Two Years Later
"I need an iced coffee!"
"Jessy, table two needs two iced coffees and an Americano"
"Two lattes and an Americano for table four"
Jessica's head was filled with different orders. She wondered why her second hadn't signed in yet.
She was supposed to drop an application at a company that was recruiting workers in an hour. She had to leave early to arrive on time.
Jessica tried her best to satisfy every customer so she won't be scolded by her grumpy boss. That man would bring down the roof on her if any of the customers complained. He was too stingy to hire more workers even when he knew they required more hands.
Jessica had taken up several jobs so far and now she was working at a coffee shop just down the street. She prefers working there because there is no need for transportation. After all, it was just down the street. During lunch, she could simply skip over to the house to have her lunch.
All in a bid to save money. The twin's education had to be taken care of including rental and other miscellaneous bills.
After Jessica's father fainted a year ago, he had severe heart failure. It was so severe he had to undergo surgery. They had to sell most of their possessions to revive him through surgery. The bank collected their house and their company was shut down.
Her father's friends and relatives all deserted them, claiming her father was involved in drug trafficking. They said all sorts of bad words against him.
"You are a stain on our family name!"
"We can't be seen together with your family. You are a disgrace to the Graves"
"How could you think of doing such a thing? Now our family name's been dragged into the mud because of you!"
"Who would have thought that he was such a snake! A poisonous one at that! How could you sell such drugs? You are wiping out generations!"
" I can't believe I was friends with such a dangerous person! And he claims to be a doctor! Or is it a laboratory scientist? What a shame!"
The family of five had to move to a smaller apartment downtown where they were not known, for fear of mockery by their so-called friends and family.
Luckily for Jessica, she had paid her tuition for the final year. She just had to bear all criticism as she wrote her final year examination.
"I can't believe she came to write the exam"
"Her family is in a mess and her father is at the point of death yet she still came to write the exams"
"It's obvious she doesn't have a future yet she is trying desperately to cling to it"
"Serves her right! She always claims to be a fashionista. I wonder how horrible her dressing would turn out to be!"
Amidst all the mockery, she put on a brave front for the two weeks she had in college. After her exams, to fend for her family, she delved into any menial job that could fetch her money. They had been surviving on her little pay job.
With her results out, she had been searching for a job that could pay her better. She was still lost in her thoughts when her phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number.
"Hello…"
"Jessy! I finally got hold of you! Thank goodness! Where the hell have you hidden all these while? Even if you were hiding from everyone, will I also be included? I thought I was your friend!" An angry voice began scolding her as soon as she picked up.
Just by her voice, Jessy knew it was her bosom friend talking. Angela was her childhood friend but they had to part ways when their family relocated abroad. They lost contact when Jessy stopped using her old line as soon as they moved out of their house.
"Angie… I… I am so sorry… I just… " Jessy didn't know what to tell her friend.
"Jessy! We need two lattes and an Americano on tables four and five! Hurry up and drop that call!" Her boss's voice said, getting pissed.
Jessica was also pissed off too. Her time was over but that damn girl that was supposed to take over from her was nowhere to be found. And the annoying part was that her boss won't pay her for the additional time spent. If not that she didn't need the job, she would have quit a long time ago.
"Angie, I need to go but I will be available in four hours. I will call you as soon as I am free" Jessy said.
"Alright, Jessy. Don't forget to call me. I will be waiting" Angie said, reluctant to end the call.
"I won't, Angie!" Jessica said, cutting the call hurriedly so she could get the orders ready.
Finally, an hour later, her second came with an apology. But Jessica had no time to waste because she had to go and submit her application letter as soon as possible.
She heard they were recruiting workers for the Turner Group of Company. She wanted to try her luck if she could get the position of secretary.
Picking up her bag, she walked swiftly trying to leave the Cafe as soon as she could. Unfortunately, she bumped into a muscular chest.
"Ouch! I am so sorry, please!" Jessica said, without looking at the person. After apologizing, with her head still bowed she turned to leave.
"Where do you think you are going, bitch! Do you know who you just bumped into?" A female voice shrieked as she drew Jessica back, holding her hair.
It felt as though Jessica's head was about to be separated from her neck. The girl's grip was so strong!
"I already apologize, Miss. Please, I am sorry. I was in a hurry and I didn't look where I was going… ouch! You are hurting me!" Jessica said, whimpering in pain.
" Let her go, Jane," A sexy baritone voice said. The voice was so alluring that Jessica had the urge to see the person.
She raised her head gradually and their eyes met. The man had the most gorgeous hazel eyes ever. There was a playful smirk on his face and his sexy plump lips looked tempting.
Jessica could feel those hazel eyes roaming all over her body. She suddenly felt naked before his eyes.
"Pervert!" She cursed, softly.
Then she turned around and left not knowing she just triggered a wild beast in the man.
