Chapter 63: Chapter 63

Chapter 63: Are you done cursing me?

Andrea slowly turned around and froze in shock when she found Jacob standing in front of her. She felt awkward and guilty under his gaze, and at that moment, she wished the ground would swallow her completely. She managed to squeeze out a smile. "Hey, Mr. Jones, I didn't see you there."

"Actually, I had thought you were not the one; maybe it was just a lookalike, and when I called out your name and you stopped, I was certain it was you," he said, staring fixedly at her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "Oh, I came here to get some products," she replied, flashing a gummy smile at him.

Jacob shakes his head. "No, I mean, when did you arrive here in New York? You didn't even care to inform me."

Andrea nibbled on her bottom lip. "I came to New York the day before to visit my aunt and cousin." She said this while lowering her gaze to the marble flooring, like something amusing was happening there.

She believed it wasn't the right time to tell him that Mr. Wilson is the twins' father and that they are both in a relationship.

"Jacob, won't you introduce me to her?" Tyler, who got up from his seat a while ago, sauntered over to them.

As Andrea looked at him, she was taken aback by his appearance. His face was well-defined and chiselled, with a noticeable recessed chin. She noticed his hazel eyes shining through his rim glasses glasses, sitting pretty on the bridge of his pointed nose. He wore a slight smile, revealing his plump, pink lips.

She could perceive the smell of disinfectant from him; this alone gave her the hint that he probably works in the medical field.

"Meet Andrea, a friend of mine," he said casually as he pursed his lips in annoyance.

"Hello Andrea, I'm Tyler Jacob's childhood friend," he said warmly, extending his hands towards her with a charming smile.

"It's my pleasure meeting a friend of Mr. Jones," she said while shaking hands with him.

"Can I make a request? Could you join us for lunch? My treat," Tyler said, still maintaining a dashing smile and showing his dimples.

Andrea's gaze flickered with a hesitant look. "I don't think there is time…."

He brushed his inky black hair backwards with his palm. "Why not? It's a special day. Today is Jacob's birthday," Tyler blurted out while trying to persuade her to join them for lunch. By the time he realised what he had said, he knew it was too late to take back his words.

" Really? Happy birthday, Mr. Jones. I wish I had known earlier. Why didn't you tell me?" She said this while grinning.

Tyler cleared his throat slightly. "Actually, Jacob doesn't like celebrating or talking about his birthday," he said dryly.

"Why is that, Mr. Jones?" Andrea asked in an engrossed tone.

Jacob ignored her question and went back to sit at their table. Andrea knitted her brows with a puzzled look as she sat down next to him.

"Let's not talk about this. Here, order whatever you like," he said, handing her the menu.

Their table was so quiet that even the sound of a falling pin could be heard. Andrea could sense that something wasn't right with Jacob. He normally has a great sense of humour, but today he was exuding a downcast aura.

Since the moment they were having their meal, she took note that he hardly touched his food and was focusing more on the bottle of wine on the table.

"You barely touched your meal," she said as she took the wine a little bit far from his reach.

Tyler noticed her movement, and he raised his head from his food to observe Jacob's reaction.

From the look of things, Jacob could barely resist the urge to drink the bottle of wine. Just then he reached for it, and Andrea stopped him quickly by placing her hand on the bottle. "I don't think it's a good idea to drink while it's still early," she said as she looked around the place.

"I will be fine," he said as he attempted to grab the bottle. While they were both struggling back and forth, Jacob accidentally spilled the content on her skirt.

He let go quickly and grabbed a tissue, trying to wipe off the stain on her dress. "I'm so sorry," he said with guilt written all over his face.

Andrea chuckled softly. "It's a good thing I wore a black skirt today, or else someone might have thought I peed on myself. You must have been tipsy. I will go clean up in the bathroom," she said, giving a polite smile as she excused herself.

"So, do you like her?" Tyler went straight to the point; from the look of things, he could tell that Jacob was into Andrea.

"She's my friend; of course I like her," he said as a matter of fact.

"Are you sure there's no string attached? I mean, she's pretty; even I am hooked," Tyler said as his gaze travelled to the path she took earlier.

Jacob tightened his fist. "Are you here to accompany me or spit out nonsense?"

