Heya(: Finally updated…hope you guys didn't forget what happened in the previous chapters lol. Extra long, to make up for everything!

Thanks to everyone who reviews! I love ya3 and a special shoutout to Vividly xD. Thank you for reviewing every single time with such long reviews! I can't tell you how happy I am when I read them and how much I anticipate and appreciate them(: And btw, if you run out of things to say, it's alright if you don't right all those long reviews, because I understand. [and sadly, due to parental controls, my time on fanfiction is limited so I don't have time to respond to the reviews. So sorry!]

Disclaimer: I could die happy if I owned Jace. But I don't. *sobs* He's all Cassandra Clare's and so are the rest of the character names.

She was the predator, ruthlessly stalking her prey, Clary thought as she entered the small, conference room with Jace tailing her. In a vast, African desert, with the grasses swaying with the wind, she stealthily prowled closer and closer to her food, before pouncing like a mighty lioness –

"Uh, Clary," a voice that did not belong snickered, "why are you sniffing the air with your back hunched like that?"

The desert disappeared, and Jace's leering face washed into view. Ugh, Clary rolled her eyes, thinking. Way to ruin the moment. "Uh, Jace," she responded in the same nasally tone he'd used. "Why is your nose always crooked to the side like that?"

Jace's hands flew to his nose. "It is not!"

The employee from Broadcom, the company they were set to sell to, chuckled. Clary had to admit, with his midnight black hair gelled up into spikes and those green eyes, bright like hers, he wasn't a bad catch. Especially since she had to use her "skills" on him. At least he was far better than a balding man, and younger, probably in his twenties.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Eric. Welcome to Broadcom."

"I'm Clary," Clary said, extending her hand. "And this is my coworker – "

"Jace Wayland," Jace said, cutting her off and taking Eric's hand, which had been about to connect with Clary's. Annoyed, she elbowed Jace covertly, but it didn't go unnoticed by Eric, whose eyes zeroed in on the move, and smirked.

"You guys are…well acquainted," he observed.

"Actually, we are," Jace said.

"Not," Clary added hurriedly. "We are not."

"I see," Eric said, amused. "Anyway, on with the show. I'll let you get set up."

"Thanks," Clary said, smiling warmly. Eric grinned back, showing a set of perfectly straight, white teeth. "What are you doing?" She hissed at Jace as they stood side by side, setting up the powerpoint and the product.

"I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing," Jace glared. "Selling our product!"

Rolling her eyes, Clary took deep breaths. Jace seemed to live only to exasperate her. As he completed the finishing touches, she sat down next to Eric, scooting as close as possible and sent him a flirty grin, to which he returned immediately. Jace sat down on the other side of Eric, clearing his throat loudly.

"I guess we should begin," Eric said, his eyes still focused on Clary's.

"Yeah," she said, trying her best for a breathy sigh. If Jace could seduce someone, so could she, and she wasn't about to lose to someone like him.

"Demon Spray is the best antiviral protection you can find," Jace said, his tone cold and business-like. "It works for all types of computers, like Macs, PCs, IBM, etc. It's also the cheapest deal out there. It's far better than McAfee. See, here's how it works. Eric, look here…Eric?"

Eric wasn't listening, Clary knew, because she had leaned in to whisper in his ear, sweet soft breaths that made goosebumps rise along his arms and hair along the back of his neck. She skimmed her lips lightly, following the outline of his ear before biting down on the lobe. Eric's hands fisted in the bottom of her shirt.

Slowly, Clary raised her eyes, venturing a look past Eric's shoulder at Jace. She had to bite her tongue to refrain from laughing. Jace was staring murderously at Eric, his jaw set and his teeth grinding against each other. He met Clary's eyes and glared.

Shrugging innocently, Clary pulled back from Eric, only to place a hand dangerously on the inside of his thigh, just as she'd done to Jace a mere days before. "Eric," she purred.

"Mmmm, yeah?"

"What's our product called?"

"Uh…Demon Spray?"

Clary smiled, and leaned in to lick the salt off of his neck, causing Eric to suck in a breath. "That's a good boy," she murmured as her mouth roamed north. "And why should you buy it?"

Eric was sweating as Clary's hand slid farther up. "Because," he panted, "because…" With her other hand, Clary cupped the back of his neck, playing with his hair. "It's a deal! We're buying it."

"Smart choice," Clary pulled back to wink, and Eric's mouth pulled into a lazy smile. Out of the corner of her eye, Clary saw Jace, as stiff as a board, breathing hard. Mad as hell. And though she knew it was wrong to make him feel this way, knew it was immoral of her to play with his feelings, Clary leaned in and took Eric's mouth in a slow, lingering kiss. As a reflex, Eric's arms wrapped around her waist, dragging her from her seat onto his lap.

