Page 36 of Curious Hearts (The Healing Hearts #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Jessica woke early on Friday morning, having barely slept. The two offer folders lay on her bedside table where she’d placed them the night before, hoping proximity might somehow provide clarity by dawn. It hadn’t. They had merely tormented her further.

She called Zachary before he’d even arrived at the office, instructing him to clear her schedule and inform colleagues she’d be working remotely.

“Jessica,” her assistant hesitated, “is everything okay? I mean, there’s a rumor you were offered the London job, but?—”

“But what Zach?” she snapped, regretting it as soon as it came out of her mouth. “Sorry.”

“Well, you’re acting more like you didn’t get offered the job.” There was obvious concern in his voice, but Jessica just sighed.

Of course the rumor mill would be at warp speed right now, and the last thing anyone would expect would be for the star of the show to be hiding herself away from the world… unless of course she’d been overlooked for the promotion.

“Zach, I don’t have time to waste on gossip. I have work to do,” she replied, the half-truth coming easily.

“Mr. Hamilton specifically asked you to call him after two this afternoon…”

“Zach, please go back to him and tell him I need more time,” Jessica interrupted, more sharply than intended. She softened her tone. “Please, Zachary.”

After ending the call, Jessica spent the morning attempting to apply her usual analytical rigor to the decision before her. It still didn’t work.

By mid-afternoon, Jessica’s dining room table, usually neat and organized was splayed with crumpled pieces of discarded paper thrown in frustration. Mr. Darcy had claimed one pile of papers as his napping spot, while Ernest observed her growing irritation from the windowsill.

Her phone buzzed with a text from Ali: Haven’t heard from you. Everything okay?

Jessica stared at the message, her thumb hovering over the screen.

What could she possibly say? That she was considering leaving everything they’d built together for a career opportunity thousands of miles away?

That she couldn’t choose between her head and her heart because her heart was already with Ali?

But it was too soon to bring Ali into such a major decision. Three months was nothing in terms of time, even though the emotional investment seemed far more significant than the number of days would suggest.

She sighed and replied with words a world away from her reality: I’m fine. Just busy with work. Talk soon.

Walter Hamilton called twice. Jessica let both go to voicemail, listening to his increasingly direct messages with growing unease.

“Jessica, the board is pressing for your answer. Meridian is rumored to be making additional offers to other candidates if you decline. We need to know your decision.”

By evening she had retreated to the porch with a glass of wine, watching darkness settle over the neighborhood.

The Victorian creaked and sighed around her, its century-old timber frame expanding and contracting with the cooling night air.

In just a few months, it had become more of a home than her sleek downtown penthouse had ever been.

The thought of leaving it—of leaving the cats with some hired caretaker until the inheritance period concluded—made her chest ache.

Sleep eluded her again that night. By Saturday morning, Jessica had stopped answering messages altogether—from Walter, from colleagues, even from Ali, whose increasingly concerned texts made Jessica’s heart twist with guilt.

Just checking that you’re okay. Let me know if you need anything.

Jessica stared at Ali’s latest message, the simple kindness in it making her throat tighten. She didn’t deserve Ali’s concern, not when she was considering walking away from everything they’d started building together.

Around ten, Jessica’s phone rang with her mother’s number. She almost let it go to voicemail, but something—perhaps the sheer exhaustion of indecision—made her answer.

“Hello, Mother.”

“Jessica.” Lakshmi Mehta-Taylor’s tone was clipped. “I’ve been trying to reach you since yesterday.”

“I’ve been busy,” Jessica replied. “Work matters.”

“Yes, I imagine being courted by two prestigious financial institutions for their London offices would keep most people occupied.”

Jessica froze, her coffee mug halfway to her lips. “How did you?—”

“Your father ran into Walter Hamilton at the club last night,” her mother continued smoothly. “Walter mentioned the offer—and his concern that you might be considering turning it down for some... romantic entanglement.”

The words landed like boulders, heavy and hard, strategically dropped to create fractures in her resolve.

Of course Walter would mention it to her father.

He had a vested interest in the outcome, not least losing face with the board.

