Chapter 13 – Let’s Get Married
JACOB
I slammed the car door shut, my hands gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. I could feel the anger boiling in my chest, my pulse hammering as I stared out the windshield, fighting to keep it together. Then, without thinking, I hit the steering wheel, the sound of my fists pounding against it echoing in the confined space.
“Damn it!” I muttered under my breath, the frustration overwhelming me.
Jenna climbed into the passenger seat, her face twisted with irritation as she stared at me. I didn’t care. She was the last person I needed to deal with right now, but she
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wasn’t giving me a choice.
She crossed her arms and sighed loudly, clearly unable to stand the tension any longer.
“What the hell is your problem?”
I turned to her, my glare sharp and venomous. “What’s my problem?” I repeated, unable to keep the sarcasm from my voice. “My problem, Jenna, is that I’m surrounded by incompetence. My wife
humiliates me, and now you–you‘ re just as bad.”
Jenna’s face reddened, but she didn’t back down. “Humiliate you? I wasn’t the one begging Rose to come back, Jacob,” she shot back, her voice laced with disbelief. “You looked pathetic, groveling like that. Do you even realize how weak you looked?”
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pter 13 Let’s Get Married.
I clenched my teeth, the anger threatening to explode again. “I don‘ t have time for your nonsense, Jenna,” I snapped. “Do you even understand what mess you‘ ve dragged me into?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Oh, please. You‘ re the CEO of a multi–million–dollar company. Don’t pretend you‘ re broke.”
I barked out a harsh laugh, the bitterness in my tone obvious. “Not for long,” I muttered, almost under my breath. “Thanks to your damn shopping sprees and your obsession with luxury, the company is hemorrhaging money. Shareholders are pulling out. If I don‘ t secure a partnership soon, I’ll be buried in debt.”
Jenna froze for a moment, the color draining
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Chapter 13 – Let’s Get Married.
from her face. “Wait, what? You‘ re telling me–what do you mean ‘debt‘? You had a deal lined up, didn’t you?”
I nodded, though the weight of the words felt heavier with every passing second. “It was a deal with Xander‘ s company.”
Jenna’s face twisted with disgust. “Xander. Of course,” she muttered, as if she were spitting his name out. “That man‘ s been nothing but trouble since Rose got him wrapped around her finger. How the hell did she even manage to get Xander to fall for her?”
I didn’t answer her, just focused on the road. I didn’t have time to explain that my company’s entire future was at the mercy of a partnership with Xander.
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Chapter 13 Let’s Get Married.
“Do you think that matters?” I finally asked,
turning to look at her. “I’m scrambling to save what’s left of my business, and you‘ re still focused on what Rose is doing with Xander?”
Jenna pursed her lips, not answering right away. Her fingers tapped the phone in her hands, her mind clearly somewhere else.
“You know, I’m not the one who asked you to leave your wife, Jacob,” she said, her voice suddenly low. “You made that choice.”
I could feel my patience fraying, but I kept my cool. “This isn’t about what happened before, Jenna. It’s about now. I have one shot left to fix this. One more company is willing to partner and I need to convince the CEO of that partnership I’m a family man.”
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Chapter 13 Let’s Get Married
Her expression shifted, something almost like amusement crossing her face. “A family
man? That’s why you were begging Rose to come back?”
I nodded, trying to stay calm. “The CEO is big on family. It’s all about appearances. If I don’t show him I have a stable home life, he won’t go anywhere near a deal with me. That’s why I need Rose–she’s perfect for the image.”
Jenna scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Right, Rose. The golden girl. Perfect wife, perfect everything. And me? What, I’m just chopped liver?”
I looked at her, my gaze hardening. “You‘ re a liability, Jenna. All you know how to do is spend. If you hadn’t been so reckless,
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maybe I wouldn’t be in this situation.”
She stiffened, clearly hurt, but her expression quickly turned back to anger. “You want to blame me for this? Fine. But don’t forget, Jacob, I helped you close some of your best deals. Without me, you wouldn’t have gotten half the things you have.”
I couldn’t help but bark out a laugh, though it was more bitter than anything. “Those deals? They’re gone, Jenna. All of them. You’ve done nothing but drag me further into the ground.”
Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she tapped furiously on her phone. For a long moment, the car was silent except for the hum of the engine.
Then, finally, she sighed. “Fine. I get it,
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Chapter 13 Let’s Get Married okay? You need to fix this.”
I raised an eyebrow, unsure of where she was going with this. “What are you talking about?”
She looked up, a sly smile playing at the corners of her lips. “I’ll help you, Jacob. We’ll get married.”
