His Absolute Insistence: A Scandalous Billionaire Love Story (Jessika, #2) by Cerys du Lys Page A

great if you could open the door.  I've got a ton of groceries out here and I don't have a key, so..."
    Oh!  I spun on my feet and ran to the door, unlocking it fast and swinging it open.
    Jeremy stood there with a blank look on his face.
    "Hi," I said, smiling.  "I was—"  Where?  Uh... "—in the bathroom?"
    "Given the circumstances, I guess I can understand why you locked the door, but I wasn't gone that long, was I?"  He shrugged.  Not bothering to wait for me to answer, he picked up the grocery bags he'd placed on the hall floor, and brought them in.  Setting them on the counter, he began pulling everything out and sorting through it.
    I closed the door behind him and locked it again, then went to help.
    "So... pasta, pasta sauce, hamburg, spices.  Bread?"  Jeremy tossed me the loaf of crusty Italian bread.
    "You got the garlic and butter, right?" I asked.
    "Yeah, they're in here somewhere."  He rummaged through a couple of the bags until he found a jar of minced garlic and a box of butter sticks.  "I don't know how I feel about minced garlic in a jar," he said, handing it to me.
    "What do you mean?  What's wrong with it?"
    "I'm no expert, but... the kitchen staff at the mansion would probably throw a fit if they saw that.  They're all about fresh and organic and blah blah."
    "Yes, well, I just like the jar," I said, holding it close to my chest protectively.
    Jeremy rolled his eyes at me and went back to removing groceries from the bags and sorting them on my counter.
    "So what are we making here?" he asked.  "Looks like Italian food.  Sounds fancy."
    "Yes," I said.
    "Yes what?  It's Italian or fancy?"
    "Uh huh."
    "Come on!  Seriously.  Pasta?  Meatballs and spaghetti?  I'm guessing garlic bread?"
    "Maybe..."
    "You want my help and you're not even going to tell me what we're making?"
    "Nope."  I stuck my tongue out at him.  "I think I have pans somewhere here.  And pots.  I don't remember.  They're probably not very good."
    He shrugged.  "A pan's a pan and a pot's a pot, right?  As long as they don't have holes in them I think it's fine."
    "I don't think they have holes.  Not a lot, at least."
    "I saw a pizza place around the corner when I was driving back, so I guess it doesn't really matter how well it turns out.  They close at ten, so if the food's not edible by then, I can drive over quick and pick something up."
    "Thanks so much for the vote of confidence," I said.
    "Yeah, not a problem," Jeremy said with a grin.  "You're welcome."
    ***
    W hile Jeremy set about boiling water and chopping vegetables with my not-so-sharp kitchen knife, I begged him to let me borrow his phone.  He gave it to me reluctantly, but only because I didn't have mine.  I stole away to my bedroom and closed and locked the door behind me, hoping for a little privacy.  Yes, perhaps it was rude of me, but I just wanted to call someone fast.
    I dialed Elise's number.  I didn't know if I was supposed to call her or not, but I just wanted to make sure she was alright.  The phone rang once, twice, then went to voicemail.  It should have rang a few more times, which bothered me because she must have hit the button to ignore the call.
    Worried, I dialed Lucent's number.  The phone barely rang once before it went to voicemail.  This time I left a brief message.
    "Hey, um... Lucent?  It's Jessika.  Just calling to see if you and Elise are alright.  Maybe that's weird.  I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but I hope you're both safe.  Asher and I are... dealing.  I think.  I'm not with him right now, I'm somewhere else with Jeremy, but everything is fine so far.  I'm going to call Asher right after this.  Call back if you get a chance?  I don't have my phone, but you can call this number.  It's Jeremy's.  Or you can call Asher, too, but I don't know what he's doing.  A text message would be fine.  Whatever works for you.  Or Elise.  Um... alright, bye."
    I hung up.  I thought about calling Elise