Chapter 6 His Unusual Fascination

• As Jacob entered his condo, he promptly removed the leather jacket he was wearing at the moment. He casually tossed the jacket onto the sofa in the living room. He ran his hand through his hair, which had gotten wet in the rain earlier. Then, he headed towards the kitchen. Approaching the fridge, he swung it open and grabbed a canned beer. Leaning against the fridge door, he opened the canned beer he was holding and took a sip.
• Jacob Shaw is 30 years old and a licensed architect in Switzerland. After graduating from high school, he decided to study college in Switzerland. One of the reasons he chose to study there, far from his family, was to establish his own identity distinct from his identical twin brother, Joshua. They looked so much alike that people often mistook one for the other. Occasionally, they corrected these mistakes, but due to the frequent mix-ups, they eventually grew tired of it and let it slide. To gain their individual identities, they decided to part ways. Jacob made the decision to pursue his college education in Switzerland.
• His time spent in Switzerland allowed him to develop his own identity and independence. No one called him Joshua anymore, and he knew the same was true for his twin brother.
• Jacob genuinely liked living there, which led to his decision to permanently settle in Switzerland after he graduated and successfully became an architect.
• Initially, he worked at an architectural firm for three years. However, he eventually decided to establish his own architectural firm. Running a company was no easy task, but his dedication and hard work paid off. After a few years, his efforts bore fruit, and the JS Architectural Firm became one of the biggest architectural firms in Switzerland.
• Another reason Jacob returned to the US was his plan to expand the JS Architectural Firm to his home country. He also wanted to be recognized in the place where he was born.
• Jacob took a deep breath and resumed messing with his slightly damp hair. He paused in his actions as he recalled why his hair got wet in the first place. The image of a woman he had encountered multiple times over the past few days popped into his mind—the woman who had helped him when he got into an accident.
• To be honest, Jacob couldn't quite explain the unusual feeling he had towards the woman. There was something about her that defied explanation. From the first time they met when she helped him after his motorcycle accident, she had left an indelible mark in his mind. Her image would randomly pop into his thoughts, and, to be honest again, there was a part of him that wanted to see her again. Fate seemed to be on his side, as they kept crossing paths unintentionally. Just like when he went to the bar owned by his friend and saw her there again. He couldn't shake the feeling that night; his eyes were always drawn to her.
• Other women approached him, showing interest, but he paid them no heed. On any other night, he might have welcomed the advances, but for some reason, he found himself declining the woman who was showing interest. Even though these women pressed their bodies against him, he remained unaffected. The reason he turned them down was that of the woman he had only seen once but couldn't get out of his mind.
• While at the bar, he spent his time watching her, and it seemed that his vigilance paid off when he almost had to intervene in a situation where a man was getting too aggressive on the dance floor. He had no habit of interfering in other people's problems, but that night, he inexplicably felt compelled to do so. He wanted to protect her, and he did.
• Earlier, he hadn't expected to see her again, let alone share an elevator in the building where his condo was located. He had only bought the unit less than a week ago, so he wasn't very familiar with the other residents.
• At first, he assumed she lived there, but he was mistaken. She was just visiting someone in the building, though he hadn't had a chance to find out if it was her boyfriend she was visiting. He remembered asking her about it, but she didn't get the chance to answer due to the sudden return of power inside the elevator.
• But what he was thinking wasn't impossible at all. It wasn't impossible for her to have a boyfriend. With her beauty? It would be impossible for her not to have admirers. And Jacob couldn't explain why he felt a twinge of disappointment at the thought.
• "F**k!" He couldn't help but curse silently in his mind. He took another swig from the canned beer he was holding. Once it was empty, he left his leaning position against the fridge and casually tossed the empty can into the trash.
• He continued walking out of the kitchen, on his way to the bedroom, when something suddenly crossed his mind. He briefly closed his eyes as his thoughts wrestled with the idea of whether or not to act on what he was thinking. For his peace of mind, he decided to forego entering his room and instead walked back into the living area to make a call to the condo's security.
• After a few rings, the guard answered his call. "Hi, this is Jacob Shaw from unit 205," he introduced himself.
• "Yes, Sir. How can I assist you?" the guard replied.
• Jacob let out a deep sigh. He paused for a moment before opening his mouth to speak. "A woman visited here earlier," he began. He provided the time of her visit and added, "I think her name is Monique, but I'm not sure." He wasn't entirely certain about the name Monique. He had heard her friend call her that in the bar, but he wasn't entirely sure if he had heard correctly. Another mistake he made was not asking for her name during their multiple encounters. She knew his name, after all.
• "Ah, Ma'am Monique," the guard said, seemingly familiar with whom he was referring to. "Ma'am Monique has been a frequent visitor here, Sir," he added.
• "What's her full name?" Jacob inquired. He wanted to know her full name.
• "Castaneda, Sir. Monique Castaneda," the guard replied.
