Chapter 105 A Familiar Stranger
Jessica was elated! She had been able to get a call through to Romeo's dad and managed to plead an audience with the man. If it all worked out then she would not be sent out of the Knowles family.
"I can't believe that I scored such a huge goal! If I can just manage to convince him-- I hope I can-- then I will be able to embarrass Cara for treating me like shit!"
She twirled around happily in her bedroom. "There's no time to waste!" She cautioned herself.
Hurrying to her wardrobe, she dressed up in a fancy and official mini dress and combed her hair until there was not a single strand loose.
Her looks alone would be her first impression that day to Marcus and she knew it. She her make up quite obvious to add to the depth of her beauty.
She looked ready after putting on her nude colored heels but she did not feel ready. With a nervous breath, she picked up her hand bag and walked out of her room.
Bumping into Chris in the hallway, her face was drained of its smile. She thought to report the news to him but it would be better to do it with pride when everything was confirmed.
So she walked by him like he was not even there. Hoping he would call out to her, Chris dashed past her like he had not even noticed her presence. She would be lying if she said it did not hurt, she was a living ghost to her husband and his family.
The way the table had turned to quickly with Michael Knowles was what even surprised her every single time.
But that was by the way. The future was about to change only if she did everything right. Which she would.
Arriving at the chosen location-- a fancy restaurant-- she went to the room Mr Armani was waiting for her and was met by the man and his wife.
She gave a deep bow of her head. "Mr and Mrs Armani, thank you for seeing me."
Marcus nodded his head. "Come in and sit. I know this meeting was supposed to take place at the office but my family is hosting a guest here, it was an impromptu meeting."
"Oh I am far from offended sir. The atmosphere here is very welcoming." She responded with the widest grin on her face.
As ordered, she took her seat opposite them and bowed her head twice to them, one for each of them.
"So," Tori started. "I want to know everything that happened that evening but I will plead for your patience because my son has to be here too."
"Oh okay ma'am." She responded with a smile.
Almost immediately, the door to their room opened and Romeo walked in with his fiancée by his side.
Jessica gritted her teeth in annoyance at the sight of Cara. She had to force herself to smile because she knew all attention was going to be on her.
Romeo greeted his parents and so did Cara. Marcus beamed at her presence and Tori even rose to her feet to give her a hug.
"How are you my Darling?" She asked with a smile. "You look so beautiful in this dress! Where did you order it? I have to get my own."
Cara let out a chuckle. She had not yet gotten accustomed to Tori's niceness.
"We apologize for coming late, someone could not help but to spend unnecessary hours and money at a boutique." Romeo explained with a roll of his eyes.
Jessica was drawn to the sound of his voice. She wondered if it was Cara Romeo was referring to.
But then another masculine voice caught her attention. A young handsome man with the sexiest blue eyes walked into the room. "It was not unnecessary, I needed to look good for mom and dad."
Giovanni walked in with a bright smile on his face.
"My Darling boy," Tori said as she pulled him into a hug. "You look so older now."
Marcus rose from his feet to hug him as well. "Look at you all grown up."
"Can you not talk to me like that? Both of you," Giovanni said, "I am literally just two years younger than your son. I am not twelve."
They all shared an harmonized chuckle.
Tori ruffled through his hair with her fingers. "You're still a little boy to us." They all started to return to their seats while the new guests picked seats for themselves. "Where did you go?" She asked them while sitting down.
"We went to a clothes store almost at the other side of the world." Romeo responded in an exhausted tone while giving a frantic roll of his eyes.
Giovanni spoke up. "It was not on the other side of the world!"
"Okay, the other side of the city." Romeo stated.
Giovanni dragged the silence for a moment before speaking. "At least it was in this city and besides, besides I did what I did because I wanted to look good for mom and dad. I mean Romeo always looks good no matter what he wears, like for real, put this dude in a potato sack and he will still make it look good."
They all chuckled. "He takes that from his father." Tori said. "I mean look at that perfect nose and lips, his facial features, everything belongs to his father."
"Except his eyes of course which belongs to you." Giovanni stated out and Tori nodded.
All through their conversation, Jessica's eyes were focused on one person and one person alone. The man that was now sitting directly opposite her.
That voice, those distinct blue eyes, those curls on his head, everything about him, they were too familiar to belong to a stranger.
The familiarization almost made her jump. Until she actually jumped to her feet with an abruptness that made all eyes to fall on her. Including Cara who had been ignoring her presence.
"Is everything alright?" Tori asked.
Giovanni was looking at her now. Their eyes met and her heart stopped.