**Well, literally every single one of you wanted the update now, so here it is! The moment you've all been waiting for!**

Roxie's POV

The day seemed to move at the pace of molasses after Ezekiel returned to his office and cut Jedrek and I's conversation short. I kept glancing at the clock every few minutes, only to huff and look away in frustration.

"Somewhere you need to be?" Evelyn asked curtly, catching onto my anticipation while giving me a glare over her reading glasses.

"Just don't feel well and would rather be at home snuggled in my bed," I replied curtly. She gave a little hmph, still watching me intently. She shot a glare my way every chance she got; both behind Ezekiel's back and when he was out of the room. Thankfully, there were only forty-five minutes left before I was able to clock out and head home for the day where her snooty glare couldn't reach me or the saltine crackers I had waiting.

"Roxie, can you come to the board room, please? It's urgent," came Ezekiel's muffled voice over the intercom on his desk.

"It's amazing to me how you've been here two weeks, yet you're always his go-to person when it comes to advice anymore," Evelyn hissed.

"Gee, Evelyn, did you ever stop to ask me why that is?" I finally snapped, catching her off guard. "Maybe if you weren't so set on fucking hating me you would know that I have past experience with architectural design and have a good eye for when things are fucked up. But no. You'd rather sit there and glare at me while making assumptions. Whatever. Hate me all you want, but ever since I've walked through that door, I've done nothing but be polite to you and try my best to help you out. Why don't you go out and get laid, huh? Maybe that'll help you not be such a stuck up bitch. Have someone pull the stick out of your ass while they're at it," I growled before slamming the door to the office on my way out.

"What's up?" I asked Ezekiel as I entered the room.

"I need your opinion on how to best troubleshoot the flow of this floor," Jedrek answered for him, slightly catching me off guard. I nodded and took the seat to his left. I couldn't help the sense of deja vu I felt. He and I had been in this exact same position countless times before while he was in college. I missed it so much. I was snapped out of my reverie when I heard the clicking of heels in the boardroom and looked up. Of course, she didn't actually leave I thought to myself. Someone had to have told her I was here. That's the only reason she would just come casually strolling in now of all times - especially after the verbal lashing Jedrek gave her earlier.

So who's the snitch I asked myself. Jedrek just rolled his eyes before drawing his attention back to the print in front of me.

We bounced ideas off of each other for about fifteen minutes, me taking the pen from Jedrek and making a suggestion that would completely rework everything they'd already had mapped out.

"Wait a minute. Roxie, that's brilliant," Jedrek murmured before suddenly pulling the blueprint over to himself, that familiar spark lighting up his eyes as it always did; it meant he figured out the final configuration of the puzzle. All the other men watched on in utter amazement as he finished the sketch and dropped the pencil back onto the table.

"Man, you guys just whipped that shit out like a big dick in a locker room. So much confidence," Julian joked.

"That's because I'm usually the man with the big dick to whip out," Jedrek stated teasingly. All the men in the room laughed as I snickered quietly.

"Bullshit," Porter ribbed back.

"Don't believe me?" Jedrek challenged. They were all clearly much less stressed with this finished. I could tell by the relaxed postures they'd all taken on since I'd come in.

"Well, there's only one person in this room who can either confirm or deny this," Waylon chimed in while swiveling in his chair so his body was facing me. While I was only half-way paying attention to their conversation, still admiring the new sketch we'd come up with together, I still heard what they said.

"It's true," I chimed in distractedly, still analyzing the finished print. Only when the room grew deadly silent did I realize what I'd said and done. My head snapped up all the while my face began to burn bright cherry red.

"I-uh..." I stuttered before clearing my throat and shifting awkwardly in my seat. No one in that room except for me, the man himself, Ezekiel, Waylon, and Tori knew what kind of relationship Jedrek and I had had. Well, until my big mouth went and fucked it up. What brought me out of my stunned stupor was the sound of the boardroom door slamming shut behind Tori as she stormed from the room - probably both pissed and embarrassed.

