Chapter 45: A Month

Chapter 45: A Month Jamal, who was now sitting by the lobby outside Genevieve’s office, was engrossed in his phone, scrolling through the mute girl’s social media page. He laughed at some of the memes and funny videos she reposted. And after hesitating for a moment he sent her a direct message. [Hey, it’s Jamal. Are you home now?] He raised his head when he heard Genevieve’s footsteps and then he slipped his phone into his pocket and quickly stood up when he saw them approaching. "I need you to drop my friend off at his hotel. After that, return here and wait for me so you can drive me home. That way I can also show you where you’ll be staying," Genevieve said as they stopped in front of him. Jamal nodded. "Understood, ma’am." "Oh, and for the duration of his stay, you’ll be driving him around. So maybe you should give him your contact so that he can reach you when he needs your service. And I’ll be needing your number too. My assistant who employed you is no longer here," she said, and Jamal nodded and he pulled out his phone to swap numbers with her. After they were done, she handed him her car key, "Give it to the valet at the entrance door and he will bring the car to you." "Yes, ma’am." Jamal gave her a nod before glancing at Stefan, who looked mildly amused, "I’ll be waiting outside, sir." Just as he turned to leave, Genevieve’s voice stopped him. "Wait," she said. "What’s your name again?" Jamal turned back to her, his expression unreadable. "Pete," he answered smoothly and Stefan raised a brow, wondering when he had come up with that. Genevieve nodded. "Make sure you return immediately after dropping him off." "Yes, ma’am," he said, giving her a curt nod. "And your clothes. They’re too casual and not fitting for your role. Please do something about it," she instructed. "I will," Jamal promised before turning back toward the elevator. Before Stefan could follow, Genevieve stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a warm embrace. "It was really nice seeing you again, Jamal," she said softly. "I can’t wait to catch up properly tomorrow." Stefan returned the hug. "Me too." As he walked away, Genevieve watched him go before turning on her heel and heading back to her office, a small smile playing on her lips. Stefan stepped out of the building to see Jamal waiting for him by Genevieve’s car, and the moment he saw him, he raised a brow. "What was that about?" He asked, and Jamal gave him a pointed look to remind him the valet was still there. "Let’s get out of here," he said and they got into the car and Jamal drove off. As soon as they were on the road, Stefan loosened his tie with one hand and let out a short laugh. "It’s not bad having you drive me around, Pete." Jamal chuckled, "Thanks, Mr Jamal." Stefan smirked. "Pete? That’s the name you came up with?" He asked, glancing at Jamal. Jamal shrugged. "I didn’t come up with it. That’s her driver’s name." Stefan shook his head. "I still don’t get how you plan to carry on with the lie that you’re her driver." "It’s not a lie," Jamal said, a smirk tugging at his lips. Stefan scoffed. "Oh really? Since when did you become her driver?" Jamal chuckled. "Since the universe decided to be on my side." "What happens when the real driver shows up? She’s going to find out you lied, and then you’d make me look like an idiot," Stefan said, and Jamal shook his head. "Relax. No one is showing up. Pete already showed up while you were both in the office and I borrowed his identity," Jamal explained. "For real?" He asked, looking at Jamal through the rearview mirror. "Yes, Mr Jamal," Jamal said, and Stefan chuckled, shaking his head. "So tell me, what exactly are you doing, Jamal? Why did you suddenly decide to be her driver? I thought you were eager to meet her? Why did you change your mind at the last minute? I know she made a mistake by assuming I was you and you were her driver, but we could have easily corrected that," he pointed out. "Why did you continue with this?" Stefan asked, confused. Jamal drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. "I don’t know. Something doesn’t feel right. I can’t explain what it is, but I just didn’t feel like correcting her." "I don’t understand what you mean," Stefan said, and Jamal sighed. "Let’s just say I wanted to know her," he admitted after a moment. "Not as me. Not as Jamal Jonas. I wanted to see her from another perspective, see how she interacts with people when she’s not trying to impress or put up a front." Stefan leaned back against the seat, watching Jamal carefully through the mirror. "And then what?" "And then if she’s good I’ll re-introduce myself and explain things to her. If she isn’t, we will move on like this never happened," Jamal said, and Stefan shook his head. "I thought you cared about her. What’s this you’re doing now? I came here with you to see your teary and soap opera worthy reunion not become a fake Jamal Jonas," Stefan said with disapproval. Jamal let out a low chuckle. "I know. I’m sorry you got dragged into it. But you’re my assistant, right? You’re assisting me right now." Stefan scowled at him, and Jamal laughed again. "I can’t explain it, but when I saw her today... I don’t know, I just didn’t feel settled. Something about her felt off, and I needed to see for myself what’s really going on in her life." Stefan folded his arms. "So what do you plan to do? Just drive her around and spy on her?" Jamal shot him a smirk. "Something like that. What did you both talk about?" Stefan exhaled. "Well, not much. She wants us to have dinner together tomorrow," he said. "We talked about the scandal years ago." Jamal raised a brow, "You did? Who raised the subject? You or her? And why?" Stefan quickly explained the details of their conversation to him and Jamal sighed, his fingers tightening around the wheel as he scowled, "That makes sense. If he was going to be such a shitty father to her why did he insist on cutting her off from the rest of the family?" "She seems like a good girl to me. Why don’t you just talk to her?" Stefan asked. Jamal glanced at him through the mirror again. "Not yet." Stefan shook his head. "Alright, so what’s your plan? How long do you plan to keep up this act?" Jamal’s expression grew serious. "I’m not going back to Ludus this weekend," he said. "But you have to. We have lots of projects..." "I only need a month..." "No. You can’t do that. You don’t have a month to waste on this," Stefan said firmly. "That would disorganize your entire schedule." "I wasn’t asking for your permission, Stefan. I intend to stick around. I need to get a little closer to her father, see what kind of person he really is. I have a feeling there’s something he’s hiding, and I want to know what it is. I think he cut Dawn off from the rest of the family because he has something to hide." Stefan raised a brow. "So what am I supposed to do? Stay here with you and keep pretending to be Jamal Jonas while you play driver?" Jamal chuckled. "Yes. I intend for you to keep pretending to be Jamal Jonas. But not here. You can do that in Ludus. Only a few outsiders know my face. So you might as well keep up the act." Stefan stared at him for a long moment before exhaling. "You are out of your mind, you know that?" Jamal grinned. "That’s what makes life interesting." "What about your family? What do I say when they ask where you are?" Stefan asked and Jamal shrugged. "Ask them to ask me. You don’t have to say anything."