Chapter Forty-Seven
Jace
Sutton sat in one of the seats in front of my desk and gestured for me to take the one next to her. I sat down and set my coffee on the edge of my desk, turning to face her.
“Are you okay, Jace?” she asked, looking far less like the pissed-off company owner she had every right to be and much more like the loving aunt I’d had in my life for more than fifteen years.
I swallowed. “It depends. If you’re asking about what Martin is trying to do, then no, not at all. If you’re asking about my relationship with Kayden and Olivia, then yes. I’m in love with them, Sutton.”
She took a deep breath and set her coffee down, leaning toward me. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Do you have any idea how much it hurt to hear about your relationship from Martin of all people?”
“I’m so sorry. I should have told you, but we were trying to keep it quiet until we knew it was sustainable. That’s why I scheduled coffee for us today, to explain the situation.”
“I get it. I just wish he hadn’t found out so I could have heard it from you,” she said, putting a hand on my knee. “I also need to make sure you know I would have supported you no matter when you decided to tell me.”
“I do.” I sighed. “There are a lot of conflicts here you need to know about, Sutton.”
She nodded. “Yep, I’m sure there are. The lawyer in me is ready to tackle all of that shit head-on to protect you and this company. But I won’t do that at the expense of your happiness, Jace.”
I dropped my head in my hands, and she stood up and put a comforting hand on my back.
“Martin’s a lot worse than we originally thought, isn’t he?
” she asked. I nodded without lifting my head.
She pulled on my arms and forced me to look up at her before hugging me.
“We’ll take care of him together, but I need to know everything. ”
I hugged her for a minute, steeling myself to walk her through it—if not for me, then at least for them. There was no way I was letting him ruin their reputations.
I took a deep breath and pulled back, starting at the beginning. “You knew Olivia and I were friends when I hired her and that I gave her the job so she could have better hours for Kaylee.”
Sutton sat back down. “Yes, I never had a problem with that.”
“I’m assuming you also knew I was in love with her?”
Sutton chuckled. “You didn’t exactly hide it well, Jace. So, yes.”
“Okay, well just before she started working here, I went out to a bar and I met a guy. We went home together, and the connection was just…unusually strong. A couple days later, he showed up here as the architect who we’d already hired.”
Sutton tensed but took a deep breath, giving me a look to continue.
“I couldn’t have stayed away from him if I’d wanted to, Sutton. But if I’m being honest, I didn’t even try. I was crazy about him. The feeling was mutual and consensual, and you can certainly ask him, but I’m certain our professional dynamic had nothing to do with what happened between us.”
“I believe you, Jace,” she said, filling me with relief. I hadn’t realized how much I’d feared people looking at our situation like that. Kayden and Olivia being in this office added proximity and opportunity, yes, but never pressure.
“Thank you,” I said. “On Liv’s first day, I discovered that Kayden is also Kaylee’s biological father.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Sutton said, blinking slowly. “Sorry, keep going, but this is getting more complicated than I expected.”
“I warned you.” I chuckled, earning myself a lawyerly glare.
“Kayden and Olivia still felt a connection, I was falling for Kayden, I’d never stopped loving Olivia, and eventually, we admitted our feelings to each other.
How we evolved from there doesn’t matter, but we did.
We’re polyfidelitous—a closed throuple, committed only to each other—and we’re all in love. ”
Sutton closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. “And what exactly is going on with Martin that he would try to take the happiest thing in your life and use it against you?”
I scoffed. “Martin’s been trying to block more and more things in this division all year.
It’s been getting worse, and Olivia was probably right when she suggested that my assistants quit because of him.
When you talked to him about his behavior and the future of the company a few weeks ago, he lost his fucking mind.
He called the office last night, yelled at Olivia, and when she transferred him to me, he spent a great deal of time telling me I wasn’t cut out to be the owner of this company and that he’d never respect me and neither would the board.
He also acted like his entire rant was about the foster care shopping event for the holidays, but he was just clinging to something to justify his rage.
I essentially told him to fuck off and went to Leo’s game.
Apparently, he’s been having me followed by a PI for at least a week.
He said he sent you the photos and I’m pretty sure he supplied the news with the one that’s online.
Leo and Sophia have never been targeted by paparazzi before, so the timing is too convenient to be anything but him—especially since Soph and Leo aren’t the center of the photograph, I am. ”
Sutton groaned. “What does he want from you? Did he ask you for anything as blackmail?”
“No. I think he just wants to discredit me and he believes he’s found a smoking gun. He probably figures that if the board no longer approves of me, you’ll have no choice but to keep your shares, or give them to him, maybe. I have no idea what he thinks he’s going to gain.”
She stood up and started pacing. “That stupid fucking prick!” she yelled, running a hand over her ponytail and yanking on it in frustration.
“I knew it. I knew from the beginning he was going to be a problem, but I thought if he still had control of all the same stuff as when my father died that he’d just leave us alone to do the rest and we wouldn’t have to worry about it.
I thought he’d have enough power to be happy and I needed him in that role so I could stay out of everything. ”
“If it’s any consolation, I think he’s only gone along with it this long because he respects you. He has zero respect for me and has made several comments about the nepotism that got me this job.”
“You were fully qualified when I hired you and it’s a family business. What the fuck did he think? That because my father didn’t have any sons to take over that he’d be gifted the whole damn thing instead? Stupid, misogynistic—”
I stood up and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Sit down, you’re looking murderous,” I said with a chuckle.
She huffed out a breath, adopting her lawyer tone.
“Look, Kayden we can spin. Easily. We hired him weeks before you met him. You met a stranger in a bar and started a relationship without knowing his connection to the company and you were too in love to stop what happened next. I can work with that.”
