Sweet and Spicy [COMPLETED]

Priceless Gem

The phone rang. Jade silenced it and set it back down. 

She gently flipped her hair out of her face. No use being violent about it. The hairdresser and makeup artist had worked hard. She didn't want to cause them more trouble. 

Everyone had their areas of expertise. She should know. Jade prided herself in several. 

The phone rang again. Jade checked the caller ID just in case it had changed. Still Ransom. She turned off the screen. 

"Shouldn't you answer that?" A low, smooth voice asked from over Jade's shoulder. 

Jade slowly turned her head to see the man at her side. "Kestrel. How nice of you to finally arrive." 

"Fashionably late is the new early." 

"That's not a thing." Jade turned her attention back to the busy work happening in front of her. 

Stylists flitted to an fro with outfits and various other materials. Assistants stocked water and other beverages. The photographer took a few test shots of the set. 

Kestrel chuckled, low in his chest. Almost like the sound of a bird failing at flirting. "Always so serious, our Jade." 

"I'm not yours. Please do not lump me in with all those ditzes you've dated." Jade knew Kestrel's usual taste in dates. Terrible. She had higher standards than that. Besides, she didn't have time for romance. Not her own, anyway. 

Jade's phone buzzed in her hand. She glanced at it briefly before she shut it off entirely. 

Kestrel pointed at the powered-down phone. "Isn't that your brother?" 

"Cousin." 

"Okay, fine. Cousin. Shouldn't you answer it? It seems important." 

"My work is also important. Besides, he only wants to vent his anger at me." 

"Because of the shirt in the scandal?" Kestrel shrugged a shoulder. "He shouldn't be so sensitive about it." 

Jade chuckled this time, a low, slow sound that hung in the air around her. "He couldn't care less about the shirt. It's the girl that bothers him." 

"How do you know that?" Kestrel tossed his head to flick an errant strand of hair from his face. 

"I know a lot of things about my cousin. For instance..." Jade splayed her hands in front of her. "If something bad happens, he'll come find me." 

"I came to find you before something bad happens. I think I should get brownie points for that." 

"I think you should try a different tactic." Jade glanced up at the messy-haired model at her side. "I told you, I'm not like the other girls you've dated. Fix your standard if you want me." 

"Jade! Kestrel! We're ready for you!" one of the assistants called. 

Jade dropped her phone into her bag and strutted onto the set with all the confidence of a woman in charge. 

Kestrel tagged behind her and stopped to loop one arm around her waist. "Let's do this." 

Jade let one arm rest on top of his. "Watch your hands." She propped one hand on her waist and tossed her hair back. It was time to work. 

She didn't hear, nor did she care about, the countless texts that poured into her phone. Jade had started the whole thing, but now she left it in the hands of those it belonged to. Her meddling only went this far. She wouldn't take responsibility.