JESSIE'S POV
I sighted Chase coming back into the room and quickly put his phone on the table.
Jacques Bernard, my ex-boyfriend from college suddenly showed up to annoy me. Chase walked up to us and we all talked for a while before I quickly dismissed Jacques, before he could expose the truth about my true identity.
Chase wanted to know about Jacques and I so I told him a little about us before changing the subject.
We sat in silence before Chase explained, "Sorry, I had to contact my secretary, Bianca. Something came up earlier, so she couldn't attend the wedding with me," Chase explained when he took his seat across from me.
"The lady with you at the lobby earlier?" I asked trying to find out what exactly she meant to him.
If they had a thing going on, it wouldn't be surprising, the lady was hot, I had to admit.
"Oh, you saw us earlier? You must have been staring for a while," he teased, revealing his perfect teeth and dimples.
"Yeah, I was. Is she your girlfriend?" I asked, avoiding his gaze.
"Bianca? No way! She's simply my assistant and she's happily married with a kid. What do you take me for?" He seemed offended.
"I'm sorry, it's just she's really beautiful. It won't be surprising if you both had something other than work going on," I apologized.
"No, we don't. You're more beautiful, you know?" He smiled.
"Thanks," I replied with a smile.
Chase seemed like a nice person and his constant smiles were very addictive. I felt like I had known him for a long time.
He seemed sad when we discussed his music career ending abruptly. Now more than before, I wanted to discover his reasons for leaving his record label and fans just like that.
Lenore threw the bouquet and I caught it, almost as though she wanted me to.
I gave Lenore an annoyed look while she simply winked.
"Why did you throw it to me?" I frowned.
"Congratulations in advance darling," Lenore replied.
When we got back to our table, Chase asked if I knew Lenore personally.
"Why would you ask that? How can someone like me know Lenore Bernard?" I frowned.
"You both seemed quite friendly earlier," he said.
"Well, that's because she's probably an easy-going person. You wouldn't like it if your old classmate and friend got married to a haughty bitch, now would you?" I asked.
"Of course not, but what I want to know now is how you got to know about Cesare being my former classmate and friend. I don't remember telling you that," he said and my eyes opened widely in surprise at his question.
"Well, I heard someone mention how it while I sat waiting for you to return from answering your call," I lied.
"Okay, may I have this dance, beautiful Jessica?" Chase asked with a smile.
"Of course, handsome Chase," I replied, smiling, happy that he believed me.
We glided across the ballroom, waltzing and I realized how much I enjoyed being with Chase.
"When did you learn to waltz?" I asked him as we kept waltzing.
"When I had to do the waltz with the teenage actress Diana Rodriguez in my music video for my song, Darling."
"You must have put in a lot of effort. You and Diana seemed like professional waltzers in that video. There were rumours of you guys dating, was it true?" I asked.
"Yes, it was. What about you? You seem quite skilled at this," He changed the topic.
"My mother taught me to waltz," I replied, hating the fact that I had to mention the woman I hated and loved the most at the same time.
"Does your mother also stay in London with you and your Dad? Do you have other siblings?"
I wasn't sure of how to answer that question. For all I knew my family was still here in Paris. I thought of the step-siblings I got from my parents getting remarried to other people. My mum had a daughter and two sons from her present husband and my dad, two sons and a daughter from his second marriage.
I never quite fit in. I was the only child that my parents had together. When they were divorced, I was almost four and my mother got custody of me. It was a struggle to measure up to her standards.
My father wasn't wealthy, so that had been the major disagreement between them, so when they got divorced, my mother married a wealthy fashion designer with lots of designer stores to his name.
She was already pregnant with my twins when they got married, I was only four when she gave birth to Pierre and Olivier.
Pushing away all thoughts of my divided family out of my mind, I realized that Chase had been talking to me.
"Jessica, are you alright? Can you hear me?" Chase asked.
I noticed that the waltz was over and everyone was heading back to their seats.
"Of course I'm fine. I was just thinking of what next to write about," I replied when we got to our table.
"I think it's time for us to greet the couple. Let's go over to them," Chase suggested, standing.
"Yes, of course," I replied and entwined my fingers with his.
He seemed quite surprised by my move but didn't reject and we walked hand in hand to the latest power couple.
Lenore was happy that her plan was finally working out. At the sight of I and Chase's hands entwined, her smile turned into a mischievous smirk.
"Cesare my man, you're finally married. That too, to a beautiful and successful lady. Hello Lenore, I've heard amazing things about you," Chase said, giving Cesare a hug and Lenore a smile.
"Thanks so much my friend for coming. I know how busy you are and how much of a favour you've done for us by coming from London. Here with you is?" Cesare asked Chase while Lenore simply smiled, acting like she didn't know me.
"Oh, she's Jessica Dubois. We met at the lobby this morning, she's French just like your wife, you know?"
"Oh really? It's nice to meet you, Jessica," Cesare said with a polite smile.
"You guys seem quite close for people who just met today. Is there anything special going on between you two?" Lenore asked suggestively.
