Chapter 28 Please Believe Me
Every time Elaine handed him the ball she’d retrieved, Jackson would thank her in a flat, polite tone–neutral and detached, without the slightest trace of apology.
Before she could even catch her breath, Jackson swung his club again.
The ball didn’t land in the hole; instead, it rolled even farther than the last one.
By the fifteenth time she went to fetch the ball, she was out of breath, panting.
She heard one of Jackson’s companions say, “Mr. Mason, you don’t seem to be playing your best today.”
Jackson took the water Cyrus handed him, unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and replied calmly, “My hands are slipping.”
Marcelo and the others headed to the rest area to take a break, but Jackson was still fully immersed in his game.
His swings were fluid and smooth, his movements graceful, but the ball just wouldn’t go in.
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Elaine watched the ball soar off again. This time, she didn’t rush to retrieve it like before.
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She sat down in the grass, not caring about her appearance, wiped the sweat off her forehead, and then began massaging her aching legs.
“What did I do to deserve this?”
She wasn’t naive enough to believe his golf skills were this bad–worse than hers, even.
Jackson glanced at her, noticing the frustration on her face. His expression turned cold. “Feeling wronged? It is hardly a sacrifice for the Southshore Resort contract.”
She looked up at him, bewildered. “What resort?”
Jackson gazed down at her. Her face was flushed, her forehead glistening with sweat, and a few strands of hair clung to her skin. She looked a little disheveled, but her dark eyes were clear and unclouded.
He asked, “Didn’t your dad tell you?”
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“Tell me what?” She was even more confused now.
He studied her for a long moment, then finally spoke, seeing that she truly didn’t know what he was referring to. “He wanted to sign the Southshore Resort contract with me. I turned it down, but it seems he’s
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not ready to give up. He sent you here today to try and sway me.”
Elaine was silent. She really had no idea about this.
Though she was from the Valentine family, she didn’t get involved in their business affairs.
Worried that Jackson might misunderstand, she quickly clarified, “I haven’t told anyone about our relationship.”
Jackson shot her a sidelong glance. Her dark eyes were sincere and bright in the sunlight. Her face, pale and smooth, was almost porcelain- like.
She wore a red and black athletic outfit today, her black hair tied into a ponytail with a side–swept fringe framing her delicate face. Her large, bright eyes sparkled, like polished black onyx.
He lowered his gaze and handed his golf club to the caddy. Taking the tissue from Cyrus, he wiped the sweat off his forehead and turned to leave.
After a long silence, Elaine, ignoring the ache in her legs, stood up and stepped in front of him. “Please believe me.”
Their shoes were almost touching, and their bodies were very close.
She was in flat shoes, and her height only reached his chin. All she
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could see was his Adam’s apple, and she instinctively swallowed.
Jackson furrowed his brow, looking past her shoulder toward the rest area, where Marcelo and the others were watching them closely.
He took a step back, putting some distance between them, and looked down at her with cold eyes.
“Your behavior makes it hard for me to believe you don’t know about this, or that you have no part in it.”
Her face shifted slightly. Without needing to turn around, she knew Marcelo had been closely watching her and Jackson the whole time.
She had only wanted to explain herself to him, and in her urgency, she hadn’t controlled the distance between them. That was why they were standing so close.
