17

“Fuck! Jasmine, ma’am” he called while he shook her gently

“Yes?” she replied sleepily, slowly opening her eyes.

“Oh! Ms. Juanita” Jasmine said, as she gradually identified Cory’s mom in front of her.

“We’ll be late,” Cory tells her bringing her focus back to him.

Juanita stands there, watching the conversation play in front of her, whilst wondering when Cory had begun addressing his boss by her first name.

“What?” Jasmine asked.

“We’ll be late! You have to get ready ma’am!” he reiterates and turns to his mom whispering to her ‘I’ll explain later’

“How did this happen?” Jasmine asked as they both climbed the stairs.

“No more Caribbean fish stew for dinner” Cory jokes, as she disappears up the stairs leading to the master suite.

The prolonged conference had finally come to an end. It felt endless like it had been going on for days. The Chinese didn’t seem to have a final offer without having to confer with their broker and Cory could see how this frustrated Jasmine. The implication was that they had to reconvene another time. He on the other hand desperately needed a wee break as he was feeling severe spasms.

He watched these conservatively dressed business execs argue back and forth while scrutinizing multiple documents and seeking clarification for certain queries. He found it particularly interesting how meticulous and thorough they were in their negotiations. Cramps aside, he had learned so much from this meeting, he thought to himself.

He did enjoy catching Jasmine staring at him on multiple occasions, almost like she was waiting for him to look back. They would share a glance while everyone was engrossed in discussion. He liked the fact their conversation last night was coming to life and Jasmine was sneaking time out of all the work in front of her to glance at him.

“Thank you for your time Mr. Zhao” Cory watches Jasmine say, as she extends her hand in a shake.

“It’s my pleasure, Miss Grant, we look forward to discussing this further with you”

“Likewise,” Jasmine tells him with a warm smile, before leaving the room, followed closely by Cory.

“What else do you have for me?” Jasmine asks Lisa, who was waiting for her by the door.

“Nothing else ma’am. Our flight leaves in a little over an hour” Lisa tells her.

“I see. Well then, Cory” she calls, turning to him.

“Yes ma’am” he answered .

“I have to check out a few things quickly, I’ll need you to drive?”

“Yes ma’am” Cory replies, adding a nod to it.

“Do you need me to come with you?” Lisa asked, hoping she would say yes.

“No, not at all. I’ll be fine. I’d like you to be in charge here before I’m back. Cory and I would meet you guys at the airport, sounds fine?” Jasmine asks.

“Yes, yes it does”

“Perfect”

“Let’s go, Cory,” Jasmine tells him before walking away.

Cory follows, taking a glance at Lisa, who doesn’t look pleased at all that Jasmine has asked her to stay behind. Well, he didn’t care, he was looking forward to spending a few minutes alone with Jasmine.

“Damien, you’re in charge, be back in a few” Cory speaks into his telecom.

“Yes, boss!” Damien replies immediately.

Cory follows Jasmine as he leads the way in front of them, typing something on her phone while he surveys the vicinity making sure nothing looks out of the ordinary. They were finally out of the building, so he quickly walked past her to open the door for her.

“Today, I’m driving,” Jasmine says, leaving Cory confused and shocked.

A part of him wanted to burst out laughing, but she looked serious, so he quickly refrained from doing that. What did she mean she was driving? She was not being serious, right?

“Excuse me?” Cory said, almost like a whisper.

“You heard me, I’m driving. So, give me the keys” Jasmine said, this time even more serious.

Cory was always a man with a plan, he found it easy to come out of every hard situation, but this right now, was beyond him. What was Jasmine up to? He looked around and saw some of his men standing by the building. It didn’t look like they were focused on what he and Jasmine were doing, but he couldn’t take any chances.

What would happen if one of them saw her driving and him sitting in the passenger’s seat? What if word spread and her dad got to find out? He didn’t hire him to let his daughter drive, he could lose his job. He couldn’t start telling Jasmine all of these things though, not right now.

“Okay, but let me drive you out of here first. Everyone can see us” Cory tells her.

“Fine, but I’ll take over when we get past a few blocks from here. Deal?” she asked him with a stern face, she was really serious.

“Deal” Cory agrees, hoping that she wouldn’t want to anymore once he had taken the wheel because if she insisted again, he had no excuse to bring up.

“Good,” She says with a grin, before finally entering the car and letting Cory close the door.

Cory hurriedly walks to the driver’s seat, taking a deep breath and sighing before entering the car. He starts the engine before adjusting his rearview mirror.

“Where to?” he asks, loud enough for Jasmine to hear him.

“I sent you a location,” She tells him.

Cory picks up his phone to check what she has sent. A smile creeps on his face as he sees the name of the place. He chuckles before shifting the car into gear, of course, she was going shopping!