Chapter 17: I Like Me Better When I'm With You

Jada walked into the office on Monday morning to find the place buzzing and everyone in a tizzy. From the security desk to the private meeting room floor, she had heard petrified whispers of Mr. Henry’s arrival. Jada had met Duke a couple of times before, it was true that his presence was daunting, but he was a gentleman once she got to know him. Something that his employees would never get to do. Because of that, to them, he was Mr. Henry the terrifying boogieman.

Jada waved at Jessica as she emerged from her office. The set up was similar to the Henry offices in New York. One private floor for higher executives, the floor below it the private meeting room that also housed Jessica’s too big of an office. Anyone allowed on that floor had a key card and had to scan their hand on the biometric lock. Anytime anyone came to this floor it meant serious business with big money evolved. The type of cash Jada couldn’t even dream of. 

Jessica waved to her before leading six other people from her office to the meeting room. Jada recognized them as their London real estate partners, and that made her wonder. She had only been briefed about the National Museums' restoration, but it seemed like something else was about to happen.

Once Jessica closed the meeting room door behind her, Jada rushed to her, “What’s with all the big wigs being here?”

“I need to tell you something,” Jessica said as she dragged Jada to a corner as other executives and team members walked past them and into the meeting room.

“I was going to tell you yesterday because that’s when I found out. But I couldn’t tell you because of Samuel and you ran out in the middle of our double date,” Jessica rushed over her words.

“Yeah, something strange happened yesterday. I thought I saw Christopher,” Jada felt silly admitting it. When she moved to London, she had missed Chris so much she started hallucinating about him. But a few months later it all of a sudden stopped, so she assumed she was done with him. But seeing someone that looked like Chris the previous night had her running into the London cold with just her blouse and slacks. 

“About that,” Jessica started but didn’t finish.

“You ran out on me last night,” Samuel said as he walked up to them.

“I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to you I promise,” Jada winced as she yet again committed to doing something she didn’t want.

“I’ll hold you to it,” Samuel said with a grin.

“Can you give us a second,” Jessica said impatiently. “Listen, Jada, I have two seconds to tell you this before the elevator gets on this floor.”

“Tell me what?” Jada asked worriedly. 

“Yes, Jessica, tell us what?” Samuel asked.

“Why are you still here?” Jessica asked him exasperated.

“Jess,” Jada cut in as the apprehension started to get the better of her.

Before Jessica could say anything, her gaze went passed Jada and slowly widened.

“Mr. Henry, welcome to Henry Real Estate London,” Jada heard someone say behind her.

It was the look on Jessica’s face and the tingling on her neck. Jada knew with an instinct that sent prickling gooseflesh over every inch of her body.

“You can call me Christopher; Mr. Henry is my brother.” A deep male voice that had haunted her dreams said. A shiver of reaction moved over her and there as an aching constriction in her throat. Jada tried to swallow the lump that had quickly grown there but it wouldn’t go down, it was threatening to choke her.

“What is he doing here?” Samuel a shade of belligerence in his tone. “This is a huge project and they sent the useless brother.”

“That useless brother owns this building and pays your salary. If you don’t want to work with him, you can get off this project. We need another engineer anyway,” Jessica admonished Samuel, before squeezing Jada’s arm and walking past them.

As fast as her now heavy body would allow her, Jada turned to look at Christopher. She held on to the wall as her knees grew weak. Fear clutched her belly as internal tears streamed down her scarred heart.

It was him.

Christopher moved with a natural grace and suppressed strength that was easy to admire. There was something that had changed about him. Chris looked more confident than she had ever seen him, and yet some of that self-assurance seemed put on, as if he had mastered it.

His hair was sleeked back in what she assumed was a bun. He was in a fitted suit and not in the casual look he had the previous night. He still had his shades on and although she couldn’t see his eyes, he definitely could see hers. Chris’ gaze settled on her, his jaw tensed and a muscle twitched in his cheek before he schooled the sharp planes of his face into a stoic expression.

“Baby Henry,” Jessica greeted him with a hug.

