Page 74 of The Main Event

“But you are doing it.”

“No, you guys are doing it, and I’m trying to learn the ropes. I still don’t understand why my grandfather left the hotel to me.” He rubbed his forehead.

I understood why George had done what he’d done. Jax was capable of so much more than he realized. I couldn’t push him on the matter, though. He would shut down. I didn’t know a lot about him, but I recognized that.

I decided to take the bull by the horns—or the boss by his you know what if you will—and make the decision. “How about we keep doing what we’re doing and see what happens?” I suggested. “We won’t let anybody at work know, though. At work, we’ll just be Daisy and Jax.”

“The same way we’ve been being Daisy and Jax for the past two weeks?”

I was already shaking my head before he finished the question. “No. Everybody knows something happened between us at the party. Levi’s rumor game hasn’t helped. Even my mom thinks you nailed me behind the dumpster.”

Jax’s mouth formed a horrified O. “Are you kidding me? She must hate me.”

“Oh, that’s cute.” I patted his hand. “She doesn’t hate you. She thinks it’s funny. My moms are pretty liberal on this stuff.”

“I guess they would have to be given what happened.”

“Yeah.” I kicked back in my chair and cupped my mug of coffee to keep my hands warm. “I want to be honest here. If we try to end this now, I think we’re going to end up groping each other in linen closets or something because we won’t be able to stop ourselves.”

Intrigue lit up his face.

“We’re not doing that,” I chastised. “No way. I’m a professional.”

He smirked. “As long as nobody finds out, you could remain a professional.”

“Ha, ha, ha.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m being serious right now. At work, we can’t let anybody know what we’re doing.”

“What about when we’re not at work? Like … are we going on dates?”

“Do you want to go on dates?”

“I asked you first.”

“No, you asked if we would be going on dates,” I countered. “That’s different. I’m the one who asked if you wanted to go on dates.”

He touched his tongue to his top lip as he debated. I could see him wrestling with how he wanted to answer. Was it because he didn’t want to date? If he just wanted sex, would I be okay with that? It somehow felt dirty, which only made it hotter. The notion of having an affair under everybody’s noses was fun. What if I ended up hurt because of it, though?

“What if we take our dates outside of Salem?” he asked, catching me by surprise before I could start swirling into a frenzy.

“Meaning what?” I asked.

“Boston is a half-hour away. I don’t know if I want to risk dates here because everybody knows you.”

“They know you, too. Don’t kid yourself.”

“They might not register who I am right away, though. Everybody knows and loves you.”

“And somebody would eventually see,” I surmised. “I get it.”

“So, do you want to go on dates with me?”

“As opposed to what, just meeting at my apartment for a little bump and grind?” I was trying to keep the conversation light, but it was difficult.

“That’s not what I want,” he assured me. “I like talking to you. I like hanging out. I just don’t know how that would play out in the hotel. We’re already the source of way too much gossip.”

I nodded. He wasn’t wrong.

“And, if we get into this and decide it’s nothing, then we can end it like adults and nobody has to be the wiser,” he continued.

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