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III.
Dallas/Texas, CW Headquarters
March 5th, 2007
When Jensen entered his office bright and early the next Monday morning he was still stuffed from lunch with his family and maybe a little overtired. The fact that the party indeed had been more than loud and wild hadn’t really helped him getting enough sleep.
He was thinking about thanking Mike again for getting his friends together but then again it had been Mike’s fault that he ended up with a swarm of twinks following his every step, so maybe not.
Jensen was about to get himself even more caffeinated when Mike barged into his office and planted himself on Jensen’s desk. Sometimes Jensen wondered where the billowing coat and cane were, Mike would pull it off expertly they way he moved.
“Mike. How often do I have to tell you to get your ass off of my table?”
“Obviously every single time I am in here since you don’t have another chair.”
Jensen just rolled his eyes, any discussion with Mike would be pointless anyway, and it was way too early to really think up good comebacks. He poured himself a cup of fresh coffee and tossed Mike one of the new Twinkies packs Alona had stocked his little fridge up with. Mike caught it without looking up from the address book he was currently leafing through.
“So any reason why you grace me with your presence this early or did you just want to splurge on my Twinkies?”
“The latter.” Mike replied while munching away on the sweets and playing with one of the new pencils Jensen had brought from a business trip to Florida last month. Mike looked up when he was finished and smiled at Jensen. It wasn’t one of the mischievous smiles which indicated one of Mike’s pranks or plans but a rather proud one. It threw Jensen a little, he rarely got to see Mike smile like that.
“The bosses want to see you in an hour. And before you freak out and get all spazzy let me finish what I wanted so say.” Mike was still smiling and playing with another of Jensen’s desk utensils, Jensen was very close to strangle him just to make him go on with his little speech. “See Jenny, there isn’t a reason for you to worry. I happen to know that they want to talk to you about something good and big. Well okay, not the big and good you obviously would need in your life but yeah.. good and big.”
Jensen rolled his eyes at Mike’s jab, he had gotten used to that after the first month working with him. The bosses wanting to speak to him still made him nervous though, and Mike’s talk about it being a big thing didn’t make it any easier. Jensen still couldn’t help it, he had to try and get back at Mike, if not for the jab then for the thing with the twinks at the party.
“You did not just imply anything about our bosses did you?”
“Dude. TMI. I so did not need to hear that coming from your mouth. There I was being all polite and nice and informed you about the meeting. And you say that. I need to bleach my brain now.”
“You are such a drama queen, you know.”
Mike’s grin was ferocious. If Jensen didn’t know better he would shudder in fear and try to hide. But Mike only used it to intimidate and never with real intent, it didn’t work on Jensen.
“In an hour you say? Well then. Get your ass off of my table I have work to do until then.”
Mike just snorted but hopped of the table. He took another one of the Twinkies on his way out and just grinned at Jensen. He turned at the door though. “Yeah. I get it. You just want to make yourself pretty for the bosses. Never thought it would take you an hour though.”
The paper box only hit the door, Jensen missed Mike by mere inches. The curse following the box though could be heard in the hallway as well as the cackle Mike let loose.
Jensen was nervous. There really was no other way to describe his current state of mind. Mike had told him it was good news, something big his bosses wanted to talk about. He still couldn’t help but to feel slightly anxious, excitement and nervousness mixing in the pit of his stomach.
Alona had already rightened his tie several times, just because he couldn’t stop fumbling with it. He shouldn’t be that nervous anymore, not after the year he had and the cases he had worked. Jensen was pretty sure his is bosses trusted him enough to let him handle such big cases, so there was no real reason for him to be so anxious.
Jensen was early, a few minutes only but he still tried to stall going inside, tugging at his tie again. When he finally got the courage to knock and push the door open he was greeted not only by his two immediate superiors but by Mike and Sandy as well.
Typically Mike, not telling him he would be in on this meeting, too. Jensen was already trying to think of a suitable payback for Mike getting him riled up that much. And judging from the smug look Mike knew he was in for it.
“Jensen. Come on in. We have been waiting for you. I know you have a lot of work to do, so we appreciate that you could manage to come up here a little early.” Jensen suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at that, usually he would see right through the pleasantries the senior partners put up when they wanted something, but Eric Kripke was something different.
