Chapter 9: The One with the Bachelor (Part 2)

There was one word that people always use when they were asked to describe Jesse Ashworth, and that word was 'blessed'. He had the perfect life that anyone could have ever asked for.

Jesse was born in a loving family of four. His parents were still together and in love even after years of marriage, and his sister had been nothing but supportive of everything he had done.

All of them were amazingly talented, not to mention very good-looking. Because of those, some people claimed that the Ashworth family had the 'golden genes'.

Jesse's father, Christian Ashworth was the founder of the Ashworth Corporation. His mother, Vanessa Lydia Ashworth was a best-selling author and his sister, Blaire Marie Ashworth was an up and coming supermodel. In a way, yes, the Ashworth had everything that anyone could have ever wanted; the power, the fame, the wealth. They were one happy family and together, they were strong and invincible.

Jesse Ashworth was thankful of everything he had. However, even after a lifetime having everything he could have possibly wanted, there was emptiness in his life that he was yet to fill. This was cheesy as hell but he actually wanted to get married and settle down. He had everything he could have ever asked for, except that he was yet to find a woman who could fill the void in his heart.

He laughed at himself for being such a sap but he could not change who he was. Behind this charismatic and fierce businessman was a hopeless romantic fool.

Jesse sighed as he leaned back on his chair. On his work desk, there was a picture of a gorgeous young woman, with flowing dark brown hair and emerald green eyes. He reached for the picture, a smile plastered on his face. The woman was beautiful. The woman was the only one who ever managed to win his heart.

He remembered how the innocent look from the young woman captivated him when he first laid eyes on her. It's like he was inclined to protect her, even if he did not know her. He learned soon enough that she never needed his protection. Heck, she was the strongest woman he had ever encountered. She was the most amazing woman he was ever lucky enough to call his.

As he stared at the picture, he felt that jab in his heart, hurting him, reminding him how much her longed for her, how much he missed her. She was gone now, far from his reach. It had been years since she left him. Why did he still feel this way? Why was he still hopelessly, desperately in love with her?

Jesse stroked the frame, knowing that he would do anything to replace the cold metal in his hand for the warmth of her skin. Jesse loved that dimpled smile of hers. She always smiled, even when she's under pressure. She believed that just because she's unhappy, it didn't mean that everyone around her should, so she spent her waking moments trying to put a smile of people's faces although she was suffering. That was one of her qualities that made him fall in love with her.

Jesse was the happiest when he was with her. She was perfect. Even after all these years, he could still hear her laughter, he could still feel her touch on his skin, he could still hear the softness of her voice telling him that she loved him.

"I miss you, Marissa," he said. He was not crying but there was nothing but hurt and longing in his tone.

Suddenly, the phone rang. He glanced at the ID and groaned. It's his client.

God, he wasn't in the mood to answer any call right now. He wanted to ignore it but thought better of it when he remembered the three million dollar deal that he was trying to make with this asshole. Feeling grumpy, he clicked on the 'accept' button and was about to answer the call when his assistant came in to tell him that the reporter who was supposed to interview him had just arrived.

Great. Just great.

He asked his assistant to call the interviewer in, hoping that this interview would be short, just like his temper was beginning to be.

Sighing deeply, Jesse answered his phone and tried hard to sound cheerful. He got up from his chair and looked out of the window, only half-listening to what his client was saying. There were hardly any words coming out of his mouth because he did not feel like talking, so he only made sounds of agreement. He was in such a foul mood that he did not think that he even care about this deal anymore.

Suddenly, he heard someone cleared her throat and he turned around. He had the shock of his life when he saw the woman in front of him. She was dressed in a dark green dress, which was Marissa's favourite colour. Her shoulder-length, flowing dark brown hair looked amazing. She cracked a nervous smile, showing her deep dimples. Jesse felt butterflies in his stomach. In a way, he felt like he was staring at the ghost from his past. It's like Marissa had come back to him.

No, this woman was not Marissa.

Marissa was gone. Although this woman's resemblance to Marissa was uncanny, in one closer look, Jesse could spot their differences right away. While Marissa had sweet and innocent look, this woman had challenging, almost teasing look that attracted him right away. She saw him observing her. While Marissa would shy away and told him to stop doing that, this woman stared right back at him, her gaze was stubborn and her eyes questioned why he was staring at her like that. She frowned at his glance. She was brave, she was unafraid… and he liked that.

Her red lips then curved into a knowing smile, as if she had figured him out. Her coy smile caused Jesse's heart to pound rapidly against his chest and something inside him soared. After a long time, Jesse Ashworth felt alive, and he could finally breathe again.

He was no longer listening to what his client was saying as the woman got his full attention, without doing anything, really, and that was impressive. Jesse simply told his client to call him another time. Ignoring the protests from the man on the other line, he put the phone back on the receiver and walked towards to woman until they were standing face to face.

The woman seemed to appreciate his attention because her grin grew wider.

Looking up at him, she then held out her hand and said, "It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Ashworth. I'm Eponine. Eponine Thenardier."

…..

"This is a very nice office, Mr. Ashworth," Eponine said after she gulped the water. Her voice was clearer now, which was good because she wanted Mr. Ashworth to listen to her questions later. She did not like to repeat herself.

