He looked at Jessie for just a moment as if trying to assess her truthfulness. Giving in, he nodded in surrender and left.
Unbeknownst to Jessie, she had an audience. Brian had been watching her from the moment she stepped off of the dance floor. He thought it was quite interesting that it appeared as though she’d just turned down one of Hollywood’s up and coming actors.
Chapter 6
Téa and Michael finally made their way from the dance floor. She spotted Jessie, and they made their way over to her table.
Jessie couldn’t help but notice Téa’s rosy cheeks and the twinkle in her eyes as she sat down.
“Hey you! What are you doing sitting over here by yourself? I thought you were out on the dance floor.”
Jessie mischievously leaned over and whispered into Téa’s ear, “What? I didn’t think you noticed anything but Michael.”
Téa cocked her head to the side. “Ha ha, real funny. Anyway, I thought you were having a good time with that guy you were dancing with, or was that ‘Exodus’ having a good time?”
Michael was looking confused, “I’m sorry who is Exodus? I thought your name was Jessica?”
Téa explained, “Exodus is the alter ego that Jessie sometimes uses for work; she is bold and brash.”
Michael still looked a little confused, “So, are you an actress then?”
Jessie squirmed in her seat and glared at Téa before addressing Michael.
“No, I’m not an actress. I own a Security Management firm.” Then turning to look at Téa, “And to you my friend, Exodus did NOT make an appearance tonight thank you very much.”
Téa continued to tease Jessie, “Sometimes it’s hard to tell.”
Jessie rolled her eyes, “I had a good time. I just thought I’d take a break once they slowed the music down.”
Michael turned around to see his brother being mobbed by guests trying to get that last bit of face-time now that the party was over.
“Excuse me ladies. I need to rescue my brother. Téa it might take a while, but I’m hoping you and Jessie can stick around for a little while longer.”
Téa turned to look at Jessie to see if she was alright with it. Jessie nodded her approval since she didn’t want to ruin the obvious budding connection.
After Téa gave Michael the green light, he instructed those two burly assistants to take them to a quiet part of the house that had been roped off from guests.
It was a quiet and cozy room. Jessie plopped down on the couch and kicked her shoes off. Téa did the same.
Jessie yawned. “Téa…you better be glad I love you like a sister. I am exhausted and we still have at least an hour and a half drive ahead of us. What time is it anyway?”
Téa pulled her cell phone from her clutch, “It’s about 3:15 a.m. Wait a minute…why did Max text you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play innocent with me Jessie. I can clearly see he texted you around 2:30 a.m. I gave him specific instructions NOT to text us this weekend.”
Jessie pulled out her phone and inspected it. “How did you know he text me? What did you do to my phone?”
“I’m the world’s best hacker! You know there’s not anything I can’t do or get into. I don’t care how much money you spend on the latest technology. I’ll always be a couple of steps ahead. And I didn’t do anything to your phone…exactly. At least, I didn’t program it to read your texts. I just wanted to know if and who from MEGA-HQ ended up texting you….so I could wring their little necks.”
“I’ve never been out of contact from headquarters for any long periods of time. I don’t understand why this weekend was so important that I not be reached.”
“Jessie, everyone needs some down time. You never take any. This anniversary is always so hard on you, and we all agreed that this weekend, you would take some time for yourself whether you wanted to or not. I was designated to ensure that you did.”
Jessie couldn’t be too angry with them. She knew they were acting out of love, but it still bothered her that they resorted to subterfuge instead of having a good old-fashioned conversation. Jessie believed that you didn’t always have to devise a plan to get inside. Sometimes you can just walk right in through the front door.
Yes, this weekend was always difficult. But, she had managed for the last eight years. Why was this year any different?
“I still don’t see the need for all of this extreme planning. You guys could have just talked to me about it.”
“We talk to you every year about it. And…every year you ignore us. This time we weren’t taking no for an answer.” Téa was still scrolling through her phone. “So, it was Max who sent the text. What did he want anyway?”
“He just needed my authorization for an agreement.”
Téa stood up and reached into her purse. She pulled out a circular object that looked no bigger than a quarter. She tapped it twice and it opened up as if it were a portal into Max’s bedroom.
“Hey Max...it’s Téa. Wake up.”
Max was in bed with the covers hanging half on and half off of his body. His arm was slung over his eyes. You could see the rise and fall of his chiseled chest that was lightly dusted with hair.
Téa giggled. “Max! You might want to pull that cover over just a little bit before you show me and Jessie your little bits.”
Without removing his arm or opening his eyes, Max used his other hand to pull the covers over his body. “Téa, didn’t I tell you not to use that thing on me. And believe me when I tell you, there isn’t anything on me the size of a ‘bit’.”
“As long as any of us are wearing our amulet, we will always have visual access to each other. I don’t understand how you don’t love this gadget as much as me. I
