Chapter 8 - The man

"Voldemort?" Jack asked, amused once the car was on the move. "I'd never have thought you a Harry Potter fan, Stiles."

"Of course you wouldn't..." Julia whispered looking out the window.

Her gaze turned to the outside world gave Jack the possibility to watch Julia. It was clear she took a seat as far away from him as possible. In her pencil skirt and white blouse she looked so professional, but also cold and distant.

Jack knew it was horrible of him, but he couldn't help himself and decided to annoy her some more.

You are a CEO, Deschanel, for heaven's sake! You are a serious and respectable man! No matter what arguments his grown up self would use, around Julia Jack was becoming the kocky nineteen-years-old who dreamt of nothing but to piss her off.

"Is it men in general that you despise so much, Stiles, or just me?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Well, you were very tense around Daniels, you hate the sight of me..."

"How typical!" Julia exclaimed with a mocking smile. "You consider yourself and Daniels all men?! Jeez, that would mean that all men would either be sleazy sexually harassing morons or self loving big-headed pricks!"

Jack could swear he heard Tom chuckle in the driver's seat. He himself was not smiling anymore though; he forgot how Julia could retaliate each offensive word or comment he would send her way.

"Well, you've always been creative with your little descriptions. I must give you that." He tried finishing the conversation, if you could even call that a conversation.

After a few minutes of tense silence, Jack spoke again. This time however it was not about pissing off Julia; curiosity just got the best of him.

"What did you mean when you said that it wasn't the first time you needed to handle a man harassing you, Julia?"

Julia did not move and continued staring out the window.

"Did something happen in Seattle?" Jack added in a soft tone. That earned him a head turn from Julia. Her look could freeze an ocean, but Jack could also see that his question shook her.

Julia opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Jack noticed she was considering something. Probably whether to give me one of her creative insults...

"Yes," she finally spoke with a sigh. "Something happened in Seattle, Jack, but I'd rather not talk about it." Her tone was tired and resigned. She sounded... beaten.

"Ok..." Jack only managed to say. He was so shocked by the fact that Julia was honest with him, that his mind went blank. Maybe she didn't tell him much, but he felt there was truth between them. "Anyway, next time you meet with Williams just take Lizzie and Josh with you. You can always seat them between you and that sleazy asshole." Jack added with a smile trying to loosen up the conversation.

"I intend to do just that." Julia sent him a friendly smile too. That was actually a first smile he'd gotten from her that wasn't a vicious smirk.

"I heard Alice Willims has applied for the Chicago role?" This time it was Julia who broke the silence.

Her question sounded innocent, though it was nothing but. Jack felt he needed to tread carefully, not to disturb that temporary truce that they seemed to have made. It was as if that moment of honesty between them changed something in Jack. He no longer wanted to make her angry, well, at least not in that very moment, he wanted her to feel good and safe. Oh my god, Deschanel, you're getting soft.

"Yes, she has..." he looked her in the eyes, trying to find viciousness in them, but he didn't. "She is a strong candidate."

Julia smiled knowingly.

"Told you so..."

"I remember you said you could think of at least two women that would fit the role... Who's the other one?"

"I think you know it by now, Jack." Julia now turned her body to fully face him. She sat there with a satisfied smile.

Yep, this one likes to be right. Just like I do.... Wait! What? Where did that thought come from?

"I know you've been meeting with the main accounts," Julia continued. "These women stand out, Jack. They are natural leaders, supportive of their own teams, knowing their customers better than they know themselves... You must have noticed that during these meetings."

Jack just nodded. Indeed, besides Alice Williams, he also felt Sarah Hewes, who was working on the Beauty Line account, had a lot of potential. She didn't apply for the Chicago role though.

"Peter Wyatt applied as well..." Jack added after a moment.

"Well, of course he did."

"He is a strong candidate too, you know."

"In your mind for sure, Jack." Julia added, turning back to the window.

"But then again," Jack continued. "If I want a Chicago director that would create a gender diverse environment and build the right culture, Alice would be the best fit..." he trailed off, seeing that Julia again turned to him and was staring at him surprised. "What?! Research shows that women in senior positions have a big impact on the company's culture..."

"You actually read what I sent you?" Julia whispered in disbelief.

When she'd sent him the update on the Brady Corp. party, she'd also attached an article on gender parity. She'd for sure meant it more as a mean joke and must have assumed Jack would simply ignore it.

"Of course I read it, Stiles!" He sent her a cheeky smile and opened the car door. They arrived at the office. Getting out he added, "Zoey rightly said that I like my facts and figures."

