The Boss's Daughter

Chapter 3: Clarissa Morgenstern (3,7K)

Chapter 3: Clarissa Morgenstern (3,7K)

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

Jace's PoV (22 years old)

"s**t! I think I am going to stop training with you for while," Jordan said, gently massaging his jaw that Jace had just punched with force as they were training.

Jace smirked, removing the bandages that were protecting his knuckles, and admitting to himself that he had been hard on his friend with his last blow. His fingers still feeling the sting of the collision were proof enough. He actually felt that it was a miracle that he didn't dislocate Jordan's jaw, but he was not so confident concerning the state his knuckles were going to be in the next day.

Of course, he didn't let any of his worry show to Jordan, or to anyone else that was training with them at the gym. He kept his face stoic, only betrayed by the little smirk he had, like he usually had when he was knocking someone to the ground. He liked showing that he was good at his craft, and ever since Jordan had started showing him more than self-defence and disarming someone (skills that Jace had learnt on his own), and opened the blond man to the world of martial arts, Jace always did his best to ... be the best at it. More often than once, Jordan beat Jace in the blink of an eye, so each time Jace could put his instructor to the ground, was a small victory to him.

It had been four years since Jace had exposed Hodge to Valentine, and to the world. When Valentine told him to make a statement, Jace had decided to dispose of Hodge's body on the front door of the FBI. Which had been extremely risky, especially since he was alone with no one to have his back, but still made a statement so loud that the media covered it. Though Jace had troubles knowing if the media covered Hodge's death because he disposed of his body in front of the Bureau, or because he had been poetic and spilt Hodge's guts open as a warning for anyone tempted to do what Hodge did to understand what would be their future. In any case, Valentine deeply appreciated what Jace did, and appreciated even more than through an investigation had been open upon Hodge's death, neither he nor Jace were ever called to the Station.

Still, ever since Hodge's death, Valentine never replaced him. Jace couldn't tell if it was because Valentine had grown more suspicious of people around him, or if he still didn't want anyone to replace Hodge by his side because Hodge had been more than Valentine's right hand, he had also been his friend. But that didn't stop Valentine any way on including Jace more into his inner circles.

Often, Valentine would call upon Jace and ask him to come with him to business meetings, whether it was meeting an arising politician that he could easily bribe or threaten, extorting money from someone he had lent money to, or acquiring new business. Jace always faithfully followed Valentine, wherever he went, and always did as asked, no matter what. Whether it was getting rid of somebody, or transporting money (or drugs) from a State to another, Jace always did as asked.

And he didn't complain about the results, anyway. Valentine showed him a little more how he handled his empire. Like he encouraged Jace's choice to not drink, advising him to never take any sort of drug because there was nothing worse than being addicted to one's own product. He also taught Jace to never get attached to anyone he was working with, especially when big amounts of money were involved.

A few men at the gym actually made fun of Jace and his loyalty to Valentine. Not that he was seen as a bad thing, far from it; but more than some men insinuated that Jace felt like Valentine's surrogate son. But Jace never paid attention to that sort of gossip. Valentine gave him the possibility to belong, and it was, therefore, logical for him to be loyal to the man who gave him this opportunity.

With a little sigh, Jace got off the ring, grabbing his towel and his water bottle as he walked toward the lockers. Jordan caught up with him, wiping the sweat away from his face as he asked:

"Doing anything tonight? I feel like it would do me some good if you focused your energy on something else than my face."

Jace snickered, not against the idea of finding a partner for the night, but he still denied the offer: "The boss has been asking for me to pass by the mansion. You'll have to do without me, tonight."

Jordan grimaced, throwing his towel over the pile of dirty laundry as he explained: "The boss isn't in a good mood today. He fired Camille yesterday night, and everyone is walking on eggs shelves."

"Why would he fire Camille?" Jace asked, slightly disturbed by the news.

