CHAPTER 8
Today was my last day at work. I didn’t know how the past two weeks flew by. It was like I blinked, and it was gone. Jay and I continued with the same routine—I would cook and clean while he gave me his broody silent treatment. He ignored my presence. It was almost as if I didn’t even exist, like I was a ghost.
A sense of moroseness stuck with me ever since I woke up this morning. Because this would be the last time I would see him, and it took me right back to that day six years ago. A day that I locked up deep inside a cage in my head. It made me wonder why I always ended up knowing the day that I would last see him.
I exhaled a deep breath as I made my way to the kitchen. My eyes met a lady with soft blond hair peppered with a few grays wearing a simple black dress, standing by the stove and cooking what smelled like bacon. Hmm, I thought Jay had his tomato salad on toast on Friday.
“Hi, you must be Helen.”
Aimee had informed me that Helen would be back today. She had been Jay’s cook for a long time and took some time off to visit her daughter and hence they hired me.
She looked up from the bacon sizzling on the pan and gave me a big smile that immediately warmed my heart. “Yes, honey. And you must be Evy! It’s so nice to meet you.”
I nodded as I walked up to her. “Looks like you’ve already started on the breakfast. That’s one less job for me.”
“Yes, honey. I came in early to set everything up and get used to the new place.”
I frowned as I looked around. “But I thought Jay didn’t have any bacon for his breakfast. And are those cookies?” I pointed at a tray of freshly baked cookies cooling on the counter. For the first time, this kitchen actually smelled incredible.
“Jay?” She looked confused.
I flushed, noticing my slip. Of course, she doesn’t know that you called him Jay, Evy . “I mean Mr. Jameson.”
“Oh, wait, isn’t his middle name Jayden or something? I swear that boy has too many names. As for the food, he will eat anything I give him,” she declared, placing the tray on the table and wiping her hands on the dishcloth.
“But doesn’t he have a strict diet that he follows? He gets mad every time I try to cook him something.”
“My Emmie never complains and eats whatever I put in front of him.” Her lips curved in a warm smile.
If only he had done the same for me .
Footsteps approached us. “Morning, Helen,” Jay called out from behind me. I spun around to catch a soft look in his eyes as he peered at her. And my breath caught in my throat because he was smiling.
A real one. A kind of smile that made his eyes shine with genuine happiness.
Was it possible to be jealous of a fifty-year-old woman? Because I was.
“Morning, honey.” She grinned and gestured to me. “Evy was just telling me that you were giving her trouble for not cooking that god-awful breakfast?”
A cold, hard expression replaced his smile in a second as he glanced my way.
My ears turned red as I averted my gaze downward. Way to go, Helen . I sighed inwardly. But I couldn’t really blame her. I’m sure she wouldn’t have made that comment if she knew our history was tattered and tainted.
“Hmm, are those cookies I smell? You’re spoiling me, ma’am.” His face turned into a mask of joy as he answered, completely changing the subject.
I took it as my cue to get out of there and get started on my actual work.
About three hours and one pristine apartment later, it was finally time for me to leave this place. Forever. I looked at the rain spilling from thundering, dark gray clouds outside. I loved this apartment. Especially the view when it rained. I was going to miss this place. But I was going to miss the man staring at it more. Even though he treated me like an outcast in his life, I would always long for a glimpse of him.
“Today is my last day at work,” I said in a bleak voice as I appeared before him.
He cast me a glance, the look on his face giving nothing away as he nodded.
Sadness gripped my heart. This was it. I didn’t know if I would ever see him again after this. I traced my eyes over his gorgeous face, committing it to memory: his high cheekbones and strong jawline, the azure specks in his eyes, and his full lips that I would do anything to kiss one last time.
“Goodbye, Jay.” I croaked out, my voice thick with emotion.
His gaze sharpened, peering into the depths of my soul as he said, “Goodbye, Evelyn.”
I swallowed the pain down my throat as I willed my feet to walk out of the apartment. Like a hopeless love-lost teenager, I took slow steps toward the door, walking out of that apartment one last time.
My heart sat heavy in my chest as I braced the downpour weeping in NYC. I sat on my usual bench in Central Park as I watched the trees wail and dance in the storm. It was a beautiful sight that would usually make me happy, but not today. I loved to sit in the rain like this. It felt cleansing for some reason.
But now I felt lost—no job, no direction, and no clue about what to do with my life. The pay this month would keep me afloat for a while, but not for long. I had to think of something. I had to get a job if I ever wanted to survive.
Somewhere in the background of the heavy wailing, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I frowned. Who was calling me at this time?
Aimee. Why was she calling me? My phone became wet in an instant, and I had to battle with the touchpad for a few seconds to answer it. Finally!
“Hello, Aimee?”
“Evelyn! Thank God, you picked up. I know this is very last minute, but is there any chance I could meet you in an hour.”
“Umm, yes.”
“Amazing, I’ll send you the location. See you then!”
Why did she want to meet me? OMG, is this about the lamp I broke in the library last week? I’m sure that wasn’t a big deal. Jay could afford that and a lot more now. So I wondered what it could be. Well, I wouldn’t know unless I find out.
