Chapter 12 Twelve


    Isabelle walked into the kitchen to the sight of Jacob standing over an overturned recycling bin, with


    several shattered beer bottles at his feet. He had a broom in one hand and a dustpan in the other, still


    as he looked at the mess he had made.


    When Isabelle appeared, he looked from the mess to her and then back again. “I…uh…” he began,


    then went to rub the back of his neck, but realised that was impossible with the dustpan in his hand. So


    he dropped his hand and shrugged.


    Isabelle was relieved that he didn’t seem to have hurt himself. But she couldn’t help but be amused at


    how he looked standing there looking at the mess he had made as if not sure how it had happened.


    He cleared his throat and looked at her. “I was sweeping and then…I hit the bin.”


    Yeah, she had guessed as much. Stepping forward, she reached for his broom. “Let me clean it up.”


    “No,” he said, stepping back. “Careful,” he added, looking down at the shattered ss. “Don’t step on


    them.”


    Isabelle stepped back from the fallen bin. “Sure you don’t need help?”


    “I can handle this,” he told her, beginning to sweep the shattered pieces together. “But I can’t handle


    you getting hurt because of me.”


    Isabelle couldn’t keep her smile to herself. Did he realise how sweet that sounded? “Okay,” she finally


    gave in, seeing as he really did have a handle on things. Leaving him to his devices, she went back to


    continue tidying up the living room.


    It didn’t take much longer for Jacob to clean up his mess andplete the rest of the cleanup. When


    he looked around the kitchen, he felt satisfied at the result of his efforts. He couldn’t remember thest


    time he had done such intense housework, but it sure felt nice, almost therapeutic.


    Leaving the kitchen area, he ventured into the living room. He had caught glimpses of Isabelle moving


    around but hadn’t managed to really see what she was up to. Now, looking at her final result, he


    couldn’t help but stare in awe.


    It was the same old living room, the same furniture, but it lookedpletely different. She had moved


    the furniture, gotten rid of all the clutter, and seemed to have wiped down every visible surface.


    Isabelle turned to face him and indicated the room. “What do you think?” she had a big smile that


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    suggested she was happy with her work.


    She had every reason to be, Jacob thought. “It’s nice,” he told her. Way more than nice. “It looks very


    different and way better,” he added.


    “Really?” she asked, her eyes shining with joy. “You like it?”


    “Yeah,” he said, looking around again. There was something about how she had rearranged everything


    that reminded him of histe mother. His mother was very organised and at all times, everything in their


    home, down to the smallest details, always looked thoughtfully ced. And, in a way, it made the


    house more warm, lively. “It reminds me of my mother,” he found himself admitting out loud. He didn’t


    care whether that was too much information or not. “She was really good at making a room look like the


    “Your mother must have been a gentle woman,” Isabelle said, smiling softly.


    Jacob gazed at her with a small smile. “She is your mother-inw, you know.”


    Isabelle looked away in embarrassment when Jacob pointed that out. It was true, it’s just that… With


    the fakeness of their marriage and all, she really hadn’t thought of such things. It wasn’t as if they had


    dated and gotten a chance to get to know each other’s families.


    Jacob headed for the mini-fridge to look for a drink. After all the cleaning, he was feeling thirsty–looked


    like he wasn’t the only one, too. Where Isabelle was sitting at the dining table, she was eating an ice


    cream. To his disappointment, there was nothing in the fridge. While cleaning the refrigerator in the


    kitchen, he had noted it was empty too.


    Turning away, his eyesnded on the ice cream in Isabelle’s hand. He didn’t think twice as he took a


    step towards her, caught her hand in his, and then lifted the cool treat to his mouth. He took a bite and


    pulled away, enjoying the coolness that filled his mouth. He was aware of Isabelle’s wide-eyed gaze at


    him, and he figured he must have astonished her. All he had been thinking about was quenching his


    thirst–


    His phone rang then, and he retrieved it from his pocket. It was a call from work, so he walked away


    from Isabelle to receive it.


    “I have to go out,” he told her a minuteter when he got back. “I’m needed at work.”


    “At this time?” she asked, frowning.


    “It’s only eight,” he told her. “I’ll be back before it’s toote.”


    “Okay,” she said, and watched as he put on his jacket and coat and left the house.


    Even after he was gone, Isabelle’s heart still beat fast from what he had done with the ice cream. She


    never would have expected him to do something like that. It was way too intimate…hell, it was an


    indirect kiss. She wondered whether he had felt anything while doing it. Did he realise the intimacy of


    the action? No, he hadn’t seemed to notice…


    She was probably the only one working herself up over nothing. But still, she couldn’t stop thinking


    about how close his face had been to hers, how his hand had closed around hers, holding her gently…


    She shook her head as her face grew hot. She really needed to stop letting her thoughts run away with


    her.


    ***


    When Isabelle woke up the next morning, the first thing she did was check her email to see whether


    she had any correspondence from any of thepanies she had contacted. She was shocked when


    the first new mail in her inbox bore the Larson Group logo. At first, she thought it must be rted to


    their rejection, but the subject threw her off.


    An apology? She quickly opened the email and read it. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The


    HR department at the Larson Group had sent her an email apologising for unfair evaluation. What’s


    more, they gave her a new invitation for another interview.


    It was all too good, she almost feared it was a dream. But no, it wasn’t, she confirmed after reading the


    email for the second, third, and fourth time. She also counterchecked the sender. It was indeed the


    same ount that had invited her to an interview before.


    She could barely contain her excitement as she hopped out of bed and headed for the bathroom.


    Jacob was still sleeping soundly on the sofa, and she was careful to not rouse him. After he had left for


    work at night, he hade back at around eleven o’clock. She wondered what job he had, and wished


    his boss wouldn’t call him out at night when he had already had a tiring work day…


    While she showered, she wondered what had happened to make Larson Group invite her back. Given


    that they had apologised for unfair evaluation, she supposed that meant Ann had indeed personally


    influenced her rejection and had been found out.


    Anyway, that was none of her concern anymore. She was determined to ace this second interview too


    and gain the job fairly. It looked like her dream to work at the best fashion and designpany in the


    industry was still very much alive.