3

                  JESSIE HARVEY.

            

The shock set in as her eyes tore open and were greeted by the morning sun, the weight around her waist was his arm, draped over her as he still slept peacefully, unmoving when she slipped out of his hold as quietly as possible. She spared a glance around the big spacious room, jaw slightly dropping at the sheer size of it, due to the glass surrounding the room too, she got the perfect view of the city from up here but she didn't have the time to be enthralled by the sight as she hurriedly looks away.

A squeak escapes her lips at the soreness between her legs, she looks back at the peacefully sleeping man, glad he didn't stir at the sound as she made her way around the room on heavy legs, she felt grateful he'd taken the time to clean her up as she stares down at her naked body. She finds her dress somewhere on the floor, looking around for her thong to no avail.

With slow steps, she walks out of the room as quietly as possible, she wonders how she didn't notice the glamour of this place when she got in the night before, the halls were large and there were rooms on either side of it. She finally gets to what was no doubt the living room and it was indeed a sight. She quickly finds her shoes, slipping them on in a hurry, and rushes out of the apartment.

She finally fills her lungs with air as the elevator doors began sliding shut, resting her back, the events of the nights before began flooding in. She'd lost her virginity to some man she met at the club, who she had no relations with and would most likely never see again and she couldn't even bring herself to hate it, yes, she didn't want to have to go through the awkward morning conversations but she definitely wouldn't mind being in last night's position once again. It was good, he was beautiful and he felt heavenly.

"I really did think I was going to do it when I got married" she sighs.

She got a cab once she was out of the luxurious penthouse, the thoughts of the night before never leaving her mind as she leaned her head on the window.

****

Jasmine squeals the moment Jessie pushes the door open, getting off the couch and rushing to her side with wide eyes, "SHE'S BACK!" she squeals, grabbing onto her bicep, "Well?!" She asks with wide expectant eyes, "....did you do it? Are you one of us now?" She wriggles her brows.

"Get away from me, Jas" Jessie groans and she hears the gasp coming from an overly excited Jasmine.

"Oh my God, you have!" She accuses, tone light and teasing, "you've taken your maiden voyage with some hottie from the bar!" She pauses for a bit, "Val and I saw his hands all over you and you looked like you liked it so we let you be" she adds with a mischievous look.

"Mama is so proud of you!" She looks over to see Valerie, dramatically wiping fake tears and she rolls her eyes. 

"Celebratory dinner tonight, it's on me!" Valerie announces, walking closer to kiss Jessie's cheek while the other shakes her head in objection, "That's not needed, it's not that big a deal" she tries. 

"Oh but the way you walked in this morning says otherwise, you owe us the full details at dinner so save your strength till then, I am off to get groceries" Valerie dismisses, grabbing her bag and keys.

"Fine," she rolls her eyes playfully, "Love you babe" She calls, sparing Jasmine a small smile before walking to her room.

She laid back on her bed, a smile playing on her lips as she thought back to last night, and…. him. The chances of them meeting ever again were very slim but the memories of that one night they shared were one she never wanted to forget.

How gentle he was even though he was quite literally wrecking her insides, how the small praises and affirmations in between made goosebumps rise on her skin, how protected she felt in his arms.

It was a change, and they were memories she'd treasure. 

__________________________________

It was three weeks after she submitted applications to different organizations when she finally got a call from one, asking her to come over for an interview. She really hopes she doesn't mess it up, seeing as she has spent most of her years working as a bartender.

Jess wakes up to the aroma of coffee. Usually, that smell would delight her, but today, she immediately felt a wave of nausea hit her as soon as she regained cognition.

 Every morning, it was a routine for her to start her day with a cup of coffee and Jasmine was so kind to always have it ready by the time she got out of bed.

The heady scent of the coffee felt too much and it was everywhere. She felt an uneasy feeling fill her stomach and the need to empty the mostly already empty vessel grew stronger.

She got out of bed on unsteady feet, pushed her feet into the slides already laid out, and rushed into the bathroom. She was filling her cupped hands with water to be splashed on her face when she heard the doorbell.