“Jessica,” he responded with a little amusement in his tone. “Are we ready to get this show on the road?”

“I know you’re reluctant to be here, but we have a lot riding on this,” Jada heard Jessica say to him.

“Let’s get it done then. What’s first?” Christopher nodded and spoke in precise clipped tones. 

“A ten-minute executive meeting followed by the first team briefing,” Jada noticed how Jessica had flipped to business mode as she let Chris towards them. 

When they were a few steps to where she and Samuel stood, Chris’s footsteps slowed down. He took off his sunglasses and looked at her. She finally could stare into his unusual pair of cerulean blue eyes, reminding her of a sultry ocean, she felt she was drowning in the depths of an aquatic gaze.

Chris looked at her as if he expected her to comment but she couldn’t think of anything to say. His expression was a study of polite professionalism, his eyes eerily blank as if he didn’t know her. Jada’s heart pounded once, fiercely before settling into a fast tattoo that sent adrenalin racing through her veins stimulating her body into a state of awareness.

“Miss Williams,” Chris said.

Miss Williams? She could almost laugh at the unfamiliarity his tone held.

Jada opened her mouth to reply only to find her voice diminished into a whisper, “Christopher.”

An amused grin deepened the grooves framing his mouth. He looked at her for a couple of seconds before turning away and disappearing into the meeting room.

Time was supposed to stand still or slow down or demonstrate any gentleness to make the moment easier to bear, instead it raced forward and back like a yoyo. This wasn’t how their first meeting was supposed to go.

“How do you know him?” Samuel cut into his thoughts.

“I don’t,” Jada lied as she started to walk away.

“You called him by his first name.”

“That’s what he asked Jessica’s assistant to call him, didn’t you hear?” Jada might be dim-witted when it came to Christopher but no one could out-do her when it came to a rational debate. This was somewhat a rational debate, right?

***

The moment Chris saw Jada, he had to do everything he could not to run to her and gather her in his arms. Chris missed the feel of Jada’s body against his, the scent of the sun and the ocean on her skin, and the feel of her hair under his chin. But looking at her, Chris was sure he wouldn’t find any of those things. He especially hated how her hair had been held in a tight bun at the back of her head. He waited for her to turn around so that she could see his reaction to seeing him. He missed her galaxy eyes, and how he fell into them with nothing but fear and reckless abandon. 

Then Chris saw him, the man who had his arm wrapped around Jada the previous night. He didn’t know why he went to that lounge that night, to let some steam off maybe. It was his usual spot whenever he was in London. No one but Jessica knew that he would be in London so he didn’t expect his usual group of misfits to be at the lounge, but he didn’t expect to see Jada there on a date.

Like the coward he was, Chris had run out the bar and took refuge in an alley. What he didn’t expect was to see Jada ran past him. He watched her from afar, wondering if the same adrenaline rushing through his body was coursing through her veins. It was probably the reason she didn’t feel the night chill. Jada had stood on the street, her head whipping around. Jessica had come for her son after and they had left in a taxi. Only then did he exhale the breath he had been holding for so long.

Now they gazed at each other from across the room an almost tangible unspoken awareness seemed to pass between them. This was the reason he didn’t want to come.

Chris gave his eyes the go-ahead to run the length of her and back, spending more time along the way, as he walked towards her. When he stopped in front of her, he saw just how affected she was. Her eyes were shaking in their sockets, as unshed tears threatened to fall. 

It was the way she lifted her chin in defiance, one that her tone did not back up when she said his name that amused him a little. She had changed so much and yet there were things about her that remained the same. What changed from the last time he saw her was that her brown eyes, ablaze with vitality, had awakened something deep within him and stirred his heart into an unwelcomed gallop.

Rushing into the meeting room was the only way he could save himself. The people in the room were just as pleased to see him as Jada was. This was how his month in London was going to start, with him trying to make everyone forget the inexperienced, irresponsible playboy who couldn’t be as good as either of his brothers.

