Billionaire's second love

Chapter 2

Jessica smiled and stepped aside to take the call.

"Miss Jessica, when are you coming back today? Do you need me to book a flight for you? I can arrange for someone to pick you up at the airport." After a brief greeting, Assistant Dan got straight to the point, as was their usual routine.

Jessica was well accustomed to this process between them. She thought carefully about her work schedule before replying, "There's been a change in my work plans. I'll probably need to stay here for two more days. I'll let you know the exact time once I've confirmed it."

Assistant Dan was silent for a moment before responding in a somewhat heavy voice, "Miss Jessica, you've already delayed your return three times."

As a fellow worker, Assistant Dan could understand Jessica's dedication to her job. Unfortunately, the capitalist who paid his hefty salary neither understood nor wanted to understand. He only wanted his girlfriend to return quickly.

By the floor-to-ceiling windows, Levine Xu stood in the warm autumn sunlight with his back to Assistant Dan. Though he couldn't see his boss's face, that silhouette alone told him that Levine Xu was in a very bad mood.

So he spoke quietly into the phone, "Miss Jessica, if your schedule allows, please try to come back once. If there are any issues with work, we do have some influence in the entertainment industry."

It was more than just "some influence" - Levine Xu's mother's family had significant holdings in the entertainment industry. With the assets he had inherited, making waves in the industry wouldn't be difficult at all.

Assistant Dan hadn't spelled it out explicitly, but he had conveyed all the necessary hints and reminders.

"I'll think about it," Jessica finally ended the call with those words.

"They're urging you to go back?" Louis asked by the elevator.

"Not really," Jessica replied, organizing her schedule on her phone without looking up.

Louis scoffed, clearly not believing her. "How is that not urging? With Levine Xu's controlling personality, he's so strict with you. You're telling me he hasn't been pressuring you to come back after all this time? That's hard to believe!"

"As long as he doesn't say it himself, it doesn't count in my book," Jessica looked up with a smile, her radiant beauty rivaling that of any top starlet in the entertainment industry.

In Louis's eyes, it was a shame that her friend hadn't entered showbiz to bless the public with her looks. But when it came to talent, Jessica was equally impressive. Thinking of it that way, the regret seemed to lessen somewhat.

Fortunately, while preparing for her first drama production, Louis had leveraged their friendship and persistence to secure a cameo role for Jessica, which somewhat made up for it.

With a ding, the elevator's polished mirror doors opened to reveal a tall young woman inside. Her demeanor was sweet and pure. When her eyes met Jessica's, she froze for a moment before composing herself. Her lips, coated in peach-pink lipstick, curved into a polite smile.

But that smile held something slightly unsettling - perhaps pity and sympathy, or perhaps jealousy and disgust.

Jessica was puzzled but returned an equally polite smile, trying to place the vaguely familiar face in her memory. However, perhaps due to the girl's girl group-inspired styling and makeup, she couldn't quite figure it out even after much thought.

It wasn't until she and Louis reached the underground parking lot that she managed to dig up a somewhat similar face from her high school memories. But they had been too unfamiliar to say anything about it.

"Wasn't that girl a member of that popular girl group from the 'Supernova' talent show?" Louis suddenly clapped her hands in realization. "That show is pretty hot right now. My sister even forced me to watch a few episodes and vote. I remember they had a crossover episode with the boy group talent show next door. There were a few good-looking mixed-race guys in the boy group. What do you think, should we consider them?"

Work-focused Louis rambled on as she started the car, but noticed her friend frowning slightly with a pensive look.

"What's wrong? What are you thinking about so seriously?"

Jessica turned and smiled, her expression enigmatic. "I suddenly remembered something. I'm not sure whether to call it good news or bad news."

"That complicated, huh?" Louis sighed. "For me, the best news right now would be quickly finding a replacement for Male #3. I need to talk to Xiao Wu and have her find some suitable candidates for auditions ASAP. The production really can't afford any more delays."

The two chatted idly about work matters in the car. At one point, while stopped at a red light, Louis's eye was caught by an overly dazzling sparkle in the sunlight. She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "I have to say, that new ring of yours is way too flashy. It's about to blind me."

Jessica's gaze fell on the pink diamond as she smiled faintly. "It's just a cheap moissanite I found on a shopping app. You can have it if you like."

Louis clicked her tongue and replied teasingly, "How generous of you."

As if she hadn't played with moissanite before. If this was moissanite, she'd eat her steering wheel. But thinking of Levine Xu's temperament and his controlling nature towards her friend, her fleeting envy immediately evaporated.

If she were in Jessica's position, faced with Levine Xu's difficult personality, she probably would have knocked his head off long ago! Only Jessica was good-natured enough to date him for years. As Jessica's best friend, she found Levine Xu very annoying, but all she could do was stay out of their relationship. Given the choice, though, she still hoped Jessica would "see the light" and leave Levine Xu.

Perhaps due to the unexpected encounter in the elevator and Louis bringing up the pink diamond, Jessica found herself thinking of Levine Xu, whom she had set aside for quite some time.

A month ago, she had accidentally discovered that the love letter she had cherished and safeguarded for so long was actually a "second-hand love letter" that had slipped into her possession after being rejected by its true recipient. Recalling Levine Xu's casual attitude back then, his treatment of her could be considered little more than charitable pity.

Charitable pity - even now, the phrase made Jessica want to laugh. After all, it was truly unexpected.

Her mood hadn't been great at the time, and she hadn't bothered to hide her emotions when dealing with Levine Xu. So when he noticed her cold attitude, he sent a gift to appease her.

According to Assistant Dan, it was a carefully selected gift that his boss had personally won at an auction, outbidding numerous competitors to please her. But based on Jessica's understanding of him, Levine Xu's "careful selection" probably involved little more than casually flipping through an auction catalog and pointing at something. As for defeating other bidders, he likely wouldn't even raise a hand beyond spending money.

It was just another gift that cost money but required no real thought - Jessica had received far too many of those. So this time, she accepted it with the same calm indifference as always. Whether she wore it or not depended entirely on her mood.

But this mood wasn't based on her own feelings, but on Levine Xu's.

Due to work, she actually didn't prefer wearing rings. The item had been set aside and forgotten. But before she left on her business trip, Levine Xu had suddenly remembered it and put it on her finger.

The ring size wasn't quite right for her, being a bit too loose. Levine Xu had played with it like a toy, eventually sliding it onto her index finger. He even made a show of praising how beautiful it looked. At the time, Jessica had looked at his satisfied expression, curved her lips into a smile, and gone along with it.

Afterwards, she had wrapped the band with thread twice to ensure the safety of this asset. Levine Xu, with his immense wealth, never cared about such details. But Jessica did care - after all, she had never had the luxury of being wasteful.

Thinking of all this, and considering the work that had nearly fallen through, she pondered deeply. Amidst her friend's chatter, she sent a message to Assistant Dan:

"I'm coming back today. Please book an evening flight for me."