"Nice dress," Jade thought as the door shut behind him. She looked down at it. "Did he not pick it?" It was unrelated, but it crossed her mind anyway. She continued thinking, "If he picked the dress, then he should have known that it was beautiful except… he is admiring it on me." At the thought of that, Jade pretended to puke before returning to the table to finish setting up.
As soon as the table was set, she hurried downstairs and instructed the guards helping out on what food to arrange on the table in the conference room. The dishes were plated and sealed with a transparent cover before being sent upstairs through the elevator on a trolley. Jade seemed to enjoy every moment of it subconsciously. It reminded her so much of those days when she would serve food at events with Ann Becker, the thrill and rush to make sure that everything was served just right and on time too.
She realized how much she loved being in control when it came to kitchen matters and perhaps why she had not escaped yet, because the card had been with her all along. Oh, but she did not forget. Jade had been observing. She had also tested the card on a random door and it unlocked, proving to her that it was similar to the ones the other guards had. "But why wasn't John able to unlock the conference room?" That question lingered.
From her calculations, only half the guests had arrived. The boss was out there with them and she only stepped out a few times to give him a drink when he requested it. Like he said, she did not serve anyone else but him. Even when a guest called her attention for a refill, one of the guards stepped in almost immediately and took over. They had been briefed by the boss, it seemed, but why?
Jade had also not seen any familiar faces like he said she would. The people she had seen so far looked very corporate and organized, not like the thugs she had been expecting to see, so why the strong alcohol? Quite a number of things were unsettling. She could not shake off the feeling that something awful was going to happen tonight. Unfortunately, she would not be there to witness it, or so she thought.
All this while, Jade had been waiting for the President to arrive. Ten minutes turned to twenty and he was nowhere to be found. He was the missing piece to her escape plan and until he showed up, she could not move, could not run, not yet. There were no backup plans in the back of her mind unless she had to make one soon.
However, that would not be necessary. Another guard, not John, came down to the kitchen to get her, saying that the boss needed her upstairs. Jade got the memo. The President had arrived and her services were needed. Quickly she moved out of the kitchen, through the elevator and to the conference room. She took a deep breath before opening the door and almost crawled out of her skin when all eyes turned in her direction.
He was staring at her. The President of the country, the man she thought she would only see on television, was now in front of her just like any other man. There was not a single guard in sight, just him, the boss and two other men, but Jade did not quite recognize them.
The man who has no name spoke first, "Please dear, the President needs to be served."
"Dear?" The word rang several times in her ears like something otherworldly. But there was no time to think. She acted quickly. The food was on the table and she just needed to serve the President exactly what he wanted.
As she approached the table, the President handed her his menu with a smile. She received it warmly and noticed that he had already marked the dishes he would like. While she worked on it, the president turned to the boss and said, "You have a lovely wife, Van. I never thought a man like you was capable of love."
When he said those words, Jade tried not to react. Two things came to mind. One, did he just call her his wife, did the boss tell him that? And two, what did the President just call him, Van? Well, that might be the closest she had ever been to his name.
At the President's words, the boss simply smiled, but Jade did not notice. "What can I say, Mark," he said. "It is not good for a man to be alone." They both burst into laughter, the rich men kind, very brief and almost fake, if she were to say.
"Did he just call the President Mark?" Jade wondered. "They are friends? That's crazy. What would the President be doing with someone who goes to a place where women are sold to buy himself a chef and then lie that she is his wife not to get into legal trouble? That's just disgusting."
"Oh, thank you, my darling," the President commended as she served his tray in front of him, neat and perfect. "Van told me that you are quite the chef. He has been bragging about it, so I thought why not come and experience it myself?"
"He was talking about me with the President?" Jade's internal monologue went haywire. It was hard to imagine, considering how cold and indifferent he acted around her. But it did not end there. The boss, or rather Van now that she knew it was part of his name, called Jade's attention, but not like he used to. Instead he said,
"Sweetie, here is mine."
Jade looked at him, eyes widening. He acted like it was nothing, but Jade was so uncomfortable with this arrangement. If only he had told her before now, then she would know how to act accordingly. Now she did not know how to respond to him or how to react to all this sweet talk.
Before she could move, the President exclaimed, "My goodness." All eyes turned. "You have magic fingers, and yet my chefs are masterclass but it is never this good."
Jade could almost roll her eyes in disdain. She thought he was just overreacting because he was in a safe space with his friend. Also, it was kind of unsettling watching the President act so… human. Jade smiled, she wanted to say thank you, but no words came out of her mouth. Without further delay she retrieved Van's menu and served his tray. She did the same for the other two men and just when she thought it was over and that it was time to leave, the President suggested,
"Oh, why don't she stay and have dinner with us?"
Jade's eyes widened. "I…" she wanted to speak, but then Van chimed in,
"Oh yes, sweetie, please join us."
He smiled at her… Van actually smiled at her. That was something she had not seen at all. It was safe to say that it made Jade even more uncomfortable seeing Van act more human, like a loving husband. It made her skin crawl.
"I really shouldn't," she politely declined, smiling softly at the President. "I just want you two to have a good time. I gathered that it has been a while since you both sat together like this. I do not want to interrupt."
"Nonsense," the President scoffed. "I have a feeling you are returning to the kitchen. You just do not know how rich your husband is, he can hire millions to take care of those things. But who am I to stop you? Carry on."
Jade sighed, smiled and curtsied before heading out of the conference room. Whatever expression Van had on his face the whole time, she had not noticed. However, as soon as she was out of the room, he stood up.
"I will be right back with you," he excused himself to go after her.