Three weeks later Jade moved into Mark's penthouse. To her surprise he took the day off to help her settle in. She figured he'd ask his staff to take care of it, but apparently he thought she was worth it to invest his time in. She didn't want to think much of it, but her mother told her it was big. She was currently in the bedroom making sure Jade's clothing was installed into the walk in closet which was gigantic and consisted of Mark's awesome suits, shirts and shoes. She was standing in the living room staring at Mark who was going through her three boxes.
"Is this all you have?" He asked, getting to his feet to meet her gaze.
"Yes."
"Your life fits into three boxes?"
"I own more make-up and clothing than anything else."
"And these boxes mostly consist of books."
"And important documents." She corrected him.
He turned to the housekeeper who worked for him from Monday till Friday. Her name was Betty and she was around her mother's age and she was lovely.
"Can you take care of these books?"
"Yes." Betty turned to look at her, "Honey, what do you want for lunch?"
She met Betty that morning but the woman already treated her like she was one of her own, like she had lived in that house for ages. She loved that.
"I don't know, what's Mark having?"
Betty snorted, "Mark will be having what you're having."
Beside her Mark smirked, "Will he now?"
Betty threw him a look which told him enough. Mark didn't say anything else and focused on her boxes instead, "Didn't you have any furniture you wanted to keep with you?" He asked.
"I stored what I wanted to keep at my parents' house."
He didn't seem to like that, "Jade, there is plenty of room for your stuff. There is no need to keep it stored at your parents' house."
She knew he got what it meant for her to have her stuff stored at some other place. He couldn't convince her to change her mind though. Unlike her mother she didn't believe in happily ever after love stories. Life had its up and downs and she knew sometimes things could go horribly wrong. She wanted to be prepared for whatever life would throw at her.
"It's fine, mom doesn't mind at all."
"Your mother isn't thinking clearly right now."
She feigned offense but she knew he was right. Her mother was in denial when it came to her father's situation and when it came to her situation her mother was seeing the world through pink glasses.
"You take that back." She told him and turned to Betty who was collecting a stack of books, "I'll help you with that. I also have some files which I need to store."
"Follow me, we'll get this done within the hour."
"If you just show me where I can store my books you can continue with your cooking."
Betty took the lead, heading to Mark's office where a wall of floor to ceiling bookcases were placed on the left side of the wall. Comfy chairs placed in front of them with a soft looking rug beneath them. It was a nice reading nook, but she knew she'd never read her books there. It was his place. She rather not invade his place if she didn't have to.
"There is plenty of space for your books. I'll bring over the rest of it while you organize your things. You want a cup of tea or something else while you're here?"
Betty was so nice. She wanted to hug the woman, but she figured that would freak her out. So instead Jade flashed her a smile.
"A tea would be great."
"Coming right up, honey."
"Thank you, Betty." She called as the woman left the office.
While she was organizing her books, Mark walked back and forth to bring her all her books. Apparently Betty ordered him to do it while she was taking care of lunch. She did bring over a cup of tea while ordering Mark around. It was lovely. Jade couldn't remember the last time she had that much fun.
"Honey?"
"In here, mom!" She called, causing Mark beside her to shake his head.
"Better get used to it." She warned him, "A real marriage means getting used to me and my mom being loud in your house."
He placed the last stack of books on the floor beside her, "It's fine, she'll be leaving pretty soon. That's the beauty of giving her the house back."
Then she'd be alone with Mark in his penthouse. That would be awkward considering they hadn't seen much of each other after their night out to discuss the rules. She knew Betty would stay until dinner was cooked, but she hadn't discussed with him what would happen afterwards.
"There you are." Her mother entered the office, "I'm done with your clothes and shoes and what not." Her mother informed her, "I'm running late for my meeting with Sophie. We'll catch up soon and talk wedding arrangements." Her mother stepped closer, kissed her cheek and hugged Mark before leaving in a rush, "Talk to you soon, honey."
Mark turned to look at her, an amused look gleaming in his eyes, "Now it's just us."
"And Betty." She reminded him.
He chuckled, "And Betty."
She sat down on the floor and went through the last two stacks. She had organized her books from her favorite to her least favorite. Now she just had to put these last few away.
"I didn't know my mom and Sophie were close."
"Me neither."
She looked up to meet his gaze, "You're not gossiping with them while attending your board meetings?"
"I don't have the time to schedule in an hour of gossip, unfortunately."
Smiling she focused on her books again, "About our sleeping arrangement-"
"There is no sleeping arrangement." He interrupted her.
That confused her, "Excuse me?"
"Jade, a real marriage also means sleeping in the same bed. Thought you figured that one out when your mother was stalling out your clothes in my closet."
The thought did cross her mind, but she didn't stop to really think about it.
"Okay."
She knew she sounded unsure, but Mark kept his words to himself, thankfully. He left her to continue her organizing while he went to help Betty in the kitchen. She had no idea he liked to help out when he could, but already she was starting to learn little things about him.
***
After dinner Betty left them just like Jade thought she would. Mark was locking up while she was getting ready for bed. Mark had an early morning once again while she started at nine. He was going to be her personal alarm clock which she could appreciate.
"You done in the bathroom?" Mark asked, appearing behind her which scared her to death, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."
