edge of a cliff, about to jump, without any idea of where I might land. “You’re making my head spin.”
Backing up a step, he winked. “Just returning the favor, babe.”
* * *
“You’re miles away.”
The sound of Chad’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked at him sitting in the seat next to me on the plane and offered an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”
“Should I be worried?”
I shook my head. “It’s personal.”
His brows rose. “Good for me, maybe. Not so good for you it looks like. Wanna talk about it?”
I debated just how personal I wanted to get with Chad, then asked, “Have you ever lived with a girlfriend?”
“Not really. There were one or two who spent a lot of time at my house, which was convenient as far as sex went, but wasn’t great for privacy or hanging with the guys. I figure I’ll save that kind of commitment for marriage. Why do you ask?”
“I’m just thinking I agree with you about the commitment level.”
The amusement in his eyes faded. “Rutledge asked you to move in?”
“Something like that.” Told me was more like it, but...
He took a second. “I may have a problem with that.”
“Oh?” I twisted in my seat to face him more directly.
“You’ve known this guy a couple years, you said. But he only starts putting the heat on after you start working with me? He helps to break up my deal with Stacy, then follows that up with nabbing Isabelle. Now he’s wanting to share digs with you, the gal that’s got all my info and knows all my plans?”
Taking a deep breath, I processed what he’d said. “The day before yesterday, you seemed easier with it.”
“I’ve been doing some thinking.”
Okay. Crap. I felt like I’d been blindsided. “I don’t think it’s personal. In fact, I know it’s not. Jax always says business should never be personal.”
“It’s personal to me,” he shot back. That hit home. I’d said something similar to Jax when he’d thrown that line at me. “And it’s personal to Stacy. She’s not just going to want to succeed—she’ll want to be better than me. Have more than me. She’s going to want to prove that I made the wrong decision, and he’s on her side! Pembry’s got a lot riding on her. They’re going to want to keep her happy.”
He wasn’t wrong, damn it all.
“It works both ways,” I pointed out quietly. “I’m going to know what he’s into, too.”
I hadn’t really thought of my relationship with Jax that way before, as a situation that required tiptoeing around issues. Hadn’t wanted to. I wanted things with us to be real and straight and beautiful. But everyone I worked with wasn’t in sync with that hope, including Jax. Of course, Jax expected the hits to come from the outside, but no matter what, it seemed as though I needed to be a little more realistic about what being with Jax was going to entail.
You’re swimming with sharks....
Chad assessed me. “No offense, Gianna. But Rutledge might be out of your league.”
“Oh, he is for sure. That doesn’t mean I can’t handle him. That said—” I took a deep breath “—if you want someone else to spearhead your projects with Savor, I’d understand.”
His lips pursed. “I hate to say it, but that might be best.”
* * *
I’d planned on heading straight into work after landing at LaGuardia, but decided to stop at home first instead. My conversation with Chad had rattled me and I really felt as though I needed some time to pull myself together before going in to face Lei.
I slid open the large metal front door to the loft and found two of my brothers on the couch, playing a video game.
“Catch that one, dude,” Angelo snapped, jerking his controller to the right. “Come on! Fucker’s about to take me out.”
“Hang on.” Vincent surged to his feet, frantically hitting buttons. “I’ve got six of them on me.”
I paused on the threshold, feeling so grateful to be home. “Behind you!” I shouted to Angelo as a
Backing up a step, he winked. “Just returning the favor, babe.”
* * *
“You’re miles away.”
The sound of Chad’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked at him sitting in the seat next to me on the plane and offered an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”
“Should I be worried?”
I shook my head. “It’s personal.”
His brows rose. “Good for me, maybe. Not so good for you it looks like. Wanna talk about it?”
I debated just how personal I wanted to get with Chad, then asked, “Have you ever lived with a girlfriend?”
“Not really. There were one or two who spent a lot of time at my house, which was convenient as far as sex went, but wasn’t great for privacy or hanging with the guys. I figure I’ll save that kind of commitment for marriage. Why do you ask?”
“I’m just thinking I agree with you about the commitment level.”
The amusement in his eyes faded. “Rutledge asked you to move in?”
“Something like that.” Told me was more like it, but...
He took a second. “I may have a problem with that.”
“Oh?” I twisted in my seat to face him more directly.
“You’ve known this guy a couple years, you said. But he only starts putting the heat on after you start working with me? He helps to break up my deal with Stacy, then follows that up with nabbing Isabelle. Now he’s wanting to share digs with you, the gal that’s got all my info and knows all my plans?”
Taking a deep breath, I processed what he’d said. “The day before yesterday, you seemed easier with it.”
“I’ve been doing some thinking.”
Okay. Crap. I felt like I’d been blindsided. “I don’t think it’s personal. In fact, I know it’s not. Jax always says business should never be personal.”
“It’s personal to me,” he shot back. That hit home. I’d said something similar to Jax when he’d thrown that line at me. “And it’s personal to Stacy. She’s not just going to want to succeed—she’ll want to be better than me. Have more than me. She’s going to want to prove that I made the wrong decision, and he’s on her side! Pembry’s got a lot riding on her. They’re going to want to keep her happy.”
He wasn’t wrong, damn it all.
“It works both ways,” I pointed out quietly. “I’m going to know what he’s into, too.”
I hadn’t really thought of my relationship with Jax that way before, as a situation that required tiptoeing around issues. Hadn’t wanted to. I wanted things with us to be real and straight and beautiful. But everyone I worked with wasn’t in sync with that hope, including Jax. Of course, Jax expected the hits to come from the outside, but no matter what, it seemed as though I needed to be a little more realistic about what being with Jax was going to entail.
You’re swimming with sharks....
Chad assessed me. “No offense, Gianna. But Rutledge might be out of your league.”
“Oh, he is for sure. That doesn’t mean I can’t handle him. That said—” I took a deep breath “—if you want someone else to spearhead your projects with Savor, I’d understand.”
His lips pursed. “I hate to say it, but that might be best.”
* * *
I’d planned on heading straight into work after landing at LaGuardia, but decided to stop at home first instead. My conversation with Chad had rattled me and I really felt as though I needed some time to pull myself together before going in to face Lei.
I slid open the large metal front door to the loft and found two of my brothers on the couch, playing a video game.
“Catch that one, dude,” Angelo snapped, jerking his controller to the right. “Come on! Fucker’s about to take me out.”
“Hang on.” Vincent surged to his feet, frantically hitting buttons. “I’ve got six of them on me.”
I paused on the threshold, feeling so grateful to be home. “Behind you!” I shouted to Angelo as a
Similar Books
The Humans
Matt Haig
The Legend
Kathryn Le Veque
The Summer Invitation
Charlotte Silver
Cold Case
Kate Wilhelm
Captcha Thief (Amy Lane Mysteries)
Rosie Claverton
Unseen
Nancy Bush
The Listening Walls
Margaret Millar
Ghost Aria
Jeffe Kennedy
Nights of Villjamur
Mark Charan Newton
Flesh for Fantasy
Kelex