Chapter 28

(written by Lacy)

"And that's all the videos we have for you today here on Fox's Family Countdown," Carson Daily said from the center of the television, waking Jade from her spot on the couch. "Kevin?" she asked, sitting up straight and looking around. "Oh," she said to herself when she realized that it was all just a dream. Running her hands through her hair, she stood up and headed upstairs to check on Jess. She stopped outside Jess' bedroom door when she heard a male voice coming from the other side.

"I'll make sure she realizes it, too!" the voice said, followed by a female laugh. Jade went pale as she remembered her dream from a few minutes ago and what Brian had said to her in it. Anger getting the best of her, she opened the door and stepped into the room. "Oh, hey Jade," Jess said from her spot on the bed as she flipped through the channels on the TV. The TV, Jade said to herself, sighing in relief and laughing at her own stupidity. "Ya know, I think the only reason Brian gave this damn thing to me was so I had something else to drive me crazy other than you," Jess said, laughing. Jade just stood there and stared at her.

"What?" Jess asked, looking up from the TV. "Nothing," Jade lied, shaking her head. "I'm gonna go make supper. What do you feel like?" she asked. "Ummm... how about suishi?" Jess said, laughing. She knew Jade despised seafood. Jade made a face and picked up a pillow from it's resting place on the chair next to her and threw it at Jess. Jess just laughed and threw it back. "What about shepard's pie?" Jade asked. "Sounds good," Jess said, picking the remote back up. Closing Jess' door behind her, Jade headed downstairs to make her specialty.

Two hours later, after they had stuffed themselves on shephard's pie and banana custard, Jade stood up and stretched. "Oh shit," she said, looking at the clock beside Jess' bed, where they had eaten their supper. "What?" Jess asked, looking up. "I'm late for work," Jade said, grabbing their dishes and running downstairs. "Damn it," she said to herself as she rushed to put her shoes on and quickly put her hair up in a bun. Grabbing her car keys, she yelled goodbye to Jess and hurried out the door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You're late," Denise said to Jade as she ran into the Jive Records building. "I know, I'm sorry, I had car trouble," Jade said, unbuttoning her coat. "Don't bother, Green," Mr. Buckland said as he turned the corner and saw Jade taking her coat off. "She had car trouble," Denise said, jumping to her defense. "Car trouble kept her from missing a week of work and being over an hour late on a Friday?" he asked, crossing his arms. "I'm sorry Mr. Buckland, I really am. I'll make it up to you, I promise," Jade said. "Oh, don't worry about it," he said, turning around and heading back towards his office. "Really? It's okay?" Jade asked unbelievably. "Oh no, Miss Green," he said, turning back around to face her. "I'm afraid you had me all wrong. I meant don't worry about taking your coat off. You're fired," he said.

"What? Fired? You can't fire me, you're not my boss!" she yelled. "Not your boss, huh? As I remember correctly Miss Green, you get your pay check from me, and have been for the past two weeks. We can always find someone else from that newspaper you work for up in Philly to write the Rolling Stone article for us. You may be good, but you're not the best," he said. "Please Mr. Buckland, let me write this for you, I'll do anything," Jade begged, realizing that if she lost this article it would be the end of what she'd spent her whole life working for.

"Anything, huh?" he asked, looking her up and down. "Come into my office, Miss Green. I think you just said the magic words." Looking at Denise in confusion, Jade picked up her coat from where she had dropped it on the floor and followed him into his office. She walked past where he was standing beside the open door and sat down in the chair across from his desk. Hearing the door close, she looked up, expecting to see him walking across the room. Instead, he was standing behind her chair.

"Miss Green, you have been here in Florida for well over two weeks now, yet we haven't gotten to know each other very well. As your temporary boss, I feel at fault for my lack of effort," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders. She tenced up immediantely and her breath caught in her throat. "Perhaps you're wondering what I'm getting at," he said, making his way around the chair so that he was now infront of her and kneeling down on the floor. "Perhaps if we both put forth a little more effort to make this a friendly relationship, it would be easier for both of us to have you working here." he said. Jade looked down too see his hand making its way up her leg. "Do you understand?" he asked, getting closer to her.

"I think I understand you perfectly, Mr. Buckland," she said, watching as a smile spread across his face. She stood up, coming face-to-face with him as he, too, stood up. He placed one hand on her waist and one on her shoulder and moved his face towards hers. Reacting quickly, she grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted her knee hard between his legs. His face turning purple, he slowly fell to the floor and gasped for air. "Now I hope you understand me, Mr. Buckland when I say 'I quit'!!!" she yelled, walking out of the room and slamming his office door behind her.

Back to "All That Heaven Allows" Index