An hour later, I waited in Leo’s Café like a drenched rat while I tried my best to fix my hair. Aimee’s name flashed on my phone again.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Evelyn? Oh wait, I think I see you.”
I looked up to see a very pregnant woman with a huge smile on her face waving in my direction as she trotted over to me.
I smiled as I stood to meet her. “Hey, Aimee.”
“Evelyn, it’s so nice to meet you.” She shook my hand with a little too much excitement as she slid inside her seat, which took about a minute with her huge belly.
“Sorry, as much as I love being pregnant, I swear these last few weeks have driven me crazy. I just want this baby out already.”
I laughed. “I’m sure it will be worth it.”
“Yeah, I know.” She smiled, rubbing her belly. Although I hadn’t seen her before, I could tell her face was glowing from the pregnancy. “Also, I’m very sorry to call you here on such short notice. I’m sure you must be busy with starting your new job. Wasn’t today your last day at work?”
I frowned. New job? What new job did I have? “Yes, today was my last day but…”
She interrupted before I could continue. “I have a proposition for you. I would like you to really, really consider it.” She pulled out a paper from her satchel and slid it toward me.
Okay, now I was very confused. I blinked as I glanced at the papers. They looked like some sort of agreement.
“This is the agreement. I would like to offer you the position of J.J.’s tour assistant.”
My eyes widened in shock. Jay’s tour assistant? How? Why? I’m sure he didn’t ask for me. And I wasn’t sure how a maid was considered for a tour assistant position.
“Please, tell me you will take it. Usually, I’m J.J.’s full-time assistant, but as you can see…” She blew out a breath as she gestured to her belly. “I can’t possibly run around behind him.” She leaned closer with a pleading look in her eyes. “Honestly, I’ve been searching for my replacement for months now, and I can’t seem to find anyone. And with the tour starting next week, it’s stressing me out. I know it’s very hard to work with him. You don’t know the number of people I have fired for him, but he hasn’t had any complaints about you, so you would be perfect.”
I was still shocked. My mind was literally screaming to her, oh, he’s going to have so many problems with this . The only reason he hadn’t complained was because he didn’t want to talk about me.
“I know you are just starting a new job. I mean, that’s why you must be quitting after a month, right? But I promise you’ll be compensated very well. I hope you’re satisfied with the pay.” She nodded to the paper.
My stunned eyes drifted across the papers until they landed on the number. I didn’t think it was possible, but my eyes widened further as all the air left my lungs. Is this what they paid assistants? Because with that money, all my problems would disappear forever. It meant that I would finally be free.
Even though I was still confused, my head automatically nodded as I met her eyes. “I’ll do it,” I rasped.
“Yay. Thank you so much!” She clapped excitedly. “I’ll go through the contract with you. It’ll be for a period of six weeks. J.J. follows a strict routine when he’s on tour, but don’t worry, I’ll explain everything to you. I’ll take care of the logistics and administrative tasks. You just need to be my eyes and ears, well, and probably my feet.” She laughed. “Thank God you said yes, or else I would’ve gone crazy. Actually, you didn’t even cross my mind until Lily mentioned you. She told me you went to Yale and used to work part-time as an assistant during college.”
The realization dawned on me then—this was Lily’s doing. I recalled what she said the other day. She must have already thought of this when she asked me that question.
“Wait, I remember reading your résumé. You never mentioned Yale. What did you study at Yale?” Her brows furrowed.
Fuck. I actually never set foot in Yale. My gut instinct told me to lie because I was never coming across another opportunity like this. And the taste of freedom was too tempting for me to give this up.
“I studied creative writing.” Her brows were still furrowed. “With a minor in management,” I added, which seemed to satisfy her.
I exhaled a sigh of relief.
Soon enough, I was signing the papers to be Jay’s tour assistant, but even as I was signing them, I knew that I still didn’t fully have this job until someone agreed to it.
“Lily, what did you do?” I asked through the phone as I made my way to the subway. “Ouch,” I muttered as some guy literally knocked the breath out of me as he hurried away. I sighed; walking slowly in NYC should come with a hazard warning.
“Evy, are you alright?” Lily’s voice filled in from the other side.
“Yeah, but don’t change the subject. What the hell did you do?”
She laughed. “What?! It’s my way of playing Fairy Godmother. I swear I’ve had enough of whatever foreplay you both have going on.”
“Lily!” I admonished. “Your brother is going to hate this; you know that, right? I don’t even know if I have the job yet.”
“Yeah,” she mumbled, “but I’m sure you’ll convince him. My brother could never say no to you as soon as you give him your puppy dog eyes.”
“Lily, that was six years ago. He despises me now.”
I could hear her sigh. “I mean, who cares if you get the job or not? I’ll be joining them on tour this time, so I’m pretty sure I can invite my best friend to come along with me. And no one can say no to that. So you are coming on the tour either way.”
Even though I had zero idea what a tour assistant would do, I really needed this job, one way or another, but not for the reasons she thinks. This would be my ticket to freedom, and I wasn’t going to let anything stop that.