Genesis

65

Jasmine sighs and stands once more, "Tamsin has lousy timing, Calus what are you still doing here anyway?" Jasmine refuses to act like she'd been caught doing something she shouldn't even though that's exactly how she feels.

"Tamsin informed us we can't go home yet. I don't know what he wants to talk to you  two about but he isn't very happy about something. I wouldn't keep him waiting if I were you." Calus smiles as he turns and walks away. It's moments like those that make it so he doesn't mind playing errand boy. Jeremy turned as red as a tomato and looked as guilty as sin.

"Come on Jeremy delaying the inevitable with Tamsin is like lighting a fire in the beast, it's just not something you want to do." Jasmine gets up and retrieves her food as Jeremy gets up as well.

Jeremy isn't so quick to move though, he's pretty sure he knows what Tamsin wants and it makes him angry. He doesn't want to force Jasmine into an alliance with him.

Jasmine starts eating her food even as they walk down the halls to Tamsin's office. She's happily humming to herself and not noticing how silent Jeremy is. Of course Jeremy is generally silent so it would have been difficult for her to tell that he was silent for some reason other than his normal reasons.

Jeremy knocks on the office door and Tamsin is quick to yell out, "Come in."

Jeremy stands back so that Jasmine can enter first and then he closes the door behind him. He figures that there will be some yelling and he doesn't need to have the whole house party to it. He's learned that the office has been sound proofed so if the door is closed than others won't hear. He is glad to see Jenna there with them though. He's even happier to see that she's cleaned up the blood he'd seen her covered in when she got home.

"Jasmine, Jeremy thank you for being so prompt. I am pretty sure that Jeremy knows what this is about so I'll bring you up to date Jasmine. I want you and Jeremy to enter into a betrothal tonight. Well that had been my original intentions but now I think we'll skip the betrothal and go to the asking for marriage part."

Jeremy's simmering anger goes into a boil at this announcement, Jasmine is shocked beyond speech and even Jenna is caught off guard by it.

"Now just a minute dark boy," Jenna starts but is put off by the beast.

"NO," Jeremy states and turns to walk out.

Now it's Tamsin's turn to look shocked but recovers enough, "Do not touch that doorknob Jeremy. We are not done here."

Jeremy isn't sure where his sudden courage comes from, but guesses it comes from the anger boiling inside him. He marches over to Tamsin and gets up in his face. "I love Jasmine, but I will not have her in any way, shape or form forced into a relationship with me. I would rather my company be torn down and destroyed than see you get it due to forcing her to be with me. We still haven't even had a decent date. The fact that she's allowed me two screwed up dates is a miracle to me, but I won't push her and I'm not going to allow you to push her either."

"Jeremy stop," Jasmine's soft voice cuts through the office bringing the attention of the two glaring men to her. Both soften their looks when they find her.

"Tamsin, you promised when you took Jordan and me in that you wouldn't force us into a betrothal or marriage. I have never known you to lie are you now going back on your word?" The tears in her eyes makes the beast step back and look at what he's doing. He leaves fleeing to the back of Tamsin, cowering in shame at what he tried to make Jasmine do.

Jasmine turns to  Jeremy, she sets her now empty dish on the desk and goes over to him. She pulls him away from Tamsin.  "I really like you Jeremy, I think that we could be happy together. I've never been around someone so kind and caring and real as you. You don't care about your social status, your money or even your reputation. You've been honest with me from the beginning and that, to me, is incredibly sexy. The fact that you dared to stand up to Tamsin when he's in full beast mode tells me once and for all you are no coward, but I didn't believe you were before either. Darren adores you almost more than he does me; you make me feel safe and protected, something I haven't felt in a very long time. In your arms I can sleep and when I do, I dream of you and us.