A Business Love

chapter 18

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"Cazzo!" screamed Jessie as she tried to turn on the engine of her car. The sound it was making didn't feel safe at all.

"Of course! My life was going too well!" she yelled out loud.

Indeed, her promotion had been announced and as of next week she would officially be a digital marketing advisor. She was also going to finally get a private office. She had been coveting the one next to Mariana for a good while and she couldn't wait to move her things there. And to top it off, she was living a fairytale with Julian, although she hadn't been in contact with him since the meeting, since he was extremely busy.

She missed talking to him, but she understood that he was the COO and he had already given her a lot of his time lately. She was still full of hope for a future with him. She felt like her life was almost complete.

Until her car broke down in the parking lot of the office. She called her dad, but he was still at work and did not have his cellphone with him.

She panicked and didn't know what to do. She only knew one person who was good with cars apart from her dad and it was Michael. She hesitated, but as she sheepishly stood in the parking lot, she felt like she didn't have any other choice. She called him and he did not hesitate one second to come to her rescue.

When Michael arrived, he inadvertently parked his car a few spots away from Julian's Porsche. He called Jessie and she told him that she was in the back.

He walked over there and found her trying to start over and over again her white Volvo.

"How long have you been doing this?" he asked scandalized.

"I don't know. Countless times. It's not working," she said raising her hands in desperation.

"Yeah, it's not a good thing to do this too much. You're going to damage your battery."

"Oh, I didn't know that," she sheepishly replied.

Michael examined the car thoroughly while Jessie nervously looked at him. She didn't like the expression on his face, as he kept shaking his head and pressing his lips together. "We're gonna have to tow it, Jess. I'm sorry," he finally said.

"Are you kidding me?!"

"No, unfortunately. It's repairable, but we need to bring it to a garage. I'll call my friend; he has a tow truck."

They waited for Michael's friend who towed her car to bring it to a garage near Jessie's home. Michael then excitedly offered her a ride home, which she accepted.

As they walked up towards his car, he was telling her a joke by making a funny Italian accent. He knew how much she loved these types of jokes. She was laughing so loud that she had to hold her belly.

That's when she saw Julian, and her heart dropped as her eyes met his. Her smile faded and she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear while Julian shuffled his stare between her and Michael with the most confused expression.

Instead of greeting him, she quickly hopped in Michael's car, not knowing how to react.

Julian was completely taken aback by her reaction. It was as if she had been caught in an act. He also knew for a fact that the man she was with was her ex remembering seeing her posing with him on her Facebook profile. He got in his car and tightened his hands around the wheel as his heart raced.

What was this about? Was she back with him? What kind of games was she playing? It had seemed clear to him that they were both attracted to each other, and there she was, leaving with her ex and acting weird about it. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, but he couldn't help it. He was already regretting having opened up his heart. He was disgusted.