❝though all the world is broken
i need a place where i can make my bed
a lover's lap where i can lay my head
cause now the room is spinning
the day's beginning.❞

Chapter Six:
Ex-Ventures
(cont'd)

"Remember, I do the talking, alright?"

"I get it already," Hans groaned, exasperated and as fussy as a baby as he kicked back in the chair with his arms folded behind his head. I shot him a dirty look, warily glancing over to the door. We had arrived at S'ConVenturas fifteen minutes ago and were led to a conference room on the ground floor. Something told me that this wasn't the one they reserved for important guests but for the ones they wanted to drive away; a sign that perhaps news of our arrival visit wasn't well received in the first place. That added with the fishy look the the dull blonde receptionist had given me had me slightly worried. It didn't help that I had a giant man-child to babysit either.

I started tapping my feet on the ground, counting the seconds that ticked by. Why were they taking so long? We were the ones to have flown in for this meeting and yet, left hanging.

"I really hope this doesn't come down to a hostile negotiation." I generally avoided those. I was better at smooth-talking my way into deals than having to stuff them down people's throats.

"Well, you're the best closer. The whole company wouldn't have tasked you with this unless they thought otherwise. Show them what you've got," Hans' voice was dull as ever. Gentle encouragement wasn't his forte so him going out of his way to reassure me was...sweet. I stopped frowning and turned to meet his gaze, a small smile on my lips.

"Thanks."

He was right. I had done everything needed to be prepared for this negotiation. It was going to be a simple procedure; provide the benefits of being taken over by Innovus, lay the terms of our purchase consideration on them, and seal the deal. It was funny to think that things might have been different if my 'espionage' had actually been pulled off; with Innovus being the one taken over... No, I wasn't going to think about that. This was how things had turned out and I was happy.

When the door clicked open, I shot to my feet with a ready smile spreading on my face. I might have even taken the time to throw a side-ways death glare to Hans for not budging out of his chair, if not for the person that walked through the door.

Those electric blue eyes were instantly recognizable, chilling me into freezing in the spot as they settled on my face. They stared down at me, not at all visibly shocked to see that I was before him. My heart tightened in my chest. His formerly long curly hair was cut short and trimmed; he'd grown a slight beard adding to the sculpted handsomeness of his Italian descent. He seemed taller too...stronger...happier.

I heard the chair scrape back loudly against the ground as Hans finally stood up, but instead of addressing the man we'd been waiting for, he gave his attention to me. I felt his hand wrap around my upper arm, shaking me lightly to snap me out of it but I couldn't focus on Hans, my blood coming to a slow stop inside my veins.

"Tris? You okay?"

My mouth felt dry as I nodded, gaze still trained on him, on the eyes that had had me transfixed from the moment we'd met eight years ago.

"Tris." He spat my name in my direction with a palpable hatred that had me cringing back, knocking against Hans whose arms wrapped around my waist protectively. "Well well, never thought you'd be one to dig your way into Innovus."

I hated how weak I sounded when I finally mustered up the courage to speak. This wasn't the voice of the confident woman I had poured heart and soul into shaping. It was the voice of a broken heart.

"Jacob..." I watched him with wide eyes, tracing the sneer on his face, the crease between his brows and the icy depths of his eyes that had me reliving memories I had spent years suppressing. Clearing my throat, I stepped forward and fixed a mechanical smile on my lips, extending my hand out to him. "It's a pleasure seeing you again."

"Oh, really?" he cocked his eyebrow at me, glancing down at my hand before swerving his attention to Hans who stood behind me like some sort of bodyguard. Jacob didn't take my hand. He just pulled out a chair for himself and sat down, leaving my formal handshake unattended. "This won't take long," he muttered, looking at me with an expression of utter disinterest. "We aren't taking up your offer."

"We haven't even made it yet." Unlike me, Hans maintained his professionalism although the tinge of irritation was unmistakable.

"You don't need to," Jacob smiled, focusing entirely on me. "My client isn't interested in this friendly take-over deal. S'Con has nothing to gain."

I felt my hands roll up into balls by my side. The nails bit into the tender skin of my palm, hurting me enough to push the numbness away, only to be replaced by a tidal wave of anger.

"That wasn't how they responded over the video-conference meeting a couple days ago." My senses tingled at the thought of Jacob's involvement being more than required on this deal. His carnivorous smile told me our meeting wasn't chance. "You did something, didn't you? Pulled some half-assed legal crap on them and scared them away from this deal."

"You can't go accusing me, Tris. I'm merely representing my client here to tell you that they are not interested in whatever deal it is your pathetic company has to offer." He paused, taking a good minute to soak himself in the sight of me fuming in front of him. "You might think you're some redeeming force to Innovus but you've got a long way to go before you can even consider taking over this company."

"Bullshit!" My hands came flying down on the table top, alarming Hans beside me who jerked back at the loud noise. Jacob didn't seem fazed at all. No, he was enjoying my misery. "If this is some personal vendetta you have against me, then keep it between us. Don't take it out on my company."

The consequences of my words had occurred to me, but I wasn't talking to a negotiator or a business man. I was talking to man I'd once dreamed of spending a future with. A man I had loved. A man who had broken me.

"Still married to your job, aren't you?" Jacob purred.

Every single thing I had learned over the years went flying out the window as I nearly flung myself at Jacob. His taunts had reached a limit, and that one had hit me square in the chest. The fact that he laughed in my face, watching Hans restrain me from getting to him pushed me over the edge.

"You fucking low-life!" I shouted, tears pricking at my eyes. "Let go of me, Hans!" He just held on to me tighter, one arm secured around my waist while the other reached out and grabbed my flailing wrists, bringing them down to my side gently.

"It was nice doing business with you." Jacob sounded awfully happy as he stood up, and neatly tucked in his chair behind him before offering me one last, devious smirk and leaving. I was still thrashing in Hans' arms, clawing against the wrong man. He didn't say anything but restrain me in his arms. Eventually, the fight in my body gave away to numbness. My hands stopped punching his arms away, falling limply to my side as I stared ahead at the closed doors through a blur of tears.

"I failed."

My head fell down, black hair tumbling over my shoulders and curtaining either side of my face to keep the world from seeing the shameful tears streaming down my cheeks. Why? Just when I thought I was on the right track, why did this have to happen? Why did he have to be the one to tear it apart again?

Hans turned me around. I didn't want to look at him but he tilted my face up, cupping my chin in his hands. The circular rims of his cold blue orbs withheld fury while the green held a tender warmth and consolation, overpowering everything else.

"I'm so sorry," I hiccuped, and stepped forward into his open arms, pressing my face into his chest. Hans held me to him in an embrace, that otherwise would have made me feel like he could shield me from anything the world had to throw at me. But all it did now was serve as a temporary sanctuary from the sabotage I'd caused.

Nothing could protect me from my past, from Jacob.

_____

Song: Atlantic by Keane

QOTD: What are your theories on who Jacob is? Why does seeing him rile Tris up so much? 

The final part of this chapter will be up later this week! If you enjoyed this chapter, please do show your support by voting and commenting! I'd love to hear your thoughts.