His Hired Girlfriend (9 page)

He walks toward the exit,
shoulders slumped. The stupid weather doesn’t help with his mood
either. It’s raining again.

Sorry, Alex, can’t replace your singlet because—What
the!
He does a double take
and grins. There it is.
The
singlet. He
hurries into the small underwear shop that is hidden away from
sight, and his spirit lifts. He browses through, wondering what
size Alex is. Small? Yeah, she’d be a small. He picks one white,
size small and then thinks he’d better take two. Grinning to
himself like an idiot, he strolls over to the counter where the
young woman there is watching him with interest. Then his eyes
catch the bras. He has never been into a lingerie shop before, and
this experience is completely new to him.

His eyes are big and wide as he
takes it all in, bras all in different colors and
sizes, some plain and some with frills. He places the two singlets
on the counter and says, “Hi.”

“
Hi,” the young woman
replies, smiling at him, her eyes appreciating what she sees. She
picks up the two singlets and says, “You’re not from around here,
are you?”

Jay shakes his head as he
eyes her name badge. It says Brandy. He glances at her pretty face
and says, “No.”

She nods and says, “For
your girlfriend?”

Jayden hesitates. Does
buying underwear for Alex means she is his girlfriend? Just to be
on the safe side, he shakes his head. “No, it’s for, um, my
sister.”

Brandy laughs merrily. “Whoa! I’ve never seen guys coming
into this lingerie shop to buy their sisters underwear,” she
comments, her eyes intense on his face.

Jay smiles pleasantly.
“Well, I’m not like most brothers.” Damn, he never thought he was
such a good liar.

Brandy grins as she scans
the barcodes into the computer. She glances up and smiles prettily
at him, fluttering her eyelashes a few times at him. She does her
best flirting with him. Only he isn’t paying her the least bit of
attention. He’s looking at the rows of bras on the other side of
the shop.

“
You want to buy your
sister bras, too?” she asks curiously.

Jay glances at Brandy.
“Yeah,” he says, walking toward the rows of bras.

Brandy follows him. “Do
you know what size she is?”

What size is Alex anyway?
She must be a small, since she is rather tiny in person.

“
She’s about this high,”
he says, indicating with his hand to his chest. “And this thin,” he
continues, also indicating with his two hands of the space in front
of him.

“
I don’t think we can measure the size of her bra from
that.” Brandy shakes her head. “But from what you’re telling me,
she must be a size small?”

Jay nods.

“
I think we should try a size twelve
. Now do you know what cup she is?”

Jay widens his eyes.
“What?”

“
Cups. Do you know what
cup she is? A, B, or C like mine?” Brandy points down, drawing out
her chest just a little bit for him to notice.

Not looking at the sales assistant who is begging for his
attention, Jay glares at the arrays of bras and tries to fit the
bras in front of him onto Alex’s breasts he glimpsed on Sunday
night.
Shit!
The memory comes to him vividly, and
instantly, his mind starts reeling with imagination.

B!
He’s pretty sure
she’s a B.

He says to Brandy, “B.” Then he turns back and picks one
that is a size twelve with a cup B, which is designed beautifully
with light pink laces.

Brandy says, “You’re
done?”

Jay nods.

Once his purchase is done,
Jay thanks Brandy for her help and leaves without a backwards
glance. If he were to look back, he would have seen Brandy watching
him with longing as he walks away.

Jayden strolls the short distant to SAN and waits for Alex
to turn up. He finds the place pleasant this evening as compared to
the hectic pace of that Saturday afternoon. The mood and the
atmosphere are just right for a first date. The lovely soothing
Southeast Asian music, the golden hue of light from the waterfall
chandelier, and the cozy décor of red, gold, and brown all set the
theme for a romantic night. A pretty young waitress places two
menus in front of him, pours him a glass of water, and politely
tells him she’ll be back when his friend arrives. Jay nods
pleasantly and then scans the menu. A moment later he sees Alex
entering the restaurant.

“
Hey,” she says, sliding into the chair opposite
him.

“
Hey,” he replies. “How
was work?”

“
Good. Have you ordered?”
she asks, taking off her jacket.

“
No, I was hoping you’d be able to help me,” he says
sheepishly.

“
That I can,” she replies,
picking up the menu. “Don’t worry. The food here is very healthy.
Do you like barbeque?”

“
Yep.”

“
Good. I think you should
go for the Fusion. You get all kinds of barbeque meat in Cambodian
style.”

“
Sounds good. I’ll have
that.”

“
Okay
,” Alex says,
smiling.

Once the young waitress
has taken their orders, Jay holds out the shopping bag toward
Alex.

Alex glances up to see the
pink bag, which looks oddly familiar, dangling in front of her.
“For me?”

He nods. She takes it and
peeks inside. She sees the neatly folded singlets and bra. The
singlets are exactly the same one he spilled beer on, and the bra
is unlike any she has ever used before. This one is pretty with
pink laces and frills. She usually wears plain black or white. She
blushes and gazes at him, her eyes large.

“
You don’t have to do
that, you know.” She couldn’t imagine how on earth he managed to
buy her underwear.

“
I know, but I want to,
considering the fact that I’ve destroyed your singlet. Well, aren’t
you going to thank me?”

Alex blushes. “Thank you.” She doesn’t mind accepting the
gift. After all, he did damage her singlet. Not that it’s
completely damaged, of course. It’s still wearable.

“
Hey, I’ve got something
for you as well,” she says and takes out his jersey from her bag.
“Here.”

“
Oh, whoa, thank you very much. You didn’t forget after
all.”

“
Nope, I didn’t. Okay
,
let’s get down to business then.”