He didn’t really fit into the shark tank that was corporate law but he had made it to high ranks at CW and he was one of the guys who had been positive about Jensen’s acquirement. Eric was one of the few people who meant what they said, so when he was nice, he was actually being nice without an ulterior motive behind it.
Jensen smiled at Eric and took a seat next to Mike. Sandy was busy putting out folders, which obviously contained the subject matter for this meeting. Jensen was curious, it really seemed to be something big. Kim Manners, the other one of the senior partners present, briefly looked into the round which had the immediate effect of complete silence and focused looks. Jensen suppressed a smile, they were all such obedient sheep sometimes.
“Okay let’s get to the point of this little meeting. We have been contacted by Jeffrey Dean Morgan on the matter of contract negotiations for Gerald Padalecki and his son Jared. They want us to take their case to achieve the best possible results and they have asked for our best lawyers in the fields of corporate law and marriage law.”
Jensen was stunned, maybe even stunned speechless. Gerald Padalecki asking for CW’s best lawyers and he was in this meeting? That was something he had to swallow first but Kim was already going on about the details so Jensen didn’t really have the chance to take everything in. This was really big. Mike hadn’t been kidding.
“Jensen?”
He looked up from the files in front of him, just now becoming aware that he had zoned out on the files and mass of information storming in on him. But he had no time to be embarrassed about it.
“Yes? Sorry, was already going through the files.”
“Eager much huh?” Kim smiled, which usually made Jensen even more twitchy but here it actually calmed him somewhat.
“Maybe? This seems big.”
“Oh it is. That’s why we want you and Mike on the case. Sandy will be assisting both of you with the legal matters and you can of course get Alona to work on the papers. I personally want you to work with the young Padalecki. You have experience with marriage law and pre-nuptials and so on from your time in New York and you are one of our best. Mike will work on the corporate stuff with Gerald Padalecki, so you’ll have to coordinate with him and Mr. Morgan only. No one else. At least not from our side. Oh and you will not work any other cases for the time being. This thing is your priority until we say differently. Clear?”
Jensen nodded, getting excited right now would be unprofessional, but he was restless already, wanting to get started. This case was what he had been waiting for. This was maybe the case where he could prove himself and could work on his own most of the time. This was…
“… a way for you to come really close to becoming a partner, Jensen. This is important for you and it is for us. So be sure that you really want to do it. Read through the files and tell us what you think tomorrow. Eric and I really think you and Mike are the best men to handle it.”
Jensen blinked. There really was only one answer and he wasn’t going to let this case slip out of his hands because he thought too long about it. The company was big and there were a lot of young and aspiring lawyers who would maybe even kill for a job like this one. He didn’t even look at Mike before he answered.
“No need to think over it. I am in. Mike?”
“Sure. Loads of work but hey… I am loving it already.” Mike winked and Jensen knew they would be a good team. They always had been so far, no reason for it to change.
Eric nodded at both of them and Jensen thought there might have been some pride in the look as well. This was what he had been waiting for. There was no way he’d mess that up. Jensen looked back down on the file in front of him, reading through the recent numbers concerning the Padalecki company and stopped.
“Uhm Eric?”
“Yep.”
“This looks like it’s going to take a while to set it up. Some months maybe?”
“Yes, we are set on maybe 5 or 6 months, there is a lot to go over and I don’t expect Padalecki or Harris to be okay with the first draft of the contracts. And yes it means you and Mike will have to move to San Antonio for the time being. We want you to be available 24/7 and that isn’t really possible when you stay here in Dallas. We have already set up suites for you and Sandy will have to go down as well.”
Jensen nodded and could see Mike as well as Sandy doing the same. There wasn’t really any question whether he would leave Dallas for the job or not. He had done it with New York, and San Antonio wasn’t really that far after all. It was still Texas, it was still home somehow.
“Any more questions? If so just scream or call, whatever goes faster around here. I’d suggest you get a head-start, so that you are up to date when Padalecki and Morgan show up. They have asked for a meeting in three days from today. The son will stay in San Antonio and you’ll meet him there when you go down and everything is set up to start. So get ready, Alona will have all the necessary info for you to get down to San Antonio.” Kim said, grabbed his own folders, nodded encouragingly at them and left. Eric did the same, smiled a little more and then they were alone.
“That’s so cool.” Mike was practically bouncing in his seat.
“The case? Yeah. It’s big.”
“No man, San Antonio.”
