Chapter 3

Jayde

I spend some time with my sister just updating her on the news and what’s going on in the world. Doctors and nurses come and go. I talk to them when they are here about her recovery progress or lack thereof. She is still catatonic but they think her physical injuries should heal just fine.After a while, I call the car service and head back to my hotel.

I walk into my room and stop in my tracks. I am surprised to find a dozen or so flower bouquets. I grab the card from the one closest to my door. I’m sure I already know who sent them. And sure enough, they are from Max. The card asks if I would join him for dinner and provides his phone number. I’m not really surprised given how he acted this morning. But there are definitely too many flowers.

I call the concierge and ask him to have the flowers delivered to the hospital. Then I contemplate the dinner invitation. I really don’t want to have dinner with the man who is responsible for my sister’s current state. But he did threatened to hurt her this morning. I take my phone out, I guess I’m going to dinner.

It’s seven o’clock and I’m waiting in front of the hotel for Max. I’m wearing a little black dress and heels that are already killing my feet. I look at my phone to see if he texted me. He told me to be ready by seven, he’s picking me up. There must be traffic. It’s Los Angeles, of course there is traffic. I’m about to go wait in the lobby when I hear a horn. I turn around and it’s Max. As I go to open the car door, he gets out.

“Wait,” he says as he walks around the car.

“Wait for what?” I ask a little impatiently.

“For me, of course.” He says as he pulls me into a hug and I push him away. “You look absolutely beautiful.” He says as he opens the door for me.

“Thank you.” I say, my annoyance bleeding through. I slide into the seat and Max closes the door. I put my seatbelt on as he quickly rounds the car and gets in the driver’s seat, closing his door.

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you all day.”

“Funny, I can say the same.” Though I’m sure my thoughts have been more revenge oriented than his.

We pull up in front of Casa Vega. Huh, Mexican food. I wonder if he eats here a lot or if he somehow knows it’s my favorite food. He hands the valet his keys as he steps from the car. I unbuckle my seat belt and open the door. When I look up, Max looks upset.

“I wish you had waited for me to open your door,” he says while holding his hand out for me.

“I’m perfectly capable of opening my own door, thank you.” I take his hand but only because of these stupid heels I’m wearing.

“I am aware that you are capable,” he says, leaning into me and whispering. “But I’d like to be the one doing it.”

“Fine.” I whisper back. I don’t want to argue and if he is going to insist on doing it, I won’t fight him. Not yet.

“It occurs to me that I forgot to ask if you have any food allergies.” Max says as we walk into the restaurant. “Do you?”

“None.” I keep my answer clipped.

We walk to the hostess stand.

“Ah, Mr. King, your table is ready. Follow me.” Says the hostess with a huge smile on her face. She leads us through the dark restaurant to a table near the back. As we sit down, a waiter comes over. The hostess hands us the menus and then walks away. The waiter, a young guy maybe late teens or early twenties, takes over.

“Good evening, Mr. King. Will you be having your usual drink this evening?” The young waiter asks, his name tag says Victor.

“Yes, I will.”

“And for the lady?” Victor asks.

“I’ll have a strawberry margarita, please.”

“I will be right back with your drinks.” He says as he turns to go.

“So, you come here a lot?” I ask Max.

“I do. It is one of my favorite restaurants.”

“Well you get points for Mexican food, it’s my favorite.”

“Points?” He asks.

“It’s nothing.” I tell him. Why I want to give him points, I don’t even know. My point system for whether a guy is worth keeping around has nothing to do with him. I’m simply doing this so I can get revenge for my sister.

“I’m going to get my usual, Carne Asada con Enchilada. It’s very good. Would you like me to recommend something for you?”

“No thanks, I know what I like. And by the looks of this place, it will be amazing.” I keep perusing the menu. All the while Max is staring at me.

The waiter comes back with our drinks.

“Are you ready to order?” Victor asks.

“Yes, I’ll have my usual, Victor.” Max says.

“And I’ll have the Chicken Flautas Rancheras, hold the guacamole. Thank you.” We hand Victor our menus and he goes to put in our order.

We talk about nothing and everything while we wait for our food. When our food comes, Max tells me there is a party tomorrow night and he wants me to go with him. I nearly choke on the bite I just took. Wow, he’s moving fast. I take a drink of my margarita and swallow. I tell him I have nothing to wear to a party. He says that’s not a problem, he already got me a dress and shoes. I smile politely and tell him thank you. He probably got my sizes when he delivered all those flowers to my room. We finish dinner and he takes me back to my hotel.

The next morning, I video call Phillip. I have enough money saved up that I can stay with my sister in Los Angeles for several months, maybe even a year.

“Hi, Jayde. How are things with your sister?” Phillip asks.

“Hi, Phil. She’s still in the hospital. She is catatonic and will need around the clock care for a while. I just sent you my reports. And my letter of resignation. I am sorry to spring this on you but I have to be here for my sister.”

”I understand. What will you do?”

“For now, I’m just plotting my revenge.” I say with a laugh. “I would have done this in person, but like I said, I need to be here for my sister.”

“Well good luck with your revenge, and I hope your sister gets better soon.”

“Thanks, Phil. I have enjoyed working with you.” We say our goodbyes and end the call.

I walk to the dresser and open the large box from Max. I’m sure the little box is the shoes he got for me. I pull the paper back to reveal a cerulean blue dress neatly folded inside. I take it out and try it on. It fits perfectly. It has a high slit on one side but I still love it. Next I try on the shoes. They match my dress. The heels aren’t as high as the shoes I wore last night, thank god. And not surprisingly, they fit perfectly. I look in the mirror. I look amazing. I’ll just need a little bit of makeup to complete the look. After staring at myself for a few minutes, I carefully undress and put everything away for later. Then I get dressed and head to the hospital.

Amara is the same as she has been. No changes. After a couple of hours, I head back to my hotel. I shower and start getting ready for the party tonight.

At five o’clock, there’s a knock on my door. I answer it.

“Wow, you look even more stunning than I imagined you’d look.” Max says a little breathlessly.

“Thank you, you’re not so bad yourself.” I reply.

“Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah,” I tell him as I slip my license into my strapless-bra.

Walking into the party hosted at this giant mansion, everyone is looking at me. I realize it’s probably because I look so much like Amara, except Amara is pale and I am tan. Someone asks me what I do for work and with as much seriousness as I can I tell them I am a prostitute and then smile. Max introduces me to a few people and tells them I am his woman, very proudly. He then leads me to the sitting room where he has me sit on his lap. I try to get up, but he just holds me tighter.