“What about Kayden?” I asked. “What if they try to say that he knew who I was?”
“He didn’t, right?” Sutton asked.
“Of course not.” I scratched my beard. “He remembers every word of that RFP, trust me, we fought over my bathroom requests, and he was right. My first name wasn’t on anything, and we didn’t share last names the night we met.”
“That should be easy enough to prove then.” We sat back down, and I handed her the cup of coffee. She took a long sip and gave me a sympathetic look. “Olivia is going to be harder, Jace.”
“I know,” I said. “I’m a powerful man who slept with his assistant, right? The world isn’t going to care that I’ve been desperately in love with my best friend for years and gave her a job to help her?”
Sutton shook her head. “Right. How much does Olivia like being your assistant?”
I gripped my hair with both hands and groaned. “Please don’t tell me you want me to fire her.”
“Of course not!” Sutton exclaimed, looking offended. “I’m not going to punish her to protect you.”
I let out a breath of relief.
“I’m suggesting that she quit.”
“Sutton!” I yelled.
She sighed. “Here me out. We find Olivia another job, quickly. When this comes out, we can address the situation for what it is. You two had a prior relationship that evolved, and you both took immediate steps to mitigate any professional integrity questions that your relationship raises.”
“I fucking hate this,” I said.
Sutton leaned forward and patted my knee gently. “I know. But you both said it was temporary. This is the best way to protect you—and her, if he tries to discredit her.”
“Oh, he will. She’s job shadowed in a few departments here already and she’s not into any of them. I think she wants to go back to the restaurant industry, but the hours aren’t optimal.”
Sutton’s eyes lit up. “I might be able to help with that. Kelly, the manager at Ackerson’s, just gave us her notice. She’s moving with her girlfriend to Chicago. She has daytime hours and Olivia has more than enough experience to manage the place.”
My chest clenched. “She’s not going to want to be handed another job, Sutton. She’s going to want to earn it.”
“She has earned it. Jackson’s still a mess at Harrison’s without her.
She was a phenomenal employee, and he hated letting her go.
Between her experience and her degree, she’s more than qualified.
If this job had been available a few months ago when she was looking for a change in hours, Adrian would have offered it to her. ”
I sighed. “He can offer it to her now, but I won’t force her out of this job to project myself, Sutton.”
“Understood. We need to talk to her before the board meeting Martin called. He’s going to be very smug and think he beat you, but if we get a few things in place before then, we can stop him and move forward the way you and I have always wanted.”
“Okay,” I said. “Do you want to talk to her now?”
“No, I need time to strategize. I’ll talk to Adrian about the bar too.
” She pulled out her phone and started typing.
I suspected her ideas were already flowing.
She really was a kickass lawyer and if anyone could solve this, it would be her.
She groaned and dropped her phone to her lap.
“I assume you haven’t seen his email? Liv forwarded it to us. ”
She held her phone out for me and my pulse soared as I read it. “Sutton, if he hurts either of them—” My voice cracked, and she stood up to hug me again.
“We’re not going to let that happen, Jace. If they’re your partners, then they’re family and this man will not fuck with my family.”
I chuckled sadly. “It’s a good thing I believe you or I’d fall apart over this.”
She rubbed my back. “I’ll come up with a plan—one where we will not be going to New York, by the way. He can fly his dumb ass here. Should we talk again with Olivia and Kayden tonight over dinner?”
I shook my head. “Kaylee’s father-daughter dance is tonight. I’m taking her and Olivia has tomorrow off to help her mom with last-minute wedding preparations. The ceremony is Saturday.”
“Okay, then let’s get breakfast on Thursday. I’ll have a plan by then.”
“I want to be involved in the plan. Let’s do this together. Please. I want to make sure they’re both protected.”
“Of course, Jace. I can come back tomorrow morning. We can hash it out all day and present them with the options on Thursday. Who else knows about the three of you?”
“Mom and Ima,” I said.
“Of course.” Sutton rolled her eyes. “Who knew they could actually keep a secret this big?”
I laughed. “Leo and Sophia. Liv’s parents. Kaylee. Kayden is telling his father today, though I don’t expect that to go well.”
“Any chance you can get him to hold off until this blows over?”
I shook my head. “No, he needs this. I won’t ask him to wait because of this. We’re all going to the wedding together on Saturday. I’m not going to hide us, Sutton. Not for this company or anything else.”
“I don’t want you to do that, Jace,” she said as I stood up. “I love you and I’m happy for you. I cannot wait to get to know Olivia and Kayden under different circumstances.”
I laughed, finally feeling the knot in my stomach release. “I’m sorry you found out from Martin. I swear, the coffee date I had on our schedules today was to tell you everything.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “You had a little girl to worry about.”
I smiled, grateful that she understood our main motivation for keeping things quiet. “I love you too, Sutton,” I said as I pulled the door of my office open and found Kayden and Olivia sitting at her desk, both looking anxious.
Sutton looked at me and then settled her eyes on them. “I’ll see you both for breakfast Thursday with Jace.”
They stared at her in shock.
I cleared my throat. “Can you please not scare my partners, Sutton?”
She chuckled. “Sorry, I never get to play mean-boss-lady anymore. Don’t worry, it’ll be a good breakfast. Jace and I will handle Martin, you don’t need to worry,” she said as she passed them on her way to the elevator.
Kayden seemed to relax at her words, but Olivia looked tenser than I’d seen her in a long time.
Something told me this was going to be a setback for Olivia’s confidence in telling everyone about us.
I was tempted to call Martin and scream at him for once.
Instead, I walked over and hugged the two people I loved, assuring them that I was going to be fine.
Only one of them seemed to believe me.