Chapter 28 – Jasper
Vincent was so excited to be able to do something for Tina, and went at the birthday planning in his normal OTT style.
I have no idea how he did it or how much it cost, but he transformed the conference room.
There was food, balloons and merchandise everywhere, and I couldn’t wait to collect Mason and show him.
Over the last few days there had been some more phone calls back and forth between Tina and me, and I could feel our friendship growing. The shared experience we had with Clive forging something special.
“You ready for today?” Otis asks, coming over to me.
“Yeah, just hope that Mason enjoys it,” I reply.
“I think he will love it,” Otis states, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze, “But come on, we’d better get going.”
Tina and the kids had travelled down the night before, and Vincent had put them up in the local hotel. Unfortunately, Mason’s friend fell ill just before he was supposed to come, and so in the end he wasn’t able to attend, which made me want to make extra sure that this was the best day ever.
“Guys, wait up,” Marcus shouts just as we get to the main door.
“Don’t you dare tell me that Clive and Marj have suddenly posted something. Today of all days,” I demand.
“No, those two are still very quiet,” Marcus confirms. “I’m sure that they’re trying to concoct some new story, but considering the bitch slap that Athena gave Clive, it’s going to take them a while to find a new angle. Plus, there is this.”
Marcus shows us the iPad in his hand, and there on the screen is the picture of Otis and Tina hugging and me with a smile on my face.
“Do I want to even know the headline?” I ask.
“Actually, it’s not bad,” Marcus confirms, and scrolls past the picture so we can see the headline.
OTIS YOUNG BEFRIENDS ATHENA AFTER MOVING INTERVIEW.
“No mention of me?” Not sure if I feel relief or a little sad not to be mentioned.
“Sorry, Jasper, but out of the two of you, Otis is the bigger name,” Marcus adds.
“See, I told you. I’m in the limelight already and just dragging you along with me,” Otis states, with a very smug look on his face.
“Oh, you are going to pay for that later,” I tell him.
“Promise?” Otis replies, licking his lips.
“No. I don’t need to hear this. Why the hell did I stop you? Go get Athena and the kids. Please,” Marcus states, and before we can say anything to him, he’s turning on his heels and walking away. Faster than normal, I think, which just makes me chuckle.
“We really should be better behaved around him,” Otis says as we push open the door to HQ and are greeted with sunshine.
“Marcus loves it,” I reply.
“Probably,” Otis replies with a smirk.
Vincent had organised the same mini-buses that took us to the hotel what feels like an eternity ago, but was in fact only two weeks ago, to collect Tina.
Pulling open the sliding door, I’m greeted with a balloon, with a ten on the side of it, and on the seats, there are Montague Racing baseball caps, with Tina, Mason, and Eden’s name embroidered on them.
“How the hell does Vincent do it?” Otis asks, climbing in behind me.
“I have no idea. I’d ask Lars but I don’t think he really knows,” I reply.
With us both settled into the back seat, the mini-bus pulls out and we start the drive to the hotel. Neither of us are talking, but Otis has my hand in his and I can feel him running his thumb over the back of my hand.
“You think Vincent would let us have our wedding at HQ?” Otis suddenly asks.
“Our wedding?” Wondering where the hell this came from.
Since getting engaged, neither of us had talked about when we would get married. Yes, we had been dealing with Clive and Tina, but I just thought we would be engaged for a while, like Vincent and Lars. They had been engaged for almost two years now and there was no sign of a wedding.
“Yeah. Were you planning on marrying someone else?” Otis states.
“No, it’s just that the question took me by surprise,” I reply. “I hadn’t realised you had been thinking about the wedding.”
“A little. I don’t want to be like Vincent and Lars. I want to be Otis Knight,” Otis replies.
“Hey, oh no you don’t.” I start lifting his hand to my mouth and placing a kiss on the back of it.
“Don’t what?” Otis questions, confused at my statement.
“You are not taking my name,” I tell him, I see the flash of hurt on Otis’s face and can feel him trying to pull his hand out of mine, “I’m taking yours.”
“What?” Otis exclaims, and he stops trying to move his hand.
“Knight is my family name, but other than Kimber, what has my family done for me? I don’t want you associated with that. So I will be Jasper Young.”
“I’m not sure what to say,” Otis replies, and I do think that since the first time I met him he is lost for words.
“God, I wish I was recording this,” I say, giving him a smile.
“Why?” Otis asks, confused.
“The guys are never going to believe me when I tell them you were lost for words. If I was recording it, I’d have the evidence,” I tell him.
“You really aren’t funny,” Otis grumbles, but I can see the smile playing on his lips.