He actually liked Camille quite a lot. She was a young Chef that Valentine had picked out of school, and Jace could clearly tell why. She had a gift with food, and she was the reason he liked going to the mansion. In all honesty, Jace didn't like being so close to Valentine's personal life but still went to the mansion when summoned. Camille always made him a little something special in the kitchen, and Jace never complained about it. Sure Camille was flirty, and always batted her eyes at him when he came, but Jace always put that on the fact that she was young and pretty. She wasn't that much younger than him, but she didn't come from the streets, so she didn't have to grow before her age.

"Do you really have to ask anymore?" Jordan said with a blasé tone, before walking to a shower cabin and adding: "Valentine should really stop firing people like that. I thought I was out of a job too when I went to train her. I mean, I kind of have to have my hands on her all the time! He stayed the whole lesson today when usually he leaves us alone."

Jace went to his own cabin, switching on the cold water as he thought of Camille. She had never made a secret that she was bisexual and that she was fun loving. But going after the boss's daughter was a bold move. Though, Jace couldn't put the blame wholly on Camille. Over the past couple of months, Valentine had fired five men just for looking at his little girl. A little girl who wasn't such a little girl anymore. Jordan (who was her martial arts instructor) and Magnus were both very clear on that: Clarissa Morgenstern had grown into a very well curved woman, despite the fact that she was still only seventeen.

"People should probably stop eying a seventeen years old girl, who nonetheless happens to be the boss's daughter, you know," Jace bounced, speaking a bit louder due to the fact that they were both under their shower.

"Really, Jace? We have eyes, dude. Not everyone only sees Valentine, unlike you do. She's hot, she's hot. There I said it. It's only human to look and assess beauty. Looking at her is exactly the same as looking at some fine ass girl in the streets. Looking doesn't mean you'll do something, it just means that you appreciate the beauty displayed in front of you."

"Whatever, Jordan," Jace dismissed, not eager to continue a conversation that was so close to Valentine's personal life. The less he mingled with any intimate with his boss, the better he felt.

After taking a rather short and cold shower, Jace left the gym complex and drove to the mansion where Valentine lived. It was a very beautiful and grandiose house that probably cost millions given the fact that it was in a nice part of Manhattan. Jace never understood why Valentine had spent so much in a such a big estate when only he and his daughter lived there. Sure he had people working for him such as cooks and housekeepers, but to Jace, Valentine could have lived just as well in a nice penthouse. But he always figured that Valentine probably had dreams of having a bigger family, before his wife was taken away from him.

Valentine never remarried, and Jace actually doubted that he was seeing any woman to entertain him during the cold nights. He actually never asked his boss why he never remarried, when Jocelyn Fairchild was his second wife, to begin with.

As he drove through the gates, Jace's thoughts wandered to how Valentine had asked him more and more to come to his mansion over the past few years. Going to the mansion wasn't a privilege given to a lot of men working for Valentine. Actually, very few men knew were the Morgensterns actually lived. Everyone knew they were living in Manhattan, but that was about it. Still, Valentine seemed to trust Jace enough to summon him to his house whenever he needed him, and no matter the time.

As he walked through the mansion, his eyes caught a glimpse of hair coming out of the outdoor pool. And for a moment, his foot hung in the air, instead of stepping up the staircase and going to his boss's office as asked.

This was the first time that he was seeing Clarissa Morgenstern in a bikini, and he was now understanding what Jordan was talking about. She was hot! He actually couldn't fathom how he did not realise this before. Maybe it was because he never actually looked at her before since he mostly always met her with her father around. But seeing her there, all alone, with very little to cover, Jace had to admit that she was worthy of a teenage boy wet dream. She wasn't outrageously curvy, but she wasn't skinny either. She had just enough curves just were needed, and her body was all toned (though knowing that she trained every morning with Jordan, it was understandable).

Jace's staring only lasted for a second, and he was torn out of his reverie by the young girl pulling a long see-through cardigan before she strode to the inside of the mansion and passed by him, her head high. Still, for the brief second her green eyes landed on him, Jace caught the way she clearly checked him out. He was used to the look and the feeling, he was getting it from all the women who wanted to sleep with him.

