Behind Their Veneers

IV

"When I agreed to go with you, I didn't think it would be so soon," Jordan mused as he watched her sip her cup of coffee while scrolling through her phone.

Carol hadn't called him to inform him of her visit. Now, her visiting unannounced wasn't the problem because this wasn't the first time but her dropping the bomb on him that they were visiting the therapist today, was the real problem.

He was on his way to the head branch of his wine industry in Napa valley, California and he had informed Skull to get the private jet ready for departure. He was scheduled to leave by 10p.m and with all things being equal, he would be back in Manhattan by tomorrow morning, but as he had attempted to place his hand on the door knob, he was almost slammed in the face by Carol who was already opening the door on the other side.

Thinking that it was just one of her usual visits, he had told her of his business trip, since she was already familiar with his house but as he had attempted to leave, her words had stopped him.

"Cancel whatever plans you have today, we're visiting the therapist," she had instructed as she dropped her purse onto his couch and sauntered into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee.

"What?" He asked as he followed behind her and placed his briefcase on top of the black marble kitchen counter.

"I'm certain you heard me clearly, J," she retorted without turning around as she turned on the automatic coffee machine.

"You didn't tell me this before," he frowned as he loosened his tie. He already knew he wasn't going to win the argument this morning and it was still too early to handle an obstinate Carol and his decision to not argue had been the right choice when she had turned to him with a glare, screaming 'don't you dare me this morning.'

They both remained quiet, the only sound in the room being the whirring noise from the coffee machine. He quickly sent a text to Skull, postponing his trip until evening after the cursed therapy session.

The sound came to a stop and Carol turned around with a cup of coffee in hand. Jordan raised an eyebrow in question seeing as she only held one cup.

"What?" She asked as she took in his questioning gaze before blowing air into the chinaware and taking a sip of the hot liquid.

"I thought you made one for me as well."

"Did you ask?" She raised a stubborn eyebrow at him, tauntingly taking another sip of her coffee. He rolled his eyes before making a move towards the automatic coffee machine.

"Besides, I made latte. We all know how much you love your black, bitter espresso. . . I don't know how you could manage to drink that thing anyway," she shuddered as she walked out of the kitchen, leaving him to make his own coffee.

He wasn't a fan of sugary things and black coffee just came naturally as a favourite for him, especially espresso which always reminded him of his own life; bitter and acrid.

He walked out of the kitchen and found his sister on the couch with her phone in one hand and the cup of coffee in the other. She giggled as she read something from her phone and soon enough her phone rang. Hastily, she dropped the cup on the coffee table before springing to her feet. She ran into the kitchen but he caught the slight pink on her cheeks.

He shrugged it off as he brought out his laptop from the briefcase and began working on some files his personal assistant had sent to him the night before.

'Might as well get some work done.'

For a few minutes, he worked while sipping his cup of coffee as he heard Carol's consistent giggles and hushed whispers.