Page 18 of Just My Luck

“We were just finishing up,” Jax said, his voice completely flat as he looked directly at his brother, deliberately avoiding my eyes.

Half an hour later, Sofia and I were at our favorite lunchtime spot just down the block from the office.

“He really handed you the reins?” I asked with a gasp, leaning back against the vinyl booth as Sofia finished recounting her latest update.

Everyone in the office had heard by now that Leonard had been fired by Rick on his first day, and that Rick had given the Clear Creek Brewery account to Sofia. The office’s grapevine was faster than fiber-optic internet. But seeing the manic, terrified thrill in Sofia’s eyes made it real.

“The entire thing,” Sofia said, shaking her head as she stirred her iced tea. “I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Rick keeps giving me these hyper-focused corporate stares, and every time he looks at me, I swear he’s trying to figure out if I’m going to sabotage the job out of spite for our elevator incident.”

I listened, nodding in all the right places and offering the standard best-friend reassurances. “You’re going to crush it. You know the demographics better than Leonard ever did.”

But inside, my mind was miles away, back in Vegas, back in Jax’s office with worry.

I looked at Sofia, the urge to spill everything pressing hard against the back of my teeth. I desperately wanted to tell her. I wanted to confess that the safe, comfortable friend boundary between me and Jax had exploded into millions of pieces in an elevator in Vegas. I hadn’t even told her the biggest part yet—that after the elevator, after the penthouse doors shut, we hadn’t stopped at a kiss. We had spent the night tangled together, completely obliterating years of strict friendship rules. We had slept together in Vegas, and it had been everything I’d ever dreamed of. And now he was pulling away. Again.

But as Sofia checked her phone, her brow furrowing over a fresh email from Rick about strategy alignment, I swallowed the words.

No. I couldn’t tell her. Not yet. Not until I actually knew where I stood. I couldn’t drag my best friend into my messy, complicated reality when she was trying to secure the biggest break of her career. And more importantly, I wasn’t going to talk about us behind Jax’s back until I forced him to talk to me first.

“Go,” I told her, forcing a warm smile as she started gathering her things. “Secure the brewery account. I’ll see you back at the bullpen.”

After Sofia bolted out of the diner, I sat alone, my jaw setting into a hard, determined line. The ambush in his office today had been a bust, thanks to Rick’s flawless timing. Jax had the company walls, the paperwork, and the family crisis to hide behind at GSM. He could freeze up and play the role of the stoic senior executive while we were on the clock.

But he couldn’t hide forever.

I paid the bill, stood up, and checked the time on my phone. I was done waiting for him to reply to text messages, and I was done letting him retreat behind his walls. Tonight, I was going straight to his townhouse. No corporate desks, no brothers interrupting, and no rules. He was going to look me in the eye and tell me exactly what had happened in Vegas, even if I had to tear the wall down myself.

Chapter 8

Jax

By the time I shut the front door of my townhouse, I was beyond exhausted. I’d purchased the three-bedroom place in the foothills just outside Golden right after I’d graduated school and Dad had given me the full-time position. Normally, it was my solace. Tonight, it was too quiet, dark, and empty.

It was just past eight in the evening, and I was at the end of my energy limit.

My mind kept drifting back to dinner at my parents’ place a little over an hour ago. The whole family had gathered around the dining table, trying to maintain some illusion of normalcy. Mom had made an effort to keep things light, but my focus had remained locked on my dad. His voice lacked its usual resonance, and the sickly, grayish pallor of his skin set off every alarm bell in my head. I’d spent the entire meal watching him, terrified by how much ground his body was losing each day.

The only person absent was Chris, who was busy with tests at school.

Rick had rolled in late just as we were finishing up, offering a smooth, unapologetic excuse about client obligations.

I’d caught him in the hallway as I was leaving, stepping into his path before he could slip out.

“You’re putting an awful lot of weight on Clear Creek,” I’d said, keeping my voice low so Mom wouldn’t hear. “Sofia Ferreira is a junior associate, Rick. Handing her the lead on a pitch that Dad claims could decide the agency’s future is risky.”

Rick had just smirked, casually adjusting the cuffs of his tailored jacket. “She’s capable. Besides, I know what I’m doing. Don’t waste your time questioning my judgment. It’s better spent on getting the real golden egg, the Onyx deal, closed.” He’d patted me on the shoulder.

“I’m wondering about the rumors floating around the office,” I’d countered, stepping closer, my jaw tight. “Word is you’re giving Sofia special treatment. Look, she’s been a friend for years. She’s Nova’s bestie. But GSM doesn’t run on personal agendas. If she slips up because you pushed her into the deep end to play games, that’s on you.”

“Mind your own accounts,” Rick had shot back, his eyes flashing cold in the usual brotherly competition they had always struggled with. “I’m running the agency now. Focus on making Sterling happy enough to sign on the dotted line.”

My brother really pissed me off sometimes.

The second I stepped into my own space, I threw my keys into the brass dish on the entryway table and kicked off my dress shoes. I knew there were more emails to be sent tonight. Hell, I’d probably pull another all-nighter.

I rubbed both hands over my face, letting out a long, exhausted breath. My stomach gave a sharp, hollow growl—I hadn’t eaten much at my parents’ place, and I’d been living entirely off black coffee and adrenaline for the last seventy-two hours.

Was it possible to have jet lag from a two-hour flight?