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Chapter 398: New Friendship

"Okay. So you won\'t tell him how you feel about him, and you won\'t give up. So what\'s your big plan? I\'m sure you have one, right?" Candace asked, and Jade eyed her with displeasure.         

"So? What\'s the big plan?" Candace asked once again.     

"I haven\'t come up with any yet. I just might sabotage their date," Jade said with a shrug.      

"Just how many dates do you plan on sabotaging? I don\'t see your spa friend giving up just because of a few hiccups in their date plans. And just so you know, if you keep being this passive you just might be walking down the aisle with Harry but not as his wife, as his wife\'s maid of honor," Candace said as Jade pulled into the parking lot of the hotel.     

"For someone who is not in talking terms with her boyfriend, you sure do know how to give relationship advice," Jade said dryly as she turned off the car.      

"Matt is not my boyfriend..."      

"I never even mentioned his name," Jade cut in with a shrug.     

"You didn\'t need to. Unlike you I don\'t skirt around issues. I confront them head on," Candace fired back as they both unbuckled their seatbelt.     

"Touché. I\'m hungry, let\'s go in," Jade said as she got out of the car, and Candace did the same.     

"Is that you trying to avoid the subject?" Candace asked as they both walked into the hotel, and Jade glanced at her curiously.     

"No. This is just me wondering why you are so interested in the subject," Jade said, and Candace shrugged.      

"It\'s not the subject I\'m interested in. It\'s you I\'m interested in. You have been nice to me and your family has been very accommodating. So the least I can do to pay you back is to help you secure the man you love if he is as great as you\'ve painted him," Candace said as they headed for the elevator.     

"So if Matt isn\'t your boyfriend, what is he to you?" Jade asked, and Candace turned to her with a slightly raised brow.     

"Why are you bringing Matt into this?"      

"I have to understand the dynamics of your own love life before I take any relationship advise from you. Tom is in a good relationship with Lucy, and so is Sonia with Bryan. I can trust their experience in that field," Jade said reasonably as they walked into the elevator, and Candace turned to her with an unreadable expression.     

"Of course, you should take their advice. It wouldn\'t make sense for a sensible lawyer like you to accept a relationship advice from a stripper like me who was in a toxic relationship with one of the senior members of a drug cartel, and is even considering murdering him just to be rid of him," Candace said with a straight face.     

"I\'m sorry. That wasn\'t what I meant," Jade said with a slight frown as she pressed the button for their floor.     

"I know you wouldn\'t say something like that to me. So I\'m trying to blackmail you emotionally into listening to me. Did it work?" Candace asked, flashing Jade a smile that made her laugh.     

"It almost did. On a serious note, what\'s up with you and Matt? You know he really likes you, right? And don\'t deny it, I know you like him too," Jade said, wanting to be sure that Candace felt the same way about Matt, since she had placed a call across to him already, and she didn\'t want Candace to be mad at her if or when Matt shows up. She wasn\'t sure yet if Matt was going to show up since she had only told him about Candace\'s crazy plan and where they were. If he loved her, she expected him to try to stop her.      

"He is a nice guy, so it\'s hard not to like him. Apart from the fact that I\'m older than him, I\'m not necessarily sure we are right for each other. Or maybe it\'s just wrong timing. Right now I\'m worried about Jero and how to take care of him once and for all. I\'m also worried about Andy, who I don\'t have the least idea where she is at this moment, I\'m concerned about I and Jamal\'s future. If I don\'t go back to stripping what can I do to earn me enough money? That\'s the only way I\'ve been able to afford taking care of Jamal and I. My whole life is a mess right now, whereas his life is perfect. If I get involved with him, people would want to dig into myself and find out stuff about me, and you know how it is. There is nothing pleasant about my life that should be on the news. I don\'t want Jamal finding out about me that way either. Do you think I\'m crazy for wanting to just be friends with him?" Candace asked as they walked out of the elevator and headed for their suite.     

Jade sighed, "I think you\'re doing too much worrying and not living enough," Jade said, as she unlocked the door, and they both walked into the suite and shut the door behind them.     

"If you were in my shoes you\'d worry even more," Candace assured her as they both took off their shoes.     

"Okay, let\'s take everything you have said one at a time. I know you said you don\'t want us to talk about Jero again and you don\'t want me to try to talk you out of your plans, but just give me listening ears for five minutes, okay? I\'m not talking to you as a lawyer trying to apprehend Jero now, but as your friend. I like to believe that we are friends or at least on our way to being friends," Jade said as they sat on the couch instead of heading to their bedrooms.     

"Fine," Candace said with a sigh         

Jade looked at Candace with a serious expression, "I noticed that all the worries you expressed are centered around Andy and Jamal. Imagine Andy coming back to meet you, only to hear that you\'re in jail for murdering Jero? Have you considered how Andy would feel if she finds out about your plan?"      

