Oh No!

VERONICA

~“One track mind, one track heart,”~

~If I fail, I’ll fall apart,”~

~Maybe it is all a test,”~

~Cause I feel like I’m the worst,”~

~So I always act like I’m the best…”~

~– Marina & The Diamonds~

***

I’d have been a fool to turn down such a job offer just because my pride didn’t want me to work with or for someone I’d slept with.

So, the day after Jax’s surprise visit, I picked up my phone and dialed Oliver’s number, something I’d never done before.

“Veronica?” Oliver’s always careful voice answered.

“Hey,” I said, “how’s it going?”

“Good,” he replied, pausing, waiting.

I sighed. “I need Jax’s cell phone number.”

He didn’t ask why. He knew about the job offer since he was the one who told Jax I was part-Russian and fluent in the language.

“Sure,” he said and gave me the number. “Are you going to accept?”

Why did it sound like Jax was proposing or something that required a yes? Regardless, I answered, “Yes.”

“Good,” he said again, “it’s a great opportunity for you. I heard from Charlene that you’re…struggling financially.”

That was a polite way of saying I was broke, and whatever money I did manage to scrape together went towards rent and bills. But that wasn’t what irked me. “You talked to my mom?”

He detected the warning in my voice.

“Actually, she talked to me,” he said calmly, “she asked if my company had any openings for someone with your skills. At the same time, Jax mentioned his translation issues and I realized you could help.”

Now people were discussing my financial woes behind my back. Thanks, Mom. But I swallowed my pride.

Because of her, I now had a dream job with a hefty paycheck, and I should just be quiet and grateful.

“Thank you, Oliver,” I said, trying not to sound as irritated as I felt.

But Oliver was nothing if not perceptive.

“She only wants what’s best for you,” he said, sounding almost paternal.

He wasn’t my dad. My real dad was dead, and he was a poor substitute.

“Stay out of it,” I snapped, less politely this time.

“I’m just saying,” he said, standing his ground, “that she’s really worried about you. Think about that.”

He hung up.

Damn him. Damn Mom. I didn’t need their interference in my life. I was perfectly fine. I loved my life. I even loved that I had to work hard to make ends meet, because an easy life is dull.

Seriously. What’s their problem?

“Yo.”

I turned around just in time to see that while I was talking with Oliver on the apartment’s balcony, Amy had let Santana, Warren, and Kyle in.

Laura had a test to study for, and Nick had a big football game against a rival college, so he had an extended practice today.

I smiled at my friends and told them, “I’ll be with you in a minute.”

“What’s so urgent?” Kyle asked, strolling over, and wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.

Rolling my eyes at him, I said, “Let go, Kyle. I have a deal to close, and you’re in the way.”

He pressed himself closer to me.

“C’mon,” he murmured, “you can make that call later.”

I would lose my nerve if I put it off.

“No,” I said and successfully pushed him away. “Now go inside and wait patiently.”

“But I’m impatient,” he pouted, gesturing at his crotch, “you make me impatient every time.”

“Shut up,” I grinned, and finally he laughed and did as I asked. I closed the balcony window for some privacy and dialed the number Oliver had just given me.

After a few rings, a husky female voice answered.

“He-llo?” she said, her sing-song tone making me want to gag.

It also made me wonder who she was. Maybe I dialed the number wrong?

“Hey,” I said, “is Jax there?”

Immediately the voice turned into the bitchy one I was used to.

“Who is it?” she snapped, probably unhappy to hear another woman on the line. Maybe she was hoping one of Jax’s buddies would call or something.

So, it was the right number after all.

“Tell him it’s Veronica,” I said dryly, not feeling the need to explain myself to her.

But apparently, I didn’t need to.

“Veronica?” she repeated, no longer bitchy but sounding amused. “You’re Oliver’s baby sister, right?”

Why did people keep calling me that?

“Stepsister,” I corrected, “now can you tell Jax?”

“Oh, sure!” she said way too cheerfully for my liking and called, “Oh Jaxy-Jax! It’s Veronica.”

I ~really~ didn’t like this woman, whoever she was, and the way she said my name, as if it held some significance.

One moment she was ready to rip my throat out and now she was being all sweet and friendly? Annoying.

Thankfully, a second later there was some noise and a deep, masculine voice saying, “I’m not fucking joking” and then that same raspy voice said, “Veronica?”

For some reason, my stomach decided to do a somersault like some Ukrainian gymnast.

