For Her

Chapter 8: The Flashback

{Damien Shaw}

I was having dinner with Alexa and my daughter, Baillie. "Alexa, I really feel bad for Jennifer. She came to meet me this morning and she made me realize that what we did at Kate's party was wrong."

"You know Jennifer deserves help. We used her and now we are just helping her. We owe this to her.", Alexa was trying to convince me that we were right. "Who are we to decide with whom Charles should fall in love? We cannot make him fall in love with Jennifer if she doesn't love him back." I said. We were both just staring at each other when my phone rang. It was Charles Bason. I was shocked and confused to see him calling me. I answered the call, "Hello"

"Damien I need to meet you, it's urgent. Tomorrow drinks at 8 pm at my place. I'll text you the address", he sounded angry. I replied, "Is everything okay? Why do you want to meet me all of a sudden? Did something happen?" I was confused about why was he so eager to meet me. I assumed it was related to Jennifer. His voice is louder than before he replied, "I want to talk about Jennifer, I can't talk over the phone. If you really care about her you will come tomorrow." I couldn't say no to that. Before I could say a word further he hung up the call. I look up and see Alexa staring at me with confusion. "I have to meet Charles tomorrow. I'll explain to you everything after I meet him." I said to her. She was very understanding and didn't ask me anything about Charles or the call.

After completing my dinner I took a bottle of beer and went to my balcony. I was sitting in my chair, smoking, sipping my beer and staring the sky. I started thinking about the day I met Jennifer.

***I was at a nightclub drinking beer at the bar when I saw her dancing with her friends. She was tall, black hair, fair skin and a beautiful smile. I was checking her out and I saw her coming towards me. She came and stood just next to me, facing the bar ordering a beer. I went to approach her and said, "Hey, I am Dan Pent. Can I buy you a drink?" She smiled at me and said, "Jennifer Brandon! Of course, yes." I order myself one more beer and paid for our drinks. She continues speaking, "You are here, on a Sunday night drinking alone? Did you have a breakup?" I smiled at her and replied, "Actually I just saw a beautiful girl, dancing in front of me. So I called my girlfriend and broke up with her."

She chuckled and replied, "Ouch! I pity that girl. My friends are dancing over there. Do you want to join us?" I then joined her and she introduced me to Aria and some of her other friends. We were dancing with each other.

After some hours Jennifer wanted to leave. "It was nice meeting you but I have work tomorrow so I have to go home early." I heard her friend Aria telling her that she was going to crash at some other friend's place that night. I wanted to spend more time with her so I asked her if I could drive her home. She looked at me for a few seconds and said, "Okay." While I was driving her home, "What do you do in LA?" she asked. "I am a dealer of antiques. It's my family business passed down to me. Tell me about you."

"I am studying, MBA in Finance. I am also a financial planner and I invest money in markets," she said. I smiled at her and said, "You are impressive! Give me some tips on investing my money too. Especially since elections are coming close, do you see a scope of earning money?" She laughed and said, "Yeah, definitely elections are going to get us money if you invest properly. A lot of people think Jordan Saen is going to win this election. So, of course, you should put your money on companies which have invested in Jordan's campaign. There is a scope of earning a profit there." Well, I knew some companies I could invest in. Before I could ask anything else we reached her place. She got out of the car, and said, "It was great meeting you. Thanks for the ride."

"Can I take you out tomorrow? Maybe coffee or lunch?" I wanted to know her more. So I decided to ask her out. We exchanged our numbers and I told her I will be calling her the next day. I waited outside her house till she went inside and then I left. When I reached home, I heard some noise from my kitchen. When I went to my kitchen I saw Alexa waiting for me there. She walked towards me and kissed me. "Hey! Did the plan work? Did Jennifer start liking you?" I took a bottle of beer out of the refrigerator, took a sip from it and I replied, "No, I don't think so. She seemed different and I think it's not that easy to make her fall for me. But I always have plan B. I heard one of her friend talking about some Maria Vander's party they will be attending this week."

"So? What's your plan? Are you are going to be at the party? Do you think it will work?" Alexa asked. She knew my plans always work but still wanted to hear it from me. "Yeah, it will work. I told Jennifer I will be calling her tomorrow and we'll go for lunch. But I am not going to call her tomorrow, rather meet her at Maria's party. She is difficult to get but I am going to make her fall for me. You know my plans have to work, always. Can you arrange the invitation to that party?" I was confident with my plan and I knew Alexa can always arrange me with entry passes.

Four days later, I went to Maria's party. When I reached the party, I started looking for Jennifer, holding a beer in my hand. Just then someone kept a hand on my shoulder and I heard, "Dan!" As I turned around, there she was, standing right in front of me. Light pink dress, hair tied up, just beautiful. "What are you doing here? What a coincidence." She said. "Hey, Jennifer! So great to see you here." I acted like I was shocked to see her too.

"I thought you were going to call me that day, remember?" she said, sounding upset. I knew she would expect this. I was waiting for her to ask. "Yes, I really apologize for that. I got stuck in some work. Can I make it up to you right now? I heard there is an amazing restaurant around the corner, do you want to eat something? We can go there." I said. I thought she would say yes. I know she finds me attractive and would like to go out with me. She took a pause and said, "I am hungry. I have heard about that restaurant and I wanted to try it too. So I think it's a good idea." I knew my plan would work, I had a smile on face. We grabbed our coats and went out for lunch. As I had planned, till the end of the date, I impressed her and Jennifer started liking me too. For the next two weeks, we started hanging out together. I tried making her comfortable with me so that she could share secrets with me. I wanted her to trust me. I needed her to trust me for my mission.

After two weeks together, I decided to propose to her to be my girlfriend. I had set a beautiful dinner date for her. I still remember that day, when she said yes the only thing she said was, "Please don't ever break my heart, don't ever break my trust" and she kissed me. That night for the first time I felt that something was not right and my plan was wrong. I felt horrible as a person. I did regret proposing her that day and I wanted to tell her the truth. But I couldn't. I couldn't betray my team and my mission. Jennifer started trusting me blindly. She used to take me for dinners with her friends too. One day we went to her friend Maurise's house for dinner. She was celebrating for a new assignment she had recently received. So she had invited Jennifer and me for dinner at her place. ***

As I was thinking about my past Alexa came and said, "Damien, how long are you planning to sit out in the balcony. It's getting cold, you should get some sleep." Alexa held my hand and took me to bed. I went off to sleep cuddling her tight.

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what happens next with Damien and Jennifer? keep reading.

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