• Jacob couldn't help but furrow his brow. Monique Castaneda? The name sounded familiar. He just couldn't remember when or where he had heard that name before. It crossed his mind that he might have come across it in reading or heard it from someone else. After all, Monique Castaneda was a fairly common name.
• "Does she live here? Is she visiting someone?" he followed up with his questions. That was the second reason he called the guard. The first reason was to find out her name, and the second was to know whom she was visiting.
• "She's a friend, Sir. She's visiting Ma'am Amy," the guard responded.
• Jacob couldn't explain why he suddenly felt relieved. He couldn't suppress the smile that crept onto his lips. "Hmm... why are you asking, Sir? Did she do something?" the guard inquired.
• He simply shook his head even though the guard couldn't see him. "No, she didn't do anything. I just asked," he replied. "Anyway, thank you for answering my question," he added before bidding farewell.
• A smile still graced his lips as he walked into his room.
• ~*~
• "Marisa, has everyone on the schedule for this hour arrived?" Monique asked her assistant, Marisa, at her Pet Clinic, while glancing at her.
• Marisa looked at her computer screen to confirm if all the scheduled appointments had been attended to. "Yes, Doc," she replied after a moment, lifting her gaze to meet Monique's.
• Monique nodded in response. "I'll be in my office. Call me if there is a problem," she instructed.
• "Yes, Doc," Marisa replied. As Monique was about to enter her office, she stopped in her tracks upon hearing the sound of the dream catcher with the attached chime hanging by the door of her Pet Clinic. It signaled that someone had entered.
• She looked in that direction and couldn't help but smile when she saw her boyfriend, Joshua, entering her Pet Clinic. Their eyes met, and he smiled automatically.
• With a smile still on her lips, she walked towards him, and he did the same. As they got closer, he leaned down to give her a quick kiss on the lips.
• "Hi, babe," he greeted her.
• "Hmm... hi. What are you doing here?" she asked a moment later. She knew he had a lunch meeting with a business tycoon. He had mentioned it to her earlier that morning. He usually informed her of his daily schedule, even to the point where she felt like he might hand her his planner to keep her informed of his whereabouts. He said it was so she would know his schedule and could reach him in case of an emergency when he couldn't answer her calls.
• "Our meeting place is nearby, so I thought of dropping by and bringing you lunch," he replied. He raised his hand slightly, and that's when she noticed the plastic bag with a well-known restaurant's logo on it.
• "Oh, thank you, babe," Monique expressed her gratitude to her boyfriend. He was very considerate, even in his busy schedule, he found the time to bring her food.
• "Anyway, babe. Do you have any plans this Sunday?" he asked. "Are you going out with Amy?"
• She shook her head. "Nothing planned. Why do you ask?"
• "We have a family dinner. I want you to come. It'll be perfect. My brother Jacob will be there too; I want to introduce you to him," he explained.
• "Okay. Just let me know the time," she replied.
• He nodded. "I'll pick you up at your condo," he suggested.
• "Alright," she agreed.
• After a while, she noticed him checking his wristwatch. "I need to go," he said, returning his attention to her. "I might be late for my meeting."
• "Okay, then," she replied. He handed her the plastic bag he was holding. "Hmm... I'll walk you out," she suggested.
• "No need, babe," he declined. "I can manage," he added.
• She sighed deeply. "Alright. Take care," she said.
• "I will," he assured her. He approached her and hugged her before leaving her clinic.
• For the second time, she let out a deep sigh. He had just left, but she already missed him.
• She turned and walked into her office, placing what Joshua had brought her on her desk. She sat in her swivel chair and, since it was already noon, decided to have her lunch. She took out the meal Joshua had bought for her, and a smile lit up her face when she saw that it was her favorite, beef brisket. He knew exactly what she wanted to eat at that moment.
• She began to eat, and she almost finished everything he had brought. Since it wasn't even one o'clock yet, she remained in her office to rest. She picked up her cellphone and briefly browsed her social media accounts.
• She was in that position when her assistant, Marisa, knocked on the office door.
• "Come in," she said.
• The door opened, and Marisa peeked inside. "Ma'am Monique, we have a walk-in client. They want to get their Doberman vaccinated," she informed her.
• "Okay. Tell the client to wait for me," she instructed.
• "Sure, Ma'am," Marisa replied. She placed her cellphone on the table and stood up from her chair. Instead of leaving the office, she entered the bathroom located inside her office.
• She brushed her teeth to freshen up, trying to eliminate any traces of the brisket on her breath. After finishing, she put her long hair into a messy bun style, allowing a few strands to escape the tie. Then, she walked out of her office.
• Monique was momentarily stunned when she left her office and saw who the walk-in client was that Marisa had mentioned. It was Joshua's twin brother, Jacob.
• "Hi. It's nice to meet you again," he greeted her with a deep baritone voice, his eyes locked onto hers.