Disclaimer: I do not own mortal instruments, the character names are owned by Cassandra Clare. The original content, ideas and intellectual property of this story are owned by lily fierce, 2011-2012. Please do not copy, reproduce, or translate without express written permission.

Hi, guys. It's been a while and I have nothing much to say but I just want to warn you that I have been going through a severe case of writer's block so I'm not very pleased with how this turned out. Sorry if it sucked, I sincerely apologize.

10. All the Big Things

Clary had woken up early Monday morning and showered, dressed then ate breakfast so fast it all passed in a sort of frenzied blur. She couldn't deny that the discussion with her father had zonked her out more than she thought it would. But then again, the subject of her unwanted engagement was a gray area in and of itself, one that she rather ignore than try to face at the moment.

Clary had told Luke last night she was in and, in a way, she was. But the moment she found a way out of that death trap they called matrimony Clary knew that she'd be running so fast they wouldn't see her go. But in that instant, duty called and she knew there was no other choice but to head to the office and confront the demons that waited. But, yesterday had been so perfect, so absolutely perfectly perfect that she was determined not to allow anything to interfere with the pure joy that ran through her like water down a river.

She had spent the day with Jace… she'd actually spent the entire day with him from beginning to end and it had been everything she could have ever imagined. Of course, her brain would just ignore the latter conversation with her father and pretend it had never happened. He hadn't told her anything she didn't already know. Regardless, she'd agreed to the arranged marriage in front of her father and every other influential person in the corporation. Clary took pride in her word and wouldn't go back on it. They wouldn't lose the company. Not because of her anyway.

Yet, that discussion with Luke had happened. There was no denying it.

Shit, she thought, why the hell did she have to have a freaking conscience? Why did she have to keep thinking about the disappointment that would be in her father's eyes if Raphael found out that she was hooking up, or whatever it was he wanted to think, with Jace?

Yeah, she had a pretty good idea of what he would do. Not only would he never agree to marry her but then he would also announce what the great Clarissa had done and then no one will marry her. After that… she could pretty much see her family's hard work slipping through her fingers. Decades of hard work… gone. Because of her.

She pushed aside those horrible thought of marriage and what-not but before she could even catch her breath and form another coherent thought the little red numbers on her clock came into focus and just like that she was jumping off the bed and into her closet to look for clothing. She wanted to look good. Why, you may ask? Clary wouldn't even waste her breath trying to deny that it was all for Jace.

Why bother?

Even if she was going to be staying away from him she still wanted him to look at her, to notice her. She dressed in a tight pencil skirt that reached just about two inches above her knees and wrapped tightly around her upper waist just under her breasts. Then, kept enough buttons open on her blouse to show cleavage. She wasn't Kaelie and she wasn't trying to be, therefore, while the cleavage was there it wasn't what you might see a prostitute on a corner street wear at half past one.

A knock at the door brought her out of her silent musings as the sound ricocheted off the walls. Jeez, Clary thought, you would think someone was trying to break through. Nonetheless, she went to the door before whoever it was decided they didn't knock loud enough the first time.

Aline stood there with her hand poised in the air prepared to rape Clary's door once more with her brutal knocking.

"This better be good since I…"

"Daddy said he needs you at the office early today." Aline's eyes were wide and she seemed slightly flushed. "I have no idea why except for the fact that it has something to do with a certain Spanish- love- ruining man." The whole thing was spoken in a single breath and Aline, worriless, careless Aline, actually seemed nervous. That made Clary nervous.

"What? What would Raphael have to do at the company?"

"I have no clue Clare." She muttered, voice low as she fidgeted with the hem of her Burberry blouse "You know I'm not well acquainted with all this stick market or whatever it's called corporate stuff you and daddy always go on and on about."

Clary giggled "you mean stock market."

"Yeah that. But who cares anyway, get your ass downstairs now before I get in trouble." Aline grabbed onto Clary's arm holding on for dear life as she dragged her downstairs. Clary thought, for just a moment, how often she had been dragged around these last few weeks… literally and figuratively. Yet she didn't stop Aline and simply followed her lead down the stairs.

At the bottom was her father, prim and proper as always with Mr. Herondale at his side, the old version that is, Clary looked around for Jace but he had obviously already left or was still getting ready upstairs.

"Clary dear," her father spoke first. His voice kind and somewhat sympathetic Clary noticed, though she couldn't understand why. "I'm glad you're prepared. I spoke to Mr. Garcia, Raphael's father, and planned a meeting to address the direction in which the union of both our companies is headed. The meeting is set to within an hour."

