Chapter 278 Homecoming

Chapter 278 Homecoming　　Once Jade woke up from sleep, she sat up on the bed and looked around the bedroom in confusion, trying to figure out where she was since this was neither her apartment nor the hotel suite she had been sharing with Harry for the last couple of days. 

Immediately Harry's name came to mind, her lips rounded in a silent 'Oh' when she remembered that she was at Harry's apartment. Last night they had flown back to Ludus so that she could meet with her brothers and their girlfriends, and also talk to Candace about seeing Jero before they take down the cartel.

Jero had pointed out the possibility that he might be killed the moment he shows his face anywhere around the cartel lords, and so he had requested that he see Candace and their son before doing that, since he doubted that even though he survived and was sent to jail, Candace might not want to bring their son to see him in such a hostile environment.

They would have gone directly to Tom's house, but because they arrived very late, and didn't want to wake up everyone, they had decided to just crash at Harry's place and head over to Tom's place in the morning.

From the rays of sunlight coming in through a crack on the window blind, Jade could tell that it was almost noon already. They had arrived here sometime around four in the morning, and Harry had shown her to the guest bedroom immediately and had asked her to get some rest, before leaving for his bedroom. She had been too tired herself to try to instigate any form of conversation so she had done exactly that. Showered, and went to bed. 

Jade got off the bed and walked over to the closet where Harry had dropped her duffel bag while showing her to her room. She took out a decent robe and wore it over her skimpy nightdress before walking out of the bedroom. She was curious to see what his apartment looked like since she had been too tired to look around the place when they arrived. 

As she stepped out of the bedroom, she looked down the hallway and counted the doors. There were about four doors on one side of the wall including hers, that had to mean four bedrooms, while the other side of the wall was decorated with different paintings and artworks. And then there were two doors at both ends of the passageway. She suspected that one of them led to the convenience bedroom for visitors, while the other led to the living room. 

The source of light on the passageway came from about six single cylinder-shaped chandelier lamps that decorated the roof from one end to the other, giving it a kind of golden hue. And on the floor was a red rug. 

She was surprised that she hadn't taken note of all of this last night. She must have been more exhausted than she had thought to have missed it. The place looked so classy like it was a hotel. Now she could only imagine how he would have felt, leaving this sort of place to come and visit her dump. 

Just as she stepped into the living room, she heard the clicking sounds coming from his laptop before she saw him seated at the dining busy with his laptop, dressed in blue flannel pyjamas.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked without raising his head as she approached him. 

"Yes, I did. Good morning," she greeted 

"It's afternoon already. I didn't want to disturb your sleep," Harry said as he raised his head to look at her. Thankfully she didn't look as horrible now as she looked that first day he had seen her at her apartment. She looked well-rested now without dark circles around her eyes, and there was color on her face that had nothing to do with make-up. She looked lovely, especially with her short crop of hair looking sleep tousled. 

"Are you sure you didn't want to disturb my sleep, or you didn't want to wake me up because you were scared that I would disturb your work?" Jade asked with a teasing smile.

"Both."

"What are you working on?" Jade asked curiously as she leaned over his shoulder to see what he was doing, making Harry suddenly hold his breath. 

"I'm going through the evidence you received to see if it is useful and well organized," Harry said as calmly as he could muster.

Making Jade's brow shoot up as she pulled out the seat next to him and sat down, while he turned the laptop to face her.

"Are you doing this because you are a workaholic and can't stay without work, or are you just curious?"

Harry shook his head as he picked up the empty cup of coffee beside him to refill it, also so that he could catch his breath, "I only did it because you seemed really tired and needed to rest," Harry said as he walked away, and Jade turned to look at him. 

She wanted to say something smart to that, but there was nothing to say, so she returned her attention to the laptop, as she wondered how long he must have been up.

"Do you want coffee?" Harry called out from the kitchen.

"Yes, please," she called back.

Once he returned, he set the cup of coffee next to her, and she looked into it surprised, "You added..."

"A teaspoonful of sugar, and cream the way you take it," he said, surprising Jade who hadn't expected him to have taken note of something like that. 

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Harry asked when he noticed the surprise on her face, and Jade shook her head. 

"Nothing. Thanks," she murmured as she took a sip from it. 

"So? What do you think?" Harry asked as he shut his eyes and rubbed his eyes with his fingers. 

"You made my job easier, thanks," she said with gratitude, "How much does Tom pay you?" Jade asked curiously.

"Why do you want to know that?" Harry asked, equally curious, and she flashed him a smile.

"I want to know if I can afford you. I think you'll make a good assistant," she said, and Harry shook his head. 

"No, thanks. Even if you could afford me, which I highly doubt, I'm not interested in working for you," Harry said, stifling a yawn as he picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip. 

"Do you think I made the right call by letting him go with Andy?" Jade asked without taking her eyes from the laptop's screen.

"Do you think there is something else you could have done? Besides, I think he would have done what he did with or without your consent. I tried to find some information on him," Harry said as he turned the laptop and clicked on a document he had saved to show her. 

"He only came back to the country and joined the cartel three months after his pregnant fiancee was murdered, and exactly a week after the death of his father. What does that tell you?" Harry asked, and Jade narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.

"He joined with an agenda?" Jade asked uncertainly.

"He was living quietly and was doing quite well for himself. He had his own tech company," Harry said as he clicked on a folder and opened some pictures.

"Wow! He is just as good looking as his voice sounds," Jade murmured, and Harry silently agreed, since he had thought so too the moment he saw the man's picture. No homo. 

"He was most likely forced into abandoning his dreams and taking up his father's dreams. So he likely came to destroy his father's life's work as his had been destroyed. He was going to bring down the cartel with or without you," Harry said, and Jade sighed.

"That makes sense. But what about Andy?"

"I think she will be okay. There is no use telling you that I will try to find them since it is obvious that my men won't be able to find him. We will just have to trust him," Harry said with a yawn, unable to stifle it this time. 

"I guess you are right. You are exhausted. Did you even sleep?" She asked, clearly concerned. 

"I didn't. But I will after I drop you off at Tom's house," Harry assured her. 

"You haven't told him that we are coming over, have you?" She asked as she sipped from her cup of coffee.

"No. Do you want to? I thought we would surprise them with your presence," Harry said, and Jade raised her cup in a toast to him before setting it down. 

"Good thinking. When are we leaving?" Jade asked as she looked away from him to look around the dining room and the living room. 

"As soon as you're ready," Harry said, watching her from the rim of his cup as he sipped from his coffee. 

"Your apartment is really lovely," Jade said with admiration.

"More than I can say for yours," Harry said dryly, and she giggled. If she wasn't used to his bluntness by now, she would have felt offended. 

"Lucky you, you don't have to go back there," she said instead as she stood up, "I will go get ready then. Hopefully, there will be something to eat over there since I doubt that you have any food in your really lovely apartment," Jade said as she gulped down the remaining coffee in her cup. 

"By the way, have you given a thought to my offer?" Harry asked as he watched her drop the cup on the table and use the back of her hand to wipe her lips. 

Jade narrowed her eyes as she tried to remember the offer, and then she grinned when she recalled their unfinished conversation, "Apart from being an intelligent lawyer, is there any other reason why you want me to work with you there?" She asked, smiling at him as she batted her lashes.

Harry shook his head as he saved the document and removed the flash drive from his laptop before shutting it down, "Let me know when you make up your mind," he said as he handed her the flash drive and once she took it from him, he picked up both cups and headed for the kitchen.

Jade rolled her eyes, "Gosh! You are so boring," she called out to him as she headed for the bedroom, while Harry snorted. 

"I don't live for your entertainment," he muttered under his breath. 

Forty-five minutes later, Jade stepped out of her bedroom carrying her small duffel bag in one hand and her handbag in the other hand. She was dressed in a short buttondown denim dungaree skirt and a plain white long-sleeved top.

"I'm ready," she said as she joined Harry in the living room.

"Since we are stating the obvious, I have eyes," Harry said dryly as he pointed to his eyes, and Jade giggled. 

"That was a good joke."

"I guess boring people can tell good jokes then?" He asked with a scoff as he picked up his car key and walked over to where she was to take the duffel bag from her. 

"Boring people can crack funny jokes sometimes. It doesn't make them less boring," Jade said with a grin as she looked him over. Surprisingly he was dressed in a denim short and white shirt with matching sneakers.

"Hmm. You look cool," she observed with admiration since she was used to seeing him wear mostly corporate clothes apart from his usual pyjamas, and the only time she had seen him wear something casual was the turtle neck. 

"Why? Boring people can't look cool?" He asked as he led the way out of the house and she laughed as she followed him. 

"Seeing as you keep bringing it up, you must be pained that I called you boring," Jade said in amusement as they both walked into the elevator.

"I can't wait to drop you off, and be free from your smart mouth," Harry muttered under his breath, but loud enough for her to hear him. 

"You're going to miss me when I'm gone," she promised him.