Author's Note: Hi everyone, I hope you enjoy the chapter! Sorry I have been absent, a complete explanation at the bottom. The short version is a lot; the original draft was written in November, right after posting chapter 12. It vanished and left me more unmotivated, so all I had to go off was the previews in my PM. I don't feel great about this chapter, so I apologize, but I am over the frustration and want to move on to chapter 14.
So, thank you so so much for staying with me.
I hope 2021 is going well for you, even though the world is a mess.
Check out my IG for updates, hints, photos or previews vmarslover
Disclaimer: I do not own TMI, and I am not a published author, nor do I have a beta. So ignore the spelling and grammar errors.
After this chapter goes up this story will reach 7,000 views, so thank you!
Enjoy!
Chapter 13 (2.0K)
Jace POV
The whole morning I spent on the phone texting trying to accomplish my goals, and the hits have been planned perfectly where Simon was able to establish the first few steps of protecting Clary. However, this process will take a while, and it has become my preferred project, which might get me in trouble if I don't keep up my day job, which is way more challenging these days, which is saying something since I am also emotionally involved with Clary.
Where I stroll through the building like nothing is wrong is the hardest thing I have done. I make eye contact with the receptionist and give her a nod. She blushes and looks down.
I walk through the whole office building remaining as calm as possible because I'll have to face Valentine for the first time in a matter of minutes.
I slide into my office and run my hand along the glass counter table; this results in dust covering my finger. I really haven't been here much.
I sit in my chair and open up company emails, hoping to get a few minutes to myself before I have to see Valentine. Unfortunately, fate has decided for me, and the door swings open.
In walks, Kyla dressed in her pencil skirt and typical white blouse with her dark brown hair done into a bun.
"Where have you been?" she asks before I speak.
"I was busy working on our side project, so it appropriate for me to be here." I lie. No way was I going to mention V isn't the actual mole and that I was kidnapped by Jonathan, who is actually a cop.
"Well, Valentine wants an update on the mole," and she mouths at me 'Update?'
I nod to answer her. Although I know there are no cameras, there might be mics.
"I will be joining him shortly," I answer.
"Alright, meeting in 5." She answers and mouths at me, 'later?'
I nod and answer with, "I'll be there soon." And I begin to gather some files as Kyla walks out.
Time for me to face the music.
Seeing Valentine was more challenging than I expected, and it took years of control for me to remain emotionless.
He sits at the end of the longboard table, and I sit on the opposite end. Then Kyla sits in the middle of both of us. We are the only trusted people in the company. Isn't that ironic?
Kyla keeps herself cold as well and gives nothing away, and for that, I am grateful. If he knew, he'd end us both. He is cold, but so am I. Little does he know his days are numbered, and once I help Clary, I am coming for him. Until then, I remain still as Kyla reads the last minutes of our previous monthly meeting.
Valentine doesn't focus on Kyla; instead, his hard-black eyes examine me, trying to pierce through my bulletproof exterior that even he cannot penetrate.
"Lastly, it appears we have had multiple hacking attempts over the last several days. Gibbon cannot trace the signal since it is being bounced all across the world. He says he should be able to track it in the next couple of hours," Kyla finishes.
"What in particular are they trying to get into?" Valentine asks, and I find my chest growing tight.
"Our finances, sir, mainly our local bank accounts in the United States," she answers, and I am regretting speaking to Kyla before this meeting.
"Which accounts?" he asks, and I find myself struggling to breathe because even I think he is onto us.
"The accounts set aside for your children, the dog, the account with the London Bridge bank that pays for our cars and office supplies, and lastly," Kyla pauses, and I can see her internal struggle of fighting over whether to share the next bit of information.
"They also tried getting into the account you have for Jace," with that, I raise an eyebrow. I didn't know he had an account for me. I was just told all the accounts with lower security will be targeted.
"You have an account for me?" I ask with an eyebrow raises, and Valentine examines my face for a second, then stands and walks over to Kyla and stares at her laptop.
He looks up at me and says, "I did it because there is no one else who should have this money since my children won't want it. So I created one for you, don't overthink it."
I nod; even though I am confused over this new information, I go blank, not giving anything away because I now know the truth.
"How do we stop the hack? You said there were several attempts. Did they get anything?" Valentine says from behind Kyla, where they both are examining her laptop screen.
Kyla looks at me as she answers with, "Gibbon did manage to stop the hack attempts before they got too far, just small bits of information but did not get any money. It almost looks like it was a trial run of attempting to access our data."
"Tell me when he finds the source," Valentine says and walks back to his chair, where once he sits, he swings in the chair slightly before gripping the table to steady himself.
She nods and says, "yes, sir," then turns her head back to me.
"Next order of agenda is the new recruits. We have a couple of new employees joining the company, and I will be meeting with them on Monday to sign a DNA. Meanwhile, I was hoping Jace will take them through down to the range, giving them a slight tour before passing them off to Bat for a fitness assessment."
I raise an eyebrow and respond with, "Why me? I don't deal with the new recruits until after that process."
She shrugs her shoulders and answers with, "Change of scenery will do you well since you haven't been around, and it will be a good way to catch up, and we can discuss later on what aspects of the tour you need to touch on."
I nod because I now understand that she is giving me this task to give her and me some time alone without raising suspicion.