"Oh…" she muttered, unsure of what else she should say. "Okay, did Jace leave already?"

"I'm right here." There came a voice from the direction of the kitchen. Deep, sexy, masculine… Jace. And, true to form, there he stood looking so beautiful all Clary wanted at that moment was to run to him and jump in his arms. She knew she couldn't, knew they weren't allowed to act as they had yesterday, but refraining from acting on her less than innocent thoughts and stopping those thoughts were two completely different things. "I thought we could go to work together, since I'm waiting for my new car." He said.

Jace's father turned his attention to his son, yet his face was blank; unfeeling and careless. "I don't know why you would trade the BMW for a motorcycle." He muttered, and Clary thought how unlike his father Jace was. As where Jace enjoyed climbing on motorcycles and racing down desolate roads or dancing on cliff-tops in gazebos with stunning views just feet away, his father preferred a stack of papers and a Microsoft filing program on his over-priced Mac laptop.

"Of course you don't understand. I don't expect you to."

Clary knew the moment she saw the flash in Stephan Herondale's eyes that they would most likely start arguing so before they had the chance she jumped in with the first thing that came to mind. "Well, anyway… Jace and I should get going. I have to… um, get some paper for my… printer and we wouldn't want to be late."

"Very well then," Stephan said "I expect to see you both at the meeting."

"Definitely" she turned to the door hearing Jace's heavy footsteps behind her.

Clary kept her gaze fixed on the exit, her feet moving steadily closer. She truly wished she could make it come nearer, to get out of this house as soon as possible. There was something in her father's eyes as they spoke to Mr. Herondale and he held her gaze, something a lot like disappointment.

She didn't want to see it there but that look just strengthened her resolution. She had to put an end to this thing between her and Jace, for her family… for her heart.

"You know," she felt someone's warm breath flowing over the sensitive skin of her neck "it's safe if you blink, the door won't disappear."

"Ha-ha, very funny." Clary carefully moved away. She couldn't handle having him so close, feeling the warmth of him, it was all too much. "It's not my fault I need to get out of here before the tension suffocates me." She whispered harshly.

"Yeah, ok." He mumbled "But I mean, why the hell did you jump in back there." he said just as they reached the door and stepped outside out of hearing range "I don't need you fighting my battles. I'm a big boy you know."

A light blush spread across her cheeks as her thoughts turned to certain parts of him that were probably quite large. Jace's deep chuckle brought her out of her head.

"Wow, who would've thought Ms. Goody-two-shoes-corporate-CEO had a naughty side."

"What?" great, if she wasn't as red as her hair then the sky wasn't blue. It was like he knew just what she was thinking. "What are you talking about?"

Jace smirked.

Holy crap, if there was ever a smirk that would cause women to stop, drop and roll it would be that one. Roll with him… in a bed that is. Or anywhere really…

God, Clary had to stop thinking about him like this if she planned on staying away. "Come on, you just got this really weird look on your face that said it all."

"Really?" she asked "what did it say?" she knew she was probably digging herself a deeper grave but her own pride would never allow him to have the last word; and so she held her head up high and met his gaze with her own. Clary noticed a shift in his posture and he stepped closer pressing their chests together.

Jace towered at least eight inches over her five feet four inches. "That you want me."

"Oh lord, could you be any more conceded?"

"Come on, you know you can't resist this."

"Oh, I think I can."

"Doubt it but if you say so I'll take that as a challenge." He said and turned around to walk towards the passenger seat.

"Jace," Clary called before he could reach the door "last night when we came back…" she started and the sexy smirk fell off his lips "I spoke to my father and he said that-"

"I know what he said." Jace interrupted. He moved back towards her "I overheard."

"We can't keep on doing this to each other."

"Doing what exactly, Clary?"

"Last night, the night before that, oh and the copy room." She said, counting off on her fingers all the times they had been a little too friendly with each other. "This can't go past a business relationship, for both our sakes."

"Why? What are you so scared of?" he said and then with a mocking tone to his voice added "that you'll lose your money, that they'll take away the company. Or maybe that your daddy will be upset or is it that…?"

"That I'll fall in love with you!" she shouted cutting him off mid sentence, how could she make him see all the frustration she felt, the unrelenting confusion over what she wanted and what was expected from her? Did he not see how much she wanted to climb on top of some table in the middle of the office and just tell everyone to go screw themselves because for most of her life she's been doing everything perfectly… she'd done everything they ever asked of her.

In the end all she wanted at that moment was to hit something and since he was the closest target she raised her fists to his chest and pushed him back with all the frustration she felt. Of course, Jace was pure rock hard muscle and her shove, although unexpected, only pushed him a couple inches and his backside hit the side of her car.

