Jake and Ryan

Jake and Ryan is the for former professional relationship turned rivalry turned friendship in Carter Corp.

## Overview

Jake and Ryan is the current friendship consisting of Jake Stewart and Ryan Carter. At first, the two were nothing more than business associates. Jake was just Ryan's devoted bodyguard/chauffeur and there was nothing to their relationship other than the fact that they respected each other professionally.

Jake seemed to know about Ryan's playboy and womanizing ways when he was single and that Ryan was with a lot of women and would sometimes have to drive them to his penthouse. However, Jake developed feelings for the player and seemed upset when he knew that Ryan and the player were sleeping together, especially after he had to drive them to Ryan's apartment after work. Jake didn't seem to hold any resentment to Ryan though like other second love interests do, he only seemed disappointed that the player was dating him, but Jake tried to warn the player that Ryan was a womanizer but the player believed that what her and Ryan had is different and special, that they were in an actual relationship and that it wasn't a mere one night stand or fling. But afterwards she finds out that Ryan took her to his apartment which he only uses for his occasional one night stands and gets hurt thinking that she's nothing more than a mere conquest to him.

Even though Jake doesn't hold resentment towards Ryan and interfere with their relationship, Ryan gets extremely jealous of Jake due to his friendship with the player though, and even fires Jake at one point due to his jealousy of their relationship, which started the on again and off again occasional rivalry. Despite not actually being friends in season 1, Jake would still risk his life for Ryan as being his bodyguard, as he took down an armed shooter with his bare hands when the man tried to shoot Ryan at a rooftop party. Jake only got along with Ryan in season 1 due to his professional attitude and work ethic, but doesn't actually like him as a friend, but it's clear that Jake cares about Ryan enough to risk his life for him and doesn't mind working for him, which shows that Ryan must be kind enough to Jake for Jake to respect him as a person. The two obviously trusted each other a lot before certain events happened to break that trust, but even when Jake doesn't trust Ryan, he still seems to care for him.

In season 2 however, the two start to develop a more legitimate and personal friendship rather than a professional relationship, especially after working together to find out who was threatening Ryan, Jenny and the player. Ryan at first still didn't trust Jake but the two grow a better understanding for each other as the story progresses. The two don't argue that much as friends, showing that they have common ground and aren't dysfunctional, but there was always a sense of sadness with Jake being around Ryan due to Ryan dating the player, who Jake still had feelings for which Ryan could obviously tell about, sometimes making the two be uneasy around each other.

Jake however, would still risk his life for Ryan, as when they found out that Alicia Boone was the culprit behind threating Ryan and the player, he went on a rabid car chase with Alicia to catch her and actually got shot and took a bullet. Jake was in the hospital and Ryan showed concern for him which clearly shows that Ryan cares about Jake. After Jake recovers from being shot, Ryan and the player officially get engaged shortly after. Jake seems happy for them but is still saddened that the woman he loves is marrying his friend. Jake does respect Ryan and the player's relationship, but did ask the player to kiss him when she was engaged so she'd know for sure if she wasn't in love with Jake. She gives him his wish and they kiss, but the player still didn't feel the same way for Jake and that's when Jake finally accepts that they will never be together will start to try and get over his feelings for her. Jake attended Ryan and the player's wedding showing that he supports Ryan (but mostly the player) in terms of their relationship and happiness even though he still loved the player.

Jake begins to date Ryan's little sister, Jenny Blake, however, which they try to hide at first due to Ryan's over protectiveness of Jenny. Ryan was not happy when he found out the news but eventually came to accept the relationship and gave Jake his blessing to date his sister, because Ryan knew Jake was a good man at heart. 3 years later, Jake and Jenny are still together and Jake has become the godfather to Ryan's child and babysits him a lot, showing that Ryan trusts Jake with his son's life and to raise him properly if anything were to happen to him and the player.

Jake and Ryan still hold onto that professional only relationship in Jake and Gabriel Simons' story routes though but seem to get along fairly well in Jake's route, as they're almost never seen interacting in Gabriel's route. Jake also was one of the few people that knew about Ryan and Jenny's sibling relationship in Gabriel's story, and didn't tell anybody about the secret showing that he respects Ryan's privacy. Ryan and Jake might one day become brother in-laws if Jake marries Jenny, which seems to be a fitting conclusion of the end to their relationship. The two have become very close over the years which is immensely better than the original, non-emotional or loving aspect of their former professional only relationship.

## Trivia

* They both used to be on the cover of Ryan's route (until it was updated).
	+ Jake wears his casual outfit on the cover, but he is never seen in this outfit in Ryan's season 1.
* As stated above, Jake is Ryan's son's godfather (meaning he would gain custody of him if anything were to happen to Ryan and the player) and Ryan is more than likely Jake's twin daughters godfather as well, since he is the uncle to his children.
* They both have younger sisters.
	+ Jake's is deceased however.
* They both have deleted secret images that were scrapped from Ryan's route.
* Jake is older than Ryan by 1 year and is supposedly taller than him too.
* It is stated in Jake's contract that he is not allowed to date Carter Corp employees, but he broke that rule to date Jenny in Gabriel's route.