“Huh?”
“Tommy is down there now, working on a new clinic. I have told you about it haven’t I? Anyway, I get to see him again, which is awesome. Haven’t seen him in ages and phone calls only do so much.”
Sandy snorted but didn’t say anything. Jensen knew she was thinking the same as him. The epic love story that wasn’t Tom and Mike yet, it had kept them entertained over the last year. Mike just smiled, sipped his coffee and let them think what they wanted. It’s always been like that and sometimes Jensen marvelled at the fact they had only known each other for a year now.
“So I guess we all know who Gerald Padalecki is, but does anyone know this Jared guy?” Jensen looked up again in time to see Sandy shrug at Mike’s question. He head heard of the Padaleckis but that was mostly due to Gerald Padalecki’s reputation as a hard and almost ruthless businessman; or when his sister was on a celebrity trip and thought he had to know everything that was going on in the land of the rich and famous. But Jared Padalecki wasn’t someone he was familiar with.
“No, not really. I guess he is one of those rich and snobby guys, who think they can get everything and everyone because of daddy’s money.”
“You mean like a male Paris Hilton or something? Nothing in the head but everything else going for him?” Mike always had to compare everything to Paris Hilton lately, Jensen had no idea where that was coming from. Maybe he should ask Sandy if Mike now was addicted to celebrity mags instead of chocolate.
Sandy refilled their cups before she opened the personal files included in the client’s folder.
“Well, here it says he isn’t one of the brainless kind, quite the contrary. But he has the looks going for him.”
“Show.” Mike was making grabby hands at the folder and Sandy sniggered.
“Typical Mike, always wants to see the fresh meat first. Remember he is a client and he is about to be married.”
Jensen just rolled his eyes, thought this was going to be fun and went back to the folder he was currently reading through.
Moonlight was filtering through the windows, casting shadows where the light of the desktop lamp couldn’t reach. There was an overall yellow glow in the room which made working slow and didn’t really help Jensen staying awake.
It was peaceful, it was the place where Jensen could be himself, could be just Jensen and not the up and coming lawyer or the good son or even the best friend. He needed those time outs. Right there though he was still working and his safe haven had somehow been transformed into a second office. His own fault he figured.
The apartment wasn’t big, just two rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom, nothing else. But it was in the middle of the city and relatively close to the CW offices. Most days he didn’t even need a car.
Sometimes when he looked around he thought this place lacked life or personality, the furnishing was modern and functional, mostly wood and tiles, some pictures of painters he didn’t really know but were friends of either Mike’s or Mackenzie’s and some lonely plants covering the edges of the floor to ceiling windows.
It was a pretty modern place, but his mother always said something was missing and Jensen couldn’t help but wonder if it was the same thing he felt was absent from his life.
Jensen shifted on the old leather coach, an artifact from his grandparent’s farm, probably the only really lived-in thing, sunk deeper into the worn cushions and went back to the folders. He was almost finished, knew now that it was a not only a joining of families but one of two companies as well.
He wasn’t really all that clear on which of the companies was the one to be saved by the move. He had the slight suspicion that this marriage would be everything but one of love. Jensen knew that those procedures were quite common among the high ranks of society and business.
It mostly just disgusted him how parents could sell out their children for the future of their companies. Sure it saved a lot of jobs and it might actually be something those people could live with but he still couldn’t understand why someone, especially someone of age and with his own mind, would agree to that.
Jensen was aware that family loyalty played a big role and maybe even indifference but he was sure that his parents would rather lose everything than to allow something like that to happen to their children.
Jensen had a hard time imagining what kind of man this Jared Padalecki had to be if he was willing to get married for the good of his father’s company. Jensen thought he was either weak and not able to stand up against his family or it didn’t really matter to him as long as he had his fun and daddy’s money to live on. He could be wrong, though, and it really was a marriage out of love with the benefit of a company merger. But something though told him it wasn’t, he just couldn’t explain what.
Considering the reputation Gerald Padalecki had acquired during the last years and considering the rumours going around in Dallas that even Jensen couldn’t ignore, Jensen was pretty certain that this Jared guy wasn’t really someone he wanted to meet and especially not when he was really that much under daddy’s hand and order.
It was already past 1am and Jensen knew he should be in bed sleeping. He'd worked through most of the files with Mike and Sandy. They'd sifted through contract offers until Sandy was ready to fall asleep and Mike so high on coffee that any further reading was impossible.