"Come on let it go Lee. We just got married, but that doesn't mean that everyone else is in a relationship. They just met and my old friend here can't speak French, so Jessica is probably helping him out, right?" Cesare smiled at us.
"Yes, that's exactly what's happening," I replied.
"Okay, we'll talk later. Lee and I have to greet her parents and our other relatives," Cesare said.
"Of course. I wish you a happy married life," Chase said.
"Thanks a lot, please enjoy the party. Have some drinks, Ms Dubois, you seem a little bit too uptight," Lenore observed as they walked away.
"Lenore seems quite interested in you," Chase indicated.
"Really? I don't think so," I replied before taking a glass of champagne from a waiter passing by.
"You write novels, have you ever thought of writing articles for magazines? Lenore owns a very successful magazine company called Tasty," Chase said.
'Of course, I know that already. I work there smarty pants!' I screamed in my mind.
"No, I wouldn't want to ever get involved in writing for a magazine. I prefer my blog and novels," I said before taking the last gulp of champagne.
"Okay, but I think I could try talking to her about you. She pays her staff well, I heard," Chase said while eyeing me as I took another glass of champagne.
"Stop it! I told you I don't want to work for her. Do you think the pay would change my mind? I don't want to, don't you get it!" I raised my voice which shocked Chase and even myself.
I chugged down the drink and turned to Chase who seemed surprised by my outburst.
"I'm sorry I lost my cool. It's just I'm sick of being told what to do. Jacques did that a lot when we were dating."
"It's fine, I shouldn't have kept pressing. When did you break up with him?"
"Four years ago, I was staying here in Paris. I had to relocate to London to clear my head and eventually decided to settle there," I replied.
"I'm sorry for reminding you of him," Chase apologised.
"It's fine, I think we can finally call it a night, it's 8 pm already."
"Are you trying to pull Cinderella on me? Is it because I brought Jacques up" Chase asked, frowning.
"I'm serious, I think I need to head back to my room. I have an early flight back to London."
"Okay, so can I get your contact details as a souvenir?" Chase smiled.
"Of course, here you go," I took out my fake business card from my clutch, which described me as a novelist and a blogger without any information about me being a columnist.
"Thanks, here's my card," Chase said before handing me a black card.
I quickly put it in my purse and waved him goodbye, before walking out of the room.
When I got into the elevator, I sent information about my current progress to Lenore who seemed overjoyed and told me to do anything to get out more information from Chase.
When I got into my room, I sat down to think about all that had happened today. It was still unbelievable that the famous Chase Reed was interested in me.
I had to tell so many lies today and I'll need to tell even more lies. Chase seemed like a nice gentleman, he didn't deserve what I was doing.
'Well, it's not like he'd get hurt by this. When I find out who those kids are and why he quit music, I'll let him go,' I thought to myself.
An idea came to my mind and I took out Chase's business card. I saved Chase's number and sent him a text., "Are you in your room now? From Jessica."
"Yes, I am," He replied immediately.
"I wanted to know if you had your laptop with you. I forgot mine in my apartment and I need to post something important on my blog."
"What's your room number? I'll bring it up to you in person," he texted.
"No, don't worry. I'll come and get it from you. What's your room number?"
"1189."
"I'll be there in ten," I replied with a smile.
Jessie hid her caller ID before calling Jean, a member of paparazzi wit. He answered after three rings, "Hello, you're Jean Louis, right?" She asked in French, trying as much as possible to sound different from her usual husky tone of voice."Yes, I am. Who am I speaking with?""You don't have to know. You see I have a credible piece of news material for you, of course, that would only be if you were interested.""What sort of news? Is this a prank call? Where did you get my number?""You were at the wedding party today. You were the first person to get a photo of Chase Reed and a mystery woman in an elevator, weren't you?""Yes, I was.""I want you to know that I heard Mr Chase and the very same woman talking about spending the night together. You might want to come and take some photos. Who knows you might trend when you upload it on your blog," Jessie laughed."At the Cavelli Hotel, right? Do you know his room number? I'm somewhere around there, right now? How much do you want for
CHAPTER SEVENCHASE'S POVI watched the clock strike midnight, today was a big day, Chris and Crystal were turning ten.It was so surreal, I almost couldn't believe the twins were in Year 5 now. They were growing rapidly. I was only twenty-one when they came into my life. They were only two years old then and I didn't want kids, especially with the way my musical career was growing. I didn't think I'd ever want them, but after taking them in, I just couldn't help, but accept them as my children.Today being their birthday, I was going to surprise them with gifts that they've wanted for a long time now. I remember when Chris asked me yesterday over dinner, "Dad, will I get the roller skates this year? I asked for them last year.""Of course not, Dad. He'd only get hurt with that," Crystal screamed into my ear."I'm sorry Chris, I can't get you roller skates. It's too dangerous," I replied even though I had already bought the thing. I was only pulling his legs."I want roller skates an
