My Perfect Lady 15 The Darling

It was too small.

Jim looked inside the bathroom, at the untiled floor and the broken shower. A subst.i.tute of the shower, a bucket and a mug were kept under a rather suspicious looking tap. He sighed. Why was he even surprised? What was he expecting?

Shrugging, Jim began to undress. Then suddenly, a thought flashed across his mind, and he turned around to check if the door was properly locked. Thankfully, the latch was not broken, and n.o.body could push it open unless they actually kicked it.

Which he knew none in the room outside would care to do.

He hung the towel over the shower k.n.o.b, and turned the tap on, a bit hesitantly. Jim was amazed as water came gus.h.i.+ng out of the little thing. It was like a mini flood! He hadn't bathed under a tap for a long while. The last time he had done it, it had been in some village, years ago.

The feeling in his below-the-waist area had subsided now, but somehow, Jim was afraid to look at himself. He quickly picked up the bodywash and began to clean up. Compared to the mop smell that he had been emitting for hours now, this was actually heavenly.

The water was d.a.m.n cold, so Jim didn't take long. He just made sure he wasn't stinking anymore, washed his hair, and was done in no time. Also, the thought that his darling, the black currant ice-cream was waiting for him outside, made him rush up.

As soon as he was ready, he realized that he had forgotten to ask Miya for the clothes she had bought. So he wrapped the towel (which smelled pretty nice), around his waist and was about to step out, when realization struck.

It would be totally inappropriate to go out like that.

Also, what if the woman photographed him?

Although he couldn't imagine her doing that, he still decided it wasn't worth the risk.

Jimmy unlocked the bathroom door and peeping from it, called out loud.

"Miya! I forgot my clothes. Hand them over, please!"

He heard a bit of a ruffle, and then Miya's brat came into his view. He looked obviously annoyed, and shoving a blue bag into Jim's outstretched hand, he stomped away.

Wow. That chestnut sized shrimp sure had some att.i.tude.

Jim looked into the packet, and was happy to see a white s.h.i.+rt and a pair of black trousers. Good colours. He inspected them carefully, and concluded that they were new and unused. Smiling, he got dressed.

When he came out, Miya was walking out of the kitchen with a plate of ice cream in her hands. His heart leaped with joy.

Miya wanted to laugh at the delighted expression on Mr. Hunter's face. She dared not to, though. But it amused her that he looked as happy as Ben did when she bought him his favourite candy. Seeing that the man's mood had improved, she sighed contentedly, feeling slightly less guilty.

"There you go," she announced, and handed over the plate to Jimmy, "Do you need a comb?"

Jim's hair was still wet, and he doubted she owned a blow drier. So he simply shook his head. And then, looking down at the ice cream, he almost wept.

Where have you been, my dear, after all this time? His heart sang. He looked at the beautiful texture of the ice cream, and then put a spoonful into his mouth.

Oh. Oh.

The taste. The sheer taste. And the smell. Oh, the ice cold feeling that ran down his throat! No, there was nothing in this world that he wouldn't give –

"Mr. Hunter?"

"Hm?" It was as if someone was pulling him out of a trance.

"Like I said, there's some trouble outside."

Jim was immediately on alert, and he raised his brows in question. Nevertheless, he didn't stop gobbling down the ice cream. Almost immediately though, he noticed something else.

"You aren't eating!" he said rather accusingly, surprised as he saw that he was the only one enjoying the sweet.

"Ah, well. I… don't like ice cream. Ben loves it though. He's in the kitchen. I served him some."

Jim was aghast.

"Why don't you like ice cream?" he asked her very seriously. Miya thought he even looked offended.

"Um, I think it's too cold."

"What? It's not!" And then, Jim sized her up, looking at her from head to toe. Then with a disbelieving expression on his face, he concluded, "You cannot not like ice cream."

Miya suppressed a laugh.

"I really don't. I'm glad you like it though." She eyed him, as he gobbled down spoon after spoon at the speed of light, all the while looking at her unbelievingly.

Miya went and picked up a few notes from the bed.

"Here," she said, handing them over to him, "Your cash."

He looked at the notes in her hand, and was surprised that it was most of the money that he had given to her.

"Wow," he said, genuinely amazed, "How cheap was this stuff?"

Miya grinned.

"The clothes obviously aren't a brand name. The ice cream is my treat."

"What!" Jim almost dropped the plate, rigorously shaking his head in disapproval now, "I can't accept that!" The fact that he still hadn't stopped eating nearly made her howl with laughter.

"Of course you can. Consider it an apology for earlier."

"No, I –"

��Please?"

She looked at him appealingly, her eyes wide in entreaty as she gave him a half smile. Jim's crotch obviously responded, but his brain was working better. If he accepted her apology, he would have nothing to hold against her. He wouldn't be able to use any blackmail, like handing her over to the police, anymore. And as much as he wanted to grant her plea, he wouldn't because well, the woman was his last chance at Hunter Corporation.

Nice move, Miya, nice move. Jim would have applauded her had she been a friend.

Instead, he coughed, looking as if he had choked on the ice cream.

Miya looked at him worriedly.

"Water, please?" he blurted out.

He was given a gla.s.s, and just like that, the situation pa.s.sed. He did see Miya look a bit disappointed though. He didn't know why, but he felt slightly guilty. So he attempted to divert her attention. Remembering that she had something important to tell him before they had begun with the entire ice cream conversation, he asked:

"Hey, you were saying there's something I have to deal with?"

She looked at him instantly, then frowned.

"Yes! I think you parked your car not far away from here. I'm not sure how, but someone recognized it as yours. I saw people trying to figure out if you personally were in the area or somewhere nearby. Maybe they were reporters. I saw them hogging the ice cream shop."

Jim was happy.

Finally! Someone had finally recognized him! He was beginning to think this cla.s.s of people didn't know about his existence.

And then, realization struck him.

Oh, no.

Not reporters. Not now, of all the times! And another dark realization dawned him, blackening his expression.

It was almost about to be time over. In the next few hours, he would have lost.

Undoubtedly, this was old Hunter's ploy.

That f***ing man!