Jacob was rushing me this morning. He was insisted on leaving together to grab a coffee before work. Despite Jacob trying to spend more time with me than I at first assumed, I doubted he was the type of guy who'd be pushy about drinking coffee together because we hadn't seen each other last night. I fell asleep before he came home.

So this morning he suggested we grabbed a cup of coffee together.

It felt suspicious to me. I strolled out of the bathroom and nearly ran into Jacob who awaited me in the bedroom. He held out my coat to me, wanting to put it around me. He was so nice and behaving like a true gentleman. It just didn't feel like the man who put the huge diamond around my finger which now fitted me perfectly.

"Thank you," I muttered as I let him put the coat around me.

I left the beige coat open, showing off my black dress which fitted me like a glove. My makeup was done more than usually. I felt like going all out this morning. I had a feeling Jacob was up to something and I wanted to look the part. If he wasn't up to no good then at least I looked good for my meeting with my client. The business was picking up thanks to mom. I owed her a lot. She was the one who told me it was okay to be a little selfish and she was the one who also pushed me to pursue this career I loved.

"Bag?" Jacob handed me the black designer bag.

I took it, eying him suspiciously, "You are being so nice to me this morning." I narrowed my eyes on him when I noticed the little twitch of his lips, "What's going on?" I asked him.

"Can't a guy look forward to drinking coffee with his fiancée?"

There was nothing wrong with that if it was an average guy who wasn't obsessed with power and money. Jacob was and I doubted he liked wasting time. He had tons of project going on at once and there was the issue of Fenna wanting to ruin him. The money his lawyers offered wasn't enough. She wanted him to bleed. I wondered if she'd attack him this Friday. It was his benefit gala, it would hurt him a lot if the news spread then.

The night would be ruined.

Jacob's impassive look gave nothing away. He wasn't going to tell me even if he was up to no good.

"Fine, let's grab some coffee. We should go to Joy's place, we can say hi to her too."

Jacob placed his hand on my lower back and guided me to the elevator. He pushed the button and faced me, "There is a place closer to my office."

"That's fine too I suppose," I whispered.

He slightly pushed me forward when the elevator doors slid open. Maybe I underestimated how much he needed coffee right now. It was probably a long morning for him, caffeine would help him through it. He also needed to replace Fenna, I'm sure that was a huge loss too. The woman was a snake but she was also good at her job. She no longer worked as his personal assistant but Jacob mentioned she still worked for him, just a different department. No doubt she was spreading lies there too. I felt for him, but he brought it upon himself.

Don't fuck your personal assistant and assume she'll pretend it never happened. I hoped he learned his lesson. Otherwise, this decision I made to wear the huge diamond ring would become a long and painful journey.

"You can invite your friends over if you miss them. This is your home now as well, Nina."

It was odd how quickly the penthouse felt like home. It might be due to my things now being there along with the dinner we had with Joy and Owen. It was a fun night even though Owen wanted to run the minute Jacob entered the picture. Once Jacob showed he wasn't a complete douchebag Owen settled down. Joy helped with that though. The woman kept her promise. She stayed my friend even though I did something so horrible to Lucas.

"Owen is Lucas' roommate. I like hanging out with him but I can't hang out with him that often. It isn't right."

"If Lucas is okay with it why bother with being polite?"

"How would I know if Lucas is alright with it? I'm not going to talk to the guy."

Jacob rolled his eyes at me, "You're brighter than that. You don't have to ask Lucas himself, you mention it to Owen and he'll figure things out with his friend." Jacob stared ahead, nodding at the doors which were about to slid open, "Men usually get over pity things like this. I doubt Lucas will tell Owen to stop hanging out with you. Now let's focus on us."

Jacob made it very clear he was done with the teen problems and I was okay with that too. He was helpful and he showed me he cared. His face didn't give much away but the fact that he wanted me to keep in touch with my friends said enough. If he didn't care he wouldn't have mentioned it. There was definitely more to Jacob Blackwood then I first assumed. The sex was great but he proved to be decent company as well.

"Yeah, let's focus on us."

I surprised him by grabbing his hand and linking our fingers together when the door slid open. He didn't look surprised. He glanced at me, looked down at our hands and then stared ahead again. He walked like a man on a mission and I was right there with him.

Joel opened the door to the backseat. He noticed our little display of affection too, the little smile which spread across his face made me blush, "Good morning, Mister Blackwood. Miss Merigold."

I kept staring down but I smiled anyway, "I've told you to call me Nina, Joel."

"I will get it eventually."

When I looked up and noticed the glint in Joel's eyes I knew he'd never call me Nina. Especially now that I was marrying Jacob. I sighed, climbing in first and scooting over to make some room for Jacob. He climbed in too and got comfy in his seat. He grabbed his phone and started typing away. I didn't want to disturb him so I stared out the window, taking the opportunity to calm down.

"Friday night we'll officially announce our engagement," Jacob informed me.