Jensen, though, wanted to be done with the first read-through and took some of the files home with him. It was no surprise that Mike usually called him work-addicted.
Sitting there now sipping at the last drops of his latest cup of coffee he eyed the folders that he had still to go through. The one he had on his lap was a little confusing, it had numbers that didn’t quite match up to everything else and some pages where even missing.
It was one of the newest offers Harris had made and sent to Gerald Padalecki. It was one of the reasons why Jensen had the feeling something was off. He still couldn’t pinpoint the one thing that irked him. Everything seemed to be all right, at least so far. His stomach told him something different, though. He blamed it on too little food and sleep and decided not to think about it until he had further proof something was up.
The last unopened folder on the table had an aura of mystery, like there was something calling out to Jensen. Or it was just Jensen being hyped on coffee and overly tired. He tossed the folder in his lap back on the table and reached out for the one that was Jared Padalecki’s file.
The one Mike and Sandy had been fawning over some hours earlier. Jensen still hadn’t taken a look at it. He decided it was about time to do just that.
The face that greeted him though wasn’t what he had expected. He wasn’t even sure what he had expected in the first place but it sure hadn’t been this.
The first thing he noticed where the eyes. A mixture of green and ocean blue and maybe even brown. Eyes that could captivate, could keep someone transfixed. But the sadness in them didn’t fit at all.
Jensen looked at the bottom of the photo to see if it had a date. It had and it was fairly recent. So this was what Jared Padalecki actually looked like. Sad and gorgeous as hell.
And maybe even a lot of innocence in there. It was the aura of innocence and sadness that threw Jensen.
Jared was smiling though, it did reach his eyes but not as much as it could have and Jensen didn’t really want to imagine what might happen if it did. The smile was blinding already. It fit as much as the eyes did.
Floppy brown hair, dimples, lips and a smile to kill for and Jensen knew he might have a problem in the future. If the guy was as nice as he looked or maybe even nicer, then Jensen might be screwed.
He shut the folder no longer willing to read through anything concerning the personal life of his future client. He wanted to cling to the image he had in his head, wanted to keep the clichés going. And he sure as hell didn’t want to start thinking about Jared Padalecki maybe not being that snotty rich male Paris Hilton Mike had so eloquently set him up as. It wouldn’t do any good to his work.
Jensen still was quite convinced that pictures could lie and that Jared still might be one of those people Jensen always wanted to punch and ask if they really thought they were so much better than everybody else.
The small voice in the back of his head though tried to tell him that it might not be like that. He pushed that voice as far away as he pushed the other one telling him he was lonely and needed to get laid.
The thought that something was off with the whole case and the revelation that Jared Padalecki was actually hot as fuck and might be innocence incarnated was the last thing Jensen had on his mind when he finally went to bed.
This might be the case of his life, might bring him to the last step on the ladder he was climbing up and Jensen didn’t want to mess that up. Lying in his bed he swore to himself not to get distracted by anything. He would handle this case as professionally as he could.
The image of Jared Padalecki was branded into his mind. The sad eyes and the blinding smile were there when he closed his eyes and Jensen knew trouble was on the way.
IV.
San Antonio, PCCM offices
Two weeks later
March 24th, 2007
Jared hated the day already. Hated that it was cloudy and misty and generally a grey day. The view out of his office window was dull and depressing for once. He usually loved to just sit there, look out into the city and get ideas for his next work projects or his own creative ventures.
This usually was the perfect place to set his mind on the things he wanted and needed to do. But sometimes it just was an office with a window overlooking half of San Antonio and nothing more. This was one of these days.
It had started okay, good even. Chad and Sophia had called to say they were okay and enjoying their road trip. It had been good talking to them, good to be able to get his mind off of everything, if only for just a few seconds. They had always been there for him, had been his best friends since kindergarten and they had actually planned this trip together. Only that was before his dad planted him firmly back on his feet and into the family business.
They had talked a while and Jared had been close, so very close to admitting how screwed up his life was right now and what was going on. He couldn’t.
He didn’t say a single word. Something deep down held him back, something telling him there was more to it than just his future and the future of the company. He blamed the three cups of sugar loaded coffee on this inexplicable feeling that something was going to happen.
