invite, but it’s been a really long day. As soon as I find my girlfriend, we are going to head home.”
“Are you sure I can’t convince you? How about your phone number and I’ll call you to set something up?”
Jessie wished that she felt that zing or something. The guy was really attractive, but there wasn’t even the faintest hint of a physical attraction. He was pretty smooth though, a little too smooth for Jessie’s taste. He also had this determined look in his eyes. Time to change tactics.
“I’m sorry, but my girlfriend doesn’t like me accepting dates from other men.”
He looked at Jessie for just a moment as if trying to assess her truthfulness. Giving in, he nodded in surrender and left.
Unbeknownst to Jessie, she had an audience. Brian had been watching her from the moment she stepped off of the dance floor. He thought it was quite interesting that it appeared as though she’d just turned down one of Hollywood’s up and coming actors.
Chapter 6
Téa and Michael finally made their way from the dance floor. She spotted Jessie, and they made their way over to her table.
Jessie couldn’t help but notice Téa’s rosy cheeks and the twinkle in her eyes as she sat down.
“Hey you! What are you doing sitting over here by yourself? I thought you were out on the dance floor.”
Jessie mischievously leaned over and whispered into Téa’s ear, “What? I didn’t think you noticed anything but Michael.”
Téa cocked her head to the side. “Ha ha, real funny. Anyway, I thought you were having a good time with that guy you were dancing with, or was that ‘Exodus’ having a good time?”
Michael was looking confused, “I’m sorry who is Exodus? I thought your name was Jessica?”
Téa explained, “Exodus is the alter ego that Jessie sometimes uses for work; she is bold and brash.”
Michael still looked a little confused, “So, are you an actress then?”
Jessie squirmed in her seat and glared at Téa before addressing Michael.
“No, I’m not an actress. I own a Security Management firm.” Then turning to look at Téa, “And to you my friend, Exodus did NOT make an appearance tonight thank you very much.”
Téa continued to tease Jessie, “Sometimes it’s hard to tell.”
Jessie rolled her eyes, “I had a good time. I just thought I’d take a break once they slowed the music down.”
Michael turned around to see his brother being mobbed by guests trying to get that last bit of face-time now that the party was over.
“Excuse me ladies. I need to rescue my brother. Téa it might take a while, but I’m hoping you and Jessie can stick around for a little while longer.”
Téa turned to look at Jessie to see if she was alright with it. Jessie nodded her approval since she didn’t want to ruin the obvious budding connection.
After Téa gave Michael the green light, he instructed those two burly assistants to take them to a quiet part of the house that had been roped off from guests.
It was a quiet and cozy room. Jessie plopped down on the couch and kicked her shoes off. Téa did the same.
Jessie yawned. “Téa…you better be glad I love you like a sister. I am exhausted and we still have at least an hour and a half drive ahead of us. What time is it anyway?”
Téa pulled her cell phone from her clutch, “It’s about 3:15 a.m. Wait a minute…why did Max text you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play innocent with me Jessie. I can clearly see he texted you around 2:30 a.m. I gave him specific instructions NOT to text us this weekend.”
Jessie pulled out her phone and inspected it. “How did you know he text me? What did you do to my phone?”
“I’m the world’s best hacker! You know there’s not anything I can’t do or get into. I don’t care how much money you spend on the latest technology. I’ll always be a couple of steps ahead. And I didn’t do anything to your phone… exactly . At least, I didn’t program it to read your texts.
Willsin Rowe Katie Salidas