He had been her mentor for years, had often spoken of how he saw her following in his footsteps someday.

Like her parents, Walter had invested heavily in Jessica’s future—which felt supportive when their visions aligned but now weighed heavy as she contemplated a different path.

The certainty in their expectations left little room for deviation.

“That’s none of Walter’s business,” Jessica said tightly.

“I wouldn’t be so certain. You owe that man a lot, Jessica.”

“I don’t owe him, Mother. He’s given me opportunities, but I’ve also helped make him a great deal of money. It’s my job.”

Her mother let out a dismissive huff of air.

“It’s certainly your family’s business when you consider throwing away the opportunity of a lifetime.

” Her mother’s voice took on the clipped precision Jessica recognized from countless childhood academic interventions.

“Your father and I have sacrificed a great deal to ensure you had every possible advantage, Jessica. The best schools, the right connections. We have given you the foundation for precisely this kind of opportunity.”

Something snapped inside Jessica, a restraint she’d maintained for years suddenly giving way.

“Sacrificed?” she repeated incredulously.

“What exactly did you and Dad sacrifice, Mother? Your family has been among the most privileged in Delhi for generations. You’re Brahmin—your biggest hardship was being gracious to ‘lesser’ families while reminding everyone of your superior lineage.

And Dad may have faced discrimination as a Black man, but his family had the means to send him to medical school—a privilege many African American families didn’t have.

You both came from educated, upper-class backgrounds. ”

“Jessica!” Her mother’s shock was palpable.

“That is not how you speak to your mother. We may have been fortunate in our backgrounds, but we worked tremendously hard to build our careers, our lives. Do you know what it was like being an Indian woman in cardiology? Or what your father faced as one of the few Black neurosurgeons in the state? We have both faced prejudice every day of our working lives to ensure you had every possible advantage?—”

Jessica closed her eyes, cursing inwardly.

It hadn’t all been plain sailing for her mother, and even now Jessica knew there were older patients who would request another doctor, or a second opinion based on not just her gender but also the color of her mother’s skin.

But still. “And I’m grateful for those advantages,” Jessica interrupted, then let out a long sigh.

Her mother was a master at manipulation.

“But let’s not pretend you were making grand sacrifices, working three jobs just to give your only child a good education. I’m grateful for the privilege and opportunities you and Dad have given me but that doesn’t give you the right to dictate my life.”

“No one is dictating anything,” Lakshmi replied, her voice cooling to a dangerous temperature Jessica knew well. “But surely you must see the absurdity of hesitating over an opportunity you’ve worked toward since Wharton. London, Jessica. International prestige. This is perfect for you!”

“Perfect according to whom?” Jessica challenged.

“According to the plan you yourself created,” her mother countered. “Or are you now claiming that your entire career was somehow my invention rather than your own ambition?”

Jessica closed her eyes, feeling trapped by the elements of truth her mother was extracting.

She had wanted this. Had planned for international exposure, had dreamed of taking her sustainable investment strategies global.

Had mapped every step of her rise through the ranks of Hamilton Trust with Walter’s guidance.

Until a reluctant inheritance had changed everything.

“My priorities have evolved,” she said.

“Because of this person? This... suitor Walter mentioned?” Her mother’s voice sharpened with interest. “Who is he? Someone from Hamilton Trust?”

Jessica’s grip tightened on her phone. “I’m not discussing my personal life with you, Mother.”

There was a long pause, then Lakshmi sighed with unmistakable theatricality, which was followed by another pause and Jessica could almost hear the cogs of her mother’s deduction falling into place.

Her voice dropped lower. “Don’t tell me this has something to do with that woman you invited to join us at dinner.

We will not go through this ridiculous charade where you pretend interest in women to avoid your father’s and my introductions to suitable young men. ”

The dismissal of her sexuality—an aspect of herself Jessica had never fully articulated to her parents—was a sucker punch.

“This isn’t a charade, Mother,” Jessica said quietly.

“It’s that cat lover, isn’t it?” Her tone shifted from confusion to clarity as though she were fitting the pieces of a puzzle together. “The awkward woman with Vivian’s cats. The one wearing the department store clothes.”

