Page 61 of Beautiful Chaos

“Harper, I want to come home, I can’t get a ticket. I’ve maxed out my credit card shopping, and I don’t want to call my parents, just imagine that conversation,” she whimpered into the phone.

She was right, her parents would never let her live this down if she had to call and explain what happened. They would get her home that I was certain of but not without a million questions and even more lectures on her lifestyle and choices.

“Okay Aster don’t worry; I have some saved. I’ll book you the earliest flight I can, and don’t worry about getting home, I’ll meet you at the airport to pick you up.”

“Thank you, Harper.” My best friend in the world said with so much relief in her voice that it broke my heart not to be there to hug her and give her some reassurance.

Once I booked the flight, I would relax and put my mind where I needed it to be, until Aster was home safely.

I would go home with her, and we would get some cheap wine and blab about everything that’s happened in the past week. I would have to tell her that I finally let somebody hit this as she would say, the thought of sharing something so intimate and private made me feel dirty for some reason, if even with Aster. Maybe I’d keep that part to myself for a while.

Wow, it’s only been a week. It feels like a lifetime since I first came to the penthouse.

I opened my laptop to book her flight, but it was dead. I hadn’t charged it in days. Because of the beautiful man walking around this penthouse, it was easy to get a bit distracted and preoccupied. I smiled at the thought of Jasper walking around in nothing but a pair of grey sweatpants that fell low on his hips giving the slightest teasing glimmer to his tan, muscular, and very well-endowed, I might add, physique.

I opened the bedside drawer to get my charger out and plugged it into my laptop. It must have been very drained because it wasn’t showing any signs of powering on. I looked at the clock and saw that it was already five fifteen and Jasper was picking me up at six. I still needed to finish readying myself for the event. The idea of needing to skip it crossed my mind, but no matter what, Aster’s flight would be at least twelve hours so there was no need to miss out on my big night, and the huge opportunity that tonight would bring for my career. I didn’t want to let Magda and her team’s hard work go unnoticed, and honestly, I couldn’t bring myself to skip it.

I couldn’t wait any longer, so I ran down the hall toward Jasper’s home office. I reached the door in a hurry, but I stood in front of it second guessing whether I should go in without his permission. I sort of felt like it could be an intrusion of his privacy, but I quickly pushed that thought aside when remembering how I was pressed for time.

I anticipated a locked door, but to my surprise, it wasn’t. This alleviated my guilt about entering. I mean, if he didn’t want me in there, wouldn’t he have locked it?

I figured I could use Jasper’s computer to book her a flight. I was certain there would be a guest sign-in option or similar feature to prevent snooping on his private files on the computer.

My hands trembled as I moved the mouse to bring life to the already powered-on monitor. I was shocked to find an unsecured and unlocked sign-in screen.

‘Home office’ was the only option available. I looked around anxiously before clicking on the icon. Then I sat with my hands in my lap bouncing my foot as I waited for the next screen to load.

I hoped Jasper didn’t decide to come home early and find me in his private space. I wasn’t doing anything wrong, but it felt deceitful.

I navigated to the Yahoo website, ready to log in with my email credentials to find some flight promo codes I had stored in a file for a potential holiday Aster, and I had tried to plan. However, When I moved my mouse to sign out of the email account that was already logged in, I realized it was an account I recognized.

My heart plummeted to my stomach, and time seemed to freeze for a moment as the pounding of my blood echoed in my ears.

Chapter 43

HARPER

Seeing that email address signed in to Jasper’s computer triggered a rush of panic and my fight-or-flight instincts kicked in. I had to sit back a minute to catch my breath and focus on the facts, in that moment I had none, other than the obvious.

Jasper is JW and JW saved me one night at a lounge from being abducted, and only God knows what else. My instincts screamed for me to run, yet something held me in place.

Could he be all that bad if he saved me? Why would he lie about who he was and start a digital friendship with me like that? What was he hiding?

A small part of me wanted to call him and ask all the questions I had overwhelming my head, but I knew I was already pressed for time and despite everything I had to get this exclusive on tonight’s event or the entire week would have been for nothing. As crazy as it seemed I wasn’t scared, I still trusted him.

I quickly secured a flight for Aster. Fortunately, I found one that was scheduled to depart within three hours, which was plenty of time for her to pack and get her ass to the airport, then she could come home where she belonged.

I was bothered by what happened to her, yet I couldn’t deny a sense of relief that it wasn’t the worst-case scenario. Prestyne had earned a permanent spot on my shit list for toying with my best friend’s heart. However, I was hopeful that the turn of events would open her eyes a little and slow her down in the future. Maybe she would get to know the men better before running off across the world with them. Either way, I loved the hell out of that girl, and I’d be right there to help her through it regardless, just like she would for me, just like she had been for years.

Once I finished booking everything, it hit me that Aster might struggle with reading the ticket details. So, I wanted to jot down the important information to send her a photo. She was already stressed and not in the best state of mind.

I looked around for a piece of paper or a post, but Jasper’s desk was immaculate just like the rest of the house stays even without hired help.

“I wonder if he has a borderline issue with OCD,” I thought to myself.

I giggled thinking about the ways I could mess with him.

My mother had OCD. When I was younger, she insisted on certain arrangements and orders. As I got older, I realized that her requirements were not exactly normal, like her need for all food labels to face the same direction and to organize canned goods and condiments in the refrigerator by color and size. She had a pattern for all her daily activities. It was the one consistent thing about her.

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