It was only then that I fully processed what Waylon had said. There's only one person in the room who can confirm or deny this...

Jedrek and Tori have never had sex?!

"I wonder if the gift of being architecturally advanced is sexually transmitted, then?" Julian inquired, catching a glare from just about everyone in the room, but I just snickered behind my hand.

**

I was pacing my apartment - damn near running holes in the floor, biting my nails, and sweating profusely as I waited for Jedrek to show up. Thankfully, Khloe was spending the night at Xander's (again), so I had the house to myself while this conversation was going down. Despite not having any idea of what to expect, I had a feeling this conversation was going to turn my world upside down.

When the knock at my door finally came, I thought I was going to throw up - and it wasn't from the morning sickness this time. I pulled the front door open without giving myself a chance to second guess this visit. I needed to hear what he had to say.

"Did you even check the peephole before answering?" he asked gruffly.

"Just come in," I stated with an annoyed eye roll.

"First order of business," he muttered before grasping me around the waist and pulling me into his body. I melted into his embrace as we just stood in the entrance of my apartment, arms wrapped tightly around one another. He buried his nose in my hair and inhaled deeply, his fingers giving my body a quick squeeze. "I need to know if you were as miserable without me as I was without you," he whispered, his warm breath hitting the nape of my neck.

"It was awful, Jedrek," I croaked emotionally. He nodded before moving one hand to my upper back while simultaneously leaning down and snaking his other arm under my thighs. He easily lifted me against his chest and cradled me there. I wrapped my arm around his neck while placing the other over his heart, the strong thump thump, thump thump, thump thump soothing me. He walked the short distance to my couch before carefully sitting down and resting me on his lap. He grabbed the blanket that was thrown over the armrest and laid it over me before wrapping his arms securely around me. For the first time in four years, I let all the walls, all the barriers, all the fronts I'd put up to protect my heart down. I snuggled into his chest, my nose pressed against his shirt, inhaling his unique scent with every breath I took.

His hand came up and began stroking the back of my head, playing with the strands of my hair as he went. I felt every ounce of stress I didn't even know I was harboring in my body just...disappear.

After all the time we'd spent apart and after everything we'd been through, we were still each other's home. We were still each other's safe place.

"You're absolutely crazy to think I would ever choose to leave you, Roxie girl," he spoke glumly. I processed his words for a few seconds before a feeling of dread settled in my stomach.

"This has to do with the contract you and Tori were arguing about, doesn't it?" I assumed.

"Unfortunately, yes. It all started when the book numbers weren't adding up. It just so happened to be around the same time that your dad and Sandra married. We couldn't figure out what was going on, or where all the money was going. Everything finally blew up one night when my dad's best friend and business partner took off in the middle of the night with basically every last penny we had to our name. He'd been the one embezzling the money the whole time. When he figured out he was bleeding us dry, he jumped ship. That's where Sandra and Tori come in. It was no secret to anyone that Sandra had money from her ex-husband - she was so fucking obvious about it. Well, Tori decided that she wanted me and her mother decided she would stop at nothing to give her piece of shit daughter what she wanted. My mom had loose lips on one too many Sunday Brunches, and Sandra figured out the company was broke and weeks away from bankruptcy.

"So, she approached my mother and father with a contract that would supposedly benefit both families; Sandra would give my parents all the money they needed to keep the business up and running and get it back on its feet long as I agreed to marry Tori. In Sandra and my mother's eyes, it was a win-win. Tori's mother had a massive amount of money from her divorce settlement, and my family had me. My bitch of a mother saw it as an opportunity to keep her current lifestyle and save the company at the same time, but my father never agreed with any of it. He helped me try to fight it in every way we knew. To me, that contract meant the end of my - our  - happiness permanently.

"In the end, my mother successfully blackmailed me one night behind my father's back. She'd gotten me alone. She told me that without the contract my family was going to end up on the streets, starving and without anywhere to go and that it would be all my fault. My sister wouldn't be able to attend college and live out her dream. That I would be solely responsible for laying off every single employee we had. That would mean hundreds of people that would be without a job. I was so trapped. She successfully made me feel like choosing my own happiness over hundreds of others' livelihood would be a horrible mistake. The day I was forced to sign that fucking contract was the day I had to end things with you. It was the hardest day of my life," he rasped out, his voice breaking towards the end.

I just sat there with a look of shock on my face. I opened and closed my mouth a few times, trying to find something, anything, to say.

"When I told you I was going to find a way to fix things, I meant it. I took that goddamn contract to any lawyer that wasn't already under Sandra's belt. I've read the contract forward and backward thousands of times, trying to find some kind of goddamn loophole in the wording to get my family out of this mess," he ranted.

"What are the terms of the contract?" I asked, already afraid to hear the answer.

"It states that in exchange for any and all monetary support warranted to keep Chamberlain Group LLC. going, I would marry Tori. If I broke off the engagement or filed for divorce, all ownership of the business would be written over to Sandra as well as every last penny she'd invested plus interest would need to be paid back in full immediately." I mulled over his words for a few moments.

"Can I see the contract?" I asked. He nodded while pulling his phone out and opening up the digital copy he'd obviously scanned onto his phone.

I took a deep breath before taking the phone from him and beginning to read. I scrolled through the first few important pages, unsure of what the hell I was reading or on what page I was supposed to find what I was looking for. Despite the serious mood between us, Jedrek chuckled at my obvious cluelessness before gently taking the phone back and scrolling to what I assumed was the correct page.

I started reading once again, my eyes skimming over the vile words quickly. A knot formed in my stomach as I grew lightheaded and dizzy. I dropped his phone onto my lap before throwing the blanket off of me and running for the bathroom. I just barely made it before I hurled all that I nibbled on before Jedrek arrived. I could feel Jedrek's hand rubbing comforting circles against my lower back, forcing away the nausea from the sickening guidelines of the contract.

"How is that legal? How are they allowed to force you into something like this?" I spat as tears began to accumulate in my eyes. He helped me up off the floor and handed me a capful of mouthwash from the bottle that was sitting on the counter.

"I told you, Roxie girl, I was blackmailed. The lawyers had no idea, so, as long as I appeared to be doing this at my own free will, it was just seen as a precaution for the Spalding family to protect their financial investment in the event that Tori and I didn't follow through or work out - like a prenup, almost," he muttered, his tone heavy laden with annoyance and anger.

He held me once again as I cried, a feeling of helplessness washing over me. After a few moments, he led us back into the living room and to our original position on the couch.

"Having you within reach while everything was falling apart was so hard," Jedrek whispered. "Knowing that each touch and kiss could've been my last had me at the brink of insanity," he continued. I wiped away the single tear that rolled down my cheek. "I thought you leaving was hard. Not knowing where the fuck you were, how you were doing, or if you had moved on was worse. Every single day was filled with misery. Nothing made me happy anymore. Nothing. Food had no taste, writing up blueprints wasn't intriguing, even football couldn't keep my interest. The only thing I ever wanted to do was sleep or look through photos of us," He confessed. My heart throbbed in my chest knowing how deeply he'd hurt - just like I had.

"I thought you leaving was hard," he repeated looking so conflicted, "but then you came back. I felt like my entire world had been turned upside down. Seeing you again for the first time in four years...God Roxie. I thought my heart was going to explode. And then you finally looked at me and I thought my dick was going to explode. You looked so different but the same and I couldn't breathe. You'd matured in so many ways, but your eyes were still that same shade of light green that could melt my fucking heart," he said. I placed my hand over his heart once more, the steady beat against my palm reassuring me that this was real, not some figment of my imagination.

"Fuck, that morning when I couldn't sleep and I heard your bedroom door creak open, I knew I had to follow you. I didn't expect you to be trying to skinny dip, but I should've known. The kiss we shared made me feel alive for the first time since I signed my life away. Seeing your sexy body and new curves," he growled, trailing off as I felt him harden beneath me. I snickered, unable to help myself. "I tried everything to get that fucking boner to go away," he admitted, causing me to burst out laughing even harder.

"It's not funny!" He yelled jokingly while joining along in my laughter. "I tried taking a cold shower, jacking off, watching TV, thinking gross thoughts, nothing helped. It wasn't until Tori woke up and tried touching me that it finally went away," he huffed. While the thought should've probably angered me or made me jealous, it just made me snort out a smug laugh.

"Unfortunately for Tori, being affectionate to her wasn't a requirement of the contract. Being prohibited from cheating on her also wasn't part of the contract. I know how you feel about what's happened between us - I can tell by the look on your face when you grow quiet - but stop. It may sound fucking horrible, but I made my intentions with her clear after I read the contract thoroughly and we'd both already signed and were legally bound. She couldn't back out, and neither could I. Tori wasn't smart enough to read through it herself - something I wasn't surprised by. I told her, in front of everyone present, that I would never lay a finger on her and that I had full intentions of seeing other people. She tried to smugly tell me that what I'd planned was against the rules of the contract, but her lawyers quickly shot her down and informed her that the contract only required us to be legally married. If she tried to back out, we wouldn't have to repay a penny and the company would stay within our full ownership," he explained.

Even with the situation and how Tori had treated me, I had the tiniest bit of hurt in my heart for her.

"Roxie," Jedrek warned to which I sighed deeply, obviously already having an idea of where my thoughts had turned.

"I know, I know. I shouldn't feel bad for her because she brought this on herself and she forced us apart, but...I don't know. Does she really want a connection with someone so badly she's will to literally sign her life away for it? And with a man that clearly doesn't even like her?" I asked.

"I don't know and I really don't fucking care. During the time I was going back and forth with my parents about it, I was with her 24/7-"

"I know," I grumbled, remembering all the fights we used to have over him ditching me to spend time with her. At the time, I didn't know why he was blowing me off for her, I just knew that I felt betrayed and alone. He gave me a pointed look to let him finish his sentence so I sheepishly apologized.

"As I was saying, I was with her all the time begging her not to do this. Begging her to call her family off and maybe just convince her mother to go through with the business deal because it would've been a good investment on their behalf either way. No matter what I said, she wasn't backing down. She was adamant about being together regardless of how many times I told her I was in love with you and that wanted nothing to do with her. I even told her I'd help set her up with one of my friends, someone better than me. At the end of it all, I realized that it all settled down to jealousy and status," he stated as if it were the most logical thing in the world. "She saw you happy and wanted it for herself. She also saw me as something to brag about to her friends."

"That doesn't make any sense. She and I never even knew each other until our parents were married," I commented, perplexed. Jedrek opened his mouth to reply, but there was a sudden banging on my apartment door.

"Stay here, I'll get it," Jedrek demanded, his face turning serious in a matter of seconds. After carefully maneuvering me off of him, he got up and checked the peephole. A look of utter confusion overtook his face before he unlocked the door and opened it. Seeing Ezekiel shoot into my apartment, I realized why Jedrek was so confused.

I thought he said he had plans with Ivy tonight?

"You guys are never going to fucking believe this," he exclaimed, a manic smile taking over his face as he held up what I now knew to be the contractual agreement I'd just become privy to mere minutes ago. 

**Alright ya'll. Most of you called it being a money thing - but it WASN'T just about his family. There were so many people Jedrek's decision was going to affect. Hopefully, some of you can see where he was coming from. HOWEVER - THAT'S NOT EVERYTHING! There's still more next chapter, like why he didn't tell Roxie as well as other very important things...watch out for the Jedrek chapter tomorrow!!**