Chapter 44 — Well-Kept Secrets

× 10:39 PM ×

"Hey, Joss. Congrats!"

"Thanks, man. Grab some drinks. Just gonna say hi to the guys."

"Heard there's already a season four in the making?"

"Don't get too excited." Jenson exchanged smirks with a heavyset guy in plaid as he walked past the busy pool table.

The other guy must be a reporter or a good friend of one of the producers.

Partly disguised by her face mask, Jessi reclined and watched the amicable exchange. She sat alone at a table for two, waiting on the sidelines, just minding her own business.

Everybody else seemed busy mingling and whiling the night away with booze, chit-chatting about their lives, Road to Valhalla updates, the news, and practically everything under the sun.

Darren left her side half an hour ago to catch up with Kara, his blonde co-star and the leading lady in their TV show. For the past two hours, Jenson and Darren got busy catching up with co-workers. Mostly members of the production team.

Two of the producers also showed up. The other big bosses didn't. For safety reasons, most likely. Some folks didn't wear face coverings at the moment. But, so far, there weren't more than 20 people around her, and most were keeping a safe distance from each other.

The brightly lit bar stayed semi-busy as another round of socializing went by. Jessi kept still in her seat with her phone on the table. She looked up when she heard Jenson's familiar footsteps.

He walked towards her with his hand tilting his drink into his mouth. "You good?"

"Yeah. You've had three of those already," she reminded as he stood before her with his fourth glass of whiskey on the rocks.

He didn't look plastered yet. Not tipsy at all. No droopy eyelids or noticeable changes in his behavior yet. He seemed friendlier and chattier than usual, but it's just because he was in a get-together with work friends. "Just tryna unwind."

"So I'll drive you home. Then I'll just take a cab."

"I'm not drunk yet." He made a face at her while checking his phone. He sipped the last of his drink after glancing down at her.

"Sure," she muttered. "I'm still not letting you drive."

"Fine." He sat down on the chair opposite hers after he pocketed his phone. "You look nice." Now he was staring at her face and the upper half of her floral dress.

"Likewise," she murmured after glancing around.

If other people overheard their conversation, they'd think he was plainly hitting on her. Good enough sign that he'd already drunk more than he should.

"That's your last for tonight." Jessi grabbed his empty glass when he tried to get up from his seat. The ice cubes clinked. She raised a brow when he suddenly started a staring contest with her. "No more refills."

"Careful, dollface." Jenson got up, grinning lopsidedly as if amused. "Startin' to sound like my future wife now."

"What?" Dollface? Future wife? She shook her head. "You're so stewed you don't even realize you're hitting on me now," she mumbled after glancing away.

As a matter of fact, he was already one glass ahead of Darren. She just got so bored that she started keeping track of their boozing while she passed the time texting her parents and Kel.

Her boss snickered and hiked up his sweatshirt's sleeves. Jenson sat back down instead of walking away to continue chatting and drinking with his colleagues. "Wanna go home?" He leaned over, watching her closely with narrowed eyes. "Had enough?"

"I should be the one asking that." She held his cold and empty glass, then glanced around to make sure no one was watching them or overhearing their conversation.

The rock 'n roll music playing through the speakers was quite loud, but they shouldn't talk like they were alone. People around them might automatically assume the worst.

She certainly didn't need another reminder. Charmaine's recent behavior was enough warning. "Stop staring," Jessi murmured, glancing away from his overattentive green eyes.

A row of lights beside their table just emphasized his stunning features, making it difficult for her not to stare at his handsome face. His beautiful eyes. Perfect nose and jawline. Shapely lips. Sexy, trimmed beard.

Ugh. She should stop their awkward staring contest now before somebody noticed...even though it seemed she was the only one feeling awkward.

Great. Just great. Thirsting over her boss in a public place. "Seriously, Jessiah?" she scolded herself in her head. What in the world's wrong with her brain?