JESSIE'S POVIt was indeed a very stressful day at work today. With Lenore and Cesare away in Paris for their honeymoon, I've been in charge of all of Lenore's work, mine and also that of the Editor-in-Chief.As hard as it was working for long hours, I consoled myself with the very fat paycheck I was going to get at the end of the month as well as the bonus for doing three people's jobs.I was about to leave my office when my eyes spotted our magazine for Sunday which had Chase Reed and me on some of the pages with the caption, "FORMER PLAYBOY MUSICIAN, CHASE REED IS IN LOVE WITH A MYSTERY WOMAN!"I sighed as I thought about how thrilled I was when writing that story. To be honest, asides from my blog post that night, I was working on the article about Chase and me.For the umpteenth time since we published the article with the photos gotten from Jean Louis, I wondered if Chase was comfortable with all that exposure.He must have stayed quietly all these years for a reason and now I o
"Why do you look so shocked, Jessica? When you gave me your home address, didn't you expect that I'd come visiting?" Chase smiled."I'm not surprised, I just wasn't expecting anyone. It's been a long day for me and I just wanted to enjoy my weekend. Come in, please," Jessie said.As Chase walked in, he eyed her black dress with distaste and said, "Why are you wearing that? It doesn't flatter your curves, nor does it enhance your beauty. I think you'd look much better in red, just like the other night. Don't you think?""I have the right to dress as I please!" Jessica replied sharply, irritated that even Chase had the same opinion as to her mother. Why was everyone out to control her life? First was her mother stepfather and siblings whom she couldn't match up with. Since her parents got divorced, her birth father also tried to dictate how many times she got to meet her mother. Jacques had also tried to dictate how her life should be when they were dating.Recently, her boss, Lenore C
CHASE'S POVJessie and I were currently in my car, on our way to my mansion, where the birthday party was held.We were seated in the backseat in silence, while my driver drove. I turned to look at Jessie secretly.She was dressed in a purple long-sleeved shirt and a dark-blue overall with dark-blue sneakers. She looked so cute in that outfit and I admired her for the fact that she didn't ask which child's birthday party, we were attending."Do I look good in this outfit? Am I underdressed or overdressed for the party?" That question had my mind going to a different interpretation of the word, "underdressed."I imagined Jessie in a skimpy red swimsuit, now that was my definition of underdressed."Hello, I asked a question. Am I overdressed?""I think you look good. Crystal's favourite colour is purple, she'll love your outfit. I like it too," I replied.Jessie smiled, but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes, she seemed sad today, I noticed that when I got into her apartment. When I
JESSIE'S POV When Chase and I got to his house, no scratch that, his mansion, I was fascinated with how huge it was. It was just too grand for a bachelor alone to live in. I had to ask him if he had plans of getting married soon because the house was just too big for only him. His reply threw me off guard. I was so shocked that he replied, "I don't plan on remaining a bachelor for too long, hence the massive house for my wife and children." "Wow, that's great. Any lady in mind, yet?" I asked, smiling after greeting the housekeepers and security guards. "Who knows? It just might be you. Come on, let's go to the Love Room," he said, walking past her up the stairs. I followed after him, considering what he said as a joke, but when we got to the room which he called Love Room, the kids seemed pretty much busy with different things. The girl was more beautiful than in the photo, she had her eyes closed and her long chocolate-brown hair was packed in a high ponytail. The boy was pl
"I believe I asked you a question, one to which I require a reasonable answer. Chase has never mentioned having a girlfriend, not since Stella," The lady said with a disapproving look.She looked quite familiar to Jessie and had a model-like face. Jessie wondered if she was a face model whom she had seen in a magazine before. It finally clicked and she remembered that the woman was named the third most beautiful face the previous year.What was her name again, Jessie tried to recall. Was it Veronica or Vienna?"I asked you a question. Don't just stand there looking at me or I'll call the security guards to throw you out!" The woman yelled."Who is Stella?" Jessie queried."How could you not know her? If you are his so-called girlfriend, then you should know who Stella is." "Jessie! Jessie! Vanessa, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on a business trip?" Chase asked as he walked into the room."I cancelled it. Chase, darling this imposter claims to be your girlfriend. Is that t
Jessie woke up in an unfamiliar room decorated only in pink. Her head hurt a lot and she felt like she banged her head against something.What happened last night? The party, kissing Chase, meeting his mum, talking to Crystal and finally falling into the pool flashed back in her memory.As she sat up trying to remember what happened exactly, she realized that she was dressed in a big white shirt and pyjama bottoms. Looking around the room, she discovered that she was still in Chase's house and he was sleeping on the sofa across the bed where she lay.She picked up her phone which was on the dresser close to the bed and checked the time. It was 9 am. "Could she have been asleep since last night? What exactly happened?" She wondered. Her phone rang, rescuing her from the battle she was having with her memory.It was Lenore and immediately Jessie picked up the phone, she didn't even bother to greet, but asked, "What are you up to, Jessie? Have you not got the information from Chase? I ha