“That was brutal,” Chris said as the last partner left the room. The ten-minute meeting had turned into a thirty-minute interview. They questioned his capabilities; not sure two large scale projects were enough to declare him fit to lead any of the two proposed projects.

“You handled it well. For a second, I thought you were your brother,” Jessica said.

“Which one?” Chris asked cautiously as he waited for the comparisons between him and Kit to start.

“Both of them. To be honest, you have Senior’s stubbornness as well,” Jessica said with a grin. “None of your brothers would have defied him as you did. To go as far as to go into your trust fund to bank role the New York projects on your own.”

“It was the best decision I made.”

“Maybe that’s why he gave you these two projects as a gift,” Jessica said.

“Or he’s testing me and waiting for me to fail,” Chris grumbled. “What else did my big brother tell you when he spoke to you?”

“Nothing much,” Jessica fibbed.

“Nothing much?” Chris snickered. “Is your office usually this dull? And since when did you give up your trademark blood lips?”

“How bad is it?” Jessica ignoring his question with one of her own.

“Bad when it’s un-expected. But I have a handle on it. Thank you for looking out for me,” Chris said.

“I’ve got your back.”

“I didn’t want to come here.”

“I know.”

“I wanted her to come back to me. I didn’t want her to feel pressured or like I’m invading her territory,” Chris rasped like a man on the verge of insanity. And he was, in a few minutes he would have to meet with Jada along with the other teammates. He would work closely with her for a month as they did everything to make sure that both projects were within their budget.

“She was shocked to see you,” Jessica poked her finger into his arm.

“Not as shocked as I was to see her on a date,” Chris laughed bitterly at himself. 

“That’s why she ran out like that last night?” Jessica asked shocked.

“Didn’t you tell her I was coming?”

“I didn’t have time to tell her, and she was too shaken up last night to say anything,” she said.

“But she seems to have moved on,” Chris winced at the sour taste the words left on his tongue. “My life hasn’t moved on from that moment. I just keep trying to make it better even though I can’t change the past.”

“Are you going to tell her that?”

“No.”

Chris rose to his feet as the project team members filled the room. He shook each of their hands and introduced himself. Always making a point to correct anyone who referred to him ad Mr. Henry.

Jada rushed past him and took the seat furthest from him. Even though it wasn’t close it still gave him a full view of her. Samuel sat next to her and directed scorn in Chris’s way. 

“You are Team One. You’ll be working on the restoration of the Museum. I’m sure Jessica has briefed you already,” Chris said. “This one is fairly easy; we need to stick to the brief and prepare the bid and we should be done in under four weeks.”

“Are you going to lead the project?” Samuel asked archly. “You don’t have enough experience when it comes to this size project.”

“I have enough,” Chris tried to quickly brush him off.

“It helps when your name is on the door,” Samuel’s voice held a distinct mocking tone that dared Chris.

How exactly was Jada dating this pompous ass? She hadn’t changed that much, Chris realized.

“It does help to have your last name on the front door. When you have one of those Samuel, you’ll realize how much work it takes to keep that name on the door,” Chris said.

“What would you know about it?” Samuel raised his dark brow, amusement and a dare etching his features.

“You seem to be my biggest fan?” Chris grinned. “You spend a lot of your time on the gossip pages?”

“It’s hard not to keep up with you.”

***

Jada sensed an undercurrent of change in the air. She kicked Samuel's foot under the table. His yelp drawing more attention than she thought it would. A flash of emotion streaked Chris’s face. The tone he had been using to debate with Samuel was deceptively casual, contradicting the burning heat in his gaze as he glared at Samuel.

Everyone in the room had noticed it and the ones who weren’t busy ogling Chris were now shifting in their seats uncomfortably.

“Keep up. I might just teach you a thing or two about life,” Chris flashed one of his patent bad boy grins, earning him a collective sigh from the women in the room.

That was Christopher, confident air, darkly good looks, and eyes so potent they make a woman forget she was breathing. That grin brought back so many memories that she had tried to bury rushing into the forefront on her mind. She didn’t want to remember; she didn’t want the horrible return of memory and terror that had driven her to escape.

