42. Jasmine

42

JASMINE

A s Edgar walked away, Frankie waited until he was out of earshot to lean over the table with a mischievous smile lifting her lips. "He seems in a good mood. Is he finally over you?"

Jasmine cast a sidelong glance at Edgar, making sure that he wasn't looking their way. "He's infatuated with the princess, but it's not serious. He was very eager to meet your cousin."

Frankie's eyes lit up. "That's awesome. I would love to match those two." She narrowed her eyes at Jasmine. "You don't mind, right?"

"Not at all. I want Edgar to find his happily ever after. I will feel less guilty about ending things between us. He was good to me, and I feel like I didn't treat him right." She sighed. "But I just knew that he wasn't my one and only, and I think he knew that as well, but it has taken him longer to accept it."

Frankie frowned. "So, why are you still feeling guilty?"

"Because I have Ell-rom, and I'm happy, while Edgar doesn't have anyone yet."

"I get it." Frankie turned toward the wall of greenery segregating the café. "Here she is." She jumped to her feet and rushed over to hug a blond woman who looked nothing like her.

Angelica was a little taller than Frankie, but not while Frankie was wearing five-inch platform heels, and she was a little fuller in all the right places. She looked young, carefree, and sweet.

Nothing like the daredevil that Jasmine had imagined her to be. But then looks could be deceptive, and with a face like hers, Angelica could get away with murder, and no one would suspect her.

"Jasmine," Frankie said as she led her cousin to the table with an arm around her waist. "Meet my cousin, Angelica."

"Hi." Jasmine offered the woman her hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you."

"Like what?" Angelica shook her hand with surprising strength for a delicate and feminine-looking girl like her. In comparison, Jasmine felt almost masculine.

"That you are fearless and that you are the queen of bikinis. Frankie told me that she borrowed three sets from you."

Shaking her head, Angelica pulled out a chair and sat down. "I found this place that sells factory rejects for peanuts. I paid five bucks per set, and the defects were barely visible."

Frankie mock-glared at her. "Don't reveal all of our secrets."

Angelica snorted in a very unladylike fashion. "You have more secrets than Margo has conspiracy theories. What's the deal with you staying in this fancy building? Is your new boyfriend that rich?"

As Frankie cast Jasmine a pleading look, she quickly thought of a story that wouldn't sound too outlandish. "The apartment is owned by the Perfect Match Virtual Studios. Lodging is provided as part of the compensation package for those who need it during training."

Angelica looked skeptical. "Why would they do that? People are willing to sell their mothers to get a job at that place. They don't need to tempt them with fancy apartments."

Jasmine shrugged. "They have been investing a lot of resources into recruiting and training their employees. They want them to stay, and there is no better way to do that than to provide them with lodging that is close to the studios."

Frankie looked impressed with her answer, but Angelica still looked skeptical. "Do you work for them too?"

"I'm about to start soon. I'm working on another project for them right now."

"What kind of project?" Angelica asked.

Jasmine smiled. "I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to talk about it. The confidentiality agreement they had me sign is a monster. If I break any of their rules, I'd be in big trouble."

Angelica nodded sagely. "Frankie told me about it. It's crazy, but I can understand why they need it. As long as they have no competition, they can have good profit margins, and if they are publicly traded, their share price goes up. They need to ensure that no one steals their tech."

"Precisely."

The way Angelica talked about profit margins, Jasmine wondered if she worked in accounting or maybe in investments.

"What do you do for a living, Angelica?"

"Nails." She lifted her hands and turned them around to showcase the small masterpieces that were painted on her nails. "I'm a beautician. For now, I work in someone else's salon, but I'm saving to open a place of my own. Then I can profit from renting stations to others."

"I admire your entrepreneurial spirit."

"Thank you." Angelica beamed. "People don't realize how much money there is in this business." She reached for Jasmine's hand. "Oh boy. You need help. These are atrocious. What have you been doing, mountain climbing?"

Jasmine chuckled. "I think you are in the wrong business. You should be a detective. That was a classic Sherlock Holmes observation."