The Bad Boy's Princess

Ch. 6 - Deja Vu

Avery.

My blazer felt tight and claustrophobic as the elevator closes and heads straight to the 37th floor, Jace Vanderbilt's office and the main conference room.

Today was the first and "casual" deposition to discuss matters for the M&A. The nerves of having this massive deal with BioTek in collaboration with IRIS alone were already driving me insane, but to have this be the first time Jace and I meet as business partners instead of romantic ones was nearly pushing me off the edge.

I've lost my calm and collected demeanor, traded it for my complete wimpy and anxious ordeal masked by a stone cold exterior. I was praying that Jace would buy it and not see through me, to see how happy I was to see him again and yet how completely distraught I felt to no longer sense any warmth from him like I used to.

We were never going to be able to go back to what we once were, young and in love. There was no longer a Jace and Avery ship anywhere docked on the harbor. There were only hatred and regret.

"You're not your usual self today." Ella's joking mockery broke through my nostalgic trip down memory lane. "You're usually ready for battle at all costs. Is it the hot CEO? Don't worry, I heard he's not as bad tempered as everyone says he is."

"Oh, no. I'm not concerned about the hot CEO, I'm more concerned about what Martin is going to think of my performance today." Nice save, I would totally buy that. "Plus, he's not my type."

"Hot and stupidly wealthy isn't your type?" Ella laughed. "But then again, why do I still get surprised by your taste in men. You've turned down every single fly that has tried to come close."

"I'm most likely going to die an old, wilting workaholic old woman, Ella. And I have no problem with it whatsoever." I laughed at her, hoping to get as far from this topic as possible. "Have you checked to see if Martin is here?"

"He just texted me that he's at valet. He shouldn't be too long after us." Ella was a few years older than I was and probably one of the best paralegals I've ever met. She has helped me out quite a lot during my first year when I was struggling through legal research classes. Now, she was my golden goose.

Jace didn't show up.

Of course he didn't. I mean, he didn't need to. But there was a sliver of hope that I had that he would show up.

"Are you going to come to grab drinks with everyone tonight? It would really be beneficial to build a trust and relationship between our companies, especially us legal departments." The IRIS legal team was probably one of the best in the country, given who they represent, and suggested a night outing later in the evening as some sort of team bonding event.

Even after all these years, I still hated social events and gatherings, the small talks drove me absolutely nuts. But I knew I needed to get over it since networking is key in the corporate world.

"Of course, I'll see you guys there."

"Great job today, Ave. I wouldn't have expected any less. But regardless, congratulations on your first and successful big girl depo." Martin patted my shoulder as we entered the elevator to head home.

"Thank you, Martin. I learned from the best." I laughed at him. Martin was a wise property attorney in his mid-50's who was one of my dad's best advisors and has also become my mentor after I spent a summer learning property under him two years ago. The man was a god at his job.

"I heard you and the Vanderbilt boy got

Trevor's was the fancy bar, as expected of these Los Angeles attorneys. I've been here many times with the guys and Ali whenever I was back in town from New York. I wasn't surprised when learning that it was the chosen destination for tonight. The place was also not too far from my LA apartment, a courtesy from dad for taking the job and having to be in LA for the new couple of months.