Clary landed on his chest as Jace's entire posture shifted, his eyes softened and his lips parted as if he wanted to say something but instead inhaled a sharp breath.

Golden eyes fixed firmly on hers; he grabbed the top of her arms and flipped her over so she was now under him instead of the other way around. "Why is that such a scary thought?" he was so close. The blonde tendrils of his hair swept across her forehead, and his nose nearly touched hers.

She wanted to kiss him again, but Clary wouldn't dare, if she did, this would never end and in five months her heart would break and he would waltz out of her life while she'd be left behind in pieces. After all, Jace was a womanizer. He was beautiful and strong and hard in all the right places, girls fawned over him and every single female at the office practically undressed him with their eyes.

Sure, he'd been sweet and gentle and passionate every time they'd been together, but weren't all men like that until they got what they wanted? "Come on Jace, don't act cute. You know why."

"I thought we were going to get passed that."

"There is no getting passed it, there are no loop holes in this and I'm not going to risk losing the corporation." She sighed "if Raphael found out…"

"No one has to know." he argued.

"If you really heard last night you would know that my father already knows, if he knows, what's stopping Raphael from finding out as well?"

"Your father doesn't know… he suspects." Jace said pulling away from her. Clary inhaled deeply, the air was almost free of his scent allowing her to finally clear her foggy thoughts.

"It's close enough." Clary pulled her keys out and climbed into the car. "You coming?" she turned to Jace.

"Yeah." He climbed in and the moment he was in the seat one of his smirks spread across his face.

"What are you smirking about?" she asked, now slightly worried because Jace, of all people, should not be smirking.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he chuckled.

"You know what, I'd rather not know."

He said nothing after that and the ride to the corporation offices was silent for the most part with the exception of the incessant honking of cars. However, the moment she had parked in her assigned parking space Jace leapt out and seconds later so did she and immediately after closing her door he was there holding her firmly against it- not that she was complaining of course.

"By the way Clary," he whispered in her ear as he leaned in. "if you think I would give up that easily… then you should know one thing about me- I'm not a quitter baby." He smirked before walking away leaving her stunned and gaping open mouthed at his back… and very sexy rear.

At that very moment Clary thought that perhaps there truly was a certain… je ne sais quoi, about cars that just makes you want to press people up against them.

000000000000-00000000000

Jace strode into the tall, lavish building, with his head held high while doing his best to ignore the sparks shooting through his body. His whole life had been about work and then, in the afterhours, he'd enjoyed his fair share of women, but as cliché and excessively feminine as it may sound, none had ever made him feel this rushing sensation. The pounding in his ears and the beating of his moronic heart were never present with any other women. None except for Clary.

"Hi Jace." He heard a high pitched squeal-like voice come from the front desk that Kaelie attended and internally winced.

On the outside however, he winked at her "Hello Kaelie." He continued walking hoping she would take the hint that he was in no way interested in speaking… to her of all people.

But her voice still punctured through the room and his eardrum when she said "I'm going to a party this weekend…" he was almost at the elevator doors by then and Kaelie's voice raised an octave (or ten) as if to catch his attention. "You wanna join me?"

Jace stopped for a moment and turned around giving her his best smirk, the one that had been known to make women swoon every time. And, as soon as he did so, she blushed and her eyes widened. "Sorry," he said "I'm busy." After adding a final glance and a wink, he was gone through the double doors of the elevator, heading straight in the direction of his office, he was truthfully hoping for at least some alone time. To clear his head, get his thoughts in order or pretend that he was okay—Jace wasn't sure which was the reason and frankly didn't care but his day with Clary yesterday made him want to go out, gather a few 'friends' and find Raphael so he could beat him into next year, thus insuring that he would keep his Hispanic ass away from his girl.

Jace flinched from his own thoughts… if that were even possible. How could he have called Clary 'his girl'? the fact that she was engaged and constantly pressured into sacrificing the unthinkable for her family's corporation should have been enough for him to realize that getting too close to her would result badly—and it had. He had fallen in love, and his day yesterday was in no way helping his heart.

But as he opened the big wooden door to his office, he came across something else that probably wouldn't help his heart either… his father sitting in his desk like he owned it.

The door swung shut with a loud thump. Stephan's eyes shot up from the file he was looking at and Jace caught the look in them—one of pure anger. "I think you walked into the wrong office father." he mocked.

"Don't be a moron now Jace, we have some serious problems." Jace raised an eyebrow at his father, prompting the other man to speak "That bastard! Graymark finally got his daughter a proposal for marriage."

