Chapter 2
No One But You“Wake up, Jessica. We have reached your office.” Louis shook Jessica’s forearm gently.
She opened her sleepy eyes at Louis and looked around to orientate herself. She had slept for less than four hours last night. In fact she had not slept for more than ten hours over the past three days. She wondered how she had managed to survive such punishing working hours.
“I’ll pick you up at 7pm tonight. I’ve already made the reservation.” Louis smiled to Jessica, who could only force herself to smile back. “I’ll try to get off early.” she said to him without making any promise, and got off the convertible with a heavy heart. Louis frowned at her remark.
Jessica knew that there would be another conference call with their business counterparts, who were at the other side of the globe, tonight. She just hoped that there would be sufficient time for her to at least have dinner with Louis.
“Sorry, dear. I need to work late tonight. I promise to make it up to you once the project is over.” Jessica said apologetically to Louis over the phone, holding her breath. They had spent every anniversary together and this was their fifth wedding anniversary.
“I suppose this is it then. See you tomorrow then.” Louis hung up the phone in frustration.
“Louis ...” Jessica was cut off by him before she could continue with her explanation.
She clenched her fists when she saw Gallen walking into her office. “So what is it now?” she asked him impatiently. “They want the conference call at 9am their time.” he said to her. “That’s 9pm our time then.” she said in resignation.
She wished she could postpone the call to after mid-night. She would rather work through the night than to miss her dinner with Louis. She understood that her counterparts were just being considerate to schedule it at 9pm so that they needed not stay up till wee hours for the call.
“Did you have something planned tonight?” Gallen asked her.
“It’s our wedding anniversary today. We are supposed to have dinner together.” she said sadly. “I miss him.” she said in her heart and her eyes went moist. She quickly blinked them away and added, “I’m fine. I’m just too stressed and stretched by this project.” She took a deep breath.
“Shall I ask if we can postpone the call to 3am?” he asked her considerately.
“No. Let’s get this over and done with.” she turned down the offer quickly. She couldn’t possibly make Gallen take the call in the middle of night because of her.
“I just hope that they will accept our deliverables without any more changes tonight.” she continued, truly hoping that this project would come to an end quickly. The project had been extended by three months and Louis was getting angry with her crazy working hours.
“We still have about two hours. Do you want to grab something to eat first?” Gallen asked her thoughtfully.
“No. I’ll just have some hot chocolate later. I want to go through these materials again to prepare for the conference call.” Jessica said with one hand supporting her forehead and she bent over to go through her notes again.
Gallen sighed at his diligent and committed assistant. She was the best in his company and she was the best to him. He always had a soft spot for her but he could only regret for not being proactive enough in courting her. She had married Louis after six months of whirlwind romance. He could see that she was happy with Louis and he was glad for her.
Louis was fuming in his convertible when Bernice approached him.
“Hi, Louis. Are you waiting for Jessica?” she asked him.
“Let me give you a lift home.” he said to her without answering her question.
Louis removed the bouquet of champagne-coloured roses from the front passenger and flung it onto the backseat. He then picked up the small gift box and pushed it into his sport jacket.
During their drive to her place, she could see that Louis was angry and she was careful not to irritate him.
“Are you angry with Jessica? She had been trying to reschedule her conference to 11pm the whole day but our business counterparts were all asleep during our working hours.” Bernice tried to explain to Louis.
“Please don’t talk about her now.” Louis stated stiffly to Bernice without bothering to hide his frustration. He had hardly spoken to her for the last six months. She was out of the house early in the morning and would be home only past midnight. Even if she was home early, she was still working. She either spent the weekends at office or catching on her sleep. He knew this was the biggest project she ever had and she really wanted it. This was a millions-dollars global advertising project launching at all the various countries at the same time. But, he felt that he was losing her to her job. He was not just frustrated, he was scared and lonely.
Louis stopped his car when they reached Bernice’s place.
“Do you have liquor or wine at your place?” he asked her out of the blue.
“Yes, I do.” she replied him, not knowing what to make out from his question.
“Can I come over for a drink?” he asked. He needed someone to talk to but his pride stopped him from making the request.
Louis had been drinking one glass after another. He was feeling so angry with Jessica for missing their anniversary and their dates again. He was feeling lonely without her. He was scared that he was losing her. He was too proud to articulate his feelings to any one. He just kept drinking and hoping that the feelings would go away.
Bernice watched him as he drowned his sorrows in liquor. She felt sorry for him and placed her hand gently on his shoulder and asked, “Are you feeling all right?”
He did not reply her.
She moved closer to him and asked again, “Are you okay?”
He turned his head and their faces were within centimetres from each other. He saw in her eyes the fear and uncertainty that he once saw in Jessica. He moved in and kissed her.
Louis was woken up by a text message alert on his mobile phone. He turned and saw Bernice laying next him. It finally drawn on him what he had done. He quickly shot up from the bed and dressed himself. Guilt had filled him. He read the text message, “I’m sorry that we have missed our anniversary, dear. Please stop being mad at me. I miss you. I’m waiting for you at home.” The message was sent at 11:59pm.
Bernice had also woken up. She looked at Louis hoping that he would say something.
“I’m sorry, Bernice. What I had done is a mistake. I love Jessica. I don’t know why I did what I did. It is a mistake.” he said confusedly to her.
What he had just said broke her heart. She had always carried a touch for Louis. She knew he was Jessica’s husband since the first day that they met. She knew he was taken but she could not stop herself from falling for his charm. He was sinfully good-looking and humorous. He was attentive to Jessica and he would send flowers to her just to cheer her up. Jessica’s eyes sparkled whenever she talked about Louis. She envied Jessica. They were so in love with each other. She thought she could never come in between them, until a couple of hours ago.
“I know what we have done is a mistake. You love her.” she said while trying to hold back her tears. She added painfully, “You called her name just now.”
“Please don’t let her know about us. I beg you.” he pleaded with her desperately. There was fear in his eyes and his voice.
“I understand. I won’t. Let’s take it that we had never slept together.” she said miserably.
He walked out of her room and her house without another word.
When she heard the main door closed, her tears started to flow. She never felt this guilty before and it was killing her. Jessica had been her mentor and friend. Jessica had coached and given her numerous opportunities at work. Jessica had treated her as if she was the little sister whom Jessica never had. She had thrived under Jessica’s affection and encouragement.
If there was one thing that could triumph over lust, it was guilt.
(17.06.2007)
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