"Aw, not that I don't love a good melodrama of two brothers finally burying the hatchet, but let's face it—it gets old real quick, doesn't it?" A familiar voice arrived and interrupted the brothers' moment.
Carmen stepped forward, walking around Ronin and Eric. Her eyes widened when she recognized the person to whom the voice belonged. "Jenna?"
"What the hell?" Ronin helpfully supplied.
"You must be kidding me!" Eric grumbled. "What the fuck are you doing here?" He couldn't help but ask, walking past Carmen and Ronin, as if being protective of them.
Jenna chuckled, tilting her head and twirling a strand of her hair. "You might've switched sides, Eric, but not everyone's as disloyal as you."
"What's going on here?" Carmen asked, struggling to make sense of the situation. "I don't... I don't get it."
Jenna smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Oh, you'll get the whole damn story soon enough, sweet Carmen. For now, let's get settled in." She snapped her fingers and they all watched as dozens of surly-looking men arrived and pointed their guns at the trio. "James will be here any moment now. Let's give him a warm welcome, shall we?"
"James?" Ronin looked just as confused. "Since when did you get acquainted with James?"
Slowly, Jenna made her way to him, the heels of her boots clicking against the marble. "Since the moment he sponsored my career after you and Simon royally messed it up on that damn cruise. I hope you remember because I do, and it would be really awkward if you don't."
Carmen turned to Eric, brows furrowing. "Did you know about this?"
Guilt was the look that crossed Eric's face. "Not that I saw with my own eyes, but I knew he was messing around with someone younger than him. But what he did in his personal life wasn't any of my business in the first place. I just...you know what? One thing that I don't understand..." he turned to Jenna. "How did you get here? I was careful while buying this property. No one knew about it except for me and now Carmen and Ronin."
"Well, maybe you weren't as careful as you thought," Jenna walked past them and headed inside, ignoring them completely. "Come on, guys. Let's continue this inside. I don't want an audience before James even shows up."
Just the thought of James and Jenna having something going on gave Carmen the creeps. James was probably in his fifties or perhaps even older, and for Jenna to mess around with someone like him... was it crazy to think it made no sense?
To even say that the two of them were in love... no. No! That made no sense either. As long as she had known Jenna, she was opportunistic. And as she already confessed, James helped her after her career took a nosedive following what happened on the cruise. The time when she had tried to humiliate Carmen and even attempted to push her off the ship.
She knew Simon had done something about it; he had mentioned something along the lines of when they were still testing the waters after the whole helping-Jenna-escape-the-wedding incident. But the way she had accused Ronin just now, she wondered if Ronin had played a role too.
Jenna's henchmen ushered them back inside. However, instead of congregating in the office like earlier, they all ended up in a room that looked like an empty kitchen and dining area. The sole source of light seemed to be a few bulbs hanging form the ceiling and because there was no place to actually sit, Jenna leaned against what seemed like a counter and turned to face them all.
"Please don't tell me you walked out on our wedding because you were somehow in love with James," Ronin forced the words out of his mouth, but as he scanned the room, he could sense that his question wasn't entirely unfounded. Eric and Carmen seemed to share his suspicions.
To his surprise, Jenna burst into laughter. "What? No. Why would you say that? That's not...that's not what happened." She crossed her arms over her chest once again. "James got in touch with me only after the cruise incident. Initially, he wanted me to return to you and prevent you from continuing your investigation, but I had already suffered a lot because of you. And I knew that you weren't interested in me anymore, so there was no point in trying to win you back. That's when I offered James something else. In exchange for helping me get back on my feet, I spent some private time with him. That's all. It's no big deal."
She blew on her nails, as if she was absolutely at peace with her decisions. "Sleeping with influential people in my line of work is nothing surprising. Sometimes we do it for fun, and sometimes it's just the need of the hour. James was giving me everything I needed without expecting some sort of commitment." She turned to face Ronin. "Unlike you, Ronin, he was simply happy to have my company. He didn't expect me to mess up my figure for something as stupid as getting pregnant."
"So, you walked out on the wedding because you didn't want to get pregnant?" Carmen couldn't believe her ears. Did this woman just say that? Sure, she had every right to decide for herself if she ever wanted a baby or not, but walking out on their wedding couldn't have been the most logical thing to do. She could have talked it out with Ronin. After spending some time with him, Carmen could tell with confidence that Ronin would have supported Jenna's every decision, even if it meant sacrificing his own desires.
But maybe Jenna never knew Ronin as well as Carmen did in such a brief amount of time. It just proved that she never was in love with Ronin. She was with him because she saw an opportunity—a powerful family backing her career.
Ronin looked angry. "So, it was all a game for you, huh? Our childhood, the relationship—everything?"
Jenna rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, don't get all emotional now. I thought you'd be grateful for the breakup," she shifted her gaze to Carmen, moving closer. "You finally got the chance to make a move on this bitch."
"Jenna!" Eric grabbed her arm, furious. "Watch yourself."
Jenna snapped her gaze at him, yanking her arm away. "What's with you being all protective of her?" She looked annoyed before quickly realizing something. "Oh no. Wait." Her lips formed a grin before she laughed. "You like her!" She announced, and with the baby voice she used, every henchman of hers started laughing. "Poor you, Eric. You do realize this woman had her eyes on Ronin long before you even knew she existed, right?"
"Shut up, Jenna!" Ronin growled.
"What?" But Jenna was enjoying this too much for her own good. "What? You think I didn't notice? You, Ronin Logan, can fool others with that I-don't-give-a-fuck-face, but not me. All those silently brooding moments of yours after an argument with her. Oh, and let's not forget the countless times you conveniently bumped into each other in the hallway and in boardrooms, exchanging those deep, intense glares." She mimicked the gaze, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Classic love story stuff right there."
Carmen felt her face grow hot, suddenly beyond irritated and embarrassed.
Ronin, on the other hand, was seething with anger.
Eric was done with her annoying self, however. "Enough, Jenna! What do you want here?"
"Nothing," She moved back to the counter and checked her phone. "Can't just stand here and do anything. James told me to keep you well entertained."
"James can't be here. Mom apprehended him hours ago at the Rosy's club." Carmen pointed out.
"That's old news, dear Carmen," Jenna sounded assured. "Because if that was the case, he wouldn't have called me and given all these instructions. I'm supposed to wait here for him, and after that, I can mind my own business, and you all can do yours."
Before anyone could say much, the entrance door opened, and James walked in with two more men of his. He limped a little before he came to a stop, but other than that, he looked mighty fine.
"Well, well, well," James smirked, eyeing the room. "Seems like we're having a family reunion. How heartwarming."
A/N: Jenna and James having their name start from the same alphabet letter happened by surprise :P