Page 16 of Jade: Chance Are

“Good, do you need anything? I told your driver to leave for the day. Do you need me to call him back.”

“No, I am fine. I took a cab today and I’ll take a cab home.”

“Mariam, I think Prince Naseer might have fired your driver for letting you walk out of the building and not knowing your whereabout,” she says in a whispered conspiratorial tone.

“What! My driver is not my bodyguard. I’ll have a word with this Prince Naseer tomorrow.”

“Mariam, Prince Naseer is here, and he wants to speak with you,” she says louder.

“Jade where are you?” comes the stern commanding voice.

“I’m out. Why are you firing my driver? He didn’t do anything wrong. I wanted to be alone and I’m fine. Please reinstate my driver.”

“Where the fuck are you, Jade?” he snares.

“Not a princely language,” I mocked, and I could hear his flaring nostrils and heavy heartbeat “Once again, I’m fine and next time don’t hold my assistant hostage. She’s not my bodyguard, neither is she attached to me, goodnight.”

“Don’t mess with me, Jadesola! Where are the fuck you?” he snaps.

“Okay, I’m with my boy toy and he’s satisfying all my needs, good night.” I hang up on him. He’s so annoying. I think about going back to the hotel, but I want my bed and to change into my nightshirt. I head home.

My phone starts to ring; it’s Knox. “Hello, my fiancée,” I say with a giggle. He’s up early.

“I’ve missed you,” he says.

“I’ve missed you too. How are the school kids? I hope they are not testing your limit,” I tease because he loves to say the children like to test how far they can get with him.

“They try but they won’t win.” I laugh. He tells me more about the stunts and tricks teenagers try just to get out of their tests or sports activities. He always has interesting stories for me. I enjoy listening to him in the cab ride home. It’s late and no traffic. I’m home in less than twenty minutes. I laugh at his jokes. I unlock my door and drop my bag on the table by the entrance, I remove my shoes and put them under the table. With the phone still glued to my ears, I enter the living room. I lay on the sofa with my feet on the armrest. “How was your day?” Knox asks.

“It was very good. I got a lot done, I left the building, went to the local market, bought comfortable clothing, booked a hotel room, and worked till my computer flashed that it was shutting down. So, I’m now hungry and tired, but I got a lot done.”

“Why did you leave the office, isn’t it comfortable there?”

“It’s very nice but people there do not know my zone code means do not disturb when I’m in my zone unless it’s important. My staff knows but others stop by and that interrupts my flow, I work better in jeans and T-shirts, not slacks and a silk blouse. I felt out of my element and needed to get work done. So, I had to get out of there. I’m hoping to be done sooner than planned.”

“Are you going to book a hotel room daily?”

“Just today, while I find a way to work better in my given environment” and avoid Naseer my stomach growls. “Knox, my stomach is growling, can I call you in the morning. I need food right now and could probably eat a horse.”

“Okay, goodnight, darling. Call me when you wake.”

“I will, goodnight.” I hang up and exhale. I hear a rustling sound jerking my position up. I see Naseer coming out of my kitchen. “You scared me.” I stare at him as I try to slow my heart rate. Wait a minute. “Why are you in my house?” I ask as best as I can, confronting him.

thirteen

Naseer

I returned to LaBelle after a visit to the King. I’d rushed back so I wouldn’t miss Jade. I can’t pin it, but something told me she would try to avoid me. My Jade never used to do that; Brian might be right that something or someone has her spooked and the only way I can find the puppeteer is to stay close to her and, my God, this woman isn’t making it easy on me.

Tonight, we’ll have dinner. I had my assistant make a reservation at a Thai restaurant for 7:30 pm. I know she loves Thai food, something I found out very quickly when she used to sit with me after my accident.

I arrive at the building at six pm and I see her driver, most of the people are gone for the day. Jade’s team, the marketing team, and Ken are still in the office. I head straight to her office, and I see Lucy the overprotective assistant is also packing up to leave.

“Where’s Mariam?”

“She’s not here. She left early and she hasn’t returned” What Lucy just said didn’t make any sense to me. I open Jade’s office and find it empty, turning back to Lucy.

“How long has she been gone?” My rough tone shocks her; now isn’t the time to be nice.