The Closer (18+) ✓

| 13.3 | the final negotiation

❝We're a beautiful thing together
Even when the weather is low
We find the rainbow.❞

Chapter Thirteen:
The Final Negotiation
(cont'd)

There were a multitude of things that had been said so far that were completely unexpected, but that was definitely the most surprising. Questions ran through my mind of why Hans hadn't shared any of these plans with me. Was this the big 'project' that he and Jasper had been meeting up about for so long? The one, that when I asked, all he said was 'all in good time, my love'. I had formed a lot of theories on what it could possibly be but none of them came close to the truth.

"A record label?" I repeated, voice coated with disbelief.

"Yes."

"Inspired by Anya, I'm guessing?"

Hans' smile softened, the sparkle in his eyes dying to a tender flame as he nodded lightly at his father.

"Yes," he spoke, a little quiet. "I've always had a passion for music and an ear for it too. Mother, after all, did have the best taste in art."

I recalled the number of times I would walk in on Hans lying in bed with his eyes open, staring up at the ceiling with the tunes of his mother's records drifting through the air. He was never quite himself when I discovered him like that. It was like catching a glimpse of magic in its working. His eyes, though fixed on the wall, would travel someplace else, and sometimes I'd catch him humming along to the instrumentals or singing his own words. Sometimes, he'd grab a notepad and write something down in a hurry like an idea about to escape. I never once questioned what it was he would do or feel because that music was the one connection he had left with his mother. It was meant to be treasured, and unbroken. And if he could share that magic with the world, then...

"Do it."

My lips moved up into a bright smile.

"It's your dream, right? Yours and Anya's, both."

Hans took in a deep, shaky breath of emotion. His eyes misted over as he nodded again.

"Then do it. Whatever help you need, I'm here to support you."

The chair pushed back against the carpeted ground noiselessly as I stood up and beamed at Hans. Mr. Blythe joined me seconds later, turning toward his son with an equal amount of thrill on his face.

"Me too."

Hans' face broke out into a wide grin. Jasper clapped in the background, celebrating the happy conclusion of the meeting.

"Excellent!" Jasper boomed, back to his delightful self. "Now, who wants to break it to the Board and put themselves on death row?"

I laughed lightly. The group of rich geezers weren't going to take this so well. They had sticks too far up their asses to exercise the possibility of change. It took long enough for them to somewhat wrap their heads around Hans rising up as CEO. It would take a miracle for them to accept me.

"I'll handle it," Mr. Blythe said, gesturing at us to calm down. "Consider it a parting gift." Mr. Blythe winked at his son before turning to look down at me. I gulped, a little nervous at what he had to say but all he did was smile and ruffle my hair.

"You'll do good Tris. Besides," he bent down and whispered near my ear, "who better to pass on Innovus to than my future daughter-in-law?"

I fired up a hundred shades of beet. It was clue enough for Hans to figure what his father had hinted as he shot the older man a dark look. Chuckling to himself in self amusement, Mr. Blythe ruffled my hair again a little harder this time, before making a bee line out the room.

"Still not letting up on the marriage jokes, is he?" Jasper hummed, appearing by my side.

"Nope." I took on an annoyed stance and stared up at him with my eyes narrowed. "And when were you planning to tell me the truth about your businesses, Mr. Smith?"

"As a toast at your wedding. Would make for a good story, don't you think?"

That wasn't funny.

"Run."

I wasn't kidding. Jasper's eyes shifted into slight terror when he heard the imminent threat in my tone. Shooting a frantic look over at Hans behind us who merely shrugged, he too bid a hasty goodbye and darted out the conference room, leaving us alone.

"That went better than I expected."

I sighed and dropped my predatory gaze when I looked over at Hans. He was smiling down at me in a way that made me want to run over and climb him like a baby koala bear. Hans must have been deathly nervous for this. He mistook my silence for something else, the smile slipping off his face as he stepped forward and bridged the distance. Every bit as gentle as ever, he cupped my chin in his hand and turned my face from side to side like a doctor examining his patient.

"Are you upset?"

"No. This is just a little...overwhelming."

Hans' lips twitched. "I'd be more worried if you were underwhelmed." He pulled me into a hug. I snuggled my face into his chest, breathing in his strong scent, and wrapped my arms around his waist. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Yeah," I breathed. "Thank you. I've always wanted to be in a position of...power." My brows furrowed as I heard myself. I sounded like a megalomaniac. Hans chuckled, his hand stroking my messy black strands. "But I'm slightly concerned about what this will do to us."

Hans caught my drift and hummed in agreement. He pressed a warm kiss against my forehead before pulling back slightly to have a good look at me.

"Things will get busy for both of us and I'm a little scared too but we have each other. Besides, we've come this far, haven't we?"

I interlaced my hand with his and stood up on my toes, pressing a gentle kiss against his lips. Hans' hand wrapped around the back of my neck and held me there, letting it linger. The feel of his lips gave me the surge of confidence I needed. Things would be okay. Difficult, sure, but nothing we couldn't handle.

This was for the better, for both of us.

We would do it together.

_____

Song: Beautiful Thing by Grace VanderWaal

Dedicated to jadewinterz for being a constant support and voice of encouragement throughout the writing of this book. I love you darl <3

Dear readers - I would never have imagined that The Closer would hit 500K reads when it first started out on Wattpad. I had but five to six readers then but over the years, it blew up. I remember coming back to Wattpad after months of hiatus in disbelief that it grew this much! I want to thank you all so much for your support with this story. I believe it's the best of my works written so far and I'm hoping to get it published by the end of this year. If it does, know that y'all were a huge part of my support process. 

The next chapter will be the last - Hans and Tris as well as the other characters will be giving you all a (hopefully) fulfilling farewell. I was thinking of doing a couple fun 'segments' after the final part - consisting of character Q&A's (I expect Hans would be a fan favorite for this :P) and sneak-peeks into their lives both pre and post The Closer. If you guys want to see anything in particular, please do drop a comment! 

Meanwhile, I shall get back to my writing and hope to deliver you an epic ending ;) 

Love'n'peace,

Bea <3

P.S. Do check out SadiyaPrincess98's work! She's an up-and-coming Wattpader and would appreciate it if you could drop by her profile and give her story a read! I remember when I first started out, I would have killed to just get 10-20 reads. So let's show her what it means to be a part of this warm community eh? :)