Chapter 9
9
ALEJANDRO
I closed the office door and exhaled.
That meeting did not go how I had expected.
When Hazel had first explained that they wanted me to come to Jamaica to help the head chef set up the restaurants’ operations and training, I was excited.
Marco was always dismissive when I suggested trying something new. It was only on the special assignments and meals that Jasmine had given me that I ever had the chance to put my own twist on different dishes.
With this trip, I thought I would finally have the opportunity to take on more responsibility, help shape a menu from the beginning, share my ideas and make my mark.
Based on the meeting I had just had with Hazel, thankfully I would still have the chance to do those things. But what I had not realised was that they also expected me to work closely with Jasmine.
If that was limited to working within the hotel, it may not have been so difficult. However, they wanted us to go on different excursions. Together. And not just any activities: visits that were designed to stimulate romance.
If I did not like Jasmine, this would have been fine.
But I liked Jasmine. More than I should.
She was beautiful, intelligent, strong, determined, ambitious and kind.
For a long time, I believed that in life, you were only ever lucky enough to find one person that you were drawn to so strongly. But now I was starting to realise that sometimes lightning did strike twice.
After I lost my girlfriend two years ago, I believed I would never be interested in another woman. That was it for me.
When I finally started to get through the fog of grief last year, Lola tried to encourage me to date again.
She introduced me to ‘friends’ whenever I would visit her in London and when she came here, she tried to set me up on the dating apps.
The women were pretty and nice. But like I said to Jasmine during our journey here, nice was bland. It was like food without seasoning. Even the nicest steak needed a little salt to accentuate the flavour. There was never that spark.
But I had noticed that whenever I was with Jasmine, there were more sparks than a fireworks display.
When she squeezed my arm in the car and I woke up and saw her face, I thought that I was dreaming.
I was not short of confidence. I believed in myself. I was excellent at my job. I was a kind person. I had a lot going for me. But the truth was, Jasmine was in a different league.
She was a woman who travelled first class, came from a background of dealing with the rich and famous, she was experienced and probably used to dating successful businessmen, not a man on the rise who had not reached his goals. Yet .
And after the meeting where Jasmine had warned everyone not to get involved, the fact that we worked together would obviously be an issue for her too.
I was not concerned about the age gap. Jasmine would be smart enough to know that did not matter.
Anyway, everything I had just thought about was irrelevant because she was not interested in me romantically, which was fine. It was just me who found her attractive. Clearly, I was not her type.
The point was, I could manage my attraction to Jasmine if our contact and interactions were limited. But I was worried that spending more time with her would prove more difficult.
It had taken a lot of willpower, but I had managed to stay cool at breakfast. Just .
When I could not sleep, I decided to get up and explore the hotel. I was hungry and knew that Jasmine would be too, so that was when I decided to make her breakfast. And when I saw how beautiful the beach was, I knew she would love it too.
That was why I decided to set up the table outside.
I will admit, I may have dreamt about sitting across a table from her, just the two of us, once or twice. But being attracted to Jasmine was like salivating at the most exquisite pastries through a French patisserie window after committing to eating healthily. Jasmine was someone that I could admire from afar, but never touch.
I returned to my room to get my swimming trunks. I had to meet Jasmine in reception in twenty minutes where we would be driven to Dunn’s River Falls.
That at least was something I was happy to try. I had heard many things about this place when I researched Jamaica online.
When I arrived at reception, Jasmine was already there speaking to Nadine.
‘Hi,’ Nadine smiled. ‘Ready for Dunn’s River Falls?’
‘ Sí . I am very excited to visit.’
‘Is the car on the way?’ Jasmine asked.
‘So here’s the thing…’ Nadine paused. ‘The chauffeur, Linford, is also out of action this week and the driver who picked you up from the airport last night is on holiday from today. But don’t worry! I asked a friend to take you instead.’
The loud toot of a car horn vibrated around us and I turned to see an old, brown Mercedes pull up.
The driver wound his window down and the sound of a Bob Marley track blared from his car speakers.
‘This is Bob,’ Nadine said. ‘He’ll be your driver today.’
Bob jumped out of the car with a big smile on his face. He had light-brown skin, a salt-and-pepper beard and his big red, gold and green oversized hat covered a head full of long dreadlocks.
‘Wah gwaan?’ Bob said in a thick Jamaican accent.
‘Hello.’ Jasmine held out her hand to greet him. ‘I’m Jasmine.’
‘Nice fi meet yuh, pretty gyal.’ He looked Jasmine up and down then smiled approvingly. I ground my jaw.
‘ Hola ,’ I said flatly, keeping my hands firmly to my sides. ‘I am Alejandro. I am here with Jasmine .’
A look of mild surprise flickered in his eyes and I knew he was trying to work out whether I was with her romantically or platonically.
Good .
Seconds later, I regretted what I had said. I would like to say that I did not know why I had said I was here with her, but that would be a lie.
The truth was that I did not like watching another man admire the woman I liked. But that was my problem.
It was true that Jasmine and I were here together for work, but we were not together in the way that my tone had suggested.
‘Mi name Bob Harley,’ he said, ignoring my statement.
‘Bob Harley ?’ Jasmine frowned.
‘Ya mon!’ Bob replied in agreement.
‘Like Bob Marley , but Harley instead?’ Her frowned deepened.
‘Ya mon! Come.’ He gestured towards the car.