“Jax?” I asked stupidly. Of course, it was Jax. I’d recognize his voice in a crowd of thousands.

“Sorry about Tally,” he said, “she gets excited about…stuff.”

It was a daunting prospect.

“Great,” I replied, and quickly added, “I just wanted to talk about the…job.”

“I thought so,” he responded, and I could swear there was a touch of amusement in his voice. My eyelid twitched. “So, I’m guessing your answer is…yes?”

With his clever scheme, he didn’t really leave room for any other answer, did he?

“Yes.” I clenched my jaw.

He chuckled. “Well then, there’s one more thing.”

What else could there be? “What?”

“You’ll have to leave your job at the bookstore,” he explained, “this job will demand a lot of your time and you won’t be able to manage it while working another job, even part-time.”

“I thought so,” I echoed his earlier tone, “so I already called them and quit.”

“Good,” he replied, “now that we’ve sorted that out, come to the company’s main building in midtown around nine o’clock.”

“Okay,” I agreed, clenching my fists.

The jerk chuckled again. “See you there.”

“Yeah, whatever,” I muttered and hung up. Damn it.

I’d just agreed to work for Jax Cole. It felt like I was about to start working for the devil himself.

Sighing, I pocketed my phone and walked into the living room.

Warren was in the middle of sharing some story about Ransom—he had a ton of those—and I quietly took a seat next to Amy on the couch to listen.

“…And then the crazy guy jumped off the roof, hit the ground, and actually survived with a shattered kneecap.” Warren laughed in disbelief. “This guy is made of stone, I swear.”

“It sounds made-up,” Santana wrinkled her nose. “No one could’ve survived such a fall.”

“Apparently, Ransom did,” Kyle grinned slightly, and then turned to look at me. “What about you, Nix? Who were you talking to?”

All eyes turned to me, and I grimaced. “I kind of found a new job,” I told them. “And I just told my…new boss”—I hate saying that—“that I’m taking it.”

Amy picked up on the bitterness in my voice.

“Is your boss bad or something?” she asked, concerned.

Bad? No, Jax wasn’t bad. He just had a knack for making my short fuse burn out faster than anyone else. That doesn’t mean he’s bad.

“Not exactly,” I replied and sighed, “Jax is fine. What I have a problem with is the fact that he’s an infuriating jerk.”

“Jax?” Kyle asked, tilting his head, “isn’t that the name of some condom brand?”

I gave him a look. “Really?”

“What? I just say what I think,” he shrugged.

“Jax is a hot guy name,” Santana said, and gave me a wicked grin. “Is he hot?”

Hot? More like burning.

“Oh yeah,” I agreed, grinning just a bit, “he’s very hot.”

“So, what’s the problem?” Warren asked. “The job isn’t good?”

“No, it’s not that,” I shook my head, “the job is actually better than a college dropout could’ve hoped for.”

I gave them a rundown of my job description and their eyes widened when I mentioned the five-thousand dollars per text.

Amy gave me a jealous look.

“I don’t see why you even hesitated,” she said bluntly, “if you say this Jax is a hot boss, and that the job is perfect for you and so is the damn pay, then what is it?”

I had to tell them. It was the only way.

“The problem,” I explained, “is that I slept with Jax.”

That was something they didn’t see coming. Kyle’s baby-blue eyes widened, and his jaw tightened. “You slept with your future boss?”

“It was before that, a few months back,” I defended myself, “I didn’t think he would become my boss eventually!”

“That’s complicated,” Santana admitted.

Amy’s reaction to this news, though, was to grin widely. “He’s the reason you came home all flustered yesterday, right? The one who told you he couldn’t forget the taste of you?”

My face turned red at the looks Santana, Kyle, and Warren gave me.

“Wow, girl,” Santana said, smirking, “you must’ve left an impression.”

“That’s what I said,” Amy nodded adamantly.

“He wants to fuck you again,” Kyle said, and gave me a chastising look. “Now you have to sleep with me. If you make a hot guy want seconds, you must be something else in bed.”

I couldn’t tell them about Jax being my first, and that most likely that first time I’d just followed his lead, so he couldn’t really think of me as good in bed or something.

I also couldn’t tell them I had no idea why he wanted to sleep with me again. And most of all, I couldn’t tell them that he’s Oliver’s best friend and that I’d known him before we had sex.