"Jas! I'm in the bathroom, please get the door" Jess calls out loudly, waiting for a response but she got none, and the sound of the doorbell came again.

She let out a groan, grabbed a towel to dry her hands, and walked out of the bathroom, "Coming" she called out, muttering under her breath how the person on the other side had no patience.

"Jas, Val?" Jess called, it was quite obvious they were ignoring her on purpose as she crossed the empty living room to get the door.

She shakes her head, pulling the door open to the sight of Carter, who immediately falls on his knees the moment he catches sight of her.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me" she groans.

"Jess, Jess I'm sorry! I really am sorry, I messed up, I know, and I know I don't deserve your forgiveness but-"

"No buts Carter. No fucking buts... you know I can't forgive you, you know it is not possible to forgive you after what you did!" Her voice raised with every word, "you were fucking my fucking assistant, Carter! Behind my back, without thinking about me. Lord knows how long that has been going on and I'm sure as hell you wouldn't be sorry if you didn't get caught! Did you plan it all out? Inviting me over on the same night you know she was going to be with you? So you could break up with me? Even if that was your goal, why with her? Why make me feel and look stupid by doing it with someone I considered a friend!" At the end of her words, Jessie could feel her anger double and her eyes beginning to well up, but she was determined to keep it together.

"That wasn't it Jessica, I swear! I loved you, I did and still do, I still-"

"You loved me?" She intercepts with a scoff. "Do you know what it means to love someone? You love me and you go ahead and do something you know would hurt me? No, you don't love me, never say that again because you clearly do not!"

"I messed up, I know but I swear I can make this right! Just please, give me another chance, Jessie. We are meant for each other, I know you know that, just give me another chance, I'll fix things, just this once" he pleaded, reaching forward to take her hand in his. 

"No, you won't be getting any second chance, you disgusting asshole" another voice interrupts, coming from behind her and he peeks in to see the newcomer.

"Hi, jasmine" he mumbles, getting back on his feet.

"Keep your greetings to yourself, Carter I don't need it, why are you here?" She snaps.

"I- I'm here to see Jess" he stutters.

"Well I think she made it pretty obvious she doesn't wanna see you, so leave!!" Her eyes grow softer when she turns to where Jessie stood, still dressed in her nightwear "Hey baby, go do your thing, okay? I got this " She says, Jess immediately nodding and ignoring the low mutter of her name from Carter as she walks back inside.

The scent of coffee was still strong in the air, making her gag as she caught a whiff of it, a hand coming over her mouth as she rushed into the bathroom. And Valerie, who had been slowly walking out of her room, probably alerted by the ruckus, upon noticing, was quick to rush after her, helping her by delivering small pats on her back while she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl.

"There you go baby, let it out" she coos, hand running down her back slowly.

"Oh my god, It feels like I just puked my intestines out" Jessie groans, pulling away from the bowl and trying to catch her breath.

"How do you feel, Jess? Are you good?" Val asked, worried, lacing her voice as Jessie walked to the sink, washing her face and hands after flushing the toilet.

"Yes, I am just nervous about my interview, and now Carter shows up and made things worse" she pouts, beginning to undress as she walks to the bathroom.

"Carter is here?" She asked, not waiting for a reply as she rushed out to go see for herself.

"Val-" she cut herself off as she turned just in time to see the other's figure disappear "..... and she's gone" she shakes her head before stepping under the shower.

She was about to get dressed when Jasmine walked in, going to sit on the bed, not minding the fact that Jessie had been butt naked.

"What?" Jasmine asked, raising a brow when Jessie looked at her "I came to help you get dressed, is that a bad thing now?" 

"Didn't say that, you should have knocked, privacy is needed you know" Jessie replies, pulling her black pop socks on. 

"But you are my-  nevermind, I am sorry I didn't knock on your door," she says emphasizing on the words 'knock' and 'door'

"Stop being sarcastic, and it's good you're here, now, tell me, which shirt would go well with my black skirt? This one or this one?" She inquired, holding two shirts in front of herself as she spoke, one white and the other, green.

