Chapter 705 - Evening snack (1)

~ Pacific Ocean, Private island ~

Later that evening, JoAnna and Jeff walked away from the helicopter, toward the villa.

"You have no idea how much I missed this place." JoAnna beamed.

"I'm glad you like it."

"How can I not like this?" JoAnna gestured toward the white villa, which is lit up with lights, making it look like it's floating in the darkness. She hugged Jeff. "And it comes with a handsome man, included."

Jeff laughed and scooped her in his arms. "This handsome man is included with you, not with the villa."

He made two steps when JoAnna protested: "Hey, hey… you left the suitcase behind!"

"I will get it later."

"No, keep me down.", she demanded. "As a birthday girl, I request that you don't leave my side, so get the suitcase now. I will walk."

Jeff thought for a second and concluded that he can't carry JoAnna and the suitcase at the same time due to lack of hands. He kept her down and they walked together. Part of him regretted that they packed a suitcase for this occasion since they already have everything they need in the villa. But if they didn't bring a suitcase, how else would he hide the birthday present that he prepared for JoAnna?

…

Two of them decided to have a light snack before heading to bed.

Jeff noticed that JoAnna is not eating much. She was mostly playing with a watermelon slice. "Something on your mind?"

"It's the same thing I'm thinking about for last few days." JoAnna pouted.

Jeff knows what is weighing on her mind. "Bridgette?"

"Yes." JoAnna admitted. "I like her, and I would like to keep her as my assistant. But I'm concerned about the trouble that is coming our way. Will she be able to handle it? Does she even want to handle it? If anything happens to her, I will blame myself forever, and Felix will not forgive me either."

"We spoke about this before. If you don't want her to be your assistant going forward, let her know. But if you want her to stay, talk to her. There is no point in guessing what will she decide."

"You will keep Steve at your side?"

Jeff nodded. "I trust him. In next few days, I will talk to him. If he is not comfortable with the additional responsibilities that will come with White foundation, I will see if I can somehow divide work and keep him out of it. Steve is very capable and I'm depending on him for a lot of things."

"I see."

JoAnna knows that Steve is working for Jeff for several years now and Steve proved to Jeff that he can handle stressful situations. But what about Bridgette? They had been kidnapped and Bridgette soldiered through all that, so JoAnna thinks that Bridgette will want to continue as her assistant. It's not that JoAnna plans to be kidnapped again, but she is aware that with her officially entering White family, there will be more people targeting her and her loved ones.

'Huh, how contradictory. By gaining more power I will also get more enemies.', JoAnna thought.

Jeff's voice pulled JoAnna out of her thoughts. "I heard that mom spoke to you about the wedding guests which are not friendly."

"Yes. Don't worry, I can handle them."

Jeff smiled seeing JoAnna's confidence. "I don't doubt your capabilities, but I still want to give you a heads up. There are few families who hoped to join mine with marriage. None of them will be bold enough to make trouble openly during our wedding reception, but that does not mean they will not scheme something. I will point them out when you meet them."

JoAnna listened to what Jeff said. She knows that even for them, few families approached Stella and Edward, showing interest in matching their sons with Hill sisters, but Stella and Edward rejected them. JoAnna thought how it's silly that her father, who always talked about controlling their love lives and even mentioned arranged marriages few times (they all hoped he is joking), ended up refusing to pick their life partners.

JoAnna returned her thoughts to families that Jeff mentioned. "How are they different from any other girl who wanted to snatch you, like for example… Regina?"

Jeff was not sure how to answer this, especially seeing malicious glint in JoAnna's eyes. But he did his best: "Let's say that these women have strong encouragement from their families. Their mind was filled with idea that they will be future Mrs. White since they were little. Those women will see you as someone who is taking something that belongs to them. But don't worry, I will not leave your side."

"Those women coveted a marriage with you in spite of your arranged marriage with Isabella?"

"They never saw that as a problem."

JoAnna understood what he means. There is a lot of shameless people who are blinded by what they want, and they don't care about any obstacles, or hurting others in the process of obtaining it.

After a second, JoAnna felt shame wash over her… didn't she fall for Jeff before he broke his agreement with Isabella? Ah! She even moved in with him! She has no right to judge those girls for pursuing him while ignoring the fact that he was technically engaged. Now she really lost her appetite and pushed plate with fruits away from her.

"Now what?" Jeff saw that JoAnna became dejected.

"How am I different than those girls who are after you? When we started… you were still with Isabella." JoAnna almost cried.

Jeff moved and pulled JoAnna to sit in his lap. "Hey, you were the first one. Remember? Seventeen years ago, I decided to marry you. There is a letter to prove it."

"Well, that does make me feel a bit better." JoAnna wrapped her arms around his neck.

"It should. For the last seventeen years, only you have the right of being Mrs. Jeffrey White. Every other girl who tried getting that title was going for what belongs to you." Jeff kissed JoAnna's forehead and tightened his hold on her. "I believe that was the reason why for such a long time I was not interested in any girl. I was waiting for you to come back into my life."

JoAnna smiled while enjoying his embrace. His words reminded her that he belongs to her, just how she belongs to him.

It made her think about the girls who are coveting her future husband. They must come from influential families, but Hills are not no be neglected either. How about their education? Well, JoAnna can hold her head high on that. How about their manners? JoAnna concluded that Jeff does not care about that… if he does, why would he pursue a girl who almost forced him to buy her a hamburger, ate his breakfast, pass out drunk and barfed on him? She tries not to think about that. It was an absolutely horrible first impression… one day it will be a nice memory (maybe), but at this point, she is still embarrassed when she remembers that night and morning in his hotel room. What girls else have? Looks. JoAnna thinks that she is OK, but…

"Are those girls… pretty?", she ended up asking Jeff.

"I don't know. I never paid attention to them." Jeff honestly responded.

JoAnna burst into laugh. "That is so like you… ignoring girls who are throwing themselves at you. And then they end up working at my resort!"

Jeff frowned slightly. He can't believe that JoAnna brought up that woman again. Second time this evening! "Will you ever forgive me for Regina?"

"There is a difference between forgive and forget. And I will never forget her. Or that you brought her in." JoAnna said matter-of-factly.

Jeff wanted to change the topic. There is no point in talking about Regina, and he felt that if he continues talking about this, JoAnna will only get more agitated. Yes, change of topic is a wise choice.