During my lunch break following the meeting, I escape the office and drive to a small cafe to grab some food and coffee. This gives me an opportunity to escape where I can be alone and not have to worry about all the bugs. Since I left my cellphone in my car and only took a burner into the cafe. I order food and ask for the bathroom key, which I take and make my way over to the bathroom, pulling my burner out as soon as the door closes and dialling the one number burned into my mind.
The phone only rings once before Simon picks up and answers with, "'You did not inform me about the number of firewalls and code I would have to deal with in order to access the accounts."
"Didn't think I would have to warn you, figured it would be obvious that the company would have harsh security measures. Did you get anything?"
"I did; I pulled small amounts from the accounts and erased a trace of the money being missing. I bounced it around Europe, then to Cuba, then back to me before I bounce it around again before transferring it to my guy."
"Then he will be able to start the formal and non-formal investigation, right?"
"I would roll my eyes, but you can't see me. Of course, he will do the investigation. I wouldn't contact him if he wasn't able to."
"It is important since if we can't finish this step, the other parts of the plan are going to fall through."
"Step 1, start the rumour. Step 2, get the money. Step 3, hire a PI. Step 4, find other victims. Step 5, Seb loses his job and loses his mind where he is going to act out and get sloppy. Step 6 will be created as we go since I hope to keep this as legal as possible."
"You know hacking is a crime, right? So is taking money."
"Hey, it was your company, so it is as if I had permission to take the money and to clarify to keep it as 'legal as possible' I am more worried you are going to lose it and beat Seb up. Which is fair because that is what I want, but it won't help us in the long run if we want him to pay for his crimes."
I roll my eyes because, well, Simon is right, but I refuse to admit that. "There is a lot of moving parts to this, and we can't afford a hiccup, so I need to be assured this is going to work out."
"I hope it does. You told me you had a backup plan, right? Which you refuse to tell me, by the way. So much for being partners."
"We arent partners; we are working together." I clarify.
"Nah, bud, we are partners," and with that, I am annoyed, and I say bye and hang up and exit the washroom.
I spend the day ignore the rest of the office since I don't want to talk and work about the next hit, and I watch the cameras waiting for the best moment to make a run to the car so I can leave before being spotted.
Funny how days change where I used to practically live here, and now I run from it.
My meeting with Kyla is tonight at 3 am at the docks before work, where we can talk about everything away from all listening ears.
Right now, my priority is Clary.
As I drive, I find myself pushing the gas harder and harder, forcing my car to zoom through traffic, causing me to dash from lane to lane as the vehicle continues to climb in speed. Until I am turning onto my street being honked at by the car I cut off, where I flip the driver the bird before driving down the road, using all the momentum from my speeding to make my way down the street and parking in front of the building and making my way up to the building using my key to climb the stairs.
I get to my door and throw it open, feeling so much join to hear Alexis's laugh and the smell of beef in the air.
I see a woman standing in the kitchen who sounds like Clary but doesn't look like the girl I left behind.
Clary has dyed her hair a brighter colour red and cut it, so it falls right above her shoulders in waves.
As I cross the room towards her, she hears me and spins around and gives me a big smile that I don't think I have ever seen before. There also seems to be something different about her since she gives off this empowering energy I cannot describe, but I realize the energy is confidence.
I take in her face, and although the cut marks on her face are fading, there are still faint pink marks, along with some bruising, but seeing her bright smile and warmth makes me push away those negative feelings and allow my heart to leap at the sight of her.
She asks about my day as Ollie jumps at my feet, and I feel a sense of normal, that this is my life. At least for right now, and although it terrifies me, I want them happy, and they all seem to be happy. I am worried I will break the peace with my plan, but as I look at Alexis and Clary, I know I am doing the right thing.
He will never hurt them again.
I will get rid of my enemy.
I will take Seb down.
Neither of them will hurt them since I will do whatever needs to be done to protect them.
Even if it costs me.
AN: Nothing is more attractive than confidence.
So Jace enjoyed her new look and is enjoying her confidence. I am happy to see Clary on a good day.
So you saw bits of the plan. We will start right back up at the meeting...
Dogs need accounts too.
Again, sorry the quality is kinda meh. I will one day rewrite it, but right now, I am still so annoyed.
An explanation: So I am sorry, when I started this story, I was bored and needed an outlet. As school went on, my workload got heavy, and I was camping, then my random trips with the two friends I could see. Then I was unexpectedly promoted and given 40 hours of work instead of the 32 since COVID causes issues with staffing. November was rough, and so was December as I attempted to get through finals and personal issues while also working overtime. I don't think I slept for a month; I have never drank that much coffee. I am an insomniac, so sleep is foreign but 3 hours a night without a crash is a lot. I am also back to not seeing friends, and it is isolating, so my motivation has been lacking even more. So I became focused on my Christmas story, and that was all I could manage. I will aim to update this story at least once a month now since school will consume me, but I am not starting anything more than 3 parts until this story is done.
Thank you all for supporting me.
Since I have been gone here, I have some one-shots posted(not clace friendly), 'How Life can change,' and I completed a cute Christmas story(26 parts). In a few days, I will be posting a Part 2 for my story 'The Hitchhiker,' and sometime after, I will be starting a two-part story since I am a spiral of stories and I don't sleep. I have a list of 20 stories.
Questions:
How will the meeting with Kyla go? Will Jace stick to the plan? What costs will Jace face? Will they notice the money missing?
Thanks to Guest, Jling, Kazzo, and clacepercabeth4ever for their reviews, and thank you to everyone who has followed and favourited as well.
Anyone who revies will be PM a preview as well.
-Stay Safe as always