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"Gossip spreads like wildfire among certain groups," he says.
"Employees?" she asks, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip.
"Gold diggers," Daniel says bluntly. "They've been following his every move since they found out he was Concord's heir. They're all eager to know more about the mystery woman who snagged him."
Her nose wrinkles again.
"We don't have to tell them anything, rabbit," I murmur, knowing she's been worried about it. As much as I want everyone to know she's mine, I'm not going to push.
"I know," she says before turning back to Daniel. "If we don't say anything and they find out I'm an employee, will it be bad for him?"
"With your fellowship? Possibly," Daniel says before I can stop him.
Shit.
"My fellowship?"
"Ah…" Daniel looks to me for help.
"You didn't," Jessa gasps, instantly putting the pieces together. She's too damn smart for her own good. She turns those wide, perceptive eyes on me and then narrows them. "You did."
"I'll apologize for keeping it from you, but I won't apologize for doing it," I say, refusing to feel guilty for making sure she could follow her dreams. "I could fund a million fellowships and still have more money sitting in the bank than I could spend in fifty lifetimes. I'm not sorry for using it to make sure you were going to be taken care of."
"We'll come back to this," she mutters to me before turning to Daniel. "What if we release a statement? Something that makes it clear we've been friends for a long time and this relationship isn't a product of him becoming my boss?"
I give Daniel a wary nod.
"Getting in front of it with the truth may stop wagging tongues looking for a scandal," he says, grimacing, "But I'm afraid it might make you look questionable, however."
"Me?" Jessa blinks in obvious surprise. "Why?"
Daniel glances at me, clearly reluctant to answer that question.
"He thinks they may question the timing of our relationship," I growl, irritated I have to say it at all when nothing could be further from the truth. "Wonder why we're only now getting together."
"You mean they'll think I'm a gold digger because you just inherited billions," she says, dismayed.
I nod reluctantly. Jessa is the furthest thing from a gold digger. I'm the one who waited to claim her. Had I gotten my head out of my ass earlier, none of this would be an issue now. She'd already have my last name, already be the mother of my kids. No one would have a reason to question her motives then.
"Let them think it," she says, shocking the shit out of me. Her eyes meet mine, full of determination. "I don't care anymore, Jax. Let them say what they want about me, think what they want about us. I'm not running anymore. The people who matter know the truth. We know the truth. If it causes problems with your board, I'll sign a pre-nup."
"The hell you will," I growl.
"If it helps you, you can't just arbitrarily reject it, Jax."
"I can. You're not signing a fucking pre-nup. We're not getting divorced."
"Of course we're not," she says, rolling her eyes at me. "That's exactly why it doesn't matter if I sign one or not. It will only ever be a piece of paper that holds no sway in our lives. I don't care about your money. I loved you when you were just you. If signing it makes your board sleep better at night or makes your life a little easier, I'll sign a thousand of them."
"We could lie," Daniel interjects.
Both Jessa and I turn to face him.
"No one has to know that you haven't been dating for the past four years," he says. "I'm sure you have pictures together, and friends and family willing to say they've seen you together. Just say you've been quietly dating for the last four years, with the intent to wed after she graduated from college." He waves his hand as if to say be creative. "You're a billionaire now. You make the rules. If you say that's the case, people will believe you. No one wants to piss off a billionaire."
"We're not waiting until you graduate to get married," I mutter to Jessa when she looks at me like she likes this plan. "We're getting married now."
"Can we elope to Vegas?"
"You want to get married in Vegas?" I chuckle at her, surprised.
"I don't care where we get married," she mutters and then giggles. "But if you're going to be a bossy pants man about it, I'm going to have fun with it. You said you wanted to be an eccentric billionaire. What's more eccentric than having Elvis officiate in a cheesy Vegas chapel?"
"The board would have a collective heart attack," Daniel says.
That's all the incentive I need.
"Let's do it," I say, grinning at Jessa.
She throws her head back, laughing loudly.
