The Job Hunt
"Okay, let's put the house in place then," Jason suggested, and they got to arrange things the way they preferred in the apartment.
While the men were rearranging things in the house to fit their style, Julia went to a nearby supermarket to buy some food items to prepare lunch. She returned to the house to see the changes the men had made to the house. The new arrangement was very nice. She quickly went to the kitchen and prepared noodles with vegetables for the afternoon. They all sat behind the dining table and ate the food.
"Thanks, Julia, the food is very delicious," Peter complimented, but Jason remained silent as he ate his food.
It was his first time eating such food, and it was a little spicy for him, but he still ate it. Julia had prepared noodles for lunch because she knew that would be ready in no time. Looking at Jason's face turning pink. It suddenly dawned on her that she had never seen Jason eat noodles, and she started feeling very bad about it. Jason tried but couldn't finish his noodles as they were too spicy for him. Peter, on the other hand, was used to such food, so he emptied his bowl. Julia cleared the tables with the help of Peter and Jason went to the room.
"He doesn't eat noodles, right?" Julia inquired from Peter once Jason had left.
"I have been around long enough to know he hadn't taken noodles before, and he doesn't like spicy foods," replied Peter.
"My bad. I should have asked. I am sure he is mad at me," Julia said, as she wiped a plate dry.
"Don't worry, if he was mad at you, he wouldn't eat it in the first place," replied Peter.
It was a whole big room; the kitchen was to the right of the entrance, the living room was to the left and the dining area was in the middle. The two bedrooms were at the back. Peter sat on the sofa in the living room and turned on the TV. Julia filled a glass with some milk and took it to the room. She found Jason sitting on the edge of the bed looking at the window with his back facing the entrance upon entering the room.
"I am sorry about lunch. I should have asked you. I... I ...I brought you a glass of milk," Julia said, hesitantly.
Jason turned to look at her, not saying anything. He got up and took the glass of milk from her hand and gulped it down, giving the glass back to her. He went to sit on the three-in-one sofa placed close to the wall not far from the window.
Julia placed the empty glass on the study table opposite the bed and walked towards Jason. She sat next to him and looked at him worriedly.
"My mum once told me that talking about something that bothers you with someone helps a lot," Julia said, looking down.
Jason's gaze shifted to her with an expressionless look.
"Mr Haward, since this whole thing started, you have not shown any emotion. You have become extra quiet, and just trying to fix everything by yourself alone," Julia said and lifted her gaze to look at him.
"We are in this together, right? So please let me help you. Please, talk to me. Please, just let me in, don't....," Julia said, and thrilled off with her voice filled with emotions.
"It's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. I can't let the situation break me. It has already happened. The only thing I can do is fix things, the best way I can," Jason replied, his voice deep but calm.
A tear dropped from Julia's eyes, rolling down her cheeks. Jason cupped the side of Julia's face in his palm, wiping her tears with his thump.
"Everything will be alright soon," Jason said, and Julia became sadder. "Trust me, we will get our lives back, and it would be better than you knew it," he assured her.
Julia wanted Jason to let out his emotions, but he didn't. He decided to keep everything inside and refused to react to it. More tears fell from her eyes and Jason hugged her. This time she could feel some concern in his hug. Julia stayed in Jason's Arms for a while trying to calm herself down as he rubbed her back gently. He kissed her neck and trailed some kisses down her jawline but stopped when she lifted her head to face him. Jason looked at Julia, and he could read the sadness in her eyes. He kissed her lips, allowing some of his emotions to come up to the surface. He carried her off to the bed and laid her on it. Halfway on top of her, Jason tucked Julia's hair behind her ear, staring into her eyes. He drew closer to her and kissed her again, more passionately this time, pulling her closer. Julia wrapped her arms around Jason and responded to his kisses. He just wanted to kiss her but was not in the mood for lovemaking, yet he had unzipped her, stripping her down to her underwear. His shirt was off too, but he didn't go any further than taking any more clothes off. He still had a lot on his mind. His hand toured her body as he continued to kiss her. Julia, who was torn between pleasure and reason, began to relax more and more in his arms. He flipped her over, putting her on top of himself.
"Don't worry too much, I will be fine," Jason whispered into her ears and she nodded. "Now just hug me," he requested, and she did as he had requested and they both drifted off to sleep.
When they woke up it was past 6 p.m. Jason was first to wake up, and his movement woke Julia up. They both exited the bedroom and went to the living room, and were greeted by the sweet aroma of the food from the dining table.
"You cooked?" Julia asked, surprised.
'No, I ordered takeout. I only know how to cook noodles," replied Peter honestly.
They all sat behind the table and ate their food. Julia cleared the dishes, and they all watched a movie before going to bed.
The next day, Jason woke up as early as 6 a.m., got ready and requested a ride to town. When Peter suggested they do the job hunt the next day, Jason accepted, so Peter could relax, but he sent multiple applications to different companies applying for the available advertised roles he had the qualifications for. Jason's first interview was with a construction company as a project manager. He left for the interview after kissing Julia good morning and informing her of the scheduled interviews for the day.
Jason went through the interview, and they rejected him because he was overqualified. He went to his next interview, a finance manager position in an insurance company. They also rejected him on the grounds they could not afford him. He didn't give up, he went to his next interview, a business partnership and project manager in another construction firm and the story was not different from the others. The next interview he went for, the panel was wondering why a man of his calibre with such credentials was looking to be employed. They felt he should have his own company. Jason went to another company, and they rejected him due to the trending news of the incident that happened in Florida concerning him. Just when Jason was losing hope, his last interview came through for him. He was offered the position of deputy CEO of the Estate Company.
"Congratulations, Mr Haward, the position is yours. Welcome onboard. I am Andrews Dickson. You can call me Mr Dickson. You will be working closely with me," said Mr Dickson, shaking Jason's hand.
"Thank you, Mr Dickson," replied Jason.
"Your office and working tools will be ready before you start officially a week from now," said Mr Dickson.
"Thank you, Mr Dickson," replied Jason, before he left the office premises.
When Jason returned home, it was almost 6 p.m. He shared the good news of getting a job and they all celebrated. After supper, Peter went to see Jason.
"Mr Haward, I have a suggestion I want to run by you," Peter began, and Jason gave him the go-ahead.