It's been days, almost a week since Jace walked out on Ariana in the restaurant and Jace still hadn't said a word to Ariana or even spared her a glance. She should be happy, if not over the moon, that he finally decided to stay professional, to avoid anything that wasn't work-related. He was finally treating her the way she wanted him to.

But she'd gotten so used to him talking about irrelevant things and being all up in her space, asking her personal questions, making sure she was alright. Just Jace being Jace.

What's the matter with me?
Ariana asked herself.

She let out a sigh, standing at her favourite spot in his house waiting for him to come down so they can head to work. She turned around when she heard footsteps trailing down the stairs.

"Ready, Mr. Black?" She asked wanting to break the silence between them.

Anything he said would be fine.
She told herself.

Jace stopped in the kitchen and poured himself a glass of orange juice and then leaned against the island and looked at me for the first time in days. He drank the content of the glass, turned around to place the glass in the sink and walked away, heading out without a single word.

Ariana sighed before she followed and rolled her eyes at herself.
What did I expect?!

Marvis had taken another day off to sort out some personal matters so Ariana got into the driver's seat and buckled her seatbelt, turning the ignition on and adjusting the rearview mirror till she had her eyes on him, only then did she pull out of his drive way.

Jace's phone rang on the way to the office and he smiled at the caller ID before he answered,
"To what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected phone call?"

The person on the other end laughed,
"Happy Birthday, Man."

"So, you remembered?"

"Of course. We all did." The person said, "Come out tonight."

"Are the guys going to be there?"

"Of course. It isn't a party without all of us."

"Then we're on." Jace smiled, "What time?"

"As soon as you can get off work." He said, "The guys are going to be here 7-ish."

"Alright, see you later, Man."

"See ya."

Jace hung up, looking forward to hanging with the guys later. Ariana watched him through the rear-view mirror and was about to look away when he looked up and caught her gaze. She felt something in her heart, she couldn't explain but she looked away and kept her eyes on the road.

As soon as they stepped into the company, Ariana was wondering why Jace was getting so many smiles thrown his way as they headed towards the elevator. When they stepped off the elevator heading towards his office, Ariana frowned at the insane number of flowers and presents surrounding her desk.

Bridget was on her feet once she caught sight of them,
"Good morning, Mr. Black." She greeted cheerfully,

"Good morning, Bridget."

"You got presents from co-workers, fans and... ex's."

Ariana raised her brow and glanced at him.
It was his birthday.

"Have them sent back."

"Some do not have a return address."

"Keep the ones that don't have one."

"Thank you, sir," She smiled and nodded, "The one from your mum is on your desk."

Jace gave her a curt nod before walking towards his office.

"Hmm...sir?" Bridget called out to him quickly,

Jace stopped and turned around to look at her.

"Happy Birthday." She smiled at him.

Jace smiled,
"Thank you, Bridget."

Jace resumed his walk to his office and shut the door behind him leaving Ariana at Bridget's desk. She wondered why she found it strange that he had a birthday but of course he did. He just seemed too Jace for her to imagine him as a child or a baby. The image in her head was cute but seemed unreal. He just seemed more of a robot than a human to her.

"You didn't know, did you?"

Ariana turned to look at Bridget and shook her head,
"Nope" She popped the 'P'.

Ariana headed to his office and shut the door behind her. Jace was on the phone with his stepmother.
"Thanks for the watch."

"You're welcome." She said, "Out with the old, in with the new. Happy Birthday."

"Thank you, Charlotte."

Jace hung up as Ariana stopped at her favourite spot and turned around to look at him and he looked up at her.
"It's your birthday."

The silence simmered between them.
"How come you didn't tell me?"

Jace just gazed at her, leaning back into his chair. Ariana was getting uncomfortable with the silence. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears.

Tick. Tock.

Tick. Tock.

"Well, you finally made it clear that you're just my bodyguard, so I didn't see the need to tell you."

Ariana felt a sting in her chest and she looked away from him, releasing the breath she had been holding.
"I deserve that."

Jace didn't expect her to come around that quickly. He thought she would have just ignored him.

"We haven't said a word since..."

"It's what you wanted."

Ariana looked down at her shoes,
"In my defence, you were becoming a pain in my neck."

She looked up at him to find his brow lifted, questioning her statement, gesturing for her to go on.
"You were always trying to get me to talk or get a reaction out of me; it was irritating. But after the lunch we almost had you went cold turkey, not a single word or glance from you and I realized I... miss it."

Jace couldn't have been more surprised than he was at that moment. He wondered if he heard right. That was the longest sentence she'd said to him and it was possibly the sweetest thing he'd heard from her.

"I miss the small talk, the irrelevant questions, the little glances you gave me when you were working just to make me know I hadn't blended into the background for you, the care you showed even when it was unnecessary, the..."

Ariana caught herself and looked away from his piercing gaze, but not before she saw the growing smile. She'd said too much.

"The what?" Jace straightened in his chair, "Don't stop now. You seemed to be on a role."

"The way you invaded my personal space," She added, "I hated it at first but...I don't know."

What's wrong with me?
Ariana cleared her throat.

"Well," She sighed, "Now that we're talking...Happy Birthday. I wish I had known earlier; I would have gotten you something."

Jace really smiled then.

"Like coffee." Cause she wouldn't know what else to get him.

Jace laughed and she smiled, glad to have him back. He paused for a moment.
"That could be arranged." He said pushed the button on the intercom.

"Sir?" Bridget answered,

"Bridget, can you get me two cups of caramel macchiato from Starbucks?" He asked politely

"Right away, sir."

Ariana rolled her eyes,
"Wouldn't be a birthday gift if you're paying for it."

"I'm not," He said, "The coffee is what I'm paying for but the company is what is more important."

Ariana had to take a moment to understand whatever just happened in her heart but she pushed away the feeling of fear and smiled.

Jace sighed, smiling, finally able to enjoy her company without her trying to get in her way,
"You should do more of that."

"Of what?"

"Smiling."

Ariana looked away, ignoring that it made her want to smile more.

"I'd have asked you for a lunch do-over as my birthday gift but I know how much you hate it when I go out for lunch."

Ariana stared at him in shock that he just admitted it.
"So you did know."

"Guilty," He smirked, "Just wanted to put you in a situation where you had no choice but to talk to me."

Ariana slowly exhaled.
"What happened?" She asked, "That afternoon."

Jace exhaled audibly and leaned back into his chair, his eyes on her,
"You said something that riled me up."

"What?"

"That you're just my bodyguard."

Ariana stayed quiet and went over it in her head trying to figure out what and how it made him that angry.
"But it's tr..."

"Let's not do this today," he looked away from her, "I'm already having an amazing day and I don't want you to ruin it by hearing it again."

Ariana stared at him for a moment and nodded when he looked up at her again.
"Okay," She smiled, "Anything for the birthday boy."

"Be careful what you say," Jace smirked, "I just might take you up on that."