Jared didn’t do superstitious feelings or visions or whatever that was supposed to be.
He just didn’t.
Jared missed Sophia and Chad even more after the phone call, felt even a bit guilty for not telling them what was going on. But considering the fact that he was supposed to meet up with his new lawyers later that day, he wasn’t really all that focused on anything besides the arranged marriage he was suddenly in the middle of.
They would know about the wedding soon enough and would rip him a new one soon enough as well, so Jared could actually go without that for a little while longer.
Looking out into the grey sky again, Jared wished he'd gone and visited his dogs this morning. But Jerry had insisted on him finally joining the contract negotiations since it was about time they started with the papers attached to the wedding and the marriage.
He personally thought he wasn’t really necessary for any of that because it was already a set thing so why torture himself with the negotiations that would seal the rest of his life for him?
In the last two weeks it still hadn’t really sunk in to what he had actually agreed and what it meant for his life and his future. All he knew was that his mind was numb, not working properly when it came to that particular topic and he didn’t want to subject himself to any more confusion and anger at or from his father.
But then JD had actually made a valid point by saying Jared would be able to get anything he wanted into the contract. He thought of his dogs and agreed to be at the office to meet his lawyers.
Jared hated it not to have his dogs home with him. Harley and Sadie were his everything.
He couldn’t imagine a life without them anymore and it broke his heart that he had to leave them at Tom’s vet clinic for the time being.
He father didn’t allow any kind of pets or animals in the house. There never had been pets around when he was a child, so he sometimes thought that it might be a reason why he was so attached to his dogs.
Jared planned on looking for an apartment as soon as he could, just to be able to have his dogs home again and not in the stark whiteness of the clinic and especially not in the boxes he had to put them into for the night.
He had gotten Harley and Sadie after working at the vet clinic in Austin when he returned from Cambridge and had finished his degree. Someone had left them in their care because of a family tragedy. It had been a long debate with Tom and one of the other doctors but Jared finally managed to convince them that he could care for both of them.
The clinic here in San Antonio, where he spent his free time with his dogs, was the second clinic he helped out at, the first one being the one in Austin where he had met Tom and had helped establishing the emergency system for socially handicapped people who couldn’t come up with money for a regular vet visit.
Back then, Tom Welling had been in his last year, close to completing his degree and getting an internship at one of the big veterinarian centres. Jared had only been a freshman who had looked for a part time job. They instantly clicked and everything else, as they say, was history. Jared had even stayed for a few months after his graduation to set up everything and could leave without having a bad feeling.
The clinic was where his mind was when JD joined him in his office. It was still strange to think of this place as his office but Jerry had been clear on that and on the fact that he was supposed to be getting started on working on projects as soon as possible.
Jared knew he was already deeply rooted into the company, even without him doing much for it. Alone, just working on some projects while still being in college had cemented his position within the ranks of the junior managers.
He was very aware of others calling him daddy’s pet or similar types of names. He knew almost everyone thought that he had only gotten the job because of daddy.
Jared didn’t care much about it, the people who counted knew better and knew him. Everything else was just not worth his attention anymore. He had learned that much during the years in the company.
“They are here, Jay and waiting for you. Ready?”
“Not really, but I guess that doesn’t matter. I just wonder what kind of guys actually want to work for the Jerry Padalecki. I mean I know what kind of reputation we have in Dallas these days.”
No one could say Jared didn’t know his job. He knew what was going on behind the scenes, had had two weeks to get into everything again and he had used the time well.
He knew why his father had taken the desperate step of an arranged marriage, knew that it probably really was the last straw they were all clinging to. And this knowledge didn’t make it any easier to deal with everything. He only was 24, but he might be the one carrying the future of this very company on his shoulders.
“It’s all about the money Jared. They get paid and they are the best. I think they don’t care what kind of reputation we have, only if it is a case they can close with the highest profit possible. They set their best lawyers on it, so maybe it won’t be that bad after all. I wish I could do more though.”
“It’s okay JD, you're here. That helps. You know those rumours going around in Dallas and here as well about how ruthless dad is and how he only has the company in mind? If it comes out that this is all arranged it won’t do any good. And if it fails for some reason it won’t help either. So no matter what we do, we can only lose right?”
JD was looking at Jared as they moved out of the office and towards the conference room where the meeting was held. He had the same mixture of lingering sadness and admiration in his eyes that he had every time Jared did or said something that was showing off the way his mind worked.