I opened the door for Jasmine, then slid onto the backseat.
Her scent hit me like lightning. She smelt like summer berries and coconut and I was torn between wanting to open the window to escape the intoxicating aroma and inhaling deeply so it could flood all of my senses.
‘A weh yuh come fram?’ Bob said, breaking my train of thought.
‘London,’ Jasmine said.
‘Madrid,’ I answered.
‘But we both live near Marbella in Spain,’ Jasmine added.
‘Irie.’ Bob said, then turned up the ‘Could You Be Loved’ Bob Marley track.
It was not a surprise that like me and so many people around the world, he was a fan of the Jamaican legend’s music. Although I got the feeling that his real name was not Bob Harley and he probably played Bob Marley’s songs because he wanted to make the tourists happy.
‘So, I am now your activities partner.’ I turned to face Jasmine. She was not in the office when I had my meeting and because we had not spoken since then, I wanted to see how she felt about it.
I was sure she could not be happy about it. Even if her reasons were different to mine.
‘Looks that way. I’m really sorry.’ She winced. ‘I’m sure you’d much rather be out shopping for ingredients and working in the kitchen.’
‘I was so angry when they told me I would have to spend time visiting one of Jamaica’s most famous attractions with a beautiful woman. My life sucks so bad right now!’ I smirked. I had not intended to mention that I thought she was beautiful, but madre mía , she really was.
Jasmine was wearing a long, orange dress and even though it was only her shoulders and arms that were exposed, she still looked like the sexiest woman I’d ever seen.
I did not know if it was because of her confidence but everything about Jasmine was hot.
‘Oh!’ She laughed. ‘When you said you were angry, I felt awful, but you’re joking, right?’
‘I am not joking.’ I narrowed my eyes for a few seconds before my face broke into a smile. ‘Of course! I am being paid to visit a place that I would pay to visit myself. But I was not joking when I said I am going there with a beautiful woman. And I do not say that to be a creep or to make you uncomfortable, because I know that after the meeting this week, employees are supposed to not notice these things. It is just a fact.’
‘A fact, eh?’ She raised her eyebrow.
‘ Sí . Nobody could disagree with this.’
‘In your opinion.’ She smiled.
‘In my opinion, which of course is correct.’
‘Ya mon.’ Bob slapped his steering wheel in agreement. I did not like that he was listening to our conversation, but at least he supported my conclusion.
‘Well, thank you for the subjective observation.’
‘You do not think you are beautiful?’ I frowned.
‘I’m not sure that anyone looks in the mirror and says they are beautiful .’
‘They do not?’ I clutched my chest pretending to be shocked by this revelation. ‘My sister told me it was normal.’ I smirked again.
‘Oh my God!’ She laughed. ‘Do you seriously look in the mirror and tell yourself you’re beautiful?’
‘No, but not because I believe it is wrong to do that. I do not do it because I already feel it here ,’ I pointed to my head, ‘and here ,’ I patted my heart.
‘Wow.’ Jasmine’s eyes widened. ‘Let me move closer to the window to give you and your ego more room.’
‘So to believe in yourself is to have an ego?’ I rested my hand on my chin.
‘No, but…’
‘Is it a lie? You think that I am ugly?’
‘Of course not! I mean, clearly y-you’re…’ she stuttered. ‘You’re a… a very attractive man.’ Her voice trailed off and her gaze dropped to her sandals.
This was interesting.
Jasmine was always so calm and eloquent. To see her flustered was new. And I could not deny that I liked the fact that she had just said she thought I was attractive. In fact, not just attractive, but very attractive. Especially when I was certain that she had no interest in me.
‘ Gracias . But you must understand, when I say these things, it is not because I want to… what is it you say? Blow my horn?’
‘ Trumpet ,’ she corrected. ‘We say, blow my own trumpet . Then again, you might be right. I think Americans say blow or toot your own horn.’
‘ Vale . I do not say it to blow my trumpet . I say it because if I do not believe I am beautiful, how can I expect someone else to believe it?’
‘Hmmm.’ Jasmine nodded. ‘That’s actually true. You’re very confident for your age.’
‘You say that as if I am a teenager.’ I smiled.
‘Compared to me, you are!’
‘ En serio? ’ I said.
‘You’re asking if I’m being serious?’ Her brows knitted together.
‘ Sí .’
‘Of course I’m being serious! You’re what? Twenty-nine, right?’
Also interesting that she knew my age when I had never told her.
‘Correct.’ I nodded. ‘How old are you?’
‘A gentleman never asks a woman her age.’
‘And who told you I was a gentleman?’ I smirked.
‘Oh… I…’
‘I can be of course, but perhaps I am not as innocent as you presume. Age is irrelevant. In this world, there are wise people who are twenty-nine and people who are twenty-nine and stupid. And if you think I will judge you or change my opinion of you because you tell me you are thirty-one or forty-one, then you have much to learn about me.’
Jasmine stared at me, her eyes wide, her lips parted. I did not know what she was thinking, but what I said was true.
Although I did not know her exact age, I knew that she was in her late thirties because she had mentioned a few times that there was not long before she would be forty and grimaced like it was a curse, not a blessing.
My ex would have given anything to have reached that age.
The point was, I knew Jasmine was older than me, but I did not care.
I still liked her.
And the strange thing was, whereas before I was convinced that she had zero interest in me, now I was starting to question whether that was true…