Branch Ninety
Xavier stood on the porch outside as he watched a man dressed in a black suit come out of a white convertible. He bowed to him and walked towards another car that was waiting for him.
“Who is there?” Jessica asked as she pushed her way out and to where Xavier was standing.
“No one,” he said coming down and towards the parked car. He went to the passenger side and opened the door. “Let’s go,” he said gesturing to her to get in.This text is © NôvelDrama/.Org.
“I have to get my things,” Jessica said rushing back in. If she was going to leave this comfort then she needed a few things. She put all she needed into the bag and went out.
“Where are we going?” she asked as she entered. Xavier did not answer instead he closed the door gently and jogged to the driver’s seat.
He entered and put on his seatbelt. “Your belt,” he said when he saw Jessica make no move to put on hers.
“Where are we going?” she asked again.
“I told you already. Aurora Haven is the perfect place to try out new meals and not worry about a thing” he said.
‘So he is taking me to taste food around the city?’ she asked herself as she pulled the seatbelt and strapped it over herself.
“I’ll get going now,” Xavier said starting the car. The car hummed to life silently and zoomed off. Xavier followed the GPS to some locations he had searched out beforehand.
As they got to the first restaurant they had a waiting line. “Now I get why it is popular,” Xavier said with an apologetic expression on his face.
“I guess it’s a hotspot for tourists and visitors who come here,” Jessica said. “I would really love to try their food”
“I will ensure to get us a seat,” Xavier said before turning and dialing a number. He spoke for a short time and then turned back to her.
“I am afraid we can not get a space inside,” he said with a cute expression on his face.
Jessica wanted to reach out and pinch his cheeks for looking so cute but she refrained herself. “Hmm is that so?” she asked stroking her chin instead.
“Yeah I am sorry,” he said again. Jessica felt the urge to tease him further.
“And I always thought that those who called themselves billionaires could get into any place at any time they wished,” she said.
“It’s a shame that we can’t eat here and taste their famous chicken dishes” she went on and added a tsk to the end of her sentence.
“The owner does not care about class apparently and everyone has to stand in line to get a meal here” he murmured reciting what Ethan’s secretary had said over the phone to him.
“Well I guess we should stay on the line so we can have that for lunch,” she told him.
“Can I ask a question? Promise you won’t get mad” Xavier said.
Jessica was skeptical about the outcome but seeing he was interested in her she had to give it a go. She nodded eagerly and he nodded too.
“Why are you so obsessed with having three square meals?”
Jessica certainly did not expect that question and was too stunned to answer.
“I am sorry if I offended you. I was just curious” Xavier said in a haste.
“No, it is not that you offended me. It’s a question I have never gotten before” he told her.
“Do you want to share?” he asked because it seemed like there was a story behind it.
“Well at first when my mom died she left me with my alcoholic and debt breeding aunt who used up all the insurance money and then she put me in an orphanage home” Jessica began.
She loved how attentive he was and how he looked at her. “Well in the home we were mostly maltreated and our punishment for any misbehavior was us going days without any food,” she told him.
She was sure that Xavier had never heard of anything like before. “And then after a while, I grew accustomed to not having food daily which resulted in an eating disorder for me. I had a hard time recovering. That made me take an interest in the cooking line”
“All that happened to you?” Xavier aided. He had never heard or seen a thing like that. All his life he had been cuddled to eat.
“Yeah, but I think I healed” Jessica replied. She could not deny the times she had the extreme urge to go days without eating and how she resisted and endured when she ate.
“I became a chef because I want those around me to have healthy three square meals daily”
Now the meals she had always prepared held substantial meaning to Xavier. It felt like she was personally trying to heal the world one step at a time.
They suddenly fell silent and looked around. They stayed in the queue and it took a while before they got in. Xavier decided to splurge and order every single thing on the menu and Jessica was not stopping him. She wanted to have a feel of almost everything too.
They had the meal in peace and Jessica took note of some dishes there. She was going to try it. Small talk flew around as they had their meal.
After the meal, they went ahead to visit other tourist spots too.
“I would grill barbeque tonight, and you would not think to say no to me,” Jessica said.
“I am guessing I dare not say no?” Xavier asked. She nodded and he burst out in a giggle. After Jessica had made sure to make Xavier try out the street food stall promising him that there would be no food poisoning they returned to the condo out in the woods.
“I would take a quick map before I get started on the barbeque,” Jessica said as they entered. She dropped her bag on the floor and dropped dead on the bed.
The excessive eating and going around had made her tired so she decided to just rest before they ate dinner. Since they were on a break they could eat as late as they would like.
Suddenly she jerked back to reality and stood up abruptly from the bed. “What happened?” Xavier asked startled by her sudden reaction.
“I would stay on the couch in case you always want to sleep,” she said standing up.
She could not and did not want to ignore the growing tension between them since they woke up face to face that morning. If she were to take a nap and wake up to his beautiful face she might lose it.
“Oh No you don’t,” Xavier said taking her hand and leading her back to the bed.
“I am good on the couch” she protested trying to wiggle her way out of his grip.
“I want to work on that couch now while you take a nap” he lied.
Jessica raised her eyebrow. “I am the president of the company. I can’t leave my work for others to do” he added.
“Okay then if you say so” she laid down back on the couch.
She closed her eyes as she forced herself to fall into a slumber. Xavier went to the couch brought out his laptop from his bag and began working on it.
He had lied that he had work to do but in reality, nothing urgent was pending. He just wanted Jessica to rest comfortably. He began to work on anything he could lay his hands on.
He raised his head after some time to see her soundly asleep. He walked towards her and pulled up the blanket to her chin. He stroked her hair lightly while taking in her beauty.
“No really Jessica Penelope what are you doing to me? Why did I start caring so much about you?” he whispered to her.
She stirred in her sleep and he raised his hand from her hair afraid that he would wake her up. His phone rang in his pocket and he stepped out to pick it up.