Ghost of My Heart

Chapter 23

That instant, Jennet hit the brake, forcing the two of them forward. Luckily, the fastened seat belts held them back securely.

“Gosh!” Marvina gasped. She gripped the seatbelt dearly as she thought her life flew out of her body.

“I-I’m sorry…” Jennet apologized and steered the wheels again.

Marvina glanced at her, “Are you okay?” she asked, a little bit furious although she was petrified. Her little heart was having a little attack.

“I’m okay,” Jennet replied, feeling guilty which she hid behind a plastic smile.

“What happened?” Marvina asked, still feeling petrified. She had no idea why her friend pulled a stunt like that on the road.

“I thought I saw something on the road,” Jennet paused in her explanation, “that’s why I hit the brake,” she continued. She narrated a perfect lie to evade the truth from exposure.

Marvina looked at the side mirror, but there was nothing in sight. She glanced at Jennet with mixed expressions. Something tells her that Jennet was bluffing about the entire thing.

Marvina inhaled deeply and leant back. “That’s okay. I forgive you.” She decided not to pry further.

“Um, thank you.” Jennet was not sure what to say except for thanking her for the ‘understanding’.

“But, there is no next time. Reckless driving could get us into trouble,” Marvina said after calming her heart.

“There won’t be the next time. I promise,” Jennet assured her with a sheepish smile, hiding the truth that she purposely hit the brake.

The two of them stayed quiet throughout the journey to their workplace. Neither of them wanted to continue with their conversation.

Jennet was the most relieved because she could evade answering the question about her none-exist shower gel and toothpaste. If she let the cat out of the bag, she does not know where to put her face.

She feared Marvina would leave her or mock her like the rest of the people whom she met so far. She feared losing the only friend she had in the foreign land.

…

They arrived at the company safely. As they got out of the car, they saw Luca at the entrance of the building, standing elegantly as always. He was in a formal black suit with a smile on his handsome face.

However, Jennet felt uneasy upon seeing him because it was quite unusual for him to appear at work so early. Normally, he would come in later than the rest because he do not want to be swarmed by his fanatic fans who would go nuts upon seeing him.

Well, a handsome man like him found it hard to live peacefully without being the centre of attention.

When Luca saw Jennet walking side by side with Marvina, he beamed. However, he had no idea that Jennet felt so miserable upon seeing his beaming face.

As the ladies approached closer, he opened his mouth, “Jennet, I want to see you in my office now.”

Jennet had no other choice but to nod her head, “Sure, Mr Tybelg.”

‘I’m doomed’, she thought as she glanced at Marvina, “I’ll see you later.”

Jennet felt uneasy about the unexpected meeting. Maybe she did a huge mistake in the paperwork yesterday or maybe Mira did something behind her back again? Those were the reasons she could think of by far. Everything else matters not to her at the moment.

However, Marvina was smiling widely without an ounce of worry, “Go and have a nice chat!”

She was so excited and it was showing on her face as she smiled from ear to ear. Since she knew Luca favoured Jennet, she had been hoping desperately for them to be in a romantic relationship until they get married to each other. That way, Mira will get a hard slap on the face!

Jennet followed Luca to his office but she kept a good distance between them because walking side by side with him would heat the atmosphere if someone saw them. She feared to see the rage on Mira beautiful face.

Luca halted after glancing from his shoulder. Jennet that walked behind him also halted and looked at him in surprise.

“Is there something wrong?” Jennet asked when Luca said nothing.

“Why are you walking so far behind me?” Luca asked while smiling questioningly. He knew she wanted to keep a distance between them. But, he wanted to let her know that he wanted her to lose the boundary between them. If possible, he wanted her to be comfortable around him by forgetting all about formality. That way, he could get closer to her.

Jennet blinked stupidly at the unexpected question. Shortly after that, she came to a realization. “I wanted to minimize the trouble from brewing in the company.” Her answer was direct and clear.

Luca chuckled. He turned his body around, facing her. He folded his arms, like a father that was about to give a piece of his mind. “Why?” he asked a rhetorical question.

Truth be told, he enjoyed looking at her troubled expression whenever he started to question her. As days went by, he loved to tease her and he believed if he kept it up, she might open up to him.

Jennet bit her inner lip in silence. She couldn’t understand why Luca had a sudden liking towards her. She was just an ordinary-looking woman with nothing impressive to be proud of. She lived a miserable life because of him.

Staring into Luca’s eyes, Jennet gave the same reply. “Well, as I said, I want to minimize the trouble from brewing in the company.” Her fingers played with the hem of her shirt, distracting herself from falling into panic mode.

If she was alone, she would have been biting her fingernails.

At the same time, her heart was crying, fearing that someone might see them talking in the hallway to the office. She wished for him to finish talking as soon as possible because the tension she felt was excruciating. It felt like walking around an active volcano that could erupt at any moment and she was on the edge, waiting for permission to abort.

Seeing that her face paled, Luca turned his body around and walked to his office. He stopped at the door and opened it for her as he gestured at her to walk in first.

"After you," he said with a smile. He was a gentleman, alright. He was used to it.

However, Jennet was feeling so awkward but she still stepped into the spacious office as her eyes roamed around. There was a working table at the far end, close to the glassed windows, long sofas with a round glass table by the right side of the room, and two shelves placed on the opposite side where files were kept. The room had little furniture and it was kept tidy.

It had been a long time since she last stepped into his office. It was about two years ago but everything was still the same. Nothing changed so far except for the boss’ sudden change in behaviour.

"Just sit anywhere you like," Luca said as he walked towards his desk and placed his coat on the chair after taking it off. Then, he sat beside Jennet who sat on one of the long sofas.

He stared at the face before him. He found no trace of face powder or heavy make-up on her. It was only her lips that were tainted in red by lipstick. However, the red lipstick was smeared a bit at the corner of her lips and he wondered why she had not noticed it.

He reached out a hand but the woman pulled her face back in alarm. He froze as he regretted his action just now.

“What are you trying to do?” Jennet tone turned cold as she eyed him sharply.

Luca left his hand hanging in the air as he smiled sweetly. “Your lipstick. It’s a bit smeared. I just wanted to…”

Before the man could end his phrase, Jennet’s face reddened. She looked away while covering her lips. She remembered the intense kiss she got from Hue this morning. She forgot to check her face because she was furious and was distracted by the call from Marvina.

But, how could Marvina forget to tell her about that?

‘Goodness, this is so embarrassing!’ she cried internally while at the same time cursing Hue continuously in her heart.

The woman was so embarrassed to the point that she don’t want to continue talking or staying any longer in the office. She wanted to leave as soon as possible. The professional image that had always kept her confident were ruined by what Hue did. She had no idea what that kiss meant because logically and technically speaking, she had never married anyone even if Hue claimed they were having a marital relationship. Also, for that reason, she was looking forward to kicking him out of her villa as soon as possible.

She would have to forget to look for his family because he had made her lose face in front of her boss!