There was hardly any mention of her in the extra-long article except towards the end, and it was perfect. Jessa wrote:
As we were wrapping up the interview, I asked Kane if there was anything else he would like to add. This was his answer: Oh, just let everyone know I'm in love with your sister Jasmine.
She grinned. What had she done to deserve such a sweet, wonderful man?
The boardroom door opened, banishing her romantic glow and replacing it with nervousness.
In walked a distinguished-looking man in his late fifties and the girl who had once splashed water in her face. They were followed by Kane, who gave her a comforting smile.
She stood up as she was introduced to David Green and Minerva Green. Kane gave her hand a surreptitious squeeze before he invited everyone to sit down.
David Green cleared his throat and spoke. "I don't want to take up too much of your time, Kane, Jasmine. I just thought it was important to see the two of you in person so we could put this all behind us. My daughter here would like to apologise for her very childish and, quite frankly, disturbing behaviour." He glared at his daughter.
Minerva sighed exasperatedly. She was like a sulky teenager who had just been berated by her parent, not a woman who should be acting maturely.
"Listen, I've already told my dad it was George who told all those lies about you, Jasmine," Minerva said with a look that indicated she expected to be excused for her behaviour.
"Minerva," Jasmine responded in a soft but firm voice, "it wasn't George who sent those emails to Hannah and me. It wasn't George who made up those sex stories with pornographic pictures and said they were mine. It wasn't George who told me to stay away from Kane or else both our reputations would suffer."
Minerva glanced at her father, who was scowling at her. "Okay, well, I'm sorry about those," she muttered.
Kane sighed and sat up straight in his chair. "David, I appreciate you coming here with the intention of apologising. Jasmine and I accept your apology. We don't want to wallow in this any more than you do, so why don't we close the book on this? All we ask is that this ends here and now. Permanently. I'm sure you understand when I say that if something comes out in the press or the Internet or anywhere relating to the lies that were woven by your daughter, all gloves are off. If your daughter or any of her friends hassle Jasmine again, you know I'll do everything to protect her, and I won't be the only one."
"I understand, Kane. And Minerva also understands what she's going to lose if she carries on further with her madness, don't you, Minerva?" David asked his daughter authoritatively.
Minerva simply nodded her head.
Jasmine shook her head surreptitiously. She couldn't help but feel a little bit sorry for Minerva. She seemed but a child in a woman's body.
"Okay. I think we're done here. Thank you both so much for your time," Kane said, rising from his chair.
They all stood up after him.
"Thank you for your patience and understanding, Kane." David shook Kane's hand then turned to her. "Jasmine, I'm truly sorry."
She gave him a genuine smile. "It's okay, David. It's all sorted out now."
She stayed in the boardroom as Kane escorted father and daughter out. She looked out the window, feeling appeased. Finally, this whole saga had ended. She could stop worrying about this now.
She chuckled to herself, knowing her next challenge could be just around the corner. But she'd learnt her lesson. Next time, she'd share it with Kane straight away.
She heard him walk back in and turned to face him, a happy smile playing on her face.
"I was going to ask how you are but I can see you're fine," he said with a grin.
"Yes, I'm fine. Are you?"
"Absolutely." He kissed her on the lips.
"I better go so you can go back to work," she said.
He looked at his watch. "Do you want to hang around in the shops for about an hour while I finish up here, then we could go out to dinner and celebrate the conclusion of this mess?"
"Great idea."
*******
Jasmine woke up to a hand gently frisking her body. She groaned and swatted the hand away. It was too early in the morning and she was not a morning person. It came back to knead her breast, making her nipple react. She grabbed the hand and held it between her boobs tightly to stop it from wandering.
A mouth started nibbling her shoulder and she pretended not to be affected by it.
"Wake up, sweetheart," Kane whispered in her ear.
"Why?" She peered at the clock to check the time. Just as she suspected, it was way too early on a Saturday morning.
"Because there's something I can't wait to do," he answered huskily.
She smiled but kept her eyes shut. "Didn't you get enough of me last night?" she teased. It had only been five hours ago when they finally went to sleep.