"Why?" Jenson raised a brow while his pinkish lips pouted. His tan cheeks looked flushed now. "I'm not allowed to stare at you?"

"We're not in the office. And bored people talk a lot. And alcohol just worsens it," she droned on with a sigh, still hiding her face behind her cloth mask, leaning closer to him so they could talk quietly. "Need I say more?"

"I don't care." The guy sat back and shrugged coolly. "I like lookin' at you. Sue me."

Oh crap... Definitely wasted now. She should drive him home before midnight.

But he obviously didn't realize he was already that intoxicated. Or maybe he just didn't want to admit it. He liked to drink whenever he was really stressed out, but not in public places with lots of people around. Like tonight.

"Want me to drive you home now?" she asked just to break off the tension.

"No."

"What time?"

His dark brows creased. Then Jenson sighed and got up from his chair. "Let's go somewhere."

× 11:37 PM ×

"Hey, DJ."

"Yo, Jess. Where you at? You guys just disappeared."

"Sorry. Had to drive Joss somewhere. He already drank a lot. You still in the bar with Kara?" Jessi unbuckled her seatbelt and watched from afar as her boss walked straight into the lobby of a hospital-looking facility.

Not familiar. Painted mostly white. Spacious. It was almost an hour away from the bar.

"Just gonna check up on someone," was what her boss only said when she asked Jenson where he wanted to go.

"Pinecrest Custodial Homecare"...the big white letters on the five-story building read. The other two buildings adjacent to the lobby entrance looked four floors high.

"Yeah, and the other guys," Darren replied over the phone. The mellow bar music failed to drown out the chatters in the background. "Where you guys off to?"

"Pinecrest Custodial Homecare. Maps says it's a psych facility."

"Oh," Darren said almost immediately. "He's just payin' his mom a quick visit."

"His mom?" She stared at the tall buildings. So Jenson's mom was staying in one of those rooms. Was it a scheduled visit? "He didn't say anything."

"Dude..." Darren chuckled. "You know how he is," he mumbled on the other end, his voice sounding huskier than she remembered. He must've been talking someone's ears off before he took her call. "Where you guys headed afterwards?"

"He's already drunk. I'll just drive him to his house."

"Uh...no. Negative." Darren clicked his tongue.

What did he mean? "What? Why?"

"Not a good idea."

"But why?" With her phone on loudspeaker, Jessi scowled and checked the lobby.

The lights in the main building and the wide glass doors showed enough. Jenson was no longer standing in front of the receptionist desk.

"Just...uh...take him somewhere else. A hotel. Yeah. There's one just a few blocks from there."

Hotel? "Why? Is Charm back in town?"

"Yeah," Darren sighed. He paused to clear his throat. "Still packing her stuff, I guess..." he murmured after an awkward few seconds filled the other line.

"You mean 'unpacking her stuff'? She just got back from Beijing. Right?"

"No. London. Cut her vacation short. She got the promotion. Charm's going back to Beijing after she's done with the, uh...sorting out her stuff."

"She's moving to Beijing?" Jessi gawked at her phone screen. Her confusion just worsened after what he said.

"He's still pissed about it. Prolly why he was tryna get real hammered."

"Wait..." She frowned and palmed her warm forehead, her chest feeling tight for some reason. "They broke up?"

"You didn't know?" Darren burped. "Two months ago, I think. Don't tell Joss I told you," he mumbled with a chuckle. "He doesn't like talkin' about it. Or her."

"No shit. He didn't even mention a thing."

Why would Jenson keep it a secret? Because he thought it would badly affect his career? And possibly affect the marketing of their hit TV series. Perhaps.

Or maybe he and Charmaine wanted to keep it secret for now. Or she didn't want him to make a big deal out of it. After all, she had a highly regarded corporate job and a successful, "independent career woman" and squeaky clean reputation to uphold. Like Jenson.

"So, yeah. That's that. Don't drive him home. Just for tonight."