But he never let his mind wander toward that dangerous path, and just refocused his brain on why he was there in the first place. He shook his head as if to get rid of anything that had just happened and walked to his boss's office, only to realise that he was following the young redhead. He did his best to not look at her ass showing through the now wet fabric and screaming to be grabbed and put all his attention on the shade of red her hair was. It was a deep scarlet red that Jace would easily compare to the flesh of a sour cherry full of juice and flavours.

As the two of them took the last turn leading to Valentine's office, Jace understood that the young girl had set her mind on seeing her father, and a wild thought occurred to him. What if she had caught him checking her out, and was here to rat him to her Dad? What if Valentine decided to fire him for looking at his daughter the wrong way? Especially since Jace knew very well that getting fired by Valentine for this particular reason meant that he would never make it in this country and that he would ultimately end up at the hospital. Absentmindedly, Jace wondered if Valentine had applied the same rules to Camille, despite the fact that she was a girl.

"What are you doing here, Clary?" Valentine asked with his brows furrowed when his daughter opened the door of his office. Still, though all his attention was on his daughter, Valentine silently signalled Jace to enter the office as well. Jace did so, closing the door behind him, and staying in position, waiting for the moment between the Morgensterns to be over.

Clarissa didn't seem to mind or notice Jace's presence as she started rambling: "You know, I've been thinking a lot about this whole Italy business. And ... well, I'm seventeen. I can stay here on my own. I don't have to follow you around everywhere anymore. It would actually be better for both of us if you didn't have to —"

"You're coming, Clary. And that's it. And aren't you the one who's been nagging me that summer vacations are made to travel?"

"Yeah ... But ... Can't I go somewhere else with Mags? London? Barcelona? Ibiza?"

Valentine rose an eyebrow to his daughter, an amused smile spreading on his lips, and though Jace didn't show any emotions, he shared Valentine's amusement. His teenage daughter wanted to go to the European cities most known for their parties, especially during summer time. Valentine slightly shook his head, looking down to some papers in front of him as he told his daughter:

"Italy it is. There are no arguments in that."

"But what am I going to do there?! I always end up stuck in the hotel, no matter where we go, and I'm sorry to tell you, it's getting boring, no matter how luxurious the hotel is."

Valentine didn't even spare a glance up to show sympathy to his daughter as he sternly repeated himself: "No arguments."

Clarissa did that noise so peculiar to teenagers, before she stomped out of the room, not without glancing at Jace who didn't move a single muscle since he had entered the room. Once the door was slammed behind her, Valentine heaved and rested his head on the back of his chair, closing his eyes in a moment of what seemed like vulnerability to Jace. For a moment, neither of them said a word, before Valentine regained his composure and told Jace:

"The hassle of having children. Not that you care at the moment."

Jace didn't say a word, not sure of what he could say, because he didn't feel like he could be opinionated on the matter since he didn't have children himself. He was about to ask why Valentine had summoned him when his boss made himself more comfortable in his chair as he said:

"I want you to come with me to Italy."

Valentine's brown eyes were steady on Jace, analysing his every breath, his every reaction, but all Jace could find to retort was: "Me? I don't speak Italian. There are others who are more qualified —"

"I know there are better-qualified people to go to Italy. But I want you to come with me. I want us to pay a visit to Eduardo, and this is my opportunity to show you how to handle foreign business. It's always good to know those things."

Valentine had returned his attention to his papers, but Jace didn't need time to think. This was an indirect order, and he was a soldier. So he simply asked: "When are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning."

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

For the duration of their trip, Jace didn't see, nor even heard Clarissa speak. she was pissed to have been brought to this business trip she wanted nothing to do with, and she was clear on letting it known to everybody. During the flight to Roma, she even went as far as to ask to be placed the furthest from her father (though them being in first class didn't help a lot her case). It was at that moment that Valentine explained to Jace that his daughter's hire had to do with more than just him demanding that she came with him to Italy.

