Convincing her (Jen and Lucas)

Chapter 84: James Lewis

James' grey eyes directly looked into hers and for some reason she was frozen by his gaze.

"James. stop glaring at our guest" Hellen said when she noticed that James was not being welcoming. James nodded and directed his gaze towards Lucas instead.

"How are you kiddo" James said with a small smile that showed the tiny dimples at the corner of his mouth. The sight left Jen slightly dazed. The dimples were different from Lucas' dimples that were on his cheeks they were so much cuter. Jen looked at Lucas who proceeded to introduce the two of them.

"I'm okay, this is my girlfriend Jen" Lucas said and Jen extended her hand for a handshake with a smile. James briefly looked at her and held her hand in his larger hand before letting go after the brief contact.

"Jen, this is my eldest brother James" Lucas introduced and Jen smiled politely and nodded in his direction.

"Are you in the industry?" James asked curiously.

"No, i'm not" Jen replied politely.

"If you're interested let me know", James said as he handed her his business card.

Jen received it and put it in her wallet. She then took her own business card and gave it to James who raised his eyebrows when he saw her details.

Lucas observed their interaction from the side without saying anything. He knew that not many people knew who was the actual owner of the Larson franchise. Jen had started the business as a hobby that ended up being the life line for her family so she had not publicized her venture. Besides all her restaurants carried the initials F.D.E. So no one was able to trace it back to her.

James was skeptical when he saw her enter the living room, despite the fact that his mother had sung praises about her. He thought she was one of those women that were trying to take advantage of Lucas. He has heard of the few women who had such ambition but the experience proved that his brother was not a child but even so he could not refrain himself from raising his guard.

After seeing that the likelihood of Jen being with his brother was very low he could not help the genuine smile that appeared on his face which left everyone in the living room in a trance. James was aware of the effect he had on people, which was one of the reasons he had decided to work in the entertainment industry rather than the hardcore business world.

After Jen was used to James' face after the exposure she could finally act normally but not long after her idol appeared and she was in a trance once more.

Jen was sitting next to Lucas so she could easily talk to him.

"How are all of you so good looking?" Jen whispered in Lucas' ear making him chuckle. He did not answer but he pulled her into his embrace instead making Jason shake his head.

"It's been a long time Jen" Jason said with a smile as he sat next to James.

"Yes, Da-, I mean Jason" Jen said after stammering slightly making Lucas chuckle.

"Is she a fan?" James asked after he observed Jen's behaviour. Jason nodded in response and smiled in Jen's direction. She smiled back after looking at him briefly before her attention was taken away by Lucas.

"She is. Lucas told me she has been a fan since I debuted" Jason said with a smile.

"Interesting" James answered as he leaned on the back of the comfortable sofa and crossed his legs.

"I'm really touched actually" Jason said as he grabbed the mug James was drinking from. He took a huge gulp of the drink and almost spit all of it on the floor making James laugh loudly with amusement.

"Couldn't you have warned me?" Jason asked with a big frown on his face. He had taken three mouthfuls of whiskey thinking it was tea.

"I thought you would at least be able to smell it" James said as he shrugged his shoulders. If people knew how you treated your artists they would donate money for me to cancel my contract. Jason teased making James chuckle before he resumed the cold expression he carried around.

"Mom, where is dad?" Jason asked when their mother came back to the living room.

"He just woke up, wait for a bit, he'll be downstairs soon" Hellen said and sat on the loveseat.

The five of them sat in the living room and soon enough Noah came downstairs dressed casually like his wife and the whole complete family sat down talking good naturedly. Jen noticed that James maintained a cold expression most of the time and seemed to derive joy from others' misfortune as he laughed a lot when his brothers did something stupid. In contrast

Jason smiled a lot and seemed to have no boundaries and teased whoever he could regardless as to whether it was his father or her. Lucas on the other hand was very careful with boundaries and did not go too far like Jason.

He did not joke around as much with his family as he did with her which she found very interesting.

Soon enough the family went outside where the lunch was being served. The six of them settled themselves and ate to their heart's content.

"Was it troublesome to come today?" Hellen asked Jen.

"Not really. Lucas asked me this morning and I had no reason to refuse. Besides, you invited me to come along" Jen said goodnaturedly.

"This morning?" Hellen asked.

"Mmh, he brought it up as soon as he woke up" Jen explained.

"Oh? at least he called early" Hellen baited.

"Called?" Jen asked feeling puzzled. When Hellen heard her response she smiled widely and did not probe any further. It was already obvious that Jen spent the night at Lucas' house.

Jen was completely oblivious to everyone's stares and continued enjoying her food. Lucas smiled indulgently and played with her hair when he saw she had not realised what happened.