"Yeah. Okay." Jessi sighed to herself as she reclined in the driver seat of Jenson's pickup truck, sitting alone in the dark. Although Darren sounded inebriated already, she'd take his word instead of testing the odds. She'd rather go straight home than see Charmaine again.

"He seemed real pissed earlier when he got her text, but she's worse. A ticking time bomb, really."

"Shit. I had no idea...that they called off the engagement."

"He doesn't wanna let other people know. Maybe Charm, too. Just for now, I guess. 'Cause of the show, and her new promotion, y'know..."

"Hey. So his visits take a while?" Jessi glanced out the window again. Her boss must be in his mother's private room now. "Does he visit his mom frequently?"

"Nah. Like twice a year. He's not gonna stay long in there. Why?"

"Nothing. Okay. Thanks."

"They weren't close," Darren muttered in response.

"Oh. Explains a lot." She got rid of her frown and turned off the engine. Maybe she'd only have to wait for less than an hour. "Thanks. Don't drink and drive. Tell Kara, too."

"Yeah, yeah," Darren said with a quick laugh. "You sound just like him. You didn't drink at all?"

"Just cranberry juice. My period's gonna start in a few."

"Eww! Bruh, TMI! Conversation over. Jablonsky out!"

"You're such a baby." She chuckled. "Laters."

"Drive safe."

× 11:05 PM ×

"You okay?"

"No."

Obviously... Why did she even bother to ask? Jessi winced as she stood beside her boss.

His forearms pressed onto the driver's seat window, his forehead touching the glass. He still smelled of alcohol but not as bad as earlier.

His reddening face, clenched fist, tensed up jaw and heavy breathing said enough. He practically stormed out of the facility's main building just a minute ago after she waited in his truck for a while.

Did his late-night visit end on a bad note? How was his mom doing? It sure seemed like he regretted coming over tonight. Or it could be his complicated issues with Charm.

"You want me to drive you to a hotel?" she suggested after a long stretch of awkward silence.

"No."

"Okay..."

Then he just punched the edge of the driver's door. "Figlio di puttana."

She pulled back and made a face. She rarely heard him swear in his native tongue.

He seldom cussed in front of her, but he clearly couldn't control his emotions right now. Before she could say something, his clenched fist hit the heavily tinted window. Then he turned to lean against the side of the vehicle, his brows almost stuck together while his jaw stayed tense.

"Stop," she sighed. "You're gonna hurt yourself."

"I really don't give a shit." He pinched the bridge of his nose as his eyes stayed shut.

She stared at his profile and crossed her arms. For a while, she just stood next to him, patiently waiting and hoping he would just tell her what happened. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry." Jenson sighed out loud and crouched next to her, his arms resting on his knees.

"It's okay if you don't wanna talk about it." She imitated his pose, growing even more curious by the second. His current mood somewhat scared her as much as the loud thunders echoing around them now. Like the weather forecast warned.

But Jenson wouldn't hurt anyone just because he was having a bad day. He wasn't that kind of guy. "Dammit." His hands covered his entire face now.

Okay. He wasn't about to simmer down, just like the weather. She should just wait for him to be calm again, or lull him with her patience and an "I'll be your listening ear" approach.

"Here if you wanna talk." She zipped up her thick jacket. "But we can't hang around. Okay? Storm's coming."

He didn't respond. His hand clasped a chunk of his dark hair now, his intakes of breath still loud. It almost sounded like he was panting. Was he about to cry?

Her heart ached at the sight of him having a hard time controlling his emotions. But she didn't want to pry or upset him further.

Did something happen to his mother back there?

Her thoughts imagined different kinds of scenarios while she waited for him to explain. Or at least say something. Then another lightning bolt drew white lines across the cold, black sky. The booming noises alarmed her, forcing her to get up.

"Sorry." She held out her hand in front of his face and waited for him to take it. "But we need to leave now."

"Yeah."