Page 20 of Reputation
Where had the sweet, awkwardly charming guy gone?The one who’d stumbled over his words after admitting he’d been watching her.That guy had been confident while also being considerate.He’d ensured she felt comfortable in that hallway, telling her all she had to do was say stop, and he would.It was ultimately what had led her to agree to leave with him.
That guy was nowhere to be seen.Instead of him, this egocentric, stereotypical hockey jock looked back at her through eyes that had belonged to someone else mere days ago.
It caught her off guard, this sharp change in personality.Who was the real Jax?The one from the bar or the asshole in front of her?
She narrowed her eyes at him, back straightening at the egotistical persona he radiated, as if he was entitled to whatever he wanted.Of course, he was probably used to receiving very little resistance from most women.Well, he was about to experience exactly what that was like.She took a dark pleasure in the idea that she would be the one to enlighten him that he was not, in fact, God’s gift to women.
She stared into his eyes, defiance at his arrogance shining from hers like laser beams.“Clearly, you haven’t met the right opponent then,” she said fiercely, “because I can guarantee you’ve never met one like me.”
He laughed deeply, his eyes shining with a devilish light.“I am well aware that you are not a…typical opponent,” he said quietly, taking another half-step forward.Lowering his voice, he continued so only she could hear.“Never have I been with anyone whose taste matched them so perfectly.”She sucked in a breath as he lowered his head toward her ear.“Honey and ginger.Sweet and spicy.”His voice rumbled through her as shivers danced across her overheated cheeks.He groaned low and quiet.“It’s a taste I want so much more of.”
Her breath shuddered in her chest as she drew in air, but she refused to give into her body’s need to melt against him.Slowly, she turned her head so her lips were close enough to brush his ear.With a wicked smile, full of defiance and determination, she whispered to him, “If you’re after the taste of honey and ginger, I know of a great tea that can satisfy your craving.Because I promise, you willnotbe getting any more from me.”
He drew back, excitement, and something ignited from the obvious challenge—something that made her blood rush—lit his storming eyes like lightning.He opened his mouth to counter, but at that moment, Sam exited the auditorium and headed straight for them.She turned, taking a large step back, shifting her attention away and breaking the intense eye contact with Jax.
“Jax, I see you’ve met Eavie,” Sam said as he reached them.
Eavie could feel his gaze still focused on her when he replied, “I just had that pleasure.”
She could hear the amusement in his words, and it irritated her that he found the situation funny.To her, it was the farthest thing from a joke.
“Are you ready to head back upstairs?”Eavie asked Sam, glancing at her watch.“You have a call in ten minutes.”
“Yes,” he replied, turning back to Jax.“We’ll chat later.”With a quick clap on his back, he started toward the elevators.
Eavie turned back to Jax, nodding her head once.“It was nice to meet you, Mr.Morghan.”
Turning on her heel, she started toward the elevators.Behind her, she heard him call, “I look forward to seeing you around,” followed by a deep chuckle that made her nervous.She didn’t need to turn around to know he was flashing a smug smile.
Returning to the safety of the twelfth floor, Eavie slid behind her desk and forced herself to shake off her interaction with Jax.She refused to let thoughts of their conversation derail her focus.His intense stare, confident persona, and smirking lips were nothing special.She would get used to him being around.More importantly, her body would get used to his presence and stop itsgoddamnannoying reactions.He’d demonstrated his true personality—just another swaggering athlete with a massive ego, used to getting his way, no doubt bolstered by the endless puck bunnies that lusted after him.
All afternoon, she shoved it to the back of her mind, refusing to let her conflicting emotions affect her work.She needed to make an impression here if she wanted the permanent offer, and getting involved with Jax would be the spark that imploded her plans.
Her reaction to him was ridiculous.She was a grown-ass woman, completely in charge of her body’s responses to men.She was not some love-struck teenage girl with her first crush.She could not for the life of her understand why she found him attractive, especially after his display today.By all accounts, he was everything she hated in a man, and his refusal to accept her declination of his advances was a major red flag.There was no logical reason that just the feeling of his eyes on her should cause her core to melt.She had sworn off all men like him a long time ago.After eleven years of abstinence, she wasn’t about to change that.Men like him were widespread.All she had to do was scroll Hinge to find a plethora of them.
After a while, his pursuit of her would become nothing more than annoying until he finally gave up.When his attention caught someone shinier than her, she would become just as invisible to him as the hundred other people who worked here, and the inferno of her attraction would be smothered into nothing.
But what if it didn’t?
Despite her positive affirmations that it was nothing, she couldn’t suppress the devilish part of herself that got excited at the possibility she might have met her match.
It was cruel, really.Why did the first man she had ever felt such a strong reaction to have to beJax Morghan?It felt like she’d waited years to find a man who ignited both her body and her mind.She thoroughly enjoyed their verbal sparring.Why did he have to be hotandwitty?
She groaned internally, cursing the fates for making her the focus of their unfair meddling.She wanted to give in and see what could happen between them, but her mind warred with her hormones in an epic battle, creating a mess of complicated feelings.
When she arrived home that evening, she hurried up to her suite to change for the kickboxing class she had with Joyce in half an hour.Her workout bag was already ready, so she only needed a few minutes to switch from work to workout mode.
Unlocking her door, she tossed her bag on the entrance table and put her coat in the hall closet before sprinting to her bedroom.Grabbing her light blue crop leggings and matching sports bra from her closet, she swapped her business clothes for athletic wear, threw a white t-shirt over top and dashed into her bathroom to switch her bun into a ponytail.
When her hair was secured, she grabbed makeup remover and quickly divested herself of the cosmetics on her face.She sweated a lot at kickboxing and wasn’t fond of having raccoon eyes from melting mascara.
Just as she finished wiping it off, she heard her front door close.“Eavie, are you still here?”came Joyce’s familiar voice down the hallway.
“In my bathroom,” she yelled back.
Joyce appeared a moment later in the reflection of her bathroom mirror.“Sorry, I’m almost ready.I stayed a little late at work.”
“No worries.I figured I’d check if you were here before I left.How was the first day?”she asked, excitement punctuating her words.