The man's hazel eyes followed the beauty till she was out of sight. Gosh, she was so beautiful and… arrogant. How dare she call him a pervert? His eyes flashed in anger but he quickly kept it in check.She was lucky he was with another woman and he needed to clarify things with Janet or else he would have shown her the meaning of someone who is a pervert!Edwin Turner barely tore his gaze away from the gorgeous figure. He walked briskly to the end of the cafe and sat down, brooding."Edwin, is something wrong? Did that girl say something to you? I will teach her a lesson if she dares" Janet said, drawing close to Edwin. Her boobs were almost touching his chest and it seemed she didn't hear what that feisty girl just said to him."Teach her a lesson? As what…My wife? My girlfriend? My lover? Because the last time I checked we were done" Edwin told her, smiling.His face lit up the cafe with his smile and Janet couldn't help drooling all over him. She grabbed his hands and frantically h
The sight of that man sets a warning alarm in Jessica's head. She needed to get away from him as soon as she could. Turning around, she ran in short strides. Barely three strides away, she felt a hit on her head."Ouch!" Jessica muffled her hurtful groan as she bumped into someone. The files in her hands were scattered all over. She looked up to see a well-dressed young lady holding her head.Jessica immediately forgot about her pain and began to apologize, after all, she was the one that bumped into her."I am very sorry, ma. I didn't watch where I was going""It's not entirely your fault. I wasn't looking too as I was in a hurry. I am partly to blame, ``the young lady said, smiling. She looked down and saw her documents in the file scattered all over the floor.Jessica also caught a glimpse of the documents and she immediately squatted down to arrange them. The girl also helped her arrange them."You have lots of application letters in your file. Sorry, but I couldn't help myself" S
"I am sorry, Kendra. I…""Just get back to work but you owe me an hour from my work time!""Deal, Kendra. And thanks so much"Jessica didn't mind working an extra one or more hours as long as she got her pay today. She can't afford to lose her money. There was so much she need to do by tomorrow.As soon as her second left, she became busy serving the people in the bar. She had to make up for just five minutes that she was late. She was happy her second covered up for her before the manager came.It was almost her closing time and she was glad her paycheck would be handed to her in a few minutes."Jessy, manager Riel wants you to serve some guests in the private ward upstairs," One of the waitresses said."Alright, Kendra. Do you have their orders or do I get them?" Jessica asked."No, they are regulars. Just meet the bar boy or meet Kevin, tell them room 14 and he will give you their orders" Kendra replied, walking away." And remember to put on your facemask. You have been sneezing fo
Jessica happily skips to her house as soon as she gets hold of her paycheck. It would be enough to sort out her bills and her father's medical too.She was happy she escaped from that den of wolves or should she say, poacher.? These people would have caused trouble for her. She frowned when she remembered the voice of the man in the dark."Why did he sound so familiar? It's like I have heard the voice somewhere" she said to herself, thinking deeply.Maybe she was mistaken. Nevertheless, voices aren't too peculiar. One can see more than two people with similar voices. She removed those thoughts from her mind as she drew closer to her house.Taking a deep breath, she plastered a smile on her face as she got ready for the lie she had practiced for more than an hour."Mum! Dad!" She said, walking inside their little apartment." Jessy, you are back. Go and freshen up so we can all eat!" Her mother said, making some clanging noises in the kitchen." Mum… you…""Go and freshen up, young wom
Jessica pursed her lips, thinking if she should tell her boss or not. Thinking about how her younger ones were at home while others were going to school, she decided to give it a try. At least, it won't do any harm asking him.If not that she had already paid for the bills and her father's medical, she would have given them that money first. But she just paid for the bills."Boss, I… I wanted to ask…" Jessica stuttered. She was afraid of the outcome of what she was about to ask."Jessica, if it's about money, it's not going to work" her boss cuts in.Looking perplexed at the way that man could sense whenever someone wants to ask for money, Jessica just bites hard on her lips."Jessy, it's not like I don't want to help you or something. It's just that I did a lot of expenses for the shop and my family. I can't release any money today or even three days from now because I just spent a huge sum on the business, ``he explained.He sighed loudly before leaving the perplexed Jessica who alr
The sound of the slap did not only echo around the Cafe but also made some weird sound in Edwin's ears. He never expected her to slap him. The most he expected was for her to reject the amount offered!He hadn't imagined that she would even reject or slap him! He swore to teach her a lesson she would never forget! Did she know who he was in this country?His eyes brimmed with anger at what Jessica had just done to him. Holding back his murderous aura, he became more determined to make her pay!"How dare you!" He roared in anger, his eyes sparking off."I just dare it and I will dare again! Who the fuck do you think you are?" Jessica also asked in anger.With all that was happening in her life, she felt degraded. Although she had encountered so many insulting events, she had never been degraded to this level. Offering to get her paid in exchange for her body? Did she look like a prostitute?Seeing that he wasn't remorseful for the words he just uttered to her, Jessica cast him a disgus
Jessica stared at the words on the screen to make sure she wasn't dreaming. With a loud suppressed scream she jumped from the chair, still staring at the screen.She managed to cool her mind so she wouldn't wake her family up. She didn't want them to know yet until she passes the interview.Jessica looked at the time of the interview and it was around 8. am and it was fortunate that she was on afternoon duty at the cafe. She wasn't the only competitor and according to people who came to the cafe, the workers of Turner Group of companies are expected to dress smartly.It means that she has to wake up early and prepare what to put on. There was so much she wants to do but she doesn't even have decent clothes to put on.All she has are her old clothes. What should she do? She has no friends to ask because they all left the moment her father lost everything.No one wants to be friends with the daughter of someone accused of drug trafficking. They avoided her like a plaque and she had alre
When Jessica got to the cafe for her afternoon shift, she was looking dull and dispirited. At the interview today, not only was she mocked by her fellow candidates but even the supervisors were giving her disapproving stares.She knew only a miracle would make her pass the interview. She knew that if it was in terms of qualifications alone, she was more than qualified. The issue was as they always say about the Turner Group.Everyone around knows that as much as the Turner Group values qualifications, they also value outward presentation in terms of fashion.Although Jessica was qualified, she might be disqualified because of her dressing this morning. Not only were the clothes worn out, but it was also rumpled!"Why are you so gloomy?" Her boss asked, looking at her.He had heard from the other girl that Jessica had gone for an interview today. Although Jessica was a very hardworking girl, he won't hinder her progress if she finds another job. He was praying for her to get a better j