Jade continued without waiting for her to respond, "You claim you are worried about Jamal finding out you were a stripper, but you haven\'t given any thoughts to how he will feel when he finds out his father was involved in drug crimes and his stripper mother went to jail for murdering his father, have you? Let\'s assume that Tom and Lucy adopts him as you wanted them to, do you think his life will be better or remain the same after he learns of your so-called sacrifice for him? Are you really willing to throw your whole life away because you made the mistake of getting involved with Jero? I like to believe that you are smarter than that," Jade said, and paused for her words to sink in.     

"Honestly, I think your plan is stupid. I promised you before, and I\'m repeating it, I will make sure Jero gets a death sentence so that you never have to worry about him again. I have evidence of the private investigator he murdered, and that is enough to make him pay. All I\'m asking is that you don\'t make any plans that will ruin all our joint efforts. I\'m not saying this as a lawyer. I\'m telling you this as your friend," Jade said as she reached for Candace\'s hand, and rubbed it reassuringly.     

"Jade..."     

"It\'s not that complicated. You can reconsider your stance on a relationship with Matt after we\'ve gotten Jero out of the way," Jade interjected.     

"Getting Jero out of the way isn\'t all I mentioned. Matt is a celebrity and I\'m a..."     

"Everyone has a past, Candace. You did all you needed to do to get to where you are now. I don\'t think there is anything to be ashamed of. Did Matt say anything about it to make you feel uncomfortable about being a stripper?"     

"No, he didn\'t. And this is not about Matt..."     

"You think Jamal would love or respect you less because you stripped to take care of his bills? How are you different from those celebrities, cardi B and the likes who expose so much skin in their musical videos and even on stage to entertain their fans?" Jade asked, and Candace sighed.      

"It\'s all entertainment. Whether you\'re dancing naked in the club for a private audience or you\'re doing it on the stage for the public. I don\'t think they\'re better than you, so there\'s no reason for you to be ashamed," Jade finished, and Candace took a deep breath.      

"I still have to worry about Andy. You don\'t expect me to move on with my life when I don\'t even know where she is or how she is doing."     

"That\'s you making up silly excuses. I\'m sure if Andy shows up today you\'ll still find something else to worry about. To think you called me a coward when you\'re actually the coward who is scared of being happy," Jade said with a shake of her head.      

"I\'m not scared of being happy," Candace denied.      

"Yes, you are. And you\'re too scared to admit it to yourself. You don\'t have to go back to stripping. Jamal is part of the family already, and so are you. If anything from your past comes up, we will be there to take care of it," Jade promised, and Candace eyed her skeptically.     

"We seem to be trading advice tonight. I will consider all you have said if you give Harry a call and tell him how you feel," Candace said, and Jade giggled.     

"Why are we back to that?"     

"Because that is what started this whole conversation in the first place."     

"Okay, how about we do it this way. After I\'ve taken care of this case and ensured that Jero gets a death sentence, I will confess my feelings to Harry and at the same time you accept Matt?"     

"Jade..."     

"Yes. What\'s the worse that can happen? Let\'s do it together. Let\'s prove to each other that we are not cowards," Jade said enthusiastically.     

"And what happens if things progress more between Harry and your spa friend before then?" Candace asked, and Jade narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.     

"I will take my chances. For now I need to focus on this case. I can\'t afford to get distracted," Jade said with resolve, and Candace sighed.      

"If you say so," Candace said as she stood up.      

Jade heaved a sigh, "I feel like getting wasted tonight. When last did you get wasted?" She asked as she picked up her handbag and shoes.     

"I have a kid to take care of. I haven\'t gotten wasted for a moment since I had Jamal," Candace said, and Jade shrieked in disbelief          

"That is horrifyingly unimaginable! Tell you what, let\'s go clubbing tomorrow night. And you are not permitted to say no! Consider this an order from your friend and senior colleague. There is no Jamal here to worry about, so we can both get completely wasted. It will be just two sinfully beautiful and intelligent single women having fun. I would have said let\'s get wasted tonight, but I need to be clear headed when they call to tell me about the arrest," Jade said, and Candace smiled.     

She couldn\'t remember ever having such a lengthy girly conversation with anyone else apart from Andy. She was even more surprised by the rate at which she was getting along with Jade.     

"Alright. Let\'s do that tomorrow."     

"Goodnight then. I have a family conference call to attend to," Jade said with a wave as she headed for her bedroom.      

Thinking about family, Jade\'s thoughts drifted to what Candace had said about being abandoned by a man that had claimed to be her uncle. There was something fishy about the story. If the man had enough money to pay the orphanage home, why didn\'t he get a nurse and nanny to take care of his brother\'s child? Perhaps she should look into it for Candace? It would be nice if she found her family, especially if she was from a well to do family.     

She was sure either Tom or Harry could look into it for her. All she needed was to find a way to get more information from Candace about the orphanage where she had been raised. Jade smiled at the thought.