JD was proud of Jared every time he let himself be the bright and brilliant man that he was. He didn’t like it when Jared hid away under a layer that was a mixture of clumsiness, uninterested rich son and nerd.
“Yeah Jay. Seems like it. Let’s head in and see if these guys can do what I can’t. “
“Which is?”
“Set you up with a good contract and maybe even figure out what Jerry was thinking when he got the idea.”
Jared actually laughed, which he'd rarely done the last few weeks. There had been no real reason for him to do it. JD had already opened the door to the conference room and Jared’s bark had all the heads turned towards them.
‘Way to go Jay’ Jared thought and tried hard not to blush, JD’s grin wasn’t helping much. That hadn’t really been the way he had wanted to introduce himself.
Jensen’s head snapped up at the bark of laughter filtering through the door that had just opened. It was such a carefree sound that he couldn’t help but smile at it. The sight of the man entering though had him frozen in place though.
Those eyes. The smile and the dimples.
The same ones that had kind of haunted him in his dreams since he had first seen the photo in the case file folder. Jensen knew it meant trouble that just the sight of the man could immobilize him, could render him speechless and unable to react for a few seconds. And he didn’t even know the guy.
Right then he decided he wasn’t very fond of the Padalecki case at all, nor was he as thrilled as he had been when he took it. He didn’t really understand how a father was able to actually arrange a marriage for any of his children. It didn’t matter if it was a son or daughter, Jensen just thought it wasn’t right.
He knew he shouldn’t let his personal opinion effect things and he was working hard on not letting that happen. It would screw over his career as well as the whole case. And he really was not willing to let that happen.
Jensen shook himself out of his stupor and regarded the man who was his client now more carefully. He was young, a little bouncy even as he stood at his father’s side and talked quietly to JD Morgan.
He knew everything about Jared Padalecki that was in the case files, knew what kind of man he supposedly was according to the glossy magazines and the rare interviews he had given to one or two international business journals. Jensen knew everything that was written down, but that didn’t mean he knew anything about Jared Padalecki at all.
If Jared was a nice person or if he was a snob or an asshole, Jensen didn’t know. That he could only find out through talking to the man. Something held him back though, made him watch instead. Something in his mind screamed ‘trouble’ at him and Jensen couldn’t figure out why.
If he couldn’t keep cool and actually focus on the work instead of the man in front of him, this would end in disaster, that much was certain. Jensen tried to focus, tried to keep himself from looking, from staring at one Jared Padalecki, all decked out in one of the best fitting Armani suits Jensen had ever seen.
He swore to himself then and there that he would not get distracted again. He was a professional after all, and he would act like one.
He wouldn’t have a chance, anyway. Jared was his client, so he was completely out of reach and it wasn’t even a question, or it shouldn’t have been. Secondly, Jared was about to get married, so Jensen sure as hell wouldn’t do anything to endanger that. And he wouldn’t even dare to endanger the company who was paying him and Mike, and for his career in the end as well.
So it was totally out of question and he wouldn’t think of it again. Ever. Not even after a glimpse at Jared loosening his tie and whipping up and down on his feet while talking to Mike. God, that guy was tall. Jensen just barely stopped himself from staring and drooling.
He hadn’t noticed Jared being that tall when he entered. Probably because he had been too occupied with the eyes and the dimples his ever helpful inner voice supplied.
Maybe Jensen needed to find a tactic to deal with that, he shouldn’t be getting involved at all, shouldn’t let his personal feelings and the need to get laid affect his work and maybe even the outcome of the negotiations. He would have to keep his distance, no matter how hard that would be.
When he looked back down at his folder he could see Sandy smiling knowingly at him out of the corner of his eye. He looked at her but only got an even wider smile, almost as if she knew what he was thinking, which she probably did.
Jensen shook his head, shifted on his chair and got back to taking notes from the new contract offers that had arrived this morning. It seemed like it might be a longer stay in San Antonio than any of them had anticipated.
Jared still didn’t like the day all that much, but it had brightened considerably when he had been introduced to Michael Rosenbaum. After entering the conference room in the fashion he did, Mike Rosenbaum was exactly the person he needed to get over his embarrassment and to distract him from what they were actually doing here.
