The Right Choice

Chapter 16

Jessie’s eyes went wide in shock as she realized that it was her father who was standing behind her. His turquoise eyes went from person to person before resting on the man lying on the bench. Jessie’s palms were sweating and her heart was beating a thousand miles per hour. She tried to imagine what he must be thinking.

Worse! What was he going to say?

Here she was, his daughter, standing in the floor lobby in a damp dress, slightly disoriented and stunned to the core. Not to mention the reporter, who looked like a deer in headlights and was wiping away the beads of sweat forming on his forehead. The cherry on the crazy cake was the unconscious man on the bench. This really didn’t look too good.

“Jessica! Who is this?” Her father, William asked sternly as he pointed towards the bench. He appeared to be visibly distressed by what he saw.

“Daddy, this isn’t what it looks like,” Jessie fumbled. ‘Actually, I’m not sure what it looks like either.’

“Are you sure about that?”

“Trust me. I can explain.”

“I’d like to see you try.” William straightened up and folded his arms.

Jessie took a deep breath and tried to gather all her thoughts. Her hands were shivering by now and her throat had gone dry. Explaining everything was not going to be easy. She turned to look at Robert. He was staring straight with his eyes fixated at her father while holding onto his bag, now fallen to the side.

“I found him.”

“You found him like this?” Her father asked while eyeing her with confusion.

“No. I mean…” Jessie tried to formulate thoughts in her mind which when she spoke could be considered to be explicable. She was failing miserably at it, so she decided to simply surge ahead.  “Okay, here’s what happened.”

She explained in full detail all the happenings of the evening. Her face showed desperation, worry and irritation all at the same time. Her hands kept moving from the reporter to the elevator to the movie star. All the while her father was patiently listening with firm attention towards her and a grim look on his face. Jessie was aware that things didn’t exactly look very respectable in nature but the present state of affairs could not be avoided.

“So now we are trying to figure out what to do next.” Jessie said in the end.

Her father took a deep breath and moved his eyes towards Holden, the supposedly dreamy movie star of the moment. It was funny how contrasting the two individuals appeared. Holden, lying there with is crumpled suit, highly disoriented and seemingly pathetic in general. William, her father on the other hand was standing with poise; a statue of perfection and elegance. Who in their right mind would think that the two would be in the same room at the same time?

Her father stepped towards the bench and stood with his hands behind his back while in deep thought. He was rubbing one of his hands with the other. His eyes focused on the drooling face. The dull light in the lobby made his hair appear darker than they were in reality. The low hum of activity from their home could be heard as the lobby plunged into silence.

Jessie wasn’t sure if she should interrupt him or not. They didn’t have a lot of time on their hands. This was the last sight that they would like to share with their party guests if they were to step into the lobby. Jessie and the equally stunned photographer, Robert shared a timid smile. She was very nervous. Her father was abnormally quiet; a very bad sign.

The last time he had been this quiet and pensive was when Jessie broke the news of her moving out of their home. Her father had insisted that she assist him in his business after she graduated. Jessie however had managed to firmly decide against doing so. Clichéd as the story about a privileged girl trying to make it on her own might sound, she had really wanted it. In the end, her father had been very proud of her decision. Although, she was sure that this current situation could hardly evoke the feeling of pride in him.