"What?" his blood ran cold and his heart stopped beating for a second. How was it possible that Clary was properly engaged already? Everyone had known it would happen eventually… but it was never for certain. Come to think of it, he hadn't even seen a ring on her finger nor had she said a word about it. "When did Garcia propose?"

"The proposal date was arranged beforehand. It is meant to be done before the company leaders." Stephan muttered. He held up a sheet of paper with what seemed like a letter addressed to Luke written on it. A company logo stood elegantly on the right hand side of the page. It wasn't Graymark incorporated though—it was Garcia's company. "The meeting that has been set up this morning is to complete the proposal and to ensure that the officials approve of the union."

"Ok, so what do we do now?" Jace knew he shouldn't be involving himself with this dilemma any further than he already was, yet the prospect of allowing the girl of his dreams to wed someone that wasn't him was just… there were no word to describe the frustration.

"You step up your game." His father said simply "seduce her, get caught by Raphael himself, Mr. Garcia, I don't care just make sure that there is no wedding."

Jace nodded, not wanting to blackmail Clary but wanting to lose her even less.

A chiming sound filled the momentary silence and Mr. Herondale picked up his phone and glanced at the screen. "That was my alarm," he sighed "the meeting is about to begin." Stephan rose from his seat and walked to the door, Jace trailing behind him.

After walking down a few hallways, the huge oak double doors of the conference room finally came into view and Jace took a deep breath knowing that what was to come was sure to be difficult. He'd just have to control his temper long enough to avoid killing Raphael for having the nerve to propose to his girl.

000000000000-00000000000

Clary stood by the conference room door trying to conjure up the strength to walk inside. Yet, there was a strange feeling in her chest, and call her crazy, but as of now, whenever this feeling began she already knew it was never a good sign. This was why she stood like a paralytic, unmoving and utterly horrified.

She had to walk in eventually, she knew, yet, Clary found that the prospect of being told she had to do something else against her will was immensely unappealing. However, the sight of Mr. Herondale rounding the corner forced her feet forward and summoning all of her will power; she lifted her hand and opened the door. Nearly everyone was already there, a large array of files lay before each person, but it was the dark eyes in the far corner of the room that caught her attention. Raphael's eyes.

He was staring at her—actually staring in that eerie way people make fun of, a knowing glint in his eyes as if he was aware of something she wasn't… and it was creeping her the hell out.

Clary turned her gaze away from his and took her seat as everyone began filing into the large conference room. Chairs filled up quickly and she noticed Jace sit down a few away from her and finally her father and Mr. Herondale stepped up to the front of the room.

"As you all may know," he began. Yet unlike she had expected, it wasn't her father who was speaking, it was Mr. Herondale and to Clary, it seemed like he was single-handedly taking over for her father before there was even a wedding between Raphael and Clary. "About a month ago it was announced that Clarissa must wed in order to inherit this company that we all hold dear. And it seems that she has managed to find a possible candidate. Raphael Garcia."

He waved his hand and Raphael and his father stood up, walking to the front of the room.

Clary was beginning to get comfortable when her name was called by her father. "Would you mind joining us up here?" He said and as much as she wanted to say nope, I'm fine where I am, she knew she wasn't allowed.

Clary stood up and took her place beside Raphael who turned to look at her with a miniature smirk across his face.

And there was the creepy again, she thought and her mind drifted to happier times as she heard Mr. Garcia begin speaking about some sort of union, which she now realized should have set off a few alarms but her mind was too far off in lala land for her more rational side to have taken notice of anything besides the way Jace looked today in his suit. It wasn't the knowing looks she was receiving from her coworkers and it wasn't the smiles on their faces as they stared at her and Raphael standing side by side that drew her attention… no, it was at the moment that Raphael took her hand that the final words that Mr. Garcia was speaking came into focus.

"—would like to announce their engagement in front of each and every one of you who have been most influential to Graymark incorporated."

'Holy shit' were the first words that passed through her mind and the second set of words were 'fuck my life' when she saw Raphael get down on one knee and place a ring on her finger… no questions asked. Sure the diamond was quite big but Clary found it to be the single most hideous thing she had ever seen but obviously everyone else seemed thrilled as they stood up and clapped.

Everyone except for Jace that is. His face held the fakest smile she had ever seen him wear and his eyes were completely blank of any emotion, it probably looked a lot like the expression she wore—a smile plastered on her face like a layer of makeup and the effort she was putting into keeping her eyes happy was probably failing miserably. Which was why in that moment, finding a way out of this engagement was no longer an option… no, it was a necessity.