Indulge Read Online Free PDF Page B

excuse.
    “Jackson,” I began, resting both my elbows on my desk and
threading my fingers together. “You’re late, and I’m busy. Maria will
reschedule our interview for next week.”
    He strolled forward confidently. “Come on. I’m here now,
and I’m only…” He pulled out his phone and glanced at it. “Six minutes late.”
He shoved it back in his pocket and plopped down in the chair in front of my
desk. “That’s pretty good, if you ask me. Plus, I called to let you know. How professional
is that?” he boasted with a smug grin.
    “What held you up?” I asked, though I had a feeling I
already knew the answer.
    “School ran late.”
    My brows knit together at his blatant lie. “School ran
late? Are you sure you don’t want to try for something better?”
    “Fine, you’re right. You see, there was a sweet little
girl outside school, crying her big ol’ eyes out, trying to coax her poor
kitten out of a tree.” He made a pathetically heartbroken expression. “You
should have seen it: a mangy little thing with black fur and beady eyes. I had
to climb up the tree, and—”
    “Enough!” I barked. “You were either fucking or tattooing,
so don’t come into my office and give me a line of bullshit. Got it?”
    “Yes, sir .” He saluted, failing to hide his
amusement. “Well, I’m here now and eager to get on the payroll. I was thinking
I’d be a good fit at one of Dad’s clubs.”
    “Not happening.”
    “Come on, it would be perfect for me.”
    “You’re eighteen—I’m not putting you in a club. Besides,
I don’t have control of Dad’s businesses. If you want to work for him, go to
his office. Here, it’s Lawrence and me.”
    He blew out a long, winded breath. “Does Lawrence even
know I’m in the building?”
    “No, but give it time. He’ll get over it,” I advised,
knowing full well Lawrence had taken meetings outside the office all day. It
was the reason I’d chosen that day for Jax to come in.
    Jax snorted, unconvinced. “It’s been over two months.”
    “And Katherine’s still pissed. As long as she’s angry,
you need to steer clear of him.”
    He tugged at his tie, noticeably frustrated. “I don’t get
it. You fuck everything that walks through your door. I hook up with one woman
and I get a shit storm.”
    “First of all, I’m not a barely eighteen-year-old kid. If
you want Lawrence to respect you, then grow the fuck up and stop thinking with
your dick. And secondly, I’m smart enough notto screw his wife’s best
friend. Some women you just stay the hell away from.”
    His eyes rolled back. “Right, you’re a saint.”
    “You had to have known that wasn’t going to end well.
Besides, since when are you into cougars?”
    He shrugged. “I’m not. She was the one always hitting me
up. Shit, it was her that dragged me in there to begin with. How was I supposed
to know Charlie would barge in looking to use it for hide and seek?”
    I bit back a snicker. He was lucky it wasn’t Oliver who
got an eyeful. If he thought Lawrence was intimidating when he took him by the
neck and threw him out, he’d have pissed himself at how I would’ve knocked him
around.
    “You could have locked the door,” I snapped, my voice
hardening as I recalled my nephew’s sobs.
    “I tried! There was no lock!” He threw up his hands.
    “I guess that’s because most people don’t need privacy
inside a kitchen pantry .”
    I sighed. There was no reason to rehash the past. Still, it
was a no-go subject for Lawrence. Katherine had gone above and beyond for
Lawrence’s birthday party only to throw out a house full of guests when Charlie
tore from the kitchen, screaming that Jax was hurting Lisa. Katherine’s face
was twisted in a way I’d never seen it before when she ran in to discover it
was more pleasure than pain that Charlie had interrupted.
    It took over an hour for Charlie to calm down, and in
that time, Oliver refused to leave. When we finally did, I spent the entire
drive