Kyle would throw a fit about me giving in to someone I knew, and I would lose this “excuse” not to sleep with him. I really didn’t need Kyle biting my head off right now.

So, I settled on giving Kyle a pitying look and said, “In your dreams, Hamilton.”

“You have no idea,” he murmured, and the thought of Kyle having naughty dreams that included me…

Yeah, no thank you. I wasn’t even attracted to him, or blondes in general. I couldn’t even contemplate having sex with him. It’s like having sex with Oliver or something. ~Gross~.

Eventually the conversation moved on and after about two more hours everyone left. Amy said she was tired and went to sleep.

I wasn’t sleepy. I was in the mood for some action. So, I scrolled through Facebook, looking for a party, and found one happening at Miasma club.

I quickly slipped into a skirt that was easy to get out of and a top that hugged my body. I flagged down a cab and headed out.

Miasma was nestled downtown, in a district brimming with the city’s hottest nightclubs, pubs, and bars. Miasma was one of the top five—the crème de la crème of the city’s nightlife.

Getting in was a challenge, especially with the ever-present line that snaked around the block.

But, being a regular, I had managed to snag the coveted Premium Access Card—the PAC. It was like a golden ticket, allowing me to bypass the line and stroll right in, like a VIP.

That’s exactly what I did. The bouncer barely glanced at me, I flashed my card, and he stepped aside without a word.

I shot a sweet smile at the disgruntled faces in line as I sauntered into the club and made a beeline for the bar.

After knocking back a few shots, I scanned the crowd for a man who could make my night.

It wasn’t difficult; Miasma had a knack for letting in the good-looking ones. The bar and dance floor were teeming with attractive guys. I just had to choose one.

My gaze landed on a guy not too far from where I was perched. He was handsome, with curly light brown hair, dark eyes, and a body that was just the right amount of muscular.

He was with a friend, who was also cute, and two women who were chattering away. Maybe they were their girlfriends. Maybe they were just girls they’d met here. Either way, the guys looked uninterested.

I smiled, downed another shot, and hopped off the stool. I sauntered over to them, and as if they could sense my intentions, they both turned to look at me.

But I wasn’t interested in the second guy. I wanted the first one. Luckily, he seemed to understand that I was looking at him, not his friend.

He flashed a slow grin, the girls next to him forgotten, and let his gaze travel over my body, probably taking in my long legs and ample chest. He licked his lips.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

Once I was in front of him, I shot him an inviting look. He accepted the invitation and stepped away from his friend and the girls. He came to stand in front of me.

He was only a couple of inches taller than me, but that was fine. I was tipsy enough not to care.

“Hello,” he said, his voice a seductive tenor, “I couldn’t help but notice you standing here, all alone.”

His opening line was weak, but I let it slide.

“Well, same goes for you,” I replied, smirking, and placed my hand on his shoulder. “Would you like to dance with me?”

“I would love to,” he said, and wrapped his arms around my waist, “turning down a beautiful woman like you would be a crime against men.”

Well, wasn’t he a smooth talker. I chuckled, draped my arms around his neck, and let him lead me onto the dance floor. A few minutes later, his lips were on mine, and we were making our way to the restrooms.

We slipped into a stall, and I locked the door behind us while he unbuttoned his pants and hiked my skirt up to my waist.

I closed my eyes and let him enter me as I wrapped a leg around his waist.

He was good, I’ll give him that. He had a steady rhythm, and when he wanted to, he could be faster and rougher than most of my previous one-night-stands. He was also well-endowed, which was a plus.

But for some reason, my mind drifted to my night with Jax.

I had never thought of someone else while having sex, but it happened now. Despite my inebriated state, I was suddenly hyperaware of everything this guy was doing to me and found myself comparing it to Jax.

When the guy squeezed my breast through my top, I remembered Jax’s rough hand as he caressed my nipple. When the guy thrust deeper, I remembered how Jax had reached places no one else had.

And when the guy finally climaxed inside his condom, I remembered the feel of Jax’s release inside me, with no barrier.

After the guy and I had finished and gone our separate ways, I felt a surge of anger.

I had climaxed once tonight, and it was good. More than good. It was downright amazing.

And it was because I had thought of Jax.

Why did he have to mess with my head like that? And why couldn’t I shake off what he had said to me?

~“I can still remember the taste of you.”~

Well, it seemed like I could still remember the taste of him too.

And it was throwing everything I believed in into disarray.