Jared had managed to ignore his dad so far but the man was busy talking on the phone anyway. JD had just walked over and had introduced Michael to him as one of the lawyers working with them now.
Jared smiled at the man in front of him and shook his hand. And then his brain supplied the right information, he knew he had seen that face before.
“You are Tom’s Mike.” He blurted out and could feel his cheeks start to burn at the same moment. “Uh.. I saw you at the clinic a few days ago.”
Mike blinked several times, looked Jared up and down and started to grin in a very suspicious way.
“Well hell, you are Jay then right? Tommy can’t stop talking about you and your genius brain. He is so hyped on the things you have done for the clinic that he is praising you day and night. Nice meeting you. The world is small.”
By the time Mike was finished Jared’s whole face was burning bright red and JD was quietly sniggering next to him. It earned him a cuff on the arm and one of Jared’s death glares that never really worked because he always looked like a lost puppy when he tried it, at least that was what Megan always told him.
“Okay then, let me introduce you to your other personal slaves for the next few weeks or months or however long this whole crusade will take.” Mike actually grabbed him by the arm and all but dragged him across the room to the table where another man and one of the most petite women Jared had ever seen where working already. But it wasn’t the woman who caught his eye it was the other guy present.
Short cropped light brown hair styled up into spikes, full lips, eye lashes longer than any Jared had ever seen on a man and the most amazing green eyes he could imagine. This was a dream cut out from a fashion magazine and not a lawyer.
The dark suit was sin personified already, but the dark purple tie and the matching shirt added to the image and Jared wasn’t sure he would be able to simply just work with the man without trying to jump him every five seconds.
On the other hand, he had no idea how the man would take that. They were in Texas after all, arranged marriages were kind of okay but jumping another guy and probably humping him in semi public was still not really acceptable. Not to mention that Jared would never assume someone this hot would actually want him or well would be actually gay or bi or whatever it took to be interested in men.
Still the guy was freaking hot and his own reaction towards him scared Jared.
“Jared Padalecki meet Jensen Ackles, your guy for marriage law and pre-nuptial contracts.”
Jared blinked back into the present and realized that he had totally missed Mike introducing him to the woman while he was busy ogling Jensen. At least the hot guy had a name now.
The smile he got stopped him dead though. He wasn’t supposed to be ogling his lawyer, he wasn’t supposed to think about him like that. He was supposed to sit down and talk about pre-nup contracts and marriage law.
He would be a married man pretty soon, which meant he would actually have to be faithful. Was that even part of everything? Was he even supposed to be a real husband? He didn’t even know all that and he wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to ask.
“Hey man, you okay?"
Jared blinked again, blinked some more and was greeted by three sets of concerned eyes, one of which he just wanted to keep on staring at but wasn’t allowed to.
Lawyer. Lawyer. Lawyer and not available at all. No option. That was the mantra going through his head over and over again. He just hoped he wouldn’t forget it.
“Yeah. Sorry.. I kinda zoned. This is all a little overwhelming.. a bit too much to take in. Nice to meet you Mr. Ackles.”
The hand in his was nice and firm, warm and Jared didn’t want to let go anymore. The simple touch was anchoring him in reality, more than anything was able to these days. There was some kind of current going through his arm at the touch and judging by the look on Jensen’s face the other man felt it as well. Jared smiled and got one in return, and if he wouldn’t know it better he’d say this was more than just a professional greeting.
“Pleasure. And please call me Jensen. We’ll be working together for quite some time and I think it will be more comfortable if we lose the formalities. Of course only if you are okay with that.”
“Sure, no problem. I’d like that, Jensen.”
“Great. Let’s get started then. Sandy, would you hand over the latest contract proposal we got? Mike will probably be too busy covering the company numbers and going over the files with Jerry and JD, so we have time to go through the marriage stuff and contract proposal step by step. It wouldn’t be good to rush things and then forget half of what you want or don’t want in the final contract.”
Jared’s mind reeled at the sudden change of mood, this was pure professional behaviour and any traces of a personal note, like the concern he had seen when he had zoned, were gone and Jensen was keeping his distance. Gone as well was the slight Texan accent Jared thought he had heard. It was disappointing. At least now he knew Sandy’s name as well. Looking on the table and at the files spread out in front of him, Jared realized how long this day was going to be. He already mourned the quiet evening he had planned, that clearly wouldn’t be happening any time soon.
PART 3
