Come To Me | Jerrie

Chapter 11

Jade and I don't speak much in the car. Both of us are looking at the new sales figures she received from her secretary when we landed. The numbers look promising and show a shift in the market. I look through a few more emails on my phone, not really paying much attention to where we're going. I shoot a quick text to Leigh-Anne, letting her know we've landed safely. About fifteen minutes later, we pull up to a large office building that's all windows.

I look over at the Thirlwall Security Forces sign and I'm suddenly confused. Clearly, this isn't the production facility. I glance at Jade. She's still engrossed in the figures, so she hasn't noticed we've stopped.

I clear my throat. "Jade, where are we?"

She looks at the building and back at me. "This is my other company. I run a security force that has contracts all over the world. I need to run in and show face for about ten minutes. Would you like to come in?" Her eyes shift back and forth and she sounds genuinely nervous.

Well there's a surprise. The woman owns a cosmetics company and a security company—talk about polar opposites. My eyes widen at her admission and then I recover, smiling softly. "If you'd like me to, sure."

We both exit the car and head over to the entrance. Jade places her hand on my shoulder as she opens the door. Just the small touch sends me into overdrive. I tilt my head and give her a small grin as I enter the office.

It's nothing like Raven Cosmetics. Where that office is almost feminine, this one is modern and masculine with clean lines and distinctive colors. The floors are gray concrete and the walls are cream and royal blue, which makes sense based on the décor from the plane. In the center of the room, there are two big cubicle sections that each seats five people. The left wall is taken up by four large offices with huge mahogany doors.

Jade clears her throat as we make our way into the space. Two guys and a woman stand and smile when they see her. A few other guys stick their hands up, acknowledging her presence, but continue to work.

"Hey, Muffin!" A tan, fit woman with long ginger hair styled back off her face says as she walks over, smiling. Her frame is bigger than Jade's and her arms are covered in tattoos, which might be intimidating if she wasn't so warm and friendly.

"Hey, Jesy." She looks happy to see her. The two women shake hands and clap each other on the shoulder. Jesy turns her attention to me with wide eyes and a large, appraising grin. Jade bristles. "Jesy, this is Perrie. She's the new publicist for the cosmetics company," she says stiffly.

I smile and extend my hand. "Hi, Jesy. Nice to meet you."

Jesy shakes my hand. "Perrie, it's a pleasure. Sorry you have to work with this freak all day." She elbows Jade in the stomach, still smiling at me.

I giggle and reply, "Interesting choice of words. Jade describes herself a little differently."

Jesy raises her eyebrows, looking intrigued by my statement. "Really? What did Muff describe herself as?"

"Muff?" I ask, completely lost.

She howls in laughter. "Yup. That's Jade! She was always a little soft in the middle,"—she leans in—"whereas the rest of us worked out to keep our amazing physiques." She stands back up, beaming. "So we told her she had a muffin top and that stuck as her call sign."

I giggle at the nickname and glance at Jade, who's shooting daggers at Jesy. Turning back to Jesy, I ask, "So what's your call sign?"

Jade places her hand on the small of my back. "Merida and I were both on the same team for four years."

"Merida? Oh, I gotta hear this!" I laugh. Now it's Jesy's turn to give Jade the evil eye.

Jade chuckles and pulls me against her side. "Just look at her hair?" She asks, jutting her chin out in her direction. I nod. These two are another versions of Leigh-Anne and me. It's comforting, considering the day I've had. "Well she looks like that princess in a Disney movie, the one with bow and arrows. One of the guys' wives had some kind of obsession with Disney. So Jesy here is the brave Merida."