A Business Love

chapter 37.1

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Julian looked over at Jessie typing on her laptop like a mad woman. Everything was as usual; they came to his place after work, they ate, talked and cuddled and then they both started working on their laptops. Yet, he felt that something was off with his girl, but he couldn't tell what.

"Baby, you well?" he asked out of nowhere.

She looked up to him in surprise. "Yeah, why?"

"Dunno," he said shrugging one shoulder.

Everything was not okay. She was in complete turmoil but tried her damn hardest to pretend that everything was fine. After the catastrophic misunderstanding they have had, she refused to express her disappointment about her career's downfall to Julian, lest he suddenly broke up with her again. She absolutely didn't want to lose him. She was an insecure wreck.

He looked at her intently while she went back to typing on her laptop. She couldn't fool him. He was so obsessed with her that he noticed even the slightest changes in her expression and body language. In this instance, she kept biting her lower lip and she occasionally bit her nails, which was something she never did, unless something was wrong; she was not a nail biter.

"You're stressed," he said.

Jessie looked up to him surprised again. "What? No."

"That wasn't a question."

She was distraught. How could he read her so well?

"What's wrong?" he asked, seeing with her expression that he was right.

She sighed. "I'll tell you, but don't break up with me."

"Stop saying that!" he exclaimed annoyed.

"Well, we never know! Better safe than sorry..."

"I'm not gonna break up with you, Jess. I'll stay with you forever."

"Yeah right," she said rolling her eyes. "You don't even want to live with me anymore."

He suddenly raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me? You're the one who declined my offer, if I recall correctly."

She shook her head as if to dismiss his comments and said, "Well, only fools never change their minds. And as a matter of fact, I was going to accept your offer, but that day, you chose violence and brutally broke up with me."

"You're gonna hold that against me forever, aren't you?" He smirked.

She shrugged her shoulders. "You chose your path. I'm just walking in it," she said squinting her eyes.

"Ok, come on. Tell me what's wrong now," he asked again.

She got serious again. "Well...apparently, I'm a whore. And I wouldn't mind that much if they said I was your whore. But they're saying I'm a whore who apparently sleeps around with anybody that can get her promoted."

Julian was disgusted and shocked by what he was hearing.

"What?! Who the heck is saying this?!"

"It doesn't matter. Everyone believes it. I knew I would be discredited but I didn't think people would believe stuff like that. I feel like everybody hates me."

Julian was so disconnected from the lower levels team members that he had no idea how things socially function amongst them. Now he understood why she had been so upset when he had first told her that they needed to disclose their relationship. She must have known what was going to happen.