Eponine looked around the office which was painted in white and had the latest, and what she presumed the most expensive furniture. She would be lying if she said that she was not impressed. However, a little part of her could not help but to wonder, how much money did this guy make, actually? To spend lots of money on charity and aid organizations and still had more to buy all these luxurious items… it's pretty remarkable.

Cosette once told her that the more we give, the more we get back. She was right.

"Thank you." He replied. Eponine turned her head and found Jesse Ashworth staring at her, observing her. His hooded grey eyes, as silver as the winter moon were so mesmerizing that they took her breath away. His jaw was strong, and he had rough stubble which made his feature more attractive. He had this wolfish look to him, which Eponine found quite intimidating but at the same time very alluring.

"Should we start the interview then?" Eponine asked, taking out her notebook.

"Yeah, sure,"

"So, Mr. Ashworth," she started, "you have been voted as New York's most eligible bachelor. How do you feel about that title?"

"I feel honoured. I have worked hard to get to where I am today, and I can say that everything paid off. Sometimes everything can be quite overwhelming but to have people's love and support means everything to me. This is one of the awards that I will always cherish."

Eponine smiled, "These media attention to you must somewhat affects your personal life. How do you cope?"

"It is not easy, but I have been raised to handle this ever since I was a little because paparazzi used to follow my father everywhere. It was hard but after some time, I get used to it. My personal life is still mine though, and my privacy is something that I really cherish. I am glad that so far no one has ever tried to disrespect that."

"You have been in this business for a long time. Is this what you have always wanted to do ever since you were young? What makes you enter this business?"

"My father. Everything I am right now is because of my amazing father. He is my idol and my inspiration. He taught me about this business ever since I was 8 and I learnt a lot from him ever since. I look up to him so I aspired to be just like him. Everything I do, I do it for him. He had done a lot for me so I hope I can pay him back by making him proud," Jesse answered sincerely. There was spark in his eyes when he talked about his father, as if he was still a little boy who got excited about superheroes.

Perhaps inside, he was still that little boy and his father was his superhero. Eponine could not help but to feel extremely touched. She did not have any parental figures, so she had always wondered how did it feel like to grow up in such a happy family.

"That is amazing, Mr. Ashworth."

"Thank you, Ms. Thenardier." He replied. They looked at each other for a while, before Eponine cleared her throat and proceeded to the next question. She felt blush creeping on her cheeks as Jesse chuckled but then listened to her question intently.

The rest of the interview went smoothly, and Eponine was amazed by how comfortable she felt when she's with this man. From the interview, she learnt that he was close with his family, and he would always go visit them despite the distance. He loved sports, but he preferred to play instead of watching because he just loved the excitement and adrenaline. In their little conversations, she found out that his guilty pleasure was musicals and he was a huge ice-cream junkie. He used to go across town and tasted every single flavour of ice-cream there ever was.

Eponine could not help but to laugh because even after tasting lots and lots of ice-cream, his favourite was still the raspberry one from Baskin Robbins. Jesse seemed to take great pleasure for being able to make Eponine laugh, as his lips curved upwards, forming a satisfied smirk. Her giggle gradually stopped, and now they were staring into each other's eyes. Just like that, the air in the room turned into something more sensuous, more flirty.

Eponine realized that this was highly unprofessional of her. She realized that she had got everything that she needed a while ago, and she only stayed because talking to Jesse was fun and entertaining. At first, she thought he would be boring but now she knew that there was more to him and she would love to get to know him better. However, she was here for work and she had to stop now before things got serious.

"Well, erm…" she hesitated, "I think I've got everything that I need." She continued as she stood up. Jesse seemed to be surprised at her abruptness but realized that he could not do anything to keep her here.

"Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Ashworth." Eponine uttered as she held out her hand for Jesse to shake.

"It's my pleasure." Jesse shook her hand and cursed himself mentally for loving the warmth of her hand and he realized that he never wanted to let her go. Then he realized that he might never see her again after this, that she was going to slip away. He could not live with that. He wanted her to stay. But how?

She was already on her way to the door when he blurted out, "Would you like to have a drink with me?"

Eponine froze and turned around. She raised an eyebrow, and Jesse prepared himself for her rejection.

"What?"

"I- I mean, if you wanted to. I would- I would love to talk to you and… I mean, d- do you want to?" he stuttered, wondering why he suddenly lost his ability to even form a full sentence right now.

She looked at her watch, and seemed to be thinking about something. But then she chuckled, her hand rubbing the back of her neck as gazed at him with the big brown eyes and curved a smile which made his heart flutter. It had been a while since he laid eyes on someone with such beauty.

She opened her mouth and Jesse sucked in breath, the beating in his heart matched the beating of the drums and he felt like he could not breathe.

"I would love to, Mr. Ashworth."

Jesse breathed a sigh of relief. Eponine seemed to be amused when she saw how nervous he was.

"You don't have to look so surprised, Mr. Ashworth. I don't have to be at the office for another hour. And I know a place which has the best coffee" she flirted.

Jesse blushed and then took his coat from the rack and made his way towards her.

He smiled, opening the door for her and said,

"Lead the way."

A/N: Hi! Alright I am so, so, so sorry for the delay but somewhere along the way, I lost my motivation to continue writing this story, which was why this chapter comes out a little bit late. But now I'm back and I will never abandon this story so I hope it won't be a long time for the next chapter to come out!

Thank you so much to everyone for reading. You guys are amazing. Thank you so, so much.

And tell me what you think of this chapter! I hope you liked it! :D