Jack's POV
"How was your grandfather's celebration of life party?" Taylor asked when he picked me up that morning.
I chuckled with the way he called it. Celebration of life party indeed.
"It was fine," I replied without raising my head up while going through the files on my laptop.
I had a lot of work to catch up on and wished that Taylor would drive in silence. I knew that was impossible though as he had a lot of gossip to catch up on in my life and telling him to shut up was out of it.
I couldn't do that to Taylor. I might be an arrogant rude bastard but I knew where my limits were. Taylor was part of it.
"Fine?" he asked, glancing up at me through the mirror. "Is that all you are going to say?"
"What else do you want me to say?" I sighed, putting down the laptop.
He was distracting me anyway and I couldn't focus on what I was meant to do.
He snorted. "You had a lot of things to say asides fine. How was the party? Did you have a good time? Did your family like your pretend girlfriend? Did she blow your mind off when you saw her? Man, you had a lot to say and you picked fine. That is somehow disappointing."
I struggled between laughing at him and snorting at his words. "The party was okay. I had fun but I would rather prefer to use that time to work."
He snorted. "You work too much."
"And it seems I work you less since you have time to care about my private life."
"Who else will you talk with if I don't care about your life?"
I winced. He was right.
I continued talking because I knew that was what he wanted. "Yeah, my family like my pretend girlfriend. They like her so much we are getting married next week. Grandfather proposed the idea."
"What?" he gasped and looked back so suddenly I was afraid he would run the car into something and kill us.
I wasn't about to die before becoming chairman.
"Watch out, Taylor." I yelled at him.
I wanted to snap at him but the terror in my voice betrayed how I actually felt.
He chuckled at my reaction. "Relax, man. I'm not getting you killed before your big day. I am not about to make your wife-to-be a widow-to-be."
"Thanks." I breathed.
That wasn't a reason for me to live but if it meant that Taylor was going to protect my life, I wasn't going to complain about it.
"You are getting married, uhm?" he said with a wide grin on his face.
I was glad he was focused on the road though.
I nodded. "I'm sure as we speak, the wedding preparations are already going on and the bride and I don't have to worry about it."
"Who could have believed I would see you married?"
"Yeah, I know."
"That eager to have the company. Isn't next week too soon?"
"My family found out that Katherine is pregnant."
"What! Wow. This is huge."
"Which is why they want us married before her belly gets huge. That will be a scandal if I get married to her when she is already showing and I don't want that for her."
More like I didn't want anything to affect the stock prices because of it.
"Did she blow your mind off that night? You haven't answered that."
I shrugged, pretending not to be interested in what he had to say.
"She played her part well. Anyone who saw her that night would be convinced she was a lady having a good time with the family of the man she loves."
"Did she blow your mind off?" he repeated. "That was the question. I know she will play her part well."
"She impressed me with her act and that was all that mattered. I guess you can say she blew my mind off with her acting skills."
He groaned. "Damn, you are insufferable, man."
He sighed and took a turn on the road, heading to the office.
I was glad we were almost at the office. I couldn't wait to be done with the questioning and push all thoughts of Katherine off my mind.
I had been determined not to think of her after the party but now that Taylor brought her up, she was all I could think of and I wanted to growl at him for that.
The truth? She had blown my mind off that night and it wasn't because of her acting skills. She blew my mind off the moment I saw her that night, in that gown that hugged her curves and made my groin twinge with pain.
Holy fuck. I had thought that night and had wanted to pull her back into her apartment or bend her over the car and fuck her so hard till we both struggle to breathe.
She had looked sexy as hell in that gown and I wondered if she had worn it because she knew how my eyes had roved over her when she tried it out at the department store.
I had wanted her to have chosen that gown for me. I had hoped that she had thought of me when dressing up. I had wanted to kiss her and breathe in her essence but I had reminded myself that she wasn't my girlfriend and was only a fake I needed to get what I wanted.
That had done the trick and the spell had been broken. Well, almost broken as she swayed my heart still during the party.
I knew what Taylor wanted to hear but I would rather be caught dead than admit it to him.
I wasn't interested in falling in love regardless of how tempted I was.
"We are here." Taylor announced, breaking into my thoughts.
I made a low grunt at the back of my throat and exited the car before Taylor had another question to ask me.
I had barely sat on my desk when my phone rang. I sighed before I checked it, wondering who it was.
"Good morning, gramps." I breathed into the phone, adjusting myself in the chair.
"Is it truly a good morning?" he chuckled.
It wasn't, if we were both being honest with each other. He knew how much I hated to be disturbed when I was at work but had called anyway so he knew what the response was.
I chose not to respond to his question. I had no doubt it was rhetorical anyway.
"This better be good."
"Do you have plans this evening?"
"I have work. I have a lot to catch up on."
He made a disappointed clucking with his tongue. "Shouldn't you be out there taking your girl out on a date?"
"We are both busy, grandfather."
"Every girl loves to spend time with her man."
"She understands me."
"Are you doing as you like because she is pregnant for and you know how much she likes you? Are you being nonchalant because of that?"
"No, grandfather. I'm genuinely busy and will make it up to her."
"You won't have to make it up to her if you are doing something right."
I rolled my eyes, eager to get back to work. Why was he in a good mood this morning and decided to call me?
I sighed. I didn't ever think that I was going to get relationship advice from my grandfather but here I was.
"I hear you, grandfather. Can I get back to work now?"
"You should learn to work less now and spend more time with your family." He replied. "Thank goodness you have me in your life. What would you have done without me, boy?"
Cold dread went up my spine and I wondered what he meant by that. What was he doing?
"I am having a party this evening. You should bring your girl." He blurted out.
"You had a party recently." I reminded him, rubbing my forehead as I tried not to let out the groan struggling to be out of my throat.
"That was to celebrate not dying when I had that death scare. This is to celebrate your upcoming marriage and me becoming a great grandfather."
I snorted. He wasn't making sense to me. "You can celebrate my marriage on the day I get married. Isn't that what wedding parties are for? You can celebrate being a great grandfather when the child is born. Isn't that what christening ceremonies are for? Why have an unnecessary party?"
"It's not an unnecessary party, it is my party and I can choose to call it whatever I want to call it. You should be grateful I'm giving you an excuse to spend time with your girl not get angry."
I was angry he was making spend time with her. That exactly was the problem.
"Grandfather, she is busy."
"Tell her to clear her schedule. Maybe I should call hey instead. Give me her contact."
"I will come with her."
Katherine wouldn't be able to refuse my grandfather anyway if he called her. I already saw that happen the other night. Moreover, I didn't know how busy or idle she was in the evening and I didn't want him to know I had lied to him.
"Good." He sounded appeased. "I should get her contact tonight though."
I hoped he didn't.
"I'm getting closer to death's door, I need to have as much fun as I can."
Even if it's the expense of your grandson's peace.
I groaned and placed the phone on the desk when the call was over. I exhaled in exasperation, hating how my life was changing.
I had gotten a girlfriend to get the company and get busier but it had become a reason for me not to work as I used to.
What a mess!
I had one more thing to do before getting back to work. I had to call Katherine and hoped she was free for the night or I was doomed.