She hated how terrified she felt at that moment. Jada feared how comfortable she felt in his presence. A huge part of her was glad to see him that was the part that was connected to her heart. The rational side, the part connected to her brain knew how dangerous he was to her. Yet she enjoyed the familiar emotions he stirred up within her. She hadn’t felt that joy in a long time.

“Samuel, are we going to have a problem working together? I don’t need you to like me, but you must respect me. Do we understand each other?” Chris’s voice was soft and dangerous, a subtle warning that he was on the edge and about to lose what was left of his patience.

“We’ll see,” Samuel responded.

A slight crack appeared in Chris’s cool façade.

Before the tension could grow thicker than it already was, a timely question from one of the team members distracted everyone.

“Is it true your father pulled funding on your New York projects?” the intern architect asked.

“Jessica, have you thought of switching the business to a newsroom?” Chris teased. “It’s one of the perks you have when your name is on the door. When your name isn’t on the door, you have to be resourceful.”

“Did you get investors?”

“No, my grandfather left me a very healthy trust fund. I put it to good use,” Chris proudly said. “The restoration project was a rundown Historical Estate in North New York. It reminded me of myself a little bit, broken soul, and battered bones.”

“And the second one?” the stars in the intern's eyes told Jada that it was less about Chris’s projects but more about the man himself.

“It’s a rehabilitation village is Southold,” Chris’s tone softened then. Its gentleness caught her attention more than the mention of her hometown. “It’s called Hope and Faith village. It’s for people dealing with PTSD especially those with military backgrounds.”

Jada didn’t dare look at him, but she felt Chris’s gaze on her. Her heart was now beating in her throat, as her chest squeezed, and tears burned her eyes. She needed to get out of there and he knew it.

“I’ll be interviewing the second team this afternoon, so let’s adjourn for tomorrow morning. We’ll have a schedule drawn up so that Jessica and I are in a better position to manage both projects. We need to be done with preparing the bid in the next four weeks.”

Jada lifted her chin and dared to look at him. She was searching for something in his eyes, honesty, or earnest maybe. But by the time she looked at him, he had moved on from Southold to Samuel.

“Don’t worry Samuel, if I tank the project, I’m good for it. I am a billionaire, and my name is on the door, sort of.” Chris shrugged with a grin and left the room.

Jada pushed out of her chair so fast it fell back. She ignored Samuel and whatever he was about to say and made her way to Jessica. Tightly grasping her upper arm, Jada led Jessica out of the room.

“We need to talk,” Jada hissed as under her shaky breath.

“Calm down, let’s go to my office,” Jessica said as she rushed Jada into her office.

“I can’t do this!” Jada unleashed the desperation she had been holding in since she laid eyes on Chris. Numbness fell away in a single breath, and she cried out at the cruel loss. It exposed her, she had conditioned herself into thinking she had moved on from Chris but seeing him had told her differently, “It’s been three years and this ache won’t leave.”

“Jada I’m sorry.”

The voice came from behind her. Jada spun around so fast she tripped on her feet. She caught herself before she hit the ground and through clouded eyes searched the room. She had been in such a hurry to get away from the rest, she had rushed into Jessica’s office without inspecting it first.

“I know how difficult this must be for you,” Chris said.

“How could you possibly?”

“Contrary to popular belief, I’m not made of stone. We must work together, but we don’t have to be alone together. If it will make you feel better, your assistant can be our go-between. It’s just four weeks.”

The tone of his voice was low, deep, and rich like the calm of a great sea gently tasting the pebbles on the shore. It was threatening to rob her of the security walls she had carefully erected in his absence.

“It’s just four weeks,” Jada echoed him. She looked at him one last time and immediately pulled her gaze away when a flash of pain shadowed his soulful dark eyes. “Four weeks.”

