Everything You Wanted Me To Be.

Chapter 23

We are halfway into our journey when Jace puts his hand on my thigh. "Grace I wanna talk about this I know this isn't what you thought would happen, I know you thought we'd have a few more years yet." His face twists. With worry. He thinks that this is going to change everything and I'm concerned why would he think that? I turn to Jace all I muster is a small smile
"I'll be honest it's a bit sooner than I thought, I thought we'd have years of just working together, being almost equal, but I'm not gonna complain at you becoming a CEO  at your age. I'm not gonna complain about the fact that our simple life goals just got insanely unrealistic I am pleased for you and I have no reason to be angry about it. I just want to know where we stand. I don't want to be the wife of someone who comes home at 10 o'clock at night and leaves five in the morning only to see you on the weekends. I think we need to have a real think about how our life unfolds from here Jace, I'm scared." he nods. I can tell he's thinking about what to reply. I think his gut got the better of him and he turns to me and says
"Grace I won't take it. If you don't want me to, I'll hand it over to someone else I'll make sure that it goes to someone good. I won't do anything you don't want me to do. I don't want you to leave me because of this, so if I have to give up my company, I have to give it up, you're my world Grace and I won't let anything come between that." I shake my head and smile. "This is your fathers company Jace, I'm so proud of you. We will make this work i promise, It just might be a bit of give-and-take for a while." I turned him and smile a beaming smile
"Jace. I also want a promotion I fancy being the COO for Edinburgh." I grin at him and his attitude changes . "Grace I can't just give you promotion because you're my partner you must be crazy right? I'll be kicked off as CEO in no time if I do that. You're brilliant and you're great at your job but I think you need to focus on grad school and then we'll look at getting you promoted. I'm not saying never just not now, no offence but you just don't have the experience." He smiles at me. Weirdly, I think he thinks he's just crushed my dreams and didn't pick up on my mocking tone, this makes me laugh. "Jace, I was joking, although I will probably take advantage of you being CEO and ask for more time studying." I mock and smile. Jace pulls the car off into a layby and pulls me onto his lap from the passenger seat "Grace you can have as much time as you want to study but we have to draw some boundaries. It's hard for any couple having their partner working in the same Institute let alone when one is the CEO and the other is a grad. We just need to make sure we set some boundaries, but I will do whatever I can do to better your career, I promise. Yes, you can have as much time as you need to study baby." He smells so good today. He kisses me softly.
"Are we ever going to get to the spa day?" I laugh heartily.  "You're the one that pulled the car over!" I tease enthusiastically.
"I just needed to know that we were okay like I said I didn't plan this Grace but I think this is a good opportunity for us both. I can give us both the world now we won't even need to try and let's be honest, Grace no one questions when the boss comes into work and now no one willl question when you do too" he winks
"but I do think we should celebrate and go and get you a new car later. What do you think?" I blush I hate the fact Jace easily spends so much money on me. I was really proud of having the BMW that I financed myself, but I now know there's an endless collection of cars out there that I have an option to choose from after money is no longer object for us. I nod "we can look but I'm not agreeing unless I love one." He nods "I love you." I smile "I love you Jace, now can we go already?" I climb back over to my side of the car and laugh. He pulls back onto the main road and the maps reconfigure, it says we are just 20 minutes away now. "Jace, why did Lorenzo seem tense today? It seems like there was something unspoken between the two of you maybe about me?" Jace nods. "You caught that huh?" "I did" "Lorenzo knows that I came here for you, he knew everything, Lorenzo is my fathers best friend Grace, he's like a second dad to me. When word got around about our situation." I interrupt "Our situation?" He nods. "Chicago." I'm even more confused now so I just nod " the press got hold of it, they marketed me like this abusive drunk, my father shut the stories down after the first one got out but he was furious. One of the previous COOs, before Lorenzo, tried to stop you getting the job here once they realised who you were. They refused to pay your accommodation and grad school. When my dad heard he got involved and removed them. I think he thought if he knew you were here he'd be able to keep an eye on us both. Lorenzo was put in place to keep you coming. At this time I still had no idea you'd applied yourself and got in, Lorenzo called me the week before you started and I flew to New York immediately, I begged my dad to transfer me here, he reluctantly agreed on the premise that I said I'd make all those bad stories go away, I'd make everything right." I raise my brow and I begin to panic "you...you just are marrying me, being like this, to help your image?" He looks at me in fury "What?! Grace no, no absolutely not. It was just part of the deal. Marrying you was my idea. I already had the ring before, remember? The saving my image just helped convince him." I nod, this is a lot to process, but it's also alot about nothing. "So why would he make you CEO if he doesn't trust you? I still don't understand Lorenzos concern." Jace sighs as we pull into the spa driveway, it's beautiful and long, lined with trees both sides of the drive. "Theres a paper Grace, I don't know how but they found out about your crash with the chancellor." "But it was a minor fender bender." "They said you were back with me and I did it." I gasp. I'm shocked. "When?" "The photo is from when I rushed out and got angry at you at the bottom of the apartment by the entrance, you're all bruised and I am clearly fuming in the photo." "But why was Lorenzo concerned? I don't care I know different." "Because when the story breaks that I'm CEO I'm not going to look good Grace, getting promoted days after I'm seen supposedly hurting you." My stomach churns, Jace pulls into a big parking space with his name in it. The thought that Jace was being labelled this way hurt my soul. "What do you need?" I ask him, clearly something needs to change. He shakes his head "I won't ask you to do anything for me." I take his hand "no but I'm offering, what do you need?" "More of yesterday, marriage, children and us." Well that was a loaded response, I smile and offer a negotiation "I can't do all of that, not now. But I will do some of that, I will do us and things like yesterday, and most importantly. I'll marry you." He smiles but he doesn't look happy. "For me, or to help my case?" I smile at him. "Neither, it's for me."