Chapter 48: Chapter 48

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So she hadn't left the city yet.  The woman hadn't gone off to Beijing to live the life she wanted with her new and sought-after promotion. And maybe with a new boyfriend, too.

It had already been six days since the unexpected death of Jenson's mother.  Why was Charmaine still here in Los Angeles?  And with him?

The unpleasant surprise turned into annoyance and confusion sooner than Jessi could guess why the woman was acting as if nothing happened.  As if she and Jenson hadn't called it quits months ago.

Jessi sat still, her chair five seats behind the two.

Beside her, Darren looked busy with his phone and paid no mind to the ongoing ceremony.  He seemed as distracted as she was.

Her curiosity eventually overwhelmed her self-restraint a minute later.  "I thought she'd be in Beijing by now," she murmured while trying not to scowl.

"Same," was all Darren said in reply.

"Then why's she still here?"

"Just for the funeral...I guess." Darren cleared his throat and kept his voice down.  He smelled of cigarettes like always, even though he was wearing a face mask, like her and everyone else.

In front of the 12 guests stood the priest dressed in all white, still delivering the Homily.  The urn containing the deceased's ashes was on the draped table beside him.  Fresh, vibrant flowers adorned the surroundings.  A small bouquet sat beside the black urn, the bright colors of the flowers matching the sunny weather.

Jenson and Charmaine sat close to each other in front, both wearing black clothing and sunglasses.  The woman's skinny arm rested on his stiff shoulders as her gloved hand caressed his back.

The sight made Jessi uncomfortable, to say the least.  Seeing the woman clinging to him all hour as if her life depended on it...definitely not what Jessi expected to see this morning.

Charm unsurprisingly gave her a stink eye earlier before putting on sunglasses and sitting next to Jenson.  Holding onto his arm and all...acting like she was still his beloved fiancée.

It might be all for show, but it hurt to see them together again.  Jessi put on a straight face, though.   She had to act professional.  She was here as Jenson's assistant—not so much as his friend.

Despite her unease, she would keep her mouth shut and her sentiments to herself.  After all, she had no right to feel or act like the jealous new girlfriend.  That wasn't the case at all.

At the end of the day, she and Jenson were just friends.  Really good work friends.  But still just friends.

Sometimes she felt like there was more to their friendship.  Then she would wake up from her stupid daydreaming to face the sad reality:  he didn't want anything serious with her.

Charmaine was still the only woman in his life, from the looks of it.

"Don't look so pissed," Darren mumbled with a chuckle.  "Maybe it's just for appearances and all."

"I'm not." Jessi scoffed.  A big fat lie, but, Darren didn't need to know how she really felt.  She didn't want him to get any more ideas about her and his close friend.

"Coulda fooled me." Darren snickered as the priest went on about heaven and God's plan for humanity.

At the moment, she couldn't care less about humanity or focus on what the balding man was saying.  Her eyes and brain remained busy, fixating on the "perfect couple" sitting in front and grieving together.  As everyone else expected.

Maybe they were back together?  Maybe not.  Maybe it was just for show, like Darren suggested.

In any case, Jessi knew she had no right to interfere or feel slighted, even though she was the one who stayed late in his office almost every day, making calls to strangers, making sure nothing was missed, making sure the funeral arrangements went smoothly as planned.

Jenson didn't need to stress over the whole thing, so she helped him with the cremation, burial and service preparations—since no one else could be bothered.  Also, she was the only one who was there for him that night he had a really difficult time dealing with his mother's sudden death.

She was the only one beside him then, supporting him in every way these past months, helping him do his jobs well to the best of her ability.  More importantly, she was the only one around when Jenson badly needed a friend.  The only one who consoled him all night when he practically drank himself into a coma.

No one else.  And especially not Charmaine van den Hoven—the woman who barely cared for him and his feelings.  But now the two-faced socialite was acting as if she was the attentive, dutiful fiancée to her grieving significant other.

How fake and pathetic.  Did she really have to pretend?  Why?  Was she manipulating Jenson again?  Or just trying to impress the people around them?  Or maybe the woman only showed up today just to make her seethingly jealous.

Not unlikely.  "I'm not pissed," Jessi muttered after Darren pocketed his phone.  "How's rehab?"

He seemed healthier and a tad happier but maybe he still wasn't over Ramona's death.  Hence his issues with drug abuse.  "Expensive, once a week phone privileges, and the food sucks balls. But, we'll get there." Darren tsk-ed and sat back.  They sat along the last row, giving them some privacy for the meantime.

"For how many months?"

"I dunno, man...  Two? Four? Half a year?" Darren scratched his forehead.  "If I last that long, maybe then I'll hate it less," he quipped in an animated tone.

"You will.  Just trust the process.  You'll get through it sooner than you realize." Jessi glanced at him when she heard him suppress another laugh.

"You sound like that hipster chick I dated once."

She snorted.  "Just want you to feel better." She gave his shoulder a squeeze.  "Like Joss.  He worries about you most of the time. Just sayin'..."

"Yeah. Sometimes even more than my sister." Darren scoffed.

"What's her name again?"

"Evie. Short for Evonne." Darren raised his index finger to point at the slim, dark-haired woman in a ruffled white dress sitting behind Charmaine.  "She's here, with Magnus. They flew in last night."

Magnus? One of the executives?

Curiosity made her glance around.  The seat next to Evie was vacant.  "Your brother-in-law. Right?"

"Yeah. He's prolly in the limo, making calls as per usual,"  Darren droned on with a muted sigh.