"I think you should wear something black instead," Jasmine thinks out loud. 

"Really Jas" she deadpans.

"What? I'm sure it'll look good."

"It's an interview, not a funeral, Jasmine, c'mon, stop playing and tell me what to wear, I think the green one would be nice, and I can match it with my green bag?"

"Yes, it'd be really nice…  but black would be perfect if you ask me" she mutters the last part under her breath.

"Silly" she shakes her head, pulling the green shirt over her head before grabbing her laid-out shoes.

"I have to go get ready for class, love you and you look beautiful! Let me know If you need me to come get you, okay? And Carter is gone" she says with a smile before walking out of the room.

"Okay, I think I got everything I need," Jessie thinks to herself before grabbing her bag.

She walked down the stairs, meeting Valerie there, who insisted on taking a picture of her before wishing her good luck and pushing her out the door.

__________________________________

Her fingers drummed on her green work bag nervously as she waited for the elevator. She said a greeting to the few people she'd met inside when she walked in, getting off and making her way to the reception.

"Hello, good morning," she said leaning in so the woman on the other side could hear her despite the glass separating them.

"Good morning, how can I help you?" she speaks, pulling her nose mask to rest on her chin.

"I was called in for an interview today, I'd like to know where it would be held" 

"Okay, What is your name?"

"Jessica Harvey " 

"Alright, hold on a second" she replies, her fingers running over the keyboard in front of her, clicking sounds filling the air. After a few seconds, she makes a small noise of satisfaction before speaking again  "Take the elevator to room 301, when you get there, look for Mr. Flex, he'll direct you to the conference room" she said, fingers pointing to where the elevator was located.

"Alright, thank you" Jessie smiles politely, before beginning to make her way to the elevator, her nerves acting up and that urge to throw up was back again.

 "You're gonna do great, Jess, you're ready! Just remember everything you practiced and we're good" she mutters to herself, a nod of determination following.

She found the  said Mr. Flex quite easily, the man was nice and friendly, making the nervous feeling in her stomach turn almost nonexistent. She had to wait for about 30 minutes before she was called in to give her presentation and to get interviewed. The fact that the CEO of the company was taking part in the process after allegedly having not done that in a long time did nothing to ease her nerves. 

"Good morning everyone" she greets the people she figured to be board members as she walked in.

"Good morning miss Jessie, how are you?" One of the seated people, a man with a quite feminine voice speaks.

"I am fine, thank you and how're you too?" She replies, smiling brightly.

"I am very well, so tell us what you would be presenting today."

"The importance of art in society, Sir" she answers, smiling unfalteringly.

"Very well then. The floor is yours."  

The lights in the room were switched off for the proper display of her presentation by the projector. She kept her eyes on those in front, the faces she quickly fell familiar with, not noticing when another person joined in as she was too engrossed in the words she read and memorized. She finally made it through her presentation, giving herself a small pat on the back for doing way better than she'd thought, the applause following the lights getting turned brings her out of her reverie.

"That was brilliant," one of the members, a woman says as she claps in awe.

"Thank you, thank you" Jessie couldn't help the way her heart felt like it'd beat out of her chest, both in excitement and nervousness as she continuously bowed to the people in front of her.

"Now, Miss Jessica, I think you did wonderfully, but the final decision is up to the CEO" the man who spoke, and everyone in the room including Jessie, turns to the said person.

Jessie felt her jaw drop at the sight of the man. Williams was sitting behind the table that was labeled 'CEO' in obnoxiously shiny letters, he looked in his element, relaxed on his seat, looking all like he owned the place, his eyes fixed on her with a small smile playing on his lips.

Before she could officially have a mental breakdown as she wonders why and what the hell he was doing here and more importantly, why he was on that seat, her thoughts were interrupted by Mr. Flex.

"Mr. Williams, would you like to leave a comment on the presentation?" 

She would blame Carter's presence first thing in the morning for jinxing this whole thing for her, but, it was very much her own sane decision to fuck the man who apparently, is the CEO of the only place she'd harbored any hopes of getting a job in.

It's official. She was fucked.