He spoke calmly, barely looking up from his phone. It was no big deal to him, probably another PR moment to get his name out there. Also an opportunity to drown out Fenna's accusations. Friday was going to be the day. It just felt like shit would go down that day. I needed to prepare myself mentally for it. By the looks of it, Jacob would be of no help. He was too calm to understand what I needed. I needed to talk to mom and Nick about this probably. They'll give me some tips. My family's support is what I needed Friday night.

"Do you need me to do anything except stand beside you and look pretty?"

He glanced up from his phone, looking quite amused with me, "You always stand beside me and look pretty, but there isn't anything particular you have to do that night. I know it might get a little overwhelming so I'll be sure to prepare you a space where you can escape to if you need to take a little breather."

I couldn't breathe. Jacob remembered that I got overwhelmed when tons of people were paying attention to me. It got worse when they lined up to talk to me. I'm sure everyone at that gala would want to talk to me after they heard the announcement of our engagement. I definitely needed that mental prep.

"Are you okay?" Jacob asked.

I nodded, "Good." I whispered, clearing my throat, "You remembered."

He frowned, "Of course I do. It's how this whole thing started." He grabbed my hand and showed off the flashy diamond, "I know you think I'm an asshole. I might not be the over the top nice guy like your previous guy but I take care of my family." He brushed his thumb over the diamond, "You are my family now, Nina."

He was making it so difficult for me to behave like a normal human being right now. He was overwhelming me with sweet words and showing me he cared with little actions. He was definitely not an asshole despite me thinking that at first. I needed to change my opinion about him.

"You're my family too," I whispered to him.

A little smile tugged on his lips. He pulled my hand toward him and pressed a kiss to my wrist. The soft gesture was too much. My heart was racing and I definitely couldn't breathe right now. Thankfully we arrived at the coffee shop. Joel pulled over and let us know we could grab our coffee. Jacob let go of me and got out of the car first. He held his hand out to me to help me. I took his hand and shared a shy little smile with the man who I was so going to marry.

"We work well together, don't we, sweetheart?" He asked me.

I gasped when he pulled me close to him, he placed his hand on my lower back and gently cupped my cheek with his other hand. My eyes widened when I realized what he was doing. He leaned in and kissed me full on. It was a passionate, deep kiss right on the sidewalk where everybody could enjoy the show. I grabbed his biceps when I did hear people gasp and felt them stare. I even saw people taking out their phones so I closed my eyes and let the deep kiss happen. When Jacob pulled away he literally took my breath away.

"What are you doing?" I whispered to him, shocked to see the little smirk on his face.

"Kissing my fiancée."

He grabbed my hand and led me into the coffee shop. Everything after that kiss was a blur to me. I somehow ended up in the back seat of the car again with a coffee cup in hand. I didn't know what I ordered and I definitely didn't taste it.

"You planned this."

Jacob sipped his coffee, "And you played your part well."

I shifted in my seat and glared at him, "Why?"

"My sources told me Fenna was going to release her story this morning." He looked at the massive designer silver watch on his left wrist and smirked, "Right about now. The thing is the paparazzi sure got a nice shot of your ring." His eyes lowered to the huge diamond around my finger, "Her story might disappear in a sea of speculation about our relationship."

I nearly dropped my coffee cup when something devious came to mind, "Did you bribe her lawyer?" I asked quietly, "They can get disbarred, you know."

He shifted in his seat as well, brushing his knuckles over my cheek in a very affectionate way. Yet I wasn't fooled by him this time. He got me earlier, he played me well. He knew what I needed and what I wanted to hear. He deserved an Oscar.

"Money can solve anything, sweetheart. People are full of shit when they say money can't buy happiness." He chuckled, "People who say that don't have the money to buy whatever their heart desire so they say things they actually don't understand themselves to make them feel better about their mediocre lives. Money definitely buys you happiness." I didn't like the sinister smile which followed, "It got me you, didn't it?"

I tightened my grip on my coffee cup, feeling sick hearing him go on about money and power. There was nothing more to Jacob Blackwood than his hunger for controlling every single thing around him. He took pleasure in using people like they were their pawns. He took pleasure in using me.

"Money well spent I'd say." He grabbed his phone and showed me one of the many articles which were sent to him by his PR team.

"Glad to know you see me as an investment."

I tensed up when I felt his hand on my thigh, "You're going to be so good for business."

My heart tightened, it prevented me from speaking up. There was barely any room for me in the back of this car. Jacob and his huge ego made it difficult for me to move. He must have noticed how tense I was yet he didn't care. When we arrived at his office he leaned in and kissed my cheek.

"Don't wait up for me, sweetheart. It's going to be a long day."

I stared ahead, not wanting to look at the man who sounded so cheerful. How could he ruin such a gentle moment between us within a split second?

"You're the one with all the power here, Miss Merigold." Joel's words snapped me out of my chaotic thoughts, "He needs you not the other way around."

He left it at that but it was all I needed to hear to relax again. I took a deep breath and let out all the tension. I felt a lot better, a smile spreading across my face.

"You're right."

He used me to get our picture taken and let rumors spread like wildfire. He needed me beside him to fight the bad press. I just needed to remind him of that.