Page 24 of Reputation
Irritatingly, Eavie chatted happily with Patty, her smile sweet as she spoke with him.A hot, thick rush of possessiveness churned in his belly.He wanted to march over there and demand she only smile at him like that.
Jax, not normally the jealous type, was rocked by the urge.He had never found a woman who sparked such a feeling in him, not even when his ex-fiancée announced her engagement to someone else.Eavie, it seemed, brought a possessiveness to him that he hadn’t known he had.
The ache in his knuckles registered in his brain.Both hands were clenched into fists, the hold so tight that the skin had turned white.He consciously tried to relax them.Smoothing them out on the table, he used the cool surface to ease his unnatural temper.
Only when Patty began to walk away did Jax exhale, releasing a gust of rage with it.
Despite his blood pressure dropping several millimeters, he continued watching as she and Mandy approached a table.While the jealousy within him had lessened with the growing distance, Jax could still feel it humming low beneath his skin, ready to strike and claim her.
With a frown marring his face, he looked away and rolled his shoulders, trying to release some of the tension that had built up there.The last thing he needed tonight was strained ligaments.
What was it about this woman?He wanted her, but more than that, she caused a possessive side to roar to life like an awakening lion who’d spotted a mate.
Contemplating this change in himself, he mulled over what he was going to do regarding Eavie.There was something there—something special worth pursuing.He just needed to convince her of that.
Chapter Ten
Eavie
After a busy afternoon of welcoming VIP guests to the arena for tonight’s game and ensuring everyone was seated, Eavie retreated to the operations box, located one level below where the executive teams occupied the management box.Sighing with relief as she sat in one of the wide, leather-covered chairs, Eavie flexed her feet, then scrunched her toes inside her heels, working out the aching muscles.The box was on the second ring, grouped with the other two hundred-level suites with a view at center ice.
The atmosphere in the arena was charged, the air thick with a renewed excitement that always accompanied the start of a season.The city and surrounding area had a die-hard fan base, and after the team made it to the semi-finals last year, the support had grown.The expectation was they would make it to the finals this year.
Eavie absorbed the palpable excitement in the air as a knowingness settled in that this was her life.During lunch, Mandy had informed her the organization had an operations box, which anyone from the office could attend.When she’d asked Eavie if she would be interested, her immediate answer had been yes.She’d been a fan of the sport since she was young and had spent most of her youth and teenage years watching her brother play.Unfortunately, living so far from a city meant she could rarely attend any professional league games.It felt surreal that she could attend any home game she wanted.A wistful smile touched her lips as she soaked it in.Her life, she thought, was pretty fucking great.
Mandy slid into the seat on her right, letting out an exhausted sigh.Behind her, a woman strolled into the box, carrying three drinks.She had thick, chocolate-brown hair that fell in tight curls around her shoulders.She wore a white blouse tucked into a tight pencil skirt, showing off a curvy waist and hips.She was shorter than both Eavie and Mandy, but her height with her curves suited her.
When she approached their row of chairs, she turned and smiled.“Hello, ladies.”She passed a can of beer to Mandy, then another to Eavie.“I’m Molly,” she said as she passed her a can.
“Eavie,” she introduced herself before thanking her for the beer.Molly slid down the row and took the empty seat on Eavie’s left.“Um, are we allowed to drink?”she asked, lifting her beer.It felt unprofessional to drink while still technically at her office, but as she glanced around, she noticed several people in their box had drinks in their hands.
Molly gave a small laugh.“The rules here are a bit blurred.Technically, you two are off the clock.Being here is considered a social event,” she explained.“I, on the other hand, am still on the clock.”She held up her can of pomegranate San Pellegrino.
“Molly is the Director of Player Relations for the Royals,” Mandy added, not taking her eyes off the ice.“She manages the media pre and post-game…among other things.”She smirked against the rim of her can with her last comment.
Eavie turned an intrigued smile toward Molly.“Thatsounds interesting,” she commented.
They both laughed.“Oh, it is,” replied Molly.“Mostly, my job consists of controlling the player’s image in the media and online.Generally in a professional capacity, but sometimes it crosses into personal bullshit.”Humor flashed in her caramel-colored eyes.
“How long have you been with the team?”Eavie asked.
“Just over five years,” she answered, “but I’ve only been in my current role for two.Before then, I was a media manager.”
Molly’s phone buzzed from where she’d secured it in the waistband of her skirt.Taking it out, she read the message and typed a rapid response before dropping it into the cup holder beside her.
“So, Eavie,” Molly said, looking back at her as she sipped her sparkling water.“How have your first couple of days been?”
“Busy,” she said with a laugh.Mandy snorted beside her.“But I didn’t expect anything else given the timing.”
“Yeah, it gets crazy around here between training camp and the season’s first game.”
“Cheers to us for making it to opening night,” Mandy hyped, raising her can.
As they lifted their drinks and clinked, Molly added, “And to Eavie.Glad you came back for day two!”
Eavie laughed.“It takes more than that to scare me away,” she said as they all sipped their various beverages.
Just then, the overhead lights in the arena went down, and the strobes began flashing blue and white.The roar in the arena became deafening.
