“Hope he’s mad enough that he quits on his own,” Jace said with a hopeful grin.
“Wrong, he’s going to fight you on everything. You should be CEO,” I said, leaning forward and resting my elbows on his desk. “That’s what Zachariah Acker did right? He was the CEO and President as well as the owner?”
“Yeah, but my main interest is in this division, not the for-profit work,” he said, taking on a pensive look. “I’ve never really thought about it, I guess. If I ran the whole thing, I’d probably slow the development work and reduce the amount of money made; invest more into the charitable work. I’d expand the work we do for foster families and recovering addicts. Sutton would probably be happy to see me turn around the focus of the entire company but she’s never intended to edge out Martin.”
“Because you just said she doesn’t know what a prick he is. If he treats you this way, I wouldn’t be surprised if he treats his other VPs like shit too. If you tell her, she could at least look into it. Even if you don’t want to be CEO, it would still be for the best.”
He sighed. “I’ll think about it. What is his most recent tantrum about? Also, if you quit this job because of him,I’mgoing to have a tantrum the likes of which he’ll never see coming.”
I laughed and stood up as the elevator dinged. “That’s probably Cole with your lunch. Don’t worry, I won’t quit over Martin. I’m sticking with you in solidarity against that guy.”
Jace smiled. “Just tell me what I need to do to get him to shut up this time.”
“You need to call him back about the Bruins charity event. He’s pissedthat you didn’t run it by him. Apparently, there is a football team in New York that got wind of it and wants to do something similar and Martin didn’t know what the team owner was talking about and, honestly, it just sounds like rich-people drama.”
Jace laughed. “My fucking favorite.”
I poked my head out of Jace’s door to thank Cole for the lunch but was surprised to find Kayden walking into the office instead, a bag of takeout in his hand.
“Hey, you’re early,” I said, double-checking my watch. “Jace has to make a call before your meeting, but you can wait wherever you want.”
“No, Jace does not have to make a call,” Jace said as Kayden filled the doorway. “Jace is taking you to get your flu shot.”
“Am I going to be in the way?” Kayden asked, looking between us. “I finished with my last client early and was just going to wait out here or ask to work in the conference room if that’s okay. Cole sent up your lunch.”
I took the takeout bag from him and thanked him.
“You’re welcome to stay, baby,” Jace said, walking around his desk to us. “Olivia and I are going to the flu clinic a couple blocks over and we’ll be right back. You can set up in my office if you want.”
“No,wearen’t going to the clinic.You’regoing back in there.” I pushed on his immoveable chest and he raised an eyebrow, looking down at me with a playful smile. “You’re going to sit down and deal with Martin because I am not fielding another tantrum. I get enough of those at home, and quite frankly, Kaylee’s are easier to manage than his. I will get my flu shot alone.”
Kayden seemed to be suppressing a grin as I kept trying to push Jace back into his office to no avail. “What’s the deal with Martin? He’s your boss, right?”
“Yes, and he’s being a prick because I set up a charity event with the Bruins that we’re sponsoring for the foster kids in one of our buildings. The players are going to surprise them and take them skating. It’s prettyawesome and I amnotrequired to run anything of the sort by him, he just hates charity.”
“He sounds fun,” Kayden said dryly.
“Can you help me with him?” I asked Kayden, tipping my chin at Jace.
“You want me to help you push him into his office? Tie him to a chair? Force him to make a phone call? What’s the plan, Olivia, because I think brute force on this one might not prevail.”
I sighed and folded my arms. “Martin is an ass and Jace needs to put him in his place. I need to go get my flu shot, so jump on board with the argument please—preferably my side.”
Kayden smiled and shook his head at me before looking at Jace. “Why are you being stubborn about this?”
“She’s terrified of needles. She’s going to panic and I don’t want her to be alone.”
“I’ll go with you,” Kayden said to me.
“I don’t require a babysitter,” I grumbled.
“I know, but Jace is obviously worried about you, and you want him to call Martin, so let me take you. He’ll feel better and you can full-on pass out from a panic attack and I will be able to handle you without judgment, Olivia. Trust me.”
I remembered what Jace had said about Kayden’s anxiety and his own comments about how his abuse of alcohol had started.
“Fine,” I said. “Does that work for you, Mr. Cohen?”
Jace smiled at us, looking enamored. It was a look that told me exactly why Kayden seemed to be okay with Jace having feelings for me. Because the way he looked at Kayden made my heart swoon just as much as when he turned his loving gaze on me. Jace was really and trulyhappy, maybe for the first time since I’d met him, and that was because of Kayden as much as it was because of our admissions.