"I have been introduced to a boyfriend three days ago. Suffice to say that he boyfriend didn't last," He said, making Jace look at the redhead a few seats from them. That explained why she was acting ... like such an angsty teenager.

"You scared the boy away?"

"Of course I did! She is still a child, and boys have no business being around her!" Valentine exclaimed, and this was something that Jace had noticed a lot over the years. Valentine always had a cool and calm demeanour, as long as his family (in his case his daughter) was not involved. In a way, Jace felt for anyone who would ever want to pursue Clarissa Morgenstern, for he knew that no one would ever be good enough for her in the eyes of her father.

"With all due respect, your daughter is seventeen. She's a teenager, and she's bound to form relationships with people that will be more than friendly. You shouldn't let the natural way of life come between you two," Jace wisely said, though a part of him wondered if Valentine would throw him off the plane for not agreeing with him on the spot. Which was probably why he added: "If you want to scare a boy away, don't do it openly, and certainly not in front of her. You should deal with him, the same way you deal with your other businesses."

As Jace was advising Valentine to have a more subtle and detached approach toward Clarissa's suitors, the young girl got up so she could use the restroom. Valentine didn't add anything, but Jace knew that he was now considering handling his daughter's future boyfriends the same way he handled people in his way concerning business. It wasn't much that he would threaten anyone, but more that he would let them know that it would be in their best interest to steer clear from the young redhead; and just like he did already, he would make sure that his name would never be mentioned.

After that little aparté, Valentine never mentioned his daughter again to Jace, except for the fact that he let the blond man know that if Magnus didn't come with them so the young redhead could visit the city when they were attending their business, it was because Magnus suffered from claustrophobia, and wouldn't bare the plane ride. This surprised Jace, because over the years, Magnus and he became close enough to be called best friends, and Magnus never told him anything about his phobia. Then again, Valentine had told Jace to keep quiet about it, and Jace figured Magnus didn't want other men finding out and thinking less of him.

The business that Valentine had to attend to only took a couple of days to handle. Apparently, Eduardo, the faulty party, was trying to overstep Valentine by building a casino near the one Valentine already had in Rome. Valentine tried to be civilised about it at first, and talk things out with the man, but it became obvious that Eduardo wasn't going to back off, as he should, Valentine left him with a simple choice: his life, or the casino. A choice that was rapidly made by Eduardo.

And so for the last day of their trip to Italy, Valentine granted his daughter a day of being complete tourists. She jumped on the occasion and dragged her father and Jace all over the city. She made them go to the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Roman Forum, and last but not least, la Piazza Navona. She had wanted to visit the Vatican as well, but Valentine firmly opposed to the idea, using the pretext that they didn't have enough time to do so.

Jace stayed dutifully behind Valentine and his daughter, not intervening into their relationship, but still seeing that no matter how pissed she was at her father, Clarissa didn't stay mad for long. Jace could actually say without the shadow of a doubt that the relationship father and daughter had was something strong and deep. They both loved on another, that was obvious.

It was during dinner around a pizza that Jace decided that he should stay away from the redhead. This thought had been hanging in a corner of his mind ever since the pool incident, but it was during this particular dinner that Jace knew that it had to become a reality.

"Than you for today, Dad. I really appreciate it," Clarissa said, all smiles for her father who gave her back her smile. A smile that quickly faded away when she added: "Maybe you should let me do my next trip all on my own, next time. Promise I won't get lost."

"That's not happening," Valentine sternly said, looking around to hail a waiter for the bill.

And it was at this precise moment that Jace knew he should keep as much distance between him and Clarissa. Just as her father was looking away, she spared Jace a glance, and this particular look was the reason why Jace had to put his distance with her. This look would have been a turn on for him on any other woman. Especially women as good looking as her.

And if she had been any other woman, Jace would have gladly taken her to his bed to peel her off of her clothes and make her scream his name all night long. But she wasn't. He needed to stay away from her. She wasn't any other woman. She was a seventeen years old girl. She was someone he saw regularly in the course of a year. And most importantly, she was his boss's daughter.

.

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.