' Then can I chase after her?" Tyler carved his brows as he finally voiced out his thoughts. Deep down, he knew Jacob wasn't being sincere about his feelings for Andrea.

"Whatever, but just know she has..." his words were cut short by the sounds of vibration from Andrea's phone that was left on the table.

Jacob was about to pry his eyes off her phone when he caught sight of Sean's name as the caller ID. He picked up the call instantly. "Why are you bothering her?"

" Jacob? Where is Andrea? And what are you doing with her phone?" Sean demanded furiously.

"That shouldn't be any of your concern. She's in the bathroom; I will inform her once she's out," he said nonchalantly before hanging up the call.

"Why do you look even angrier? Who was that?" Tyler asked with a clueless expression on his face.

Jacob ignored his questions and focused his gaze on his food instead. Seeing this, Tyler shrugged his shoulders and also lowered his head to his meal.

Minutes went by, and Andrea finally made her way back to the table.

"Sean called while you were away; you should call him back," he said nonchalantly.

She casually picked up her phone from the table. "Oh, did you pick it up?" She inquired, her gaze glued to her phone.

Jacob nodded. "I'm sorry for invading your privacy; I know I acted irrationally."

Andrea looked at him with a tender gaze, and before she could speak up, the ringing sounds of her phone interrupted the moment.

"Oh God," she groaned loudly as she glanced at the caller ID with a deep line between her brows. She declined the call and returned her phone to her purse.

"Mr. Jones, I see you are in quite a terrible mood today. It reminds me of myself on my birthdays. I was once like you; my birthday was usually the worst time of my life. Maybe it's because it reminded me of how my parents never wanted me, and then the words Elena said to me changed everything."

"What did she say to you?" he whispered into her ear.

Andrea let out a sigh. "Elena once said to me, Don't let the past blackmail your present and ruin your beautiful future," she said as she beamed sweetly.

Jacob let out a low chuckle as he nodded his head. "Elena is a smart lady, and thank you for sharing this with me. I feel very much better."

Tyler was startled for a moment when he heard Jacob chuckle. "What an idiot! And he said he doesn't have any feelings for her," he said inwardly.

"I'm glad you do. Cheer up, okay?" Andrea smiled as she rose to her feet and picked up her purse.

"Thank you so much for treating me to lunch, Tyler," she said sincerely while maintaining a smile.

"Oh, it's no big deal. Can I have your digits?" he asked unceremoniously.

"He is so petty, like Mr. Jones. Did he treat me to lunch just so he could ask for my contact information?" Andrea said to herself inwardly.

"Sure," Andrea put in her digit on his phone.

"I have to go now," she waved at him.

"My regards to Ruby and Pearl," Jacob added, and Andrea laughed before walking away.

" Wow! you even know the names of her friends?" Tyler mumbled, his eyes widening in surprise.

Jacob pursed his lips as he sipped from his glass of wine. "I was referring to her daughters,"

Tyler blinks rapidly. " Huh? She has two kids. Is she married or what? She looks very young,"

Jacob shook his head. "She's just a single mother. Can we stop discussing it now? I want total silence," he screwed up his face irritatedly.

"You didn't know that a while ago when she was here," he muttered under his breath as he played with his phone.

.........

Andrea finally arrived home. After she left the restaurant, she had been trying to get to Sean, but he wasn't picking up her calls.

As she walked into the house, she tried calling his number again, but this time it was a different case. His line was switched off.

"Hey, Jace. Did you even get up from the couch while I was away?" Andrea said this without bothering to look at him as she went upstairs.

Jace's lips parted slightly, and suddenly he shrugged his shoulders and focused his gaze back on the TV. "She will find out for herself."

Andrea finally arrived at the doorstep of the room in a frustrated mood. "You know what fuck you, Sean!" She yelled angrily as she made her way into her room.

As she slammed the door, she threw her phone on the bed and untied her ponytail, letting her black, silky hair relax on her shoulders freely.

She raked her fingers into her hair. "I'm so exhausted; I just want to take a shower," she murmured, making her way to the walk-in closet.

"Are you done cursing me?"

Andrea paused in her tracks as she heard a familiar voice from behind.