“Her name is Ali,” Jessica said, a flash of anger coursing through her at her mother’s dismissive tone. “Dr. Alison Ritchie. And yes, she’s a veterinary neurologist and animal behaviorist who’s built a successful nonprofit foundation from nothing.”

“A nonprofit,” Lakshmi repeated as if the word itself were distasteful.

“Jessica, be realistic. This woman spends her days with animals from the gutter. She has no social standing, no family connections, no understanding of the world you operate in. What could she possibly offer someone of your caliber?”

“Happiness,” Jessica said simply, the word emerging before she could consider it. “She makes me happy, Mother. Something I didn’t even realize was missing from my life until I met her.”

There was a momentary pause of silence, but Jessica knew where Lakshmi Mehta-Taylor was concerned this was no reprieve. She braced herself for the battle cry.

“Happiness,” Lakshmi finally echoed, her voice carrying a mixture of disbelief and disdain.

“And for this... happiness ... you would throw away a career opportunity that thousands of professionals would kill for? That your father and I have supported you toward for years? That represents the culmination of your own stated ambitions?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” Jessica admitted. “That’s why I asked Walter for more time.”

“Well, allow me to simplify your decision,” her mother said, acid lacing her words.

“This woman—this cat doctor who can barely maintain eye contact in social settings—is a passing fancy. A distraction. Perhaps even a rebellion against the expectations you’ve set for yourself.

But London? London is your future, Jessica.

The path to becoming the woman you were always meant to be. ”

“The woman I was meant to be,” Jessica repeated, her voice hollow. “According to whom, Mother? You? Dad? Walter Hamilton? Everyone except me, apparently.”

“Don’t be childish,” Lakshmi snapped. “This is exactly the kind of emotional indulgence I would expect from someone like your Dr. Ritchie, not from my daughter. You are Jessica Taylor, youngest Investment Director in Hamilton Trust’s history.

Not some lovesick teenager throwing away her future for a woman who will likely be treating mangy strays in Denver ten years from now while you could be directing global financial markets. ”

Jessica’s hand trembled, rage and hurt combining into a cocktail that threatened to overwhelm.

“That’s enough, Mother. I won’t listen to you disparage Ali.

She’s brilliant, compassionate, and has more integrity in one day than most of your social circle demonstrates in a lifetime.

And she would never presume to tell me how to live my life, unlike some people. ”

“Jessica—”

“No,” she interrupted, her voice stone-cold. “I’m done with this conversation. I’ll make my decision about London based on what I want, not on your manipulations or emotional blackmail. I’ll let you know what I decide when I’ve decided it.”

“Jessica Vidya Taylor, do not hang up this phone?—”

But Jessica’s thumb was already pressing the screen and disconnecting the call, her whole body shaking with adrenaline and emotion.

She sank onto the sofa, breathing hard, as though she’d just run a marathon.

Though running twenty-six-point-two miles would have been significantly easier and more rewarding than talking to her mother, especially about Ali.

Her mother’s words echoed in her mind, toxic and insidious.

The worst part was that Lakshmi hadn’t said anything Jessica hadn’t already thought herself.

The disparity between her world and Ali’s.

The career implications of choosing Denver over London.

The question of whether this new relationship could possibly justify turning down the opportunity she’d worked toward for years.

Her phone buzzed again—her mother calling back. Jessica silenced it, then turned the phone off entirely, unable to bear any more voices telling her what she should want, who she should be.

The house felt suddenly too quiet, too empty despite the seven cats moving through its rooms. Jessica’s chest constricted, the weight of the decision sucking the breath from her chest. She needed air, space, somewhere to think that she wasn’t reminded of Ali everywhere she looked.

She grabbed her keys, heading for the door. She had no destination in mind, just the desperate need to move, to escape the circular thoughts that had plagued her for days.

As she pulled out of the driveway, Jessica realized her life had just gotten infinitely more complicated.

She’d defied her mother openly for perhaps the first time in her adult life.

She’d articulated feelings for Ali she hadn’t even fully acknowledged to herself yet.

And she was still no closer to deciding about London than she had been yesterday.