She expected to feel sparks, some sort of excitement from kissing for the first time in a long time. But she felt nothing. Her mouth moved mechanically against Eric's, responding only because it took two people to kiss, but nothing in her was moved. Instead, her ears were very acute, taking in every sound Jace was making. His grinding teeth, harsh breath, impatient taps of his feet. And finally –

A ear-splitting slap. He'd stood up, fuming, hand on the table, red from the force he used to slap it. Clary jumped back from Eric, staring up with wide eyes at Jace. Jace Wayland had lost control…? Eric raised an eyebrow.

"Dude," he drawled. "What was that for?"

"Sorry," Jace said shortly, looking as if he was barely holding back from punching Eric, "but I believe that this" he waved his hand between Clary and Eric "isn't supposed to happen in a business environment. Now, since you've agreed to buy our product, if you could sign these papers and check, and your product will be sent to you as soon as your order is processed."

Casting a long look at Jace, Eric signed the papers, as well as handing over a check.

Bingo, Clary thought.

"Well, we'll be on our way then," she said, gathering up their briefcases. She blew a kiss to Eric just to complete the act. "See ya, sweetheart."

Eric's eyes stayed on her until the door shut.

"Was that good enough?" Clary challenged in the elevator when they were by themselves. Jace didn't reply, still dark and moody. "Jace?"

Before he could reply, the elevator doors opened, and Jace, without waiting for her, stalked angrily out. "Jace!" Kicking off her heels, she ran to catch up with him, flinging her stuff in the backseat of his beatup car before climbing in. He pushed the keys into the engine roughly, eyes flashing.

Clary placed her hand on his, stopping him, startled by how hard his muscles were clenched. "Jace, talk to me."

"You shouldn't have done that, Clary."

Low voice. Quiet voice. Angry voice. Not good. Clary gulped. "It was part of my act, though."

He shook his head, and Clary couldn't help but feel guilty. "You know what I'm talking about Clary."

She looked down into her lap, biting her lip. "I'm sorry," she said in a small voice.

Suddenly, Jace grinned. "Got that on tape too," he laughed, bewildering Clary.

"What?"

Jace tapped the replay button on his iPhone, and a voice very similar to Clary's floated through the air, saying, "I'm sorry."

Clary's mouth dropped open as she leaped for the phone, but Jace stuck it in his back pocket of his jeans, and despite the spot, Clary had a very bad itch to reach for it.

"Priceless," Jace smirked.

Clary couldn't help but smile, even as she glared at him. Jace was back.

"You bastard!"

…

"…and then Alec went up to him and threw a fucking hard punch at his jaw. He flew all the way to the other side of the room, hit the wall, and sank to the ground."

"No way!" Clary said, astonished. Jace was telling her a story about Alec in high school as they made their way to the cafeteria in SAI. "Alec did that?"

Jace laughed, placing his hand on Clary's waist to guide her toward the door. "Yeah, I couldn't believe it either, but you know Alec. He's super protective of Izzy. Anyway, of course Alec got suspended afterwards, but the dude never harassed Izzy again."

"I can't believe Alec never told me this! I'm going to have a long talk about this when I see him."

"He likes to be humble," Jace winked.

"Clary!"

Clary spun around, Jace's hand leaving her side, to see Aline waving frantically at her. She gave Clary a pointed look.

Oh, right. Jace.

"Who's that?" Jace asked, squinting slightly. "Aileen?" Clary's mouth quirked into a grin as she slapped his shoulder. Jace backed away, grinning flirtatiously. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! I know her name. It's just fun messing with her."

Clary started to grin back, but then she realized, with a shock, that they were flirting. She was flirting with Jace Wayland. Since when had her hatred for her coworker who trashed her car turn into affection and flirtatiousness?

"This way," she said a bit sharper than she intended, earning a confused look from Jace. They made their way to Aline, who triumphantly smirked. "Jace, you know Aline already, and Aline, you know Jace."

"Jace!" Aline laughed, pulling him down close beside her as if they went way back. "It's so good to see you again! Let's have lunch together."

With a look at Clary, Jace nudged Aline's shoulder. "Sure thing, babe."

Clary felt like throwing up. So now Jace was flirting with Aline too? "I think," she began, throat dry. "I just remembered I made plans to eat with Simon today! Oh, my God, I can't believe I forgot. Sorry guys, maybe next time though." She made to move, but Jace grabbed her wrist, reeling her back to the table.

He searched her face for a long time, and as if finding something satisfying, he let her go with a nonchalant shrug. "Don't have too much fun with rat boy."

Clary scowled.

"Or do you prefer Toto, Dorothy?"

Clenching her fists, it took all of Clary's energy to walk calmly away.

…

Jace didn't know what made him more pissed. The fact that Clary had kissed the random Eric dude, or the fact that she'd left him alone to deal with Aline. With Eric, he thought, tuning out Aline's droning voice about whatever self-centered story she was talking about, Clary had actually kissed him. Kissed him! And she hadn't even known him.

Not that he hadn't fucked a girl on a one night stand, but still…

Clary was Clary. Never in a million years had he actually believed she would kiss someone random like that. He'd thought she was bluffing about her past seductions.

So something weird had come over him when she actually did it. Possession, jealous, and anger had ripped through him when she placed her lips on Eric's. He had wanted nothing more than to rip them asunder and beat the living hell out of the bastard.

