A Co-Worker's Crush

by Piper Rayne

  “This isn’t something you can fuck up, Jax. She was hurt horribly for the first three years of her life. And Jolie asked Santa for you to be her daddy. Are you really sure about this?”

  “We’re not telling Jolie until we know what this is.”

  He blows out a breath. “There’s still Frankie to consider. And do you think moving them in with you is going to make Jolie not want you to be her daddy more?”

  The elevator comes, thank God.

  “Listen, they had nowhere else to do.” My hands fist when I think about how scared Frankie looked when Michael was in her apartment. “He showed up at her place at two in the morning. She said he does it a lot. I wasn’t going to let them stay there and neither would you.”

  We step in, and he presses the button in the elevator like he’s pressing mine right now. “They could stay with us, you know that. Are you serious about this whole relationship thing?”

  “I like her.”

  “Liking her isn’t good enough, not in this scenario. Your feelings need to be a helluva lot stronger than like to move them in with you.”

  We arrive at our floor and I file out first, eager to get away from Dylan and his lectures. We’re both at our doors and I’m about to walk in when I decide I’m not going to let this go.

  I spin around. “You know what? You’re supposed to be my friend. Don’t you believe in me? You seem pretty sure I’m gonna fuck this up.”

  He turns around. “I see two of my good friends, who haven’t had the easiest road, trying something that has a less-than-good probability of working out. Remember when we were younger and as you got older, the chances of you being adopted shrunk more and more?”

  I nod.

  “I’m not even saying it’s you, Jax. You could be the one who ends up hurt. You think she trusts easily? Add onto that the fact that you keep people at arm’s length? I want you two to work, I think you’re great for one another, but it is work. Relationships aren’t just sex when you want it.”

  “You think I don’t know that?” I scowl at him.

  He shrugs. “Only time will tell. I do hope it works out, but there’s a lot going against you.” He opens his door and disappears inside his apartment.

  Never in my life did I think Dylan would think so little of me.

  I open the door to find that Frankie’s still cleaning. Jolie’s in the corner trying to get Gumdrop to drink out of a teacup. Cartoons are playing on the television. Maybe Dylan has a point. I’m the farthest thing from a dad you can get.

  Later that night, after Jolie goes to bed, Frankie’s in my arms, in my bed. I’d like Dylan to see us now so I could give him the finger.

  Frankie rests her chin on my stomach, her finger outlining the compass on my chest. The one I got with Dylan at sixteen. How stupid were we to get ones that were supposed to speak to the other? His was supposed to remind me to anchor down my wild streak, while my compass was supposed to push him to explore and take more chances in his life.

  “What’s it like being Instagram famous?” she asks.

  I always felt Frankie despised me for my fandom on Instagram. That she took it as selling out. “I’m not famous.”

  “You have people flying from all over to see you. You could be making so much money if you left Ink Envy.”

  I shrug, not sure if I want to open up to her. But Dylan’s opinion that we have to be vulnerable together or it will never work triggers me. Plus, I can’t tell Frankie to let me in if I’m not going to do the same. “When I first left, I did it because Dylan and I had a falling out—over that Naomi chick. I enjoyed the bit of fame I got. I’d never experienced anything like it. People always wanting to hang with you. The money was so good I thought I was dreaming. But it’s all fake. Everyone wants something from you, and if they don’t get it, they just leave after a while. I still talked to Knox, and he heard it one night.”

  “Heard what?” she asks.

  “Heard my sadness.” I shrug again. “He told me to come home. That it was time.”

  She’s quiet, staring at me. “Home sounded nice. I’ve never really had a home, but Knox told me about the setup here and how great everyone was. I’d wanted to make amends with Dylan for years by that point, so I agreed. Thought I’d be here a few weeks, recharge, and leave, but Dylan needed me.”

  “To work at Ink Envy.”

  I nod. She knows firsthand how the business wasn’t thriving when I first showed up. “Where we come from, you help each other out. And plus, Dylan is so talented, he could’ve been me and had the same success I’d had if he’d gotten out there.”

