“When I agreed to go with you, I didn’t think it would be so soon,” Jordan mused as he watched her sip her cup of coffee while scrolling through her phone.
Carol hadn’t called him to inform him of her visit. Now, her visiting unannounced wasn’t the problem because this wasn’t the first time but her dropping the bomb on him that they were visiting the therapist today, was the real problem.
He was on his way to the head branch of his wine industry in Napa valley, California and he had informed Skull to get the private jet ready for departure. He was scheduled to leave by 10p. m and with all things being equal, he would be back in Manhattan by tomorrow morning, but as he had attempted to place his hand on the door knob, he was almost slammed in the face by Carol who was already opening the door on the other side.
Thinking that it was just one of her usual visits, he had told her of his business trip, since she was already familiar with his house but as he had attempted to leave, her words had stopped him.
“Cancel whatever plans you have today, we’re visiting the therapist,” she had instructed as she dropped her purse onto his couch and sauntered into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee.
“What?” He asked as he followed behind her and placed his briefcase on top of the black marble kitchen counter.
“I’m certain you heard me clearly, J,” she retorted without turning around as she turned on the automatic coffee machine.
“You didn’t tell me this before,” he frowned as he loosened his tie. He already knew he wasn’t going to win the argument this morning and it was still too early to handle an obstinate Carol and his decision to not argue had been the right choice when she had turned to him with a glare, screaming ‘don’t you dare me this morning.’
They both remained quiet, the only sound in the room being the whirring noise from the coffee machine. He quickly sent a text to Skull, postponing his trip until evening after the cursed therapy session.
The sound came to a stop and Carol turned around with a cup of coffee in hand. Jordan raised an eyebrow in question seeing as she only held one cup.
“What?” She asked as she took in his questioning gaze before blowing air into the chinaware and taking a sip of the hot liquid.
“I thought you made one for me as well.”
“Did you ask?” She raised a stubborn eyebrow at him, tauntingly taking another sip of her coffee. He rolled his eyes before making a move towards the automatic coffee machine.
“Besides, I made latte. We all know how much you love your black, bitter espresso. . . I don’t know how you could manage to drink that thing anyway,” she shuddered as she walked out of the kitchen, leaving him to make his own coffee.
He wasn’t a fan of sugary things and black coffee just came naturally as a favourite for him, especially espresso which always reminded him of his own life; bitter and acrid.
He walked out of the kitchen and found his sister on the couch with her phone in one hand and the cup of coffee in the other. She giggled as she read something from her phone and soon enough her phone rang. Hastily, she dropped the cup on the coffee table before springing to her feet. She ran into the kitchen but he caught the slight pink on her cheeks.
He shrugged it off as he brought out his laptop from the briefcase and began working on some files his personal assistant had sent to him the night before.
‘Might as well get some work done.’
For a few minutes, he worked while sipping his cup of coffee as he heard Carol’s consistent giggles and hushed whispers.
He was reading a file on the new wine product they were currently working on and it was due to be released a few weeks from now but it needed approval from him as the boss and a few more critics, although they would pretty much agree to anything he did since he was the Jordan Kale. No one messes with J. K. That was what prompted his trip but now he had to go later than planned because of Carol’s impromptu visit.
Preparing to send the reply to the email previously sent by Alise Miller, his personal assistant, he heard Carol walk out of the kitchen as he clicked on the enter key.
“It’s time to go. Our session begins at noon, 12:30p. m precisely and it’s currently. . . 11:43a. m. The therapy place is in the city. Might take a couple of minutes to get there and I don’t wanna be late,” she ranted as she scrolled through her phone before dropping it into her purse.
Jordan nodded as he looked skeptically at her flushed face and neck. Someone must have been having dirty talks with his sister. He knew she didn’t do well with dirty talks. She would always turn a deep shade of pink or slight red whenever anyone mentioned it.
Feeling his gaze, she looked down at him where he was still seated with his laptop on his lap.
“What? Let’s get a move on. We don’t have much time,” she sputtered before rushing towards the door.
Jordan let out a chuckle as he stood up and put his laptop back in place before grabbing his briefcase and following after her. Someone definitely talked dirty with her. She was all flushed and fiddle-footed.
“You’re bringing your briefcase along?” She questioned when they had settled into the back seat of his gray coloured Maserati Levante with his driver seated in front.
He nodded, “I’m heading to the hangar directly from the therapist’s place. I have a meeting to attend in Napa valley,” he answered.
The driver’s head immediately snapped up when he heard his boss mention the word therapy and as he looked into the rearview mirror with his eyes wide in surprise, to his misfortune, his eyes collided with Jordan’s hard and expressionless glare, daring him to make a comment. He quickly looked down and pressed the ignition button of the car.
“Oh ok. Good,” she nodded as the car engine revved to life and soon, they were on their way.
▬▬▬▬▬
At exactly 12:20p. m, they arrived in the city of Manhattan but where they were, it was pretty serene and less busier than the usual bustling streets of the city in New York. They alighted from the car as it skidded to a halt by the sidewalk.
Jordan looked around, from across the street, past the petite flower shop to the restaurant and cafe with the little burger model at the top until his eyes settled on the building before him. It had a little dark red awning above the entrance which held a revolving door.
E. P’s Therapy Place was written in bold silver letters a little ways above the awning and the building looked to have about three storeys to it. His chocolate brown eyes, which were now behind dark shades, thoroughly scrutinized the building standing before him as Carol walked ahead and in through the revolving door, leaving him to follow behind.
He tucked one of his hands into his pocket before making his way into the building, all the while, gaining a few curious looks from passerbys. They knew that face looked familiar but they couldn’t quite place where they had seen the handsome looking man whose eyes hid behind the expensive looking shades.
As they walked in, Jordan continued to look around and he could hear someone speaking in the distance. They walked into the lobby and soon arrived at the receptionist’s desk, where a lady sat behind the pretty high marble top counter.
She was a blonde with hazel eyes and she was formally dressed in something he assumed to be a white shirt and pantsuit or a skirt because only the long sleeved white shirt was visible as she stood behind the counter.
She wore a slight smile as she conversed with Carol, who insisted on being called by her name and not Levine, Leonardo’s makeshift last name. The blonde spoke into the intercom and a female voice followed after.
‘Looks like the therapist is a female. She would be an easier prey to threaten.’ Jordan thought.
Carol turned to him before saying,
“Stay here, I’ll call you when it’s time for you to come in. Don’t you dare, I repeat, don’t you dare bail on me. If you think I’m kidding. . . Then, try me,” she threatened as she dusted the imaginary specks of dust on his suit before turning towards the elevator with a saccharine smile on her face as though she hadn’t just threatened him.
He released a tired sigh as he walked to the sitting area which was dominated by the colour black; the couches and coffee table with only the white marble floor tiles acting as a total contrast to the dark setting. He was at least pleased that the therapist hadn’t opted for a bright and polychromatic setting because it would’ve been sickening to be surrounded by the colours pink and purple.
He sat, crossed one leg over the other and closed his eyes before focusing on his breathing. The only sounds in the room were the low howls of the air condition as it blew cold air into the room and the occasional clicking of the keyboard as the blonde receptionist typed.
It was quiet. Other than the typing reminding him of another existent life form in the room, the place had the tranquility he always had in his office being alone and it was indeed, really nice.