"Flew in from where?"

"I dunno, dude.  They're always all over the place..."

"Oh. Nice of them to make time for Mrs. Roiz."

"Least they could do."

"What d'you mean?" she whispered.

"Nevermind. You're really leaving tomorrow? Back to Minnesota?"

"Yeah. Tomorrow night. Cheapest flight this month."

Darren snickered.  "He told you he still doesn't like your replacement?"

"What?"  She made a face.  So, Jenson told him he didn't like the new guy they had chosen to replace her?  "But Topher's a nice guy. Works hard. A quick learner, too."

"Yeah. But..." Darren shrugged and kept staring ahead. "He's still not you."

"Huh?"  What's that supposed to mean? she wanted to say.  But she had a feeling she wouldn't want to hear the reason behind Jenson's opinion of his new assistant.

"We'll miss you, is all."  Darren patted her back, then casually placed his heavy arm on her shoulders.  "Don't be a stranger, Kinley."

"Likewise." She grinned.  She pinched his forearm that was covered up by the sleeve of his button-down shirt.

"Joss seems like he doesn't care about much else, besides work, but he doesn't like losing friends, y'know..."

She crossed her arms and held in a sigh.  Losing Jenson as a friend would make her sad, too.  But if it had to happen, she was willing to sacrifice their friendship just to keep his career on a positive trajectory.  "I'll miss you guys, too."

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× 10:09AM ×

"This is Magnus, my brother-in-law." Darren glanced down and stepped back to make some space between her and the tall man in a navy three-piece suit. "This is Jessi, Jenson's assistant."

"Hi. Pleasure." Magnus gave her a wide smile and shook her hand before Jessi could smile back.

The pit of her stomach wanted to shrivel up at his firm grip. It almost intimidated her as much as his stature and expensive-looking clothes.  Designer clothes, probably.

He and his wife were seriously wealthy, as far as she knew.  The man's polite greeting and smile seemed genuine, though.  Not too forced. But not too timid, either.

Jessi bowed a little while they shook hands. "Nice to meet you, Sir."

"Call me Magnus. No need to be so formal."

"Okay."

"Excuse me. Gotta take this call," Darren said before walking away with his phone on his ear, leaving her alone with his taller brother-in-law.

They stood beside a black limousine parked near the thick trees surrounding the paved path. Magnus gave Darren a slight nod, then focused on her again.  The smile stretching his pale lips didn't quite reach his piercing light green eyes, which were seemingly poring over the details of her face.

Was it his typical behavior whenever he met someone for the first time?  "How's your day so far, Jessiah?"

Oh. So he knew her full name? Maybe Jenson mentioned her to their boss once or twice.

"A little busy, but it's fine. And yours?" She smiled back at him.  "Darren said you and your wife just arrived last night?"

"Yes. From Peru."

"Wow. Pretty long flight."

"Yeah. Evie and I dropped by Jenson and Charmaine's place before today's service."

Jenson and Charmaine's place?  Meaning: the two were still living in the same house, contrary to what Darren said last time.

Ouch. Okay. So much for hoping for the best. "Ah." Jessi nodded. "I see," she replied, forcing another pleasant smile.

"I'll hazard a guess and say you took care of all this?" Magnus glanced at the tents and the ongoing funeral service. "Charm's not really fond of organizing events," he commented, his voice quite hoarse.  Exhaustion was also evident in his baggy eyes.  The businessman didn't look a day older than 50, though.

"We've had some help."

"You can be brutally honest. Don't worry about it." He chuckled.  "I prefer it, in fact."

Would he not mind if she called him "Mr. Roiz" instead? Addressing him by his first name just didn't sit well with her.  "Some people helped us organize everything. From the cremation, the program today, down to the flowers and everything."

"Thought so."

"Jenson was kinda busy dealing with other things, so I helped him make some calls and got in touch with a coordinator," was her hushed reply.

They exchanged small but pleasant smiles again.  He looked taller than Jenson and Darren,  not wearing a mask unlike her and the other guests.  But to be fair, Magnus was keeping a few feet of distance between them.  "You mean, you made the calls." He grinned.

"I did."

"Just as I thought," he murmured. Magnus slid his hands in the pockets of his wrinkle-free slacks. The color of his short hair matched his shiny leather shoes, too.

Everything about his appearance spoke of wealth, power, and eloquence, including his faint accent that didn't sound Spanish.  "Roiz" sounded a bit Italian, but his accent wasn't. Perhaps he grew up in another foreign country?

"I took the initiative. Yeah." Jessi put on another smile. What else did he want her to say?  "Jenson has been...a little distracted the past few days."

"I can imagine." Magnus nodded.

They chatted about his trip to Peru with his wife as the service went on, not far away from where they stood.  The urn sat still on the table beside the priest.

The ceremony didn't seem like it would take up another hour, but she just had to step away to grab some air with Darren. To calm her thoughts. Regroup. But mostly to get away from Jenson and Charmaine.  At least momentarily.  Jessi didn't expect they'd run into Darren's well-dressed brother-in-law out here.

He opened the door to the backseat of the limousine.  "Should we continue this chat inside?" The boss squinted at the sky. "It's gonna rain any minute now. Wouldn't want your nice clothes and shoes to get wet."

"Rain?" Jessi glanced skyward. "But, it's sunny." The weather seemed perfectly fine.

Why did he sound so sure? And why did he want to keep talking to her?

"Trust me." He gave her a faint smile and gestured towards the limo's backseat. "It's gonna be pouring any moment now."

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