He held the door for Julia, who got out of the car still with a slightly shocked expression. Jack bent over, nearing his lips to her ear.

"You know what they didn't mention in that article though, Stiles?" he whispered. He enjoyed being so close to her.

"What's that?" Julia asked. She did not move away from him, as if that proximity was, if not pleasant, then at least not appalling to her.

"They forgot to add that one advantage men have... which is that a man will never get pregnant and disappear from work for months to stay on maternity leave"

Jack watched as Julia's expression turned from a friendly interest to that of utter resentment. He did not really mean what he said, but he just couldn't pass on such an opportunity at pissing Julia. It was just too easy. Yep, the nineteen years old in me is back.

"And there I naively thought, Deschanel, that maybe you are not such a chauvinistic dumbass after all. I see I was wrong," she gritted through her teeth and started walking towards the entrance. "Thanks for the ride!"

***

"I've had it, Zoey! I don't think I've ever met a more annoying asshole than that brother of yours!" Julia exclaimed as she hugged Zoey. They met in Central Park after work. Zoey handed Julia a strawberry shake she'd brought specially for her friend, and could not stop laughing.

"What did he do this time, Jules?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, actually." Julia said, pouting. She took a sip of the shake, which made her feel just a little better. "The other day, you know, we were on our way to the office and for a moment, just for a brief moment, I thought he started treating me seriously... Boy, was I wrong!"

"You know that most of the time he's simply messing with you just for the fun of it?"

Julia shot her friend a mean look and continued on her shake.

"I know that look, Jules..." Zoey said, smiling. "You are up to something."

"If Jack Deschanel can be mean just for the fun of it, then Julia Stiles can as well," she just answered with a mysterious smile.

"Do I want to know?" Zoey asked.

"You'll know soon enough."

Julia didn't want to share her idea with Zoey, because she knew her behaviour was petty. Yet, she decided to go through with her plan just to annoy Jack. She knew he took pleasure in vexing her, in making her feel uncomfortable, she knew he didn't want her around his company. Julia wasn't planning to leave, at least not for now, so she had to put her foot down somehow. Make him feel uncomfortable for a change.

She'd realized that the topic of gender inequality became his weak spot, so she decided to hit there.

The DJ that would be responsible for the music at their company party, Darius, was a friend of hers. He was known for playing songs during the parties that had a meaning, an undertone. Whether political or ideological, that depended on his mood and probably on how much he was getting paid. Julia was going to make sure that he would play the right song, at the right time, a song with meaning clear to Jack, a song that would make him feel uncomfortable.

"Darling, are you sure you want to piss off your boss like that?" Darius asked, skimming through yet another shelf with vinyl records.

They had dinner and then ended up in this store with old CDs and LPs; a way for Darius to find more inspiration.

"For the tenth time, Darius, he is not my boss!"

"Let me rephrase then, are you sure you want to piss off a guy who you say is not your boss, but yet you work for his company?" Darius asked in a serious tone, but joyful sparks were clearly visible in his eyes.

Julia sighed.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Ok... and any particular song you have in mind?"

"I might be thinking of one..."

"Which is...?" Darius continued looking at the vinyls, but was smiling by now, amused by their small ping pong conversation.

He looked up at Julia the moment he heard her singing:

I'm so sick of running as fast I can

Wondering if I'd get there quicker

If I was a man...

"Taylor Swift it is then." Darius sent her a grin.

"That's not all," Julia continued, relieved that he went along with her plan. "I don't want you to play it at the beginning of the party. You need to wait a couple of hours for the people to be.... Well, you know, intoxicated."

"Oh my god, you are mean, girl! You want the crowd to sing along with that song, don't you?!"

Julia did not answer, pretending to be interested in an LP.

"There is something else, Julia, isn't there?" Darius completely lost interest in all the CDs around him and focused on his friend.

"You need to make sure that Deschanel is in the room when you play it. During the party I will point him to you"

"Darling, I know very well how that hottie Jack Deschanel looks like. No need to be pointing him to me. Although I wouldn't mind if you introduce me to him, ideally before I play that song..."

Both Darius and Julia started laughing hysterically. Few seconds later they heard the first sounds of Taylor Swift's 'The Man' and started laughing even more.

"Oh, we're going to have a ball!" Darius whispered.

Julia looked at the shop assistant. The young girl was smiling at her and making a victory sign with her hand. She must have played the song after hearing Julia sing a few minutes earlier.

"Yeah... you're going to have a ball for sure, Darius, I on the other hand will probably not be organizing any more parties for Brand Today after that. But it's going to be worth it."