"I wasn't paying attention." She turned to look at him, "Yeah, it's all yours."
She watched him take in her outfit, "How many little black dresses do you own?"
"Fifteen." She told him with confidence, "I suppose I could thin my collection down, but I don't want to."
"Isn't that one a little bit too much for work?"
"You don't approve?" She asked and reached for the dress to put it on the ottoman in front of his bed, "I'm wearing it with tights. It should be okay."
He didn't comment on her choice of dress after that and went to do his nighttime routine which consisted of taking a shower and joining her in bed. He didn't have a preferred side of the bed so he let her have the one close to the bathroom.
"Betty will be here at eight, she has a key to the house so you don't need to worry about that."
"How early are you leaving?" She turned to her side, facing him.
He was on his back, going through his messages on his phone. He didn't pay much attention to her, but he still answered her question.
"Seven-thirty."
"We're not having breakfast together then."
He titled his head to the side to face her, "No, you missing me already?"
She pushed his shoulder playfully, "No, I'm just curious."
He smiled and stretched to place his phone on his bedside table, "I'll be home around seven so we can have dinner together."
"Okay."
He rolled to his side facing her as well and reached out, brushing his fingers through her hair, "It's a date."
She couldn't look away from his eyes, his fingers going through her hair was soothing her. Her breathing hitched in her throat when she noticed him lean in. She didn't think he'd kiss her, but then she felt the brush of his lips against hers. It was very subtle and it lasted like a second but he still kissed her goodnight.
"Night." He whispered.
"N-Night." She whispered back.
***
The next day she went to work like always, yet everything felt different. She had a nice chat with Betty during breakfast. She could get used to it. Mark didn't force her into anything. The kiss they shared last night could hardly be called a kiss. His lips barely brushed against hers. She was sure he didn't want to scare her off and she appreciated it.
It was a slow morning in the shop, she went over the stock while the girls cleaned up. After lunch she took the task of manning the counter while Nia went to clean up the inventory closet. She was saying goodbye to an older woman who just spend a fortune on a new wardrobe when a young woman with shiny blonde hair approached her. Her designer heels clicking away on the tiles. Her look never wavering.
"Good afternoon." Jade greeted, "How can I help you?"
"Good afternoon." The woman greeted back politely, "I'm looking for the new collection."
Jade walked around the counter and led the woman to the rack with their new collection, "Is there a specific item you're looking for?"
"I actually have an important meeting tonight." The woman's lips curled up to a smirk which told Jade everything she needed to know, "Well, it's actually a date with an old friend. I'd like to impress, you know."
Jade didn't quite understand the look the woman was throwing her, but she brushed it off. Instead she decided to keep smiling.
"Then I'd suggest this dress-" Jade picked out the fire red dress which caught her eye that morning, "It will surely impress your date."
The woman scanned the dress and nodded approvingly, "I'll try it on."
Jade made eye contact with one of the girls, they got the hint and replaced her behind the register. Jade followed the woman to the dressing room and handed her the red dress. The woman took her time getting ready and stepped out of the room in her heels, approaching the mirrored wall to took in the sight. She shifted from side to side, making poses as she observed the dress.
"You're right, I do like this a lot."
"You also like the color?" Jade asked, "We do have the dress in black and navy blue."
"No, this one is perfect." The woman smiled, she flickered her eyes to Jade, "I'll take it."
Jade nodded, "I'll be waiting for you at the register."
Jade headed back to the counter and pressed her lips together when Nia caught her eye from across the room and imitated the woman. The woman was rather confident, going straight for what she wanted and didn't hesitate once. She knew what she liked. Some people didn't get it. Usually Jade respected women who were confident like that, this time something was off though. It was like the woman was trying to get a rise out of her. But she didn't budge. She had to stay polite, treating the customer right.
A few seconds later the woman walked toward her with confident strides, not even frightened she'd trip and break her neck on those heels of hers. She put the dress on the counter, her pale blue eyes darkening as she met Jade's gaze.
"Cash or card?" Jade asked politely.
"Card." The woman reached into her leather bag and held out her card to Jade.
Jade took care of putting the dress into one of their nicer bags and handed the woman the receipt after the card was processed.
"I'll ask what he thinks of my dress."
"Excuse me?"
"My date." The woman smiled as she took the receipt and bag from Jade, "I'll ask Mark what he thinks of it. Hopefully he'll like it more than I do." She turned around and headed to the exit, "It was nice meeting you." She called and left the shop.
Jade turned to look at Nia who joined her at the counter, "What the hell just happened?" Jade asked her.
Nia looked just as stunned as her as they faced the door, "I think that was a woman who came to check out the competition."
Jade couldn't do anything else but stare. She realized the woman knew exactly what she wanted because she had done her research. She came to that store with one goal in mind. She was checking out the competition as Nia called it. And apparently their prize was Mark Bennet.
"That woman has lost it." Nia laughed, "You've already won, you're marrying him."
"We're not married yet." She whispered.
One of the other girls joined them and nodded, "And to a woman like that it means it's game on."
"I'm not playing the game." Jade straightened up and forced her work mask back on, "If she wants him she can have him. Last thing I'll do is fight over a guy. Now, let's get back to work ladies."