Draco stepped out of the jet and felt his assistant open the umbrella, next to him.
"Give that to me. Ladies shouldn't hold umbrellas for men." Draco said taking the umbrella from his assistant who started to blush.
Draco inwardly rolled his eyes. Anything he said to the girl turned into some kind of declaration of love. They walked down the steel steps and Draco looked around. New York was much like England. Rainy. He met with a few men on the bottom of the steel steps and shook hands with them.
"Good morning Mr. Malfoy! Welcome to New York! Mr. Gordon has been eagerly anticipating your arrival!" a man in a navy blue suit with a red tie greeted.
"Likewise." Draco answered with a nod.
"This way." The man said as they walked towards a black stretch limo.
Jade appeared in the bedroom of their penthouse suite. Daniel had bought it as an early wedding gift to celebrate earlier. Jade watched him grab a towel and enter the bathroom. She wondered what to do. Jade hated these awkward fights that would lead to nowhere at all. If he could only vent his frustrations and let her see his raw side, she'd be so much happier, than to have to read him. She didn't like apologizing either. She was always the one having to say sorry to him even when it wasn't her fault. This time, it was her fault, but he shouldn't have brushed her off so easily this morning. Jade closed her eyes tightly and knocked her fist to her head lightly.
"God! I hate men!" Jade whispered. She walked out of the bedroom door and attempted to make his favorite omelet. Jade never grasped the essence of cooking. She had no intuition whatsoever of what foods or seasonings went with what. She couldn't even boil water properly, so how was she going to make this omelet?
Jade grabbed her cell phone and dialed the number to Nessie. One really annoying thing about living with Daniel was that magic was not allowed. Daniel was a muggle. Jade had to adjust herself as a muggle herself, just for Daniel's sake.
"Good Morning Jade! How is your early honeymoon going?" Nessie asked.
"It's going great Nessie. Good Morning to you as well. Listen, Daniel's in the shower, I was wondering if you could tell me how to make an omelet again?" Jade asked hearing Nessie chuckle.
"Have you two fought again?" Nessie asked.
"Nessie, please, before he runs off again." Jade interrupted.
"All right, all right!" Nessie said quickly.
Jade followed Nessie's instructions and heard Daniel unlock the bathroom door.
"I'll call you back!" Jade whispered.
She snapped the phone off and without thinking; she touched the pan without a glove. Jade dropped the pan on the counter and bit her tongue, not to swear. 'Bloody fucking eggs. Bloody shitty pan.' Jade thought.
Daniel walked out of the bedroom and Jade looked up to see him watching her.
"Hey, I made you omelets for breakfast!" Jade said tenderly, wringing her hand.
"No thank you. I'll be having breakfast with a few of my associates today. You shouldn't have bothered." Daniel said, sitting on the sofa to tie his shoes.
Jade walked over to him and sat next to him. "Daniel please tell me you're not mad. I hate being in a position like this. You don't understand how unbearably discomforting it feels." Jade said touching his face lightly with her good hand.
He looked like he was having a hard time. He turned to meet her eyes. His eyes were a sea green color, so clear and sharp. His beautiful high cheekbones and his strong jaw made women around him, weak. Jade often found herself wishing that those eyes change into grey. Her memories of those eyes were hazy and nearly gone. She couldn't remember how he looked anymore. She tried to envision him again, but it was like a black and white, faded photograph. But there was one thing that was clear. Her heart and her spirits were lifted every time she thought of him.
Daniel leaned in and kissed Jade. "I'm not mad at you Jade. I just wish you would stop pushing me away sometimes. Your little comments really do hurt me in ways you can't even imagine. You might think it's nothing, but it does mean something to me. You have to be careful Jade. I don't want to lose you…and I know you don't want to lose me." He whispered.
Jade felt nervous. This was bad. She touched his hands and nodded. "I'm really sorry Daniel. I am. I don't want to lose you because I don't have anyone else. Please forgive me and eat your breakfast." Jade said.
Daniel winced and Jade almost laughed. "Fine, fine, don't eat it. Have a great meeting." Jade said getting up when he did.
"I will. I'll see you again." He said kissing her goodbye.
"Tonight." Jade whispered.
He gave her a smirk and winked, leaving. Jade closed the door and sighed. She was alone again. She looked at the clock and groaned. She had work to do. Jade walked into her bedroom and opened the wardrobe filled with clothes, dresses and gowns. She smiled at the painful memory of her Hogwart's days when she had no knowledge of dressing like a lady. Being with Nessie and Daniel had changed her completely. Nessie had taught her how to look beautiful, but Daniel inspired her to be beautiful. Jade pulled on a black skirt and a turquoise top. She ran her hands through her thick brown hair and started on her makeup. Jade's phone started ringing and she answered it.