“And just in case you were thinking about speaking to Lizzie or Kimber about it, they already know. I asked permission from them both. I think your mum might have screamed.”
“You really have thought about this,” Otis asks.
“Since the second I knew I wanted to marry you,” I tell him honestly. “You’ve healed me in ways I didn’t know was possible. What better thanks than taking your name? Plus, Jasper Young sounds so cool.”
“Otis Knight sounds better,” Otis replies. “Maybe we can double barrel, be Knight-Young.”
Just as I open my mouth to protest again, I see the smile and then his shoulders start to move in silent laughter.
“You shit,” I mumble as his laughter takes over.
“I’m sorry,” Otis starts, “You were being all romantic and I was being…”
“A dick,” I finish for him.
“Yep, but I’m your dick,” Otis adds. “Jasper Young does have a nice ring to it.”
“Oh God. Do not say my name again.” As I feel blood rush south. The way my name sounded on his lips. Fuck. What a turn on. “Say it again when we’re alone later,” I demand, adding an edge to my voice.
“Yes, sir,” Otis replies.
“Stop it. We’re picking the kids up in a few minutes. I need to calm down,” I say over to Otis.
“I’ll behave,” Otis promised, which I’m not sure is helping the matter.
The mini-bus pulls up outside the hotel and Otis jumps out, and after a quick adjustment, I follow behind him. Tina and the kids are just inside the lobby, waiting for us.
“Happy Birthday, my man,” I say, going over to him, “You ready for today?”
“Thanks Jasper. Yeah,” Mason replies, but he seems a little subdued.
“Mason was hoping to hear from his dad,” Tina announces, and I suddenly understand completely.
“Not hearing from your dad sucks. I haven’t spoken to my dad in years,” I tell Mason, which gets him to look up at me in surprise.
“Why?” Mason asks.
“Mason, you can’t ask that,” Tina tells him.
“It’s okay,” I say over to her. I’m hoping that Mason knowing that I’m the same as him will make him feel better. “My dad and mum don’t like the fact that I’m gay.”
“Why?” Mason asks, looking confused.
“It’s their beliefs. So they decided to stop talking to me,” I tell him straight. “But you know, it’s okay. People are allowed to have their beliefs.”
“So your dad never calls you either?” Mason asks.
“Yep, but I have Otis, and everyone at Montague Racing. We’re a family, and you just wait and see what they have in store for you.”
“Otis is cool,” Mason starts. “Going out with a racing driver must be so cool.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty exciting. But are you ready? You’re our VIP for the day,” I tell him and suddenly he’s smiling.
“Thank you,” Tina whispers, pulling me into a hug. “He needed that.”
“We’ll look out for Mason,” I tell her. “He’s going to have a blast today and the two of them are probably gaining so many uncles, it’s unbelievable.”
We all exit the hotel and make our way over to the mini-bus. Otis pulls open the sliding door and we hear the squeal when he spots the baseball caps.
“Mum, look at these. It has my name on it,” Mason enthuses, “Look Eden.”
We all wait as Mason picks up Eden’s hat and helps her place it on her head. The smiles on their faces are so bright that I feel myself smiling just watching them. Pulling out my phone, I open the camera app.
“Hey, you two,” I call over to them and snap a picture.
“You are going to have to send me that,” Tina says as we get into the back of the van and close the door.
“Already on the way to you,” I tell her, “So, Mason. What are you most excited about today?”
“You think Vincent will let me see this year’s car?” Mason asks.
“Unfortunately this year’s car is already being made ready for transport,” Otis tells him, but I know that they have last year’s model on display for him. We are just going to leave that as a surprise for him.
“Oh,” Mason looks disappointed. “But Lars Anderson is going to be there, right?” The enthusiasm back in his voice.
“Yeah, he is so excited to meet you,” Otis says, and the smile on Mason’s face somehow grows bigger.
“Why would Lars be excited to meet me?” Mason questions.
“Coz, like I said. you’re the birthday boy. You will be the most important person at HQ today,” I reply.
“We also have a few surprises,” Otis adds.
The main one I knew about. At the first chance he got, Otis had called Nicky, and had managed to use all his powers of persuasion to get Nicky to come today.
Not that I think that Nicky needed much persuading.
But it would be a couple of hours before he got there.
We also made sure that Nicky was aware that this was completely off the record.
The ride back to HQ seems to go by in a flash. Mason sat there giving us facts about Montague Racing, and considering he wasn’t supposed to be a fan, he knew his stuff.
“He’s been researching the team, since he knew he was coming,” Tina explained.
“We’ll have to put Mason up against Marcus,” Otis adds.