Chapter 18: First Date
Vanessa, who was unavoidably late again because of Cynthia's unexpected heart break which, delayed her, was standing at the entrance of the park. She had to book an Uber because she was running out of time. Lately, she has been booking too many Uber, which was not good for her little pocket.
It was past 6 pm, the sun was setting and there was a mix of orange hue in the sky. A stunning blonde was seen in front of a local neighbor's park. Since she was already late, she expected that the client had already arrived at the location. The park atmosphere was harmonious, several couples were strolling around and some families with their dogs and children were playing and running around despite it was already getting late. There was a subtle romantic atmosphere coupled with the lovely sunset.
Lilac: I am here already, where are you?
Joel: you are late.
Jayden was a businessman who valued punctuality above everything, time is money, they say. He hated to be kept waiting for any reason.
Lilac: sorry something came up, but I am already at the location.
Joel: where are you exactly?
Lilac: close to the entrance. It would be hard to miss me.
There wasn't any other reply. Vanessa stood close to the entrance for a while, wondering if her client had stood her up.
"This job is more annoying than I imagined." She groaned. Then checked the DM again, but there was still no reply.
" Miss Davison," a masculine voice called out. Vanessa turned to the direction where the voice was coming from with a slight frown on her face.
" Hi, you are Lilac Davison right waiting for Joel." A young man around 27 years old asked Vanessa. Vanessa gauged her appearance, he was not that impressive, although he had a good body build and height. His face was a little above average.
" Are you Joel, the one I am waiting for." Vanessa tried to confirm his identity because being kidnapped was the last thing she had in mind. There was no way her family would be able to pay the ransom.
" Not exactly. I am the chauffeur of the person you are waiting for. Would you mind following, you don't have to be scared? No one would harm you in a busy park like this." The young man assured Vanessa, who was already wary of his appearance. Vanessa had some doubts in her mind, but she reluctantly nodded to the stranger.
The young man led her across the road a few meters from the entrance to a black car parked near the road. Vanessa wasn't very knowledgeable about vehicles, but she could guess the car was expensive with her little knowledge. The young man opened the back seat door for Vanessa and gestured for her to get in. He closed the door behind her and then moved to the driver's seat.
Vanessa was so astonished by the Intricate interior of the car that she failed to realize the presence of another young man sitting by her in the back seat.
Jayden looked at the girl whose eyes were sparkling like how little a child looks at her Christmas present. She was ignoring him, being so caught up in her little world that she was completely unaware of her presence. Where the*l*l was she from, she reminds him of that rude rabbit he met at the Sheraton hotel the other day.
Jayden involuntary released his cold aura making the vehicle feel suffocating that the driver in front was already releasing cold sweats. ' Why did his boss's mood suddenly change? He had successfully found the person he sent him to get.'
Ignorant Vanessa felt the tension in the car and was forced to leave her little world that was when she finally realized the presence of the cold dashing man with an aristocratic presence, she was thunderstruck at how handsome he looked, she was sure they have not met before, but there was this irrevocable familiarity she felt like she has seen him before, but she quickly pushed those thoughts away. There was no way she had met this man before that she would not be able to remember him.
"Are you, are you, Joel?" Vanessa stuttered, trying to force the words from her mouth. She was under too much pressure from his suffocating and domineering presence.
Jayden lifted one of her elegant brows, 'why was she stammering all of a sudden,' he was a little confused by Vanessa's behavior but this was not the time to question all that he had an important task at hand. " Yes and no, you are Lilac Davison, right?"
Vanessa was confused by his ambiguous reply, what did he mean by yes and no? She thought the person from earlier said he was taking her to Joel. " Yes, I am Lilac."
Jayden could immediately recognize Vanessa's confused expression, and he explained himself. There was no time to waste. " Yes, I am Joel, I booked you on the Family Fantasy app." He showed Vanessa their previous chat to assure her.
Vanessa could relax a bit. "So I am your date for the next hour and thirty minutes, so where do we start from." Vanessa chimed, she was trying to put on an act to look fun based on Cynthia's previous advice.
Jayden chuckled at Vanessa's poor acting skills, he thought they claimed all their employees were seasoned actors. " Let me go straight to the point, I am not here for a date, but I have a good offer for you. If you had to accompany me to a private more like public event, the Vinci annual gala this night." Jayden cooly stated he spoke like a businessman trying to strike a business deal.
" I am sorry I cannot do that, I am only a tier 1. I cannot accompany you to such high-scale events." Vanessa replies, choosing her words carefully not to offend 'Joel'. Of course, she knew the Vinci annual gala, it was one of the biggest events in the high society at her previous job she had heard customers mention it on several occasions about how difficult it was to get an invitation and that is the fact puzzling Vanessa the more. This man is very handsome and from his car, if it is indeed his, must be rich. Then, if you consider the fact he was invited to the Vinci annual gala, that means he had a very impressive high-class background.
So how can someone like him be unable to get a girlfriend or any close friend to accompany him that he had to use a rental? This was fishy. Vanessa squinted her eyes at Jayden while her lips were pressed to a straight line she was trying to know what was going on in this man's head, maybe he was a fraud.
Jayden rolled his eyes at Vanessa's reaction her thoughts were written on her face. No, thanks to Petra, he was in this fishy situation. " Joel if that's even your real name this entire situation seems fishy, I guess our date ends here, please leave a good review and rating on my profile, thanks." Vanessa turned to reach out for the door to step out of the car.
But her hand was grabbed by Jayden, then she was pulled back towards Jayden. He was towering over her and his rich minty breath was fanning over her face. Their present position looked so intimate, that the driver saw this from the rear mirror and immediately raised the blinds to separate the car. He did not want to interfere or see something he shouldn't.
From their position Vanessa could see his distinct chisel jaw and his devilishly handsome face more clearly that she couldn't help but blush, she had never been this close to anyone this handsome before. Jayden saw the pinkish tint on her cheeks and realized how improper their position was, if someone saw them now they would misunderstand thinking they were about to kiss. This was improper for someone like him who was already in a serious relationship.
He released his hold on Vanessa and then moved a little bit, creating some distance between them. Vanessa also realized the same thing because she shifted from her previous position to create some distance and then shyly bowed her head to avoid his gaze, she had to reorganize her thoughts. Why was she behaving like a teenager, she was better than this? This was her job, she kept on repeating those words in her head.
Jayden nervously cleared his throat. What just happened? He had to get back to his task. Vanessa lifted her head When she heard Jayden clearing his throat, her shy and blushing expression was nowhere to be found. She had organized her emotions immediately.
Jayden decided to come clean because the time was already ticking. " I am Jayden Ashford. You might have heard of me, the CEO of JayxTech."
Vanessa's eyes shot open, expressing her amazement, no wonder he looked familiar. Although there were no clear pictures of Jayden Ashford online, there were some blurry ones and the profile of this man matched Jayden Ashford.
No f***king was her client was the actual Jayden Ashford, the tech genius and one of the most popular business figures in Port Marino. Her eyes were wide as saucers. If that was true, it would explain how he was able to get an invitation to the Vinci annual gala.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone