Chapter 131: Upset

Chapter 131: Upset Seeing the look on Abigail’s face when she opened the door, Genevieve could tell she had made a mistake by inviting her to her room. She too remembered the last time Abigail had been here, and the memory shamed her. She felt even worse knowing that she was doing the same thing even now by being with Jamal. "Let’s go to the library instead," Genevieve said and stepped out of her room before Abigail could walk inside. Abigail didn’t miss the flicker of guilt in Genevieve’s face, but she remained silent as she followed Genevieve down the hall. After the incident five years ago, Abigail had not had any reason to go to Genevieve’s room especially since Genevieve had been in school and then she too had traveled out of the county shortly after. As they walked into the library, Abigail remembered the last time she had been there with Genevieve. It had been the morning Genevieve woke her from sleep with a splash of water on her face and asked her to do her assignments. The thought occurred to Genevieve at the same time and she sighed inwardly. She doubted there was any part of the house where there wasn’t a memory of her cruelty and wickedness to Abigail. She didn’t deserve forgiveness. Asking for forgiveness would be too selfish of her. How could she ever ask or expect Abigail to forgive all of that? "Let’s sit down," Genevieve said as she took one of the seats, and Abigail took the seat opposite her, wondering what Genevieve wanted to talk about. Was it about Ryan? Or did she want to apologize and tell her the truth now? "What do you think about Pete?" Genevieve asked, and Abigail’s brows pulled together. Pete? Why was she asking her about Jamal? Was it about filling the secretary position? Abigail unlocked her phone and typed on her text to speech app which she mostly used when communicating with Genevieve; "He is okay." "Okay?" Genevieve asked, and Abigail sighed as she typed again. "He’s decent. I like him." Genevieve nodded, "I talked with him earlier and he showed interest in the position of secretary. So, I was thinking, since he is can sign, maybe he can double as our driver and secretary. What do you think?" Abigail shrugged before typing, "You’re in charge. What ever you decide is fine by me." Genevieve didn’t like the response, but she understood. Abigail’s opinion had never been important to her, so she knew that was the reason Abigail wasn’t giving it. "Alright. We are both going to interview him tomorrow. If he passes the interview, then we can let him have the job. You can come up with the questions for the interview," Genevieve said, and Abigail nodded. Genevieve was silent for a moment and just when Abigail was beginning to think they were done, Genevieve spoke before she could stand up to leave. "So, did he talk to you yesterday when you got home?" Genevieve asked, and Abigail didn’t need to ask who she was talking about. She knew Genevieve was asking if Ryan had talked to her. Abigail typed, "Yes." Then in second thought she typed again, "Thank you for yesterday and for the gifts." "What did he say?" Genevieve asked, feeling awkward about accepting Abigail’s gratitude. Abigail told her about the conversation with Ryan, and when she was done, Genevieve sighed. "Just be careful and make sure your room is always locked when you go to bed at night," she advised. Abigail gave her a nod, and then Genevieve rose to leave. "That will be all." "Has he sexually assaulted anyone before?" Abigail typed quickly before Genevieve could leave. Genevieve hesitated, "Yes. It was a long time ago. And there have been various sexual harassment lawsuits against him over the years but he always weasels his way out of them. So be careful." "You think he would harass his own daughter?" Abigail asked, watching Genevieve closely. Genevieve shrugged, "I believe we both don’t want to find out the answer to that," she said before walking out of the library. Alone in the library now, Abigail drew a deep breath as she rose. She wanted to talk to Jamal. She needed to find out how the meeting with Ryan the previous day had gone and also what he had discussed with Genevieve. She walked out of the house and went in search of Jamal. Since almost everyone else was out, she knew he would most likely be in his room alone. When she got to his door she tapped on it, and Jamal was pleasantly surprised when he opened the door and saw her standing there. He looked at both sides of the hallway before asking if she wanted to come in, but she shook her head. It wasn’t safe. If anyone saw her coming out of his room it could create suspicion. The last thing she wanted was for Ryan to suspect her of being in a relationship with him. What if Ryan suspected that and decided to do a DNA test and then he finds out Jamal was Josh’s father? That would be a disaster. She signed. [Come out let’s chat in the open.] Jamal walked out of his room and walked a long distance away from the house so that no one would hear them but anyone could see them talking. [If we can’t communicate via texts, can we exchange letters instead?] Abigail signed as they walked. "That would be too risky. What if it falls into the hands of the wrong person?" he asked softly, and she sighed before responding. [But I need to know what’s going on. And I need to communicate with you. We have to find another means of communication. Why weren’t you in the kitchen for breakfast this morning?] Jamal’s lips twitched, "Is this your way of saying you missed me?" He teased, his voice low. Abigail rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched with amusement. [I did miss you. But I was worried.] "I missed you much more. And you don’t have to be worried. I’m doing my best to be careful. I’m still trying to find other ways we can communicate. When I do I’ll let you know," Jamal said, and she nodded. [By the way, it was nice eating with you and Josh.] Jamal smiled. "I enjoyed myself too. Both the meal and the company. Josh is quite a brilliant kid. I wonder if the cook suspected anything," Jamal said thoughtfully. [I don’t think she did. Josh is not very happy with you. He is disappointed you have a wife.] "Yeah. I noticed. I hope he doesn’t try to find you another boyfriend," Jamal said, and Abigail giggled. [So, how did it go with Ryan yesterday? Did he buy the story?] Jamal brought her up to speed with everything, both his conversation with Ryan as well as what Tom and Harry had planned. Abigail was relieved to know that things were going smoothly. [I’m relieved to hear that. Genevieve says we are going to interview you tomorrow. By the way, why did she look so sad when she returned?] Jamal hesitated briefly. "There’s something you should know," he said, looking uncomfortable. Abigail raised a brow, waiting for him to speak and wondering why he looked like he was about to say something she wouldn’t like. "Genevieve is learning to sign." [What? Since when? Why?] Abigail signed quickly with a slight frown. Jamal shrugged. "I don’t know why. Maybe she wants to be able to better communicate with you. But she asked me to teach her." Abigail looked at Jamal incredulously before signing. [She asked you to teach her? And you agreed? When did this happen?] "Don’t be mad, Abi. She is not so bad. And she is sorry..." he trailed off when she glared at him, and he could tell she was feeling very tempted to speak so she could yell or snap at him. Jamal sighed. "I understand that she hurt your feelings, but maybe you can give her a chance to make up for it." [You’re taking Genevieve’s side now? Are you both friends now?] she signed, her eyes brimming with tears of betrayal. "I’m not taking her side, Abi. I will always be on your side," he assured her calmly. [Then why are you the one teaching her to sign? Why can’t she get a teacher if she must learn to sign? Don’t you think she wants you to teach her so that she can spend more time with you?] Abigail signed, and Jamal shook his head. "No. She isn’t interested in me. She’s interested in Stefan. And if she wants to spend more time with me, it’s only because she doesn’t have any friends. She just thinks I’m trustworthy and she can talk to me." "But I don’t want her talking to you." As soon as the words left her lips, Abigail realized she had spoken out loud. Too upset to continue with the conversation Abigail turned to leave.