Jay leans forward then.
“Look, I’ll be leaving in two days’ time. How much are you
asking?”

Alex bites her lip. “Are
you sure you don’t mind about the price?”

“
Nope.”

“
Thing is I’m not exactly
sure as yet. Can I tell you when I know? It’s the full price for
Dad’s heart transplant.”

Jay studies her for a moment and then nods. “Sure, that’s
fine. But since I’m leaving soon, I’ll give you my cell phone
number and my e-mail address. How about that?”

Alex agrees with a nod of
her head.

Their food arrives, and
Alex watches as Jay enjoys his various barbeque meats marinated in
sauces he has never tasted before.

* * *

S
even

Eight Weeks later

NEW YORK CITY, USA

Alex is tired
and frustrated. Finally, she thinks with some small triumph, she
has arrived in New York City. Now standing there in the lobby of
LaGuardia Airport, she just wants to collapse on the floor and
rest. Where is Jayden anyway? Oh, God! What if he forgot to come
and get her? Well, she can’t blame him if he has because she is
late. She was supposed to have arrived yesterday afternoon. But
being the clumsy, inexperienced traveler that she is, she managed
to miss the flight from Sydney to Los Angeles and then the rest was
history. She is still upset she missed that flight. It was first
class. Now she would never know what it’s like sitting in that
luxurious, comfy seat with the air hostess serving her every
need.
Damn!

Turning her attention back to her dilemma, she thinks if
she doesn’t see Jay within the next five minutes, she’ll take a
taxi and check into the nearest hotel. Then she’ll give him a ring
to tell him where she is.

She drags her luggage
across the vast terminal and walks toward the rows of seats near
the window. She searches around just in case Jayden is somewhere
nearby, waiting for her. When she sees only the faces of strangers,
she sighs and slumps on the seat.

“
Alex!”

Her stomach knots. She turns. “Jay!” she murmurs. Her
throat is so tight her voice is barely above a whisper. She rushes
over to him with her heavy bag in tow. Before she knows what she’s
about, she drops the luggage and hugs him hard. With her face
snuggled against his chest, her arms around his middle, and tears
brewing in her eyes, she whispers, “Jay, I’m sorry.” Then it’s
suddenly too much for her. Perhaps she’s too tired and can’t
control her emotions anymore. She starts whimpering and tears roll
down her flushed cheeks.

Jayden wraps his arms around her quivering form. People
look at them with knowing smiles on their faces.
Ah, the lovers finally
reunited.

Alex draws back and
glances up at him, her eyes red and lips trembling.

Jay sees her face, which
is inches from his, and his heart nearly breaks. She looks like
she’s been through hell. He cups her face in his hands and says
gently, “Hey, I’m here now. I told you I’d be here, didn’t I?” Then
he wipes her tears with his thumb.

Alex swallows and nods. “I know, but when I didn’t see you
I thought—and then I saw you, and I—”

“
Hey, come on. You’re
tired,” he says and then turns to pick up her luggage. “My car is
this way.”

Alex sniffs and then wipes her tears. “Okay,” she says and
follows him toward the exit.

The crisp night air soothes both Alex’s emotions and her
overheated skin. She takes a few deep breaths and tells herself
everything is all right now. Yes, Jayden is going to look after her
and nothing bad is going to happen. She glances at him to make sure
her tired mind hadn’t played tricks on her. Just to confirm for
herself, she touches his arm as he leads her to his car.

“
Did you wait
long?”

Alex shakes her head. She
releases her hold on his arm and lowers her head, wondering why she
has been crying and hugging him like a lover.

“
Here’s my
car.”

Alex can’t help but widen her eyes with admiration at the
black
Mercedes-Benz
.

Jay says, “Hop in,” as he
loads her luggage into the boot.

Alex wastes no time
sliding into the passenger seat. “Nice car,” she comments, glancing
at Jay beside her.

“
Thanks,” Jay replies,
starting the engine.

Even this late at night, or rather early in the morning,
the roads are still busy with cars and trucks coming and going. She
wonders if the people in New York ever sleep. The city itself must
be beautiful, if only she could see. It is rather dark even though
there are street lights everywhere, like dots of stars. A while
later, after her fascination has waned, she settles herself more
comfortably in her seat and rests her head against the cool
window.

Jay glances at her. “Are
you tired?”

She nods at him with a
weary smile.

“
I apologize for picking
those flights for you. I should have chosen a flight straight from
Auckland to New York instead of—”

“
Don’t worry about it, Jayden. I’m here, aren’t I? So
everything’s fine,” she says, thinking that it has, in fact, never
been fine. As if getting disorientated and lost in another country
wasn’t bad enough, a taxi driver back in LA ripped her off and even
made a move on her. The very thought of that fat, malicious man
causes her to shudder with anxiety. She wonders if all taxi drivers
are like that, trying to rape her because she looks young. Luckily
she has a strong will. She shouted at him to leave her alone when
he had driven her to an isolated spot and had tried to take
advantage of her. Then he said that if she wanted him to let her
go, she’d have to give him all her money. She was angry then, and
she threw what cash she had on his face and rushed out of the car.
Afterward, she found herself another taxi. Luckily this time the
driver was a woman.
Thank
God!

“
Are you cold?”

She glances at him and
shakes her head.

Jayden knows something is wrong, and she refuses to tell
him what. He won’t prod. He’ll wait until she trusts him fully,
then she’ll tell him when she’s ready.

He is still angry at himself for picking those flights for
her. He knows she is an inexperienced traveler. She told him so
numerous times via their e-mails. He blames his impatience for
this. He wanted her to come as soon as possible and booked her
flights for her before she even agreed. Now he wonders again for
the hundredth time why he was so eager for her to come to New
York.