But then in the car, he knew he'd scared Clary. Jace didn't want that. And he didn't want Clary to know he'd been jealous. So he pretended to be joking, and recorded her voice, but inside, he was still pissed.

And then, she'd dragged him to Aline. Sure, the girl was hot and all, but god, her voice just got on his nerves. And then she left. Clary had fucking left him to deal with her by himself. Oh, he was going to get her back big time.

"And then she tried to claw me, but I was like, 'Yeah right, bitch!' and I grabbed her hair and kicked her with my six inch stilettos. Isn't she such a whore, Jace?" Aline shook his arm, dragging him back to reality. Jace plastered a fake smile to his face and nodded as if he had a single clue to what she was talking about.

"And so then – "

"One sec, Aileen," Jace said, purposely screwing up her name. "I've got a call."

He jumped out of the seat and rushed away to the farthest table away from her, aware that her eyes were following his every movement. Jace speed-dialed Sebastian.

Please, please pick up.

"Sup, Wayland."

Jace breathed out a sigh of relief. "Hey. I've got this hot girl over here at SAI's cafeteria. Wanna come over?"

"Oh shit, yes." The call ended.

Jace smiled, heading back to Aline. Now, since Aline had been taken care of, it was time to think of a punishment for Clarissa Fray.

…

"Clary, I have something to tell you," Simon had said as they sat together in Clary's office, sharing his bag of potato chips.

"Yeah?" She licked the salt off of her fingers, and reached for another.

"I'm dating Isabelle."

She had choked. "What?" She managed to gasp out between coughs.

Awkwardly patting her back, Simon had repeated, "I'm dating Izzy."

"Right. Uhm…congratulations."

"I used to love you, Clary," her best friend said in a low voice. Clary froze. Simon used to love her? "But now with Jace in the picture, I don't think I have any chance anymore. I'm trying to move on."

"I never noticed," Clary whispered. But her mind had reeled. Jace? What'd Simon mean?

Her mind was still reeling from Simon's comment as she prepared dinner that night. She felt so guilty that she'd never noticed Simon, had never felt for Simon the way he'd felt for her, had never noticed that he felt that way. God, she'd been such a horrible best friend.

But Jace?

She didn't love Jace. She didn't even like him…that much. Okay, so maybe she liked him. But she didn't like like him. And besides, Jace was a pain in the ass. Hot, sure, but he seemed to love pushing her wrong buttons, irritating her. And the way they'd met was not an auspicious beginning for a couple so there was no way in hell they could be together, forget marriage and love. Also, Simon had been in her house much more than Jace had, which was only once.

That was when door banged open. Clary nearly dropped the knife she was holding, and screamed. Because Jace Wayland stood merely two feet away from her, panting and huffing as if he'd run a marathon. Or maybe just the stairs to reach her apartment.

"You are so dead," Jace panted. "So dead."

"You asshole!" Clary set down her knife and punched his arm, hard.

"Ow!"

"You scared me to death! What were you thinking? What if I dropped my knife on my foot? What if you'd been a robber?"

Jace glared at her, rubbing his arm resentfully. "You punch hard."

"Thanks," Clary was breathing hard after her rant.

Her coworker headed for her couch and fell against it, propping his feet on her coffee table, and turned on the TV.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Jace pointed a lazy finger at her. "A little redhead named Dorothy, or should she be called the Wicked Witch of the West, left me to spend time with her Toto. Left me with Aline. The punishment is making, and serving me dinner, along with a free shoulder massage."

Clary laughed nervously. "Sorry?"

"You heard me," Jace said, turning his attention to the TV. "Chop chop."

"Arrogant bastard," Clary muttered. "I could report you to the police."

"But you won't. I know you too well," Jace called from the living room.

An hour later, Clary carried a batch of fresh baked brownies out of the kitchen and set a few on a plate in front of Jace, next to the plate of emptied pasta.

"Damn, those smell good."

"Thanks," Clary said, picking one from the pan and eating it. Jace eagerly picked one up from the plate and took a deep bite. Then gagged and spat it out.

"Hmm?" Clary asked innocently, taking another big bite in her brownie. "Is it that bad?"

Jace glared at her, wiping his mouth. "What the hell is in those?"

"It's a brownie," Clary said, showing him hers. He grabbed another one from the plate and bit into it again, and spat it out again. Clary burst out laughing.

Jace tackled her, pining her too the couch. "Fine!" Clary laughed. "Yours are brocolli-infused brownies."

Jace let her up, turning to reach for a regular brownie from the pan, but not before Clary saw the amused smile curving the corner of his mouth.

A few minutes later, Jace sat, contently eating a brownie, on the couch. "Give me a massage," he said lazily.

Clary sighed. "Very well."

And began pounding as hard as she could against his head.

Jace shouted, jumping up from the couch. "You dumbass! I said a shoulder massage, not a head massage!"

Clary smiled, shrugging her shoulders. "Oopsies."

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