  She smiles and kisses my chest. “I think there’s only one Jax Owens.”

  I run my hand down her tattooed back. “True, but you and Dylan are mad talented. I think it was just the circumstances that got me to where I was. If you didn’t have Jolie, you could’ve gone down the same path as me. But there’s something to be said for having loyal friends.”

  “That’s for sure.”

  “I think when I was younger, I was hell-bent on getting out of the neighborhood, making something of myself, and I took my friendships for granted. I’ll never make that mistake again.”

  She lays her head on my chest again. “My family disowned me.”

  I blink in surprise. “Why?”

  “Because I didn’t want to stay in Wisconsin. Because I wanted to go to school for art. Because I was a little wild and never really fit their mold. There’re a lot of reasons. I ran away after high school.” I pull her closer and she looks up at me. “Our relationship has always been strained. We rarely talk. They know nothing about Michael because I didn’t want to hear ‘I told you so’ from them. They send Jolie birthday gifts and Christmas gifts, but that’s it.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She nods. “I have Sandy. I’m not sure what I would do without her. But I always wanted to be a huge success and throw it in my parents’ faces. To say I told you so, I told you I could make it.”

  “You’re a great mom and so talented. You don’t need a bunch of Instagram followers to prove that.”

  “It would be nice though. Not that I would choose not to have had Jolie. I mean, she’s my reason for living right now. But maybe if I would have had a sliver of the fame.”

  I tuck a strand of her dark hair behind her ear, and she climbs on me. She’s just as insatiable as I am.

  “Come to Vegas with me?” I ask. “It’s just a weekend. I’m sure we can find someone to watch Jolie. I’ll arrange it so you have your own spot. Do the pop-up with me?”

  Her forehead falls to my chest. “No way. I’m not good enough for that.”

  I cradle her head in my hands and tilt her so she’s looking at me. “You are. I’d never suggest it if you weren’t.”

  “Are you sure it’s not just your dick talking?”

  The fact she didn’t deny me right off the bat says I’m getting somewhere with her. “Come.”

  She bites her lip, and just when I expect her to say no, she nods. “Okay.”

  I roll us over and kiss her because the fact that she’ll do it even though I know she’s scared says how strong she is. That turns me on just as much as her vulnerable side does.

  Vegas, here we come.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Frankie

  * * *

  “I’m not sure I can go with you to Vegas,” I tell Jax three days after I agreed to go with him. I think it was the post-orgasm bliss that had me agreeing in the first place.

  “Why?” He spits toothpaste into the sink while I’m trying to pull back my hair.

  “Not until the Michael thing is taken care of. I mean, what if he somehow…” I don’t finish the thought. It’s just not an option for me to be thousands of miles away from her with him still in Cliffton Heights. “I’m going to talk to Mr. Holder today.” I poke my head out of the bathroom and check the clock on the DVR. “Crap, I gotta get going.”

  I move to leave, but Jax shuts the bathroom door. His hands sli
de up my torso and he casts a trail of open-mouth kisses along the back of my neck.

  He pinches my nipples through my bralette and his mouth travels to my ear. “I love it when your hair is up. You’re going to torture me all day with your neck exposed like this.”

  I sink back into his strong chest. “It is one of my zones.”

  His lips trail across the back of my neck and he grows harder behind me. I’d love nothing more than to have him take me from behind right now. Bend me over this sink and take what we both want while we watch in the mirror. But a pounding sound on the door has me closing my eyes.

  Jax positions my bralette back over my breasts and chuckles. “The warden has spoken.”

  “Mommy! Jax!”

  I’m sure this is not what Jax signed up for. I straighten my ponytail and open the door with a smile.

  “What are you doing?” Jolie asks, peering into the small space.

  “Just showing Jax how to floss.” I walk out.

  Jolie doesn’t look like she believes me. Jax holds up his floss as if I were telling the truth.

  Liar, liar, pants on fire, that’s what we are.

  “I have to get to school