Page 107 of Reputation
When Eavie entered her office, her eyes immediately focused on her desk, and memories from exactly one week ago jumped to the forefront of her mind.Smiling, she walked over to it, only noticing the little black shopping bag once she got closer.It sat in the middle of the clean surface, its waxy white tissue paper artfully arranged to stick out the top.
Frowning at the bag, she put her purse on the floor before reaching for it, curious about it’s random appearance.Inside, she found a pair of ice blue lace panties with a matching bra, folded neatly and placed on top of more tissue paper.It was equally gorgeous and sexy, the sheer of the intricate lace would cup her breasts while her nipples peaked through the filigree.The bottoms looked the same style, matching the bra perfectly.
Eavie smiled, letting out a small giggle—an actual fucking giggle.God, what was happening to her?
She shook her head and put the tissue paper back in, covering the gift.Jax must have left these for her this morning, a replacement for the ones he’d ripped last week.Heat shot to her pussy as she remembered how he’d torn them off her with his bare hands.
Fuck me.The two words started to become something like a catchphrase, specific to the effects Jax Morghan had on her.
Tucking the little bag inside her purse, she decided she would exchange the cream silk underwear she was wearing now for these for her dinner with Jax tonight.An evil smile touched her mouth as she thought about the look on his face when he saw her in them.
“What’s up with you?”came Mandy’s voice from her office doorway.
Looking up, Eavie smiled at her.“Oh, nothing.I was just thinking about something.”
“Uh-huh,” replied Mandy, looking at her with narrowed eyes.Coming inside, she stopped right on the other side of her desk.“So when were you going to tell me about Jax?”
Startled, Eavie looked at her sharply.“What?”she asked, flustered.“What would make you say that?”
She could feel the heat rising up her neck to flame across her cheeks.There was no way Mandy could know.She had been so careful to make sure no one saw them together.
“You and Jax hooking up,” said Mandy.“Is it true?”
Eavie stared at her, stunned.Her breath caught in her throat.She could feel herself starting to panic, the erratic beat of her heart pushing blood too quickly through her veins.How could she know?How did she find out?
“I don’t understand.How…how did you hear about that?”
“So it is true,” said Mandy, brows raised.“What happened to not being interested and against company policy?”
Ignoring her question, Eavie stared at her, repeating, “How did you find out?”
“Molly came looking for you this morning.When I asked her what was going on, she wanted to know if I knew you and Jax were dating,” Mandy answered slowly.Registering the panic on Eavie’s face, she asked, “Eavie, are you okay?”
“Molly told you…” she repeated.
Okay, that didn’t necessarily mean anything.Molly had already been suspicious at the Halloween party and had helped Jax with her clue.But just because she suspected didn’t mean everyone did.Her suspicions would have Molly looking for her first thing in the morning.
Walking around her desk, she approached Mandy.“Who else knows?”she asked seriously, hoping it was just them.
She could handle it if Molly and Mandy knew.She trusted them to keep it quiet while she worked out how to deal with the issue of her job.But Eavie hadn’t told them, and she was desperate to find out how they’d heard.She was beginning to panic, wondering how many others might know too.
Watching Eavie’s face, a look of concern settled on Mandy’s.“I think everyone knows,” she said gently.“You know how gossip spreads.I don’t know who told Molly, but she is usually the first to hear about anything.”
All the blood drained from Eavie’s face, one hand coming up to cover her mouth in horror.She was finding it hard to breathe, a heavy pressure settling on her chest.She took in long, deep breaths, fighting the waves of nausea that were trying to overtake her.
Suddenly, she was back in high school the morning she walked in to find out the whole school knew about her losing her virginity.Eavie couldn’t believe she was reliving the same thing—only now it was so much worse.Her entire life was about to burn.The flames from the inferno of her affair were going to destroy everything she had worked for.Her reputation at the organization would be ruined.She would lose her job, and all because she hadn’t been able to keep her fucking legs shut.
How could he?A piercing pain sliced through her heart.How could he have told the team?He’d promised it could be their secret.She had thought she could trust him—after everything they shared, how could Jax have betrayed her like this?She thought he respected her.Like an idiot, she had begun to hope that he wasn’t like the other pro athletes she had known, that maybe he was different from what she had initially assumed.
She should have known, should have listened to that voice in her head that told her to stay away.That part of her had always known things would end this way.It turned out Jax was just like the rest of them.Telling her what she wanted to hear to get her into bed, to satisfy his needs, then betraying her, just as Derek had.
Fury ripped through her, chasing the panic and nausea from her veins and lit her eyes with an intense fire that had nothing to do with desire.
No,she would not let this be a repeat of high school.She wasnotseventeen.She was different now—older,stronger.She would not run away and hide.She would not let herself be the talk of the team.
Squaring her shoulders, she turned to the doorway, ready to march down to the players’ floors and let her fury out, let her fire rage.He said he liked that side of her?Well, he was about to see just how dangerous her flames could be.
Before Eavie could take a step, Sam appeared in the doorway, the anger banking in the face of her boss.Ice coated her veins where the heat had been consuming her.Mandy looked at him, then at her.Eavie swallowed, knowing this was it.This was the moment she had feared.