"Jade? Jade, did you leave yet?" her co-worker Jessica asked.
"I have. I'm leaving my apartment right now and I'll be there in a few." Jade said, pulling her black trench coat on.
"Yeah I thought so. I'm in the lobby, waiting for you, since they won't let me in. It won't take you long would it?" Jessica asked.
Jade grabbed her purse and ran to her door. "Of course not. Just give me two minutes." Jade said. She heard Jessica gasp and Jade asked what was wrong.
"There's this guy. He looks…oh my goodness." Jessica whispered.
Jade shook her head and locked her door. She walked out of her room and walked down the carpeted hallway to the wide golden elevators. She checked herself in the mirror and compared it to when she was 17. Amazing difference. She was so much healthier and her hair was so much longer. From the pixie cut to the long cascading wavy tresses falling down her back. Her eyes would be red from smoking so much, now they sparkled, but looked quite unhappy. Jade's lip was curved into a frown but she immediately replaced it with a smile. She jumped hearing Jessica scream at her.
"What?! I'm coming!" Jade said entering the elevator.
"Hurry! You'll miss him! He looks like he's here to stay! Maybe you can introduce me to him, since he'll be your neighbor." Jessica said.
"Goodbye Jess, I'll see you in 30 seconds." Jade said, snapping the phone shut.
"What floor Madame?" the liftman asked.
"Main lobby…please." Jade added.
The liftman gave her a smile and a nod. He pressed the button and Jade stood there, as the elevator moved down. She adjusted her watch and bracelet during the wait.
Jade had applied to college after starting to work for Nessie. She had so much gratitude towards the woman, if it weren't for her, Jade would have never been where she was today. As soon as Nessie learned that Jade didn't have a degree, she immediately postponed everything and sought out a university for Jade to take her degree in. She pressed that having a degree was more important than anything in life. If Jade wanted a job, she needed a degree; modeling could only take her so far. Jade worked hard for 4 years and modeled whenever she had the time to, to pay off her tuition bills.
College life was a different experience for her. There were hardly any rules. People could sit wherever they want and ate with the people they liked. There were no Houses, no rivalry. Everyone was united and no one hated each other. She wasn't too friendly with everyone there. She was alone for the most part and liked that there was no one there to hunt her down and watching her back. It made her feel independent and stronger. Jade met Jessica in her journalism class and the two had been friends ever since. They graduated together and entered a newspaper firm, working on different sections, but stuck together.
The elevator stopped gently and the doors opened. Jade gave a small nod to the liftman and walked out of the elevator, towards Jessica.
Draco stood in the main lobby of The Pierre. He was very impressed with New York. He heard so many great things about New York, but being here was another different story. His favorite thing about New York was Times Square. The lights and billboards, the televisions and attractions everywhere, Draco needed to walk through it one day. He looked around the lobby of the Pierre and nodded in approval of it.
Gordon's representative had been yapping continuously of the Pierre's accommodation of Draco's business meeting with Jacque Gordon, owner of an empire of 12 successful restaurants around the world. Gordon wanted Draco to appear in a press conference with him about affiliating Draco's casino empire in Europe, United Arab Emirates, South America and his new location…the United States of America. Draco stood around as Gordon's representative checked in for him in the checking in area.
Draco looked around and saw a blonde woman, whispering into a phone, staring at him with fascination. Draco smirked at her and looked away. As he looked around the elegant lobby, his eyes rested on the elevators that opened to reveal a tall and graceful looking woman with long brown hair and striking brown eyes. There was something about her face that struck him, as if he had seen her before, but from where?
Draco felt himself turn his head, still staring as she smoothly walked across the room, stumbling a tad bit, towards the blonde woman who had been staring at him. The brunette greeted the blonde who obviously looked like she was trying to be discreet with trying to get her to look at him. The brunette pointed to her watch and grabbed the blonde's hand and dragged her out of the lobby, outside. Draco smirked, and looked away, surprised that a woman had caught his eye after all these years.
Jade walked down the steps with Jessica into the black Mercedes that waited outside for them.
"Good Morning Miss Harper." The driver said, holding the door for the women.
"Good Morning Hank." Jade said, letting Jessica hop in first. Jade slid inside and Hank closed the door.
"We had time!" Jessica complained.
"What do you want me to do looking at a guy? I'm sure he's your type, you liked him didn't you? Why do you need me to look?" Jade asked.
"You have a good point, but still. He was something to look at!" Jessica bubbled. Jade merely shook her head and smiled.
"You are impossible." Jade said chuckling.