CHAPTER TWO

The strange man kept silent and smiled.

" I am sorry for being rude, my name is Reymond or you can call me Rey....I was seated right opposite your balcony. I am sure you noticed my presence since your house is not so high" Reymond spoke in a playful tone.

Jesse who had her hands folded, didn't know what this man really wanted, she began to feel irritated and said no word.

taking another look at him, he was around her father's age and she wondered what this man wanted from her.

Reymond saw no reaction from the young lady and cleared his throat before he could continue talking.. "you see I have been watching you so I...

"excuse me sir, I am sorry but I have no time to chit-chat with you. I am sure my father sent you to keep an eye on me. you don't have to worry, tell him that i am fine" Jesse interrupted Reymond's next words then turned to leave.

"uhm hey! wait a second young lady. I was not sent by your father and I am not here because of your father" Reymond quickly blocked Jesse's way.

He quickly reached out for his bag case and pulled out a painting then handed it over to Jesse.

"you are the most beautiful woman I have ever set my eyes on and I couldn't help but make a painting".

Jesse looked at her painting and was amazed.

"did you really paint this? like just now?"

Rey nodded with a smile, "yes I did, you were still and barely made any movements which made my work easy. it's like you knew I was making a painting of you. Either ways, I couldn't help but make a painting of you"

"ok so, you said your name was Rey right?" Jesse asked.

Rey nodded his head.

"ok so are you a painter or something?" Jesse asked out of curiosity.

Rey nodded his head, " I do paint once in a while.. it's a talent I would say"

Jesse smiled "oh, you sure are the talent there.. thanks for the painting and how much is it?"

Rey shook his head and waved his arm, "oh no, you can have it... by the way, can I have your number so we can talk once in a while?"

Jesse smirked, "oh, and to think you did this out of your own free will....at the end of it, you still want to exchange this painting with my number?"

"oh no, no please don't say that, you are taking it the wrong way. it was really out of good will. no bad intentions are attached to this painting. If you don't wish to give me your phone number, it's okay" Rey anxiously responded.

Jesse slightly raised her brow, "okay fine, if ever we meet again, anywhere at any time, I will definitely give you my phone number and if not, well that will be bad, we will just have to take it that way"

Rey smiled and nodded, "okay, alright. I will take on that bet. I hope we meet again" He said this then walked away.

Jesse looked at the man walking away and chuckled. this man was around her father's age but he was so charmingly handsome. with his hair tied and his eyes which made Jesse feel like she was drowning in them. Jesse shook off these thoughts oh no, this man is old enough to be my father. She just turned 19years of age and was excited to start up her new relationship but of course not with a man old enough to be her father.

Jesse went back home and put up the painting in her room.

"If I may know, who made that painting for you? there is so much authenticity in it"Jesse father asked.

Jesse who hadn't noticed her father's presence got a little startled.

"oh Daddy, I missed you... how have you been?"

Mr Lee pointed at the painting again.

"oh , a certain man made this for me. it's lovely isn't it?"

Mr Lee nodded with a smile. "good, good my daughter looks more and more like her mother each day... beautiful and tender".

Days slowly went by and soon it was past a month. Jesse decided to visit the beach as she was tired of having so much work to do. she had to handle the affairs of all of her father's companies which was a lot of work and all that Jesse needed was to cool off a little. she sat at the beach side, enjoying the cool breeze.

"we meet again, miss Jesse " a deep voice from behind startled Jesse.

She immediately turned and saw the figure that she had not seen in a while and for a second, she thought she would never see him again.

"oh it's you" at some point, Jesse actually felt happy seeing this man. She didn't know why she felt this way about a man old enough to be her own father.

"here we are again, am I now qualified to have your number?"

Jesse chuckled, "oh well, I will keep my word and give you my number but wait a second, what are we to talk about? you are like my father's age so what's there to talk about?"

Rey cleared his throat before talking, "okay I see you under estimate me. please give me your number and I will shock you. I promise you won't get bored talking to me"

"oh! I like how you reassure me" Jesse said this while taking out her card.

"that's my personal card, contains my number and home address...it's not a business card".

Rey smirked and nodded his head silently, "thank you miss Lee".

"if your wife found out that you were here asking another lady for her mobile number, don't you think it would be a little messy?" Jesse paused a question.

Rey sighed deeply, "my wife is late, she passed on when my son was only ten years old"