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"Why wasn't Jax on board with this?" The waiter rushes over with another vodka soda in hand. He obviously knows where his tip is coming from since I've ordered nothing but the water, which is still barely touched.
"He's a man." I throw the comment out knowing that it will bring a smile to her lips.
I'm right when I'm greeted with a roar of laughter. "He's a dude." She pulls the words across her lips as she swallows half of the clear liquid in the glass.
I can't help but laugh almost as loudly as her. "So we have a deal?" I press knowing that this is the moment when I have to reel Madeline in.
"Deal." She offers her hand across the table. "I'll have my attorney send the papers to you. Tomorrow is good for that?"
"Tomorrow is absolutely perfect." I raise my glass and feel some of the weight melt off my shoulders.
Chapter 3
"Déjà vu." Nathan pulls the chair away from the stark wooden table while I settle in next to it. "Doesn't it feel like we were just here?"
I smile faintly at the mention of our last meeting in this building with Jax and his attorney. It was only a few weeks ago but in the scope of my life it could have been years ago. Everything has changed so dramatically since that day. That day when Jax had taken me so brazenly in the hallway outside this room. "It does, yes," I manage to say weakly.
"Remember to let me do the talking." He pats the top of my hand before pulling a folder out of his briefcase. "Now that we know what Mark is willing to give us, we have a lot more leverage with Jax."
Leverage with Jax. His words echo in my ears. I have all the leverage I could ever need in my purse. The flash drive I had taken from Jax's apartment the night that our relationship imploded had been weighing heavily on my mind and my heart the past few days. If I gave that to Mark and he heard Jax and Brooke plotting to take over the company it would change everything.
"Put on your game face." Nathan's words pull me from my thoughts and I glance across the sparsely decorated room to see Jax and Gilbert walking through the door.
Jax looks nothing like he did the night I left him on his knees at his apartment door. The growth of beard on his face suggests he hasn't shaved since then and his chosen attire of blue jeans and a black sweater seem out of place in this corporate environment. His hair is disheveled and his eyes are locked on my face. I glance at him briefly before I pull my gaze to my lap. I hear his heavy footsteps as he rushes towards the table.
"Did you watch it?" His voice is frantic. He slams his fist against the table.
"Watch what?" Nathan interjects. He stands in response to Jax's obvious anger.
"Ivy, look at me," he demands.
"Sit down or we're leaving." Nathan's tone is measured and calm. "If you don't control your temper, we're walking out of here now and we'll finalize a deal with mark this afternoon."
I don't look up. I can't. I feel all the emotions of that night rippling back to the surface of my heart. I'll cry if I look at his face. I'll break into a million pieces in this cold, barren boardroom if I think about him and Brooke in bed together.
"Bringing Mark into this negotiation is underhanded." Gilbert takes a seat directly across from Nathan which means if I look up I'll be staring straight at Jax.
"I sent over our new terms yesterday. Have you both had a chance to look it over?" Nathan ignores Gilbert's accusation. "It's more than fair in light of the circumstances."
I dart my eyes towards Nathan. What does he mean? He throws me a sly grin and I realize he's bluffing.
"What circumstances?" Gilbert poses the question to the room.
"Ivy, you need to watch the whole thing." There's a tremor in Jax's voice as he quietly says the words. "I know you have it. You took it when you left. Just watch it. Please."
"What the hell is he talking about?" Nathan reaches for my arm.
"Don't." Jax pushes against the table as he stands. "Don't touch her."
I shake my head slowly before I raise my eyes to finally look directly at him. "I can't watch it," I murmur. "Why would you ask me to?"
"You have to, beautiful." His eyes lock with mine and I see all the pain that has washed over me reflected back in his face. "Trust me." He pulls his hand to his chest and that's when I notice it. Dangling from the corner of Jax's balled fist is a gold chain. The broken clasp is slowly waving back and forth in the air as he moves his hand. It's the necklace. It's my necklace.
"Someone needs to explain what's going on." Nathan's voice interrupts my concentration.
"I can't trust you." I won't back down regardless of how lost and broken Jax looks. "You are nothing but a liar. I know what I saw. I know what I heard."
"No, you don't." He's on his feet again. "You don't understand what you saw."
