed to come and see you this morning, so I told him that he could, and I sent him to the library. He’s so upset Henry, as I’m sure you can imagine. Just… so angry, and right on the brink of leaving everything that you two have talked about and worked on. He’s just really in such a state. Anyway, I asked him to wait for you in there, and when I walked out that woman… that… Jamaica, she saw me and she came up and asked what I was doing in the library, telling me that I had no business in there, and I explained about Mr. Bailey being in there and waiting for you. I said that I was going to come and get you so that you could talk to him because he was so unhappy, and she told me not to bother coming to get you. She told me that she could handle it herself and she went rushing straight in there and closed the door before I could stop her. I did try to stop her, I told her over and over not to go in, that it was a messy business situation and you had to handle it carefully yourself. Well, the only thing I could do was come up here as fast as I could to come and get you!” She reached her hand up and placed it on his chest, palm down, sliding her hand up slowly toward his neck as she stared into his eyes and neared his face with hers.
“I’m so sorry that I wasn’t able to stop her. You know that you are my every priority!” she pointed out passionately.
His eyes flew wide open and he groaned loudly. “Oh no! No…” he dropped the towel that he’d been holding around his body and rushed into the bedroom without a stitch on. Cara smiled as she let her eyes wander over his skin while he hurried to get dressed as quickly as he could.
In what only seemed like a few moments, he was fully dressed and raking a comb through his wet hair. He ran out of his bedroom and flew down the stairs as Cara walked slowly behind him, laughing to herself, running her hand over the crumpled sheets on his side of his bed, feeling them where he had slept, and then letting herself out of his room with a catlike grin on her face before she went to the top of the stairs and took her time descending them.
Henry burst into the library breathless with pink cheeks and was stunned by what he saw, stopping short in place while the library door closed behind him. Sitting on one of the sofas in the library was Mr. Bailey, his business associate and a man with whom he had been trying to complete an in-depth business transaction that was teetering on monumental disaster, and Jamaica. They were laughing together and it almost looked as if they were having the time of their lives.
He froze in place and eyed them carefully and then began to walk toward them with uncertainty as their mirth lightened, and they both turned to look toward him. The smile on Mr. Bailey’s face stayed as Henry approached them in wonder.
“Good morning both of you, I’m so sorry that I’m late Mr. Bailey; I just found out that you were here and I came right down. I wish I had known that you were coming over. I’d never have kept you waiting,” Henry said with a genuine tone of regret.
Mr. Bailey lifted his old hand and waved dismissively at Henry. “Oh, don’t worry too much about it. Luckily this young lady here came in to check on me and make sure that I was all right,” he began, looking back over at Jamaica and giving her a big smile.
Jamaica grinned back at him and he looked back over at Henry, who had reached them and was watching them with fascination. “As a matter of fact, you couldn’t be luckier that she came in to talk to me. I will admit, I was pretty angry when I got here, and I was ready to call off the whole deal on the Scinter product we’ve been creating, but Jamaica has really saved the day for all of us. You know what it is, it’s her artistic mind. I’ve never seen anyone do what she just did here for us in mere minutes. She’s amazing!”
He bent over to pick up some of the papers on the table near them and Henry’s gaze shot over to Jamaica, sharing a glance with her as she grinned at him and she shook his head subtly. “Amazing… Yes,” he repeated in a quiet voice.
Mr. Bailey stood up and handed the papers to Henry. “Here now, take a look at that design that she created, and in next to no time at all I might add. She’s a sheer genius!” He thrust the papers at Henry and Henry took them and let his gaze sweep over them as his eyes widened. He couldn’t believe what he was looking at. Everything that she had done on the paperwork: fast notes, quickly drawn adjustments to the design of the product, all of it, was just exactly as Mr. Bailey had said. It was genius.
He stared at it as Mr. Bailey watched him, chuckling with delicious delight at Henry’s reaction. “Isn’t that something! Now, can you do that? Can we do that and build the Scinter product that way? Because if we can, I’ll sign that contract right now and we can go forward with the whole thing immediately.”
Henry began to nod his head slowly as he wrapped his thoughts around the concepts that were drawn out before him on the paperwork. Jamaica’s concepts on his designs. He began to grin and nod as he checked it all out carefully and then raised his eyes to meet Mr. Bailey’s. “Yes, we can definitely build it this way with this design!” he exclaimed in surprise and relief mixed with joy. He almost felt as if his heart was going to burst right through his chest from surprise and happiness.
“Well then,” M
r. Bailey grinned blissfully. “Let’s get that contract signed right now, and get busy on this! This is going to save us so much money in production and reproduction, and make us a fortune. I don’t know where you found this young lady, but you’d better not let her out of your sight! She’s a gem!”
“Yes, she is…” Henry agreed quietly as he looked over at her with a growing smile. His heart felt as if it was so full that it was going to spill over, and he realized that she made him feel that way often. Henry went to his desk and pulled the contract out of a drawer, then brought it to Mr. Bailey and the two men sat down. Jamaica silently moved toward the door as she was going to leave, but Mr. Bailey called out to her and stopped her.
“Oh no, young lady, you need to come back here and sit with us, you see, there’s only one caveat I have to signing this deal, and that is that you have to be hired on to the project in an advisory position for the entire project, and I want you here for the signing of the contract. This is an historic event, and you made it happen. You have to be here for it. This almost didn’t happen and you saved it. You must be here for that.” He beamed at her.
She came back and sat with them, watching and waiting as they went over the contract quickly and signed it together, and then stood up grinning at one another. The two men shook hands and Mr. Bailey left a few moments later, so happy that he almost seemed to dance right out of the door.
The moment the library door closed, Henry closed his eyes, laughing and shaking his head, and when he opened them back up again, all he could see was Jamaica standing before him: beautiful, sweet, and glorious.
He reached for her and grabbed her up into a tight hug, holding her close to him and rocking her in his embrace. “You are the best! The best! You saved that whole deal. I don’t even know how you did that! Mr. Bailey was coming here today to call the whole thing off! You saved me millions of dollars and enabled both he and I to make millions instead! You’re an angel! You’re a beautiful, incredible, amazing angel!”
The Billionaire's Twin Fever (MANHATTAN BACHELORS Book 1) Page 26