***

After a grueling day of back-to-back meetings, Chris invited his teams out for dinner. He had it at the hotel where he was staying which also happened to be one of the Henry hotels. He needed to be in an environment he could control, just in case. Chris sat on the large dinner table in a private room on his own, flipping through the recent pictures of the Historical Estate that Danny sent him as he waited. 

Jessica, Jada, and Samuel were the first to arrive. The first thing Chris saw was the possessive arm Samuel had around Jada’s shoulders. He was about to look away in annoyance when he caught Jada shake Samuel’s arm off and take a seat next to Jessica. Chris hid his satisfied smile.

Jessica sat in between Chris and Jada, she was close enough, but it looked like she was trying to hide behind her friend. When Chris finally caught her gaze, he stares into Jada’s eyes waiting for the steel gates that guarded her heart to drop, but they didn’t. 

Chris didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, so he looked away from her and paid attention to the other employees that were arriving. They filled the night with idle conversation that was until Samuel began provoking Chris once more.

“I know you keep saying that you managed the New York projects on your own, but I heard that your brothers had to step in when you disappeared for a week, at the beginning of the Esopus project,” Samuel said with a mocking grin.

Chris knew very well which week he referred to. An accident at the construction site had caused him to have a panic attack. It was then when he doubted whether or not he could work at a construction site when his fear of blood controlled him so much. But Chris had started seeing a psychiatrist then who had given him some medications and coping mechanisms. He was back on-site, with dark shades that he wore every day to mute the intensity of blood just in case another accident happened.

“I took a week off,” Chris shrugged as nonchalantly as he could. He wasn’t going to attach any importance to it, just in case, Samuel began asking more than he should.

“But your twin is there now, completing the project,” Samuel went on.

“Christian and his wife are preparing the place for their wedding. I am an engineer, not an interior decorator and not a wedding planner, I didn’t see the need of sticking around,” Chris said calmly. 

Chris looked at Jada, the only reason he was being so reasonable with Samuel was that he didn’t want Jada to be any more put off with him than she already was. He was surprised to see Jada’s eyes narrowed slightly, and an annoyed scowl on her face. 

“People must compare you to your twin every day. Especially since-,”

“Especially since what?” Jada cut him off with a glint of a renegade in her eyes.

Chris schooled his features but smiled on the inside when Jada came to his defense. Jada more than anyone knew how Chris hated being compared to his twin brother. Those comparisons had turned his relationship to his twin sour and Chris bitter. 

Samuel wore a surprised look as Jada went on glaring at him. To deescalate the situation, Chris responded to Samuel’s question.

“Having Batman for a big brother and Superman for a twin is difficult,” Chris said using Jada’s analogies. Jada looked at him surprised then smiled into her palm, “but that doesn’t mean I can’t find greatness in myself. Once I gave myself a chance it was easy to do.”

Jada’s eyes twinkled and a crooked smile drew across her face. They held each other’s gaze for a while, but the moment was once again interrupted by Samuel.

“Do you two know each other?”

Know each other, was the understatement of the year. What was he supposed to say? That Jada was his calm in the eye of a storm. Or that he only liked the person he was when he was around her, even when he was being an asshole?

Chris noticed that the smile had left Jada’s eyes and worry replaced it. Chris remained silent and waited for Jada to answer. Whatever she would say, Chris vowed to take her lead and follow her. He wondered what Jada would most be worried about, people finding out they were lovers or how their relationship ended?

“One of the homes he bought in Southold belonged to my family,” Jada said. A vague answer that satisfied almost everyone’s curiosity.

Chris was about to start explaining the project when his world came to a screeching halt. His chest tightened as the bitter smell of dried copper filled his nostrils. It was all in his mind, he knew that, but the appearance of it caught him by surprise he couldn’t calm himself down. The red of the dress struck him so deep he couldn’t move his feet and do what his brain knew he should. He shut his eyes tightly as he gasped for breath, terror gripping every muscle. 

Get Up! His mind yelled at his entranced body.

Chris felt a small hand grab his wrist and pull him to his feet. He kicked his chair back and let himself get dragged out of the room. With every stride took, he fought the darkness that was threatening to swallow him.