The cheap liquor seared Jessica's throat as she downed another shot. Third? Fourth? Who's counting? Counting used brain cells, and hers had all quit work.
"Another," she slurred, sliding the empty glass down the sticky bar.
The bartender, a big, friendly-looking man who looks like someone's father, shook his head. "Maybe you should call someone, sweetheart."
Jessica laughed, dry and harsh. "Call someone? Hilarious.".
She pulled out her phone, its broken screen glinting. The wallpaper still showed her and David from their recent mountain retreat last month, him embracing her waist, both of them grinning like idiots.
What a joke.
"My boyfriend's too busy fucking some brunette in our bed," she announced to the empty space. "And my best friend's somehow vanished off the face of the earth."
The bartender winced. "Rough night?
"Tough life." She scrolled through her contacts with shaking fingers. "Six months in country A for work. Six months of yearning for him, calling him every night, turning down every handsome guy who bought her a drink…"
Straight to Lily's voicemail again.
"And for what?" Jessica's voice rose. "To return home and find him snorting on top of some girl who doesn't even feign downward-facing dog?"
The pair sitting in the next table shot her nasty looks. Jessica didn't care.
She'd cared about everything for twenty-five years, her own grades, her own work, David's feelings, everyone else's ease. And where had it led her?
Soused and alone in Murphy's Bar.
"Need some air," she muttered, pushing herself off the stool.
"You okay?" the bartender shouted after her.
"Never better!" she lied, stumbling out into the night.
Night air slapped with a whack. October in Country M didn't mess around, and her sweater could have been as pale as tissue paper. She huddled arms around herself, teeth chattering, eyes raking the largely empty lot.
A single car broke beneath the streetlight, a sleek black Mercedes that probably cost more than she earned in a year. Its motor revved, windows shaded darker than she was able to see through.
Jessica danced in its direction. Someone wealthy. Someone who could call a proper cab instead of having me standing there for forty-five minutes waiting for a sketchy ride-share.
Before reason intervened, she knocked on the driver's window.
Nothing.
The window rolled down half-way, revealing a young man in a navy business suit and wire-rimmed glasses. His polite smile couldn't quite hide the wariness in his eyes.
"May I help you, miss?"
Jessica leaned back from the car door, grasping for support. "I just… I need to go home. Please."
"Sorry, but we're in the middle of an importa.."
"Oscar."
The voice from inside was low, even, commanding. Jessica's heart tightened.
Oscar glanced back over his shoulder at the interior. "Yes, Mr. Cross?"
"What is it?"
"There's a young woman who wants a ride, sir. She appears to be intoxicated."
Jessica moved towards the window. Her words shook with despair. "I'm not insane. My friend is not responding, and I just"
The world spun.
Her legs buckled, the ground swooping up to hit her. A car door closed somewhere.
"Sir! She's fallen!" Oscar's voice sounded distant, a muffle.
"Get her into the car. Now."
Muscle arms picked her up, and Jessica detected the faintest scent of leather and perfume before everything went foggy once more.
"Miss? Can you hear me?" Oscar's voice was closer now, insistent. "What's your address?"
Her mouth was opening, but she could make no sound. The vodka had knocked her speech out.
"She's not responding, sir."
There was a moment's pause, then that firm voice again.
"Take her to the house."
"Are you sure? We don't know"
"She needs help. We'll sort the rest later."
The Mercedes pulled away smoothly, its movement taking Jessica into unconsciousness.
The car glided through Country M most exclusive neighborhoods, past iron gates and sprawling lawns lit up like magazine spreads.
Then it appeared, White Villa.
The estate rose from the darkness like something out of a dream, all marble columns and warm golden light spilling across immaculate gardens.
Oscar stopped at the front steps. "We're here, sir."
Jaden looked at the unconscious woman beside him. She was younger, more fragile in sleep. A strain of hair had fallen over her cheek. He pushed it away before he could stop himself.
What the devil am I doing?
The front doors groaned open. Harold, fifteen years his butler, stepped outside with dignified ease, his silver hair immaculate even at midnight.
"Mr. Cross?" He looked aside at the woman in Jaden's arms, even as his voice remained unaffected. "Shall I have the guest room prepared?"
"Please. And keep this subdued."
If Harold was surprised, he didn't show it, though the minute raise of his eyebrow said it all. In all the years he'd been working for Jaden, never had his boss brought a woman home.
"Of course, sir.".
They entered the grand foyer, the chandelier casting light on marble floors and priceless paintings. Housekeepers appeared wordlessly at Harold's gesture.
"Prepare the Guest Room. Fresh linens. Morning attire."
Jaden lifted Jessica up to the second floor. She groggily mumbled something incoherent before becoming motionless again.
The Guest Room glowed softly in cream and blush tones, overlooking the moonlit garden. Jaden laid her down on the bed, pulling a cashmere throw over her.
She looked impossibly small against the expanse of silk sheets. Out of place in every way.
What's your story?
Harold appeared at the door. "Is there anything else, sir?"
"Dinner in my room. And ensure she has whatever she needs when she wakes."
"Of course."
They left the room together. At the top of the stairs, Harold hesitated. "Excuse me, sir… how did you obtain her?"
"Tapped on my window," Jaden said matter-of-factly. "Requested aid."
"And you helped her."
It wasn't a query.
"She reminds me of someone," Jaden said at last.
Harold asked no questions.
Later, in his own room, Jaden sat by the window, dinner going cold. City lights sparkled in the distance, but his thoughts were where the stranger slept in the Guest Room.
Tomorrow, he told himself. Tomorrow I'll know what to do with Jessica.