A phone call from Erika harshly wakes me up at eight in the morning. Such an ungodly hour. Apparently, William asked her to do so, demanding an urgent meeting.

Being the ever so obedient soon-to-be daughter-in-law, I opt for a simple sky blue blouse and loose white trousers before hopping on my car with my driver speeding down to the office.

I get to the Judy Corp building and hurry to the floor with William's office on it. No one, not even Erika, knows what the meeting is going to be about.

With a sharp inhale, I pull on my strong suit before I knock on the door and let myself in. Not one step into the room, I halt.

Sophia, my lawyer, is sitting across from William and his lawyer. She turns, and a slow smile tugs the corner of her mouth as my gaze jumps from her to William.

What's going on?

"Good morning, Gracie. I hadn't noticed you come to the office after nine." William sets down the file he was scrutinizing and steeples his fingers.

I shut the door and march to the meeting desk, planting myself on the seat next to Sophia, right across from William.

"I prefer productivity over cliché timelines." I cross my legs, glancing at Sophia from the corner of my eye. "Well, what's going on?"

A slow smile spreads across William's face as he waves his hand at Sophia. She slides a file to me.

My brows furrow from increasing curiosity and confusion.

"After thorough deliberation, I've come to realize, a part of our deal needs enhancement, to be more practical."

I school my shocked face to an indifferent one, but my heart anxiously drums in my chest as I hold my breath and watch him with unease.

William glances at his lawyer before continuing, "Five years set for the duration of our contract seemed too fixed, inflexible even. I've decided to change that part."

I release a slow sigh of relief as I relax into my seat. Leaning back, I rest my elbows on the armrests and intertwine my fingers. "Looks like you want to get rid of me just as bad as I want to get rid of you."

A deep laugh rumbles out of him. He shifts on his spot and shakes his head, placing his forearms on the desk between us. "Perhaps. My lawyer and I have added an extension to the clause regarding the duration of our contract. We've suggested announcing the contract completed once both parties have reached their desired outcome, regardless of being earlier than five years."

"And if it takes longer?" I raise an eyebrow, not allowing myself to get hopeful just yet.

"Once it crosses five years, the partnership will be over by the terms of the contract and law," William's lawyer replies instead.

I nod slowly, letting the news sink in. Hesitantly, I glance at Sophia. She seems at ease. This is really happening! I bite my bottom lip to stop myself from grinning.

"Your lawyer has already gone through it. I've signed it, only your signature is required for finalizing it," William says.

I turn to Sophia and she nods, confirming his words. "Everything seems fine, profitable for both of you."

I flip open the file and Sophia shows me the new lines added to the clause. I read them closely before getting the pen from her and signing underneath it.

At last, I let myself draw in a deep breath, feeling like a tremendous weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Excitement slowly slithers into my system, hyping me up.

William and I shake hands before I leave the office. Sophia tails me but with a quick farewell departs.

For the first time in these few weeks, I can see a light at the end of this long, horrendous tunnel. Exactly what I needed after that godawful night I had with Kristian. At least now I can hope I won't have to put with Kristian for five years.

As I reach the elevator, a sudden realization hits me like a train.

Spencer!

Damn!

This is Spencer's doing.

With my mouth agape, I step into the elevator. He did it!

I shake my head with disbelief as I press the button to the floor my office is at, and with wide eyes watch the door slide shut.

Spencer sure knew how to convince his father.

To say I'm surprised is an understatement, I wasn't expecting he'd be able to make this old wolf do what I want. But he did.

He kept up his side of the deal. I bitterly remind myself.

A pang of sadness shoots through my chest.

He only did it to get rid of me faster, to throw me out of his life sooner rather than later.

I inhale sharply and pinch the bridge of my nose.

He didn't do it because of me. Spencer did it because we had a deal.

I repeat the thought over and over in my head until it's cemented into the depths of it. I can't risk misunderstanding his motives and letting my stupid emotions get involved.

Regardless, the outcome is in my favor.

In fact, this is my first ever win. As small as it might be. It calls for a freaking celebration!

With a wide grin spread across my face, I make my way to my room. A fresh sense of power and optimism coursing through my veins as I survey the skyline visible from the windows.

Such a perfect day!

I totter to my seat, and contemplate calling Mom to tell her about this new progress, but change my mind at the last second. I'll visit her at her place and tell her everything. At least this should lighten her mood since she's been too mad at me, refusing to talk to me ever since Saturday's lunch at William's place.

I suppose Spencer and I were being too obvious. If only someone knew what to look for and when, they easily would've figured out something had happened between us.

Unfortunately, my mom turned out to be the person who noted everything and put the pieces together. And now she's mad at me.

I understand what I did was wrong, but I don't regret it. Although, I don't expect anyone to understand me either, not even my mom. 

I toss my hair over my shoulder and turn on my computer. Nothing can ruin my mood today. With renewed energy and an absurd amount of hope, I start my work, going through the documents I'll be discussing throughout today's meetings.

I don't notice the passage of time as I comb through my work, until the phone on my desk starts ringing, snapping my focus.

I grab the phone and accept the call as I lean into my seat. "Gracie Stewart speaking."

"Hey, Rae," Mason's oddly unjustified enthusiastic voice comes, wiping away my calmness, making me frown with suspicion.

Is he hiding something?

"Hey, Mason," I hesitantly mumble.

"Sooo... you got a lot of meetings today?"

"Is something wrong?" Anxiety gets the best of me. My body tenses and I sit up straighter, taking my bottom lip between my teeth.

"To be fair, there's always something wrong."

I roll my eyes. "Get to the point Mason, is everything okay? Why did you call?"

"I think you need to cancel all of your meetings for today."

My eyes widen and I hold back my gasp. "Has something happened to Mom?"

He chuckles and I can imagine him shaking his head. "No, Mom's totally fine... but I wouldn't say the same about our shareholders."

His words are like a bucket of iced water tipping over my head. "What do you mean?" I squeak.

"You remember that crazed, lover of yours," Mason pauses and my frown deepens.

My crazed lover?

In a sudden spark of realization, I jump to my feet, my eyes widening with horror. "Nathan?"

"Yeah, him," Mason confirms in a bored voice, utterly unaffected by my shocked tone. "So... the bastard has quite a bit of shares under his name... and you broke his heart," he remarks sarcastically.

I purse my lips, tightening my grip on the phone as I lay my other palm on the cool surface of my desk.

"Now he's being an ass. Well, more like a pain in the ass, with-"

"Can you get to the fucking point!" I snap.

"Don't get me started, all of this mess is your fault. You wanna know the point? Fine! The bastard came here, threatened to sell his shares ridiculously under-priced, he even had two fucking buyers ready for it. Either that, or he'd sell it to Benjamin, all of his shares. Your dickhead of an ex was gracious enough to give us the luxury of choosing between these two options."

Fuck fuck fuck.

I bite back a frustrated scream and pinch the bridge of my nose. "And what did you do?"

"I asked for time! What else I could've done!" Mason yells.

I raise my voice to match his volume. "That's good, we'll find a way."

"Yeah, you better! Because now all of our investors and shareholders are here and demanding an explanation. Saying if that shit ton of share is going to be sold under-priced, they're out. Do you know what that means!"

I shove my hand through my hair. "How did they find out?"

"The courtesy of your ex."

I squeeze my eyes shut and rub them with my thumb and index finger.

"Get your ass over here and fix this mess." Mason hangs up.

Anger and frustration boil and bubble in me. I'm half tempted to hurl the phone at the wall, but stop myself from doing it, and with hands trembling from fury I slam it down on the desk.

"Fuck you, Nathan," I growl and kick back my chair, grabbing my bag in the process.

I storm to the door, while digging inside my bag to find my phone and call my driver to tell him to prepare the car. Too busy with rummaging for my phone and the arrival of this uncalled trouble, too late I notice the wall of muscles a pace away from me.

I crash to him and lose my balance. My bag and phone slip from my hold and fall, the contents of my bag skid across the floor. I trip over my heel and almost hit the ground head first, but a muscular arm wraps around me, catching me right on time.

I glance up, meeting Spencer's dark blue eyes, curiously watching me, with his lips slightly parted. Gathering all my willpower, and ignoring how my heart is racing just by seeing him again and being so close, I straighten myself and push his hand away. I instantly miss his warm touch, the skin his hand made contact with tingles and years for more, but I refuse to acknowledge it.

"You really need to start looking where you're going," he says.

With a huff, I kneel down and he follows suit.

"Not now," I mutter through gritted teeth, hurriedly picking up my belongings and shoving them into my bag.

Too late my gaze falls on the necklace, the same one he gifted me on my birthday, lying on the floor, less than a foot away from him. I don't waste time peering at him, hoping with all my might he hasn't seen it. Just as I reach for it though, his slender fingers wrap around it and lift it up.

Damn it. Why does everything keep getting worse today?

Heat rushes to my cheeks as my palms get clammy from sheer embarrassment. I want to scream, but instead, curse myself for not seeing him on time. I didn't even notice when he entered the room. I also cuss myself for always carrying the damn thing with me.

Gingerly, I look up. Spencer's widened gaze flickers between me and the necklace in fixed two-second-two-second beats, as though not believing his eyes.

With the last shred of remaining dignity, I snatch the necklace from his hand and raise to my feet, shoving it into the bag in the process.

Not wasting another second, I rush out of the room, cursing my luck and this stupid day.

❦ ♥︎ ❦

Hehehe, did you really think the necklace is not going to come up again? lol xD

Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I certainly did while writing it =D Vote if you enjoyed it And comment your thoughts! =)

Sooo... do you guys think Nathan is going to be our bad guy number 2? Or not?

And did you expect Spencer to make William shorten the length of the contract so soon, or not?

Well, I bet you guys are wondering what is going on inside Spencer's head, right? I hope you guys are, 'cause, the next chapter is in his POV xD

Thanks for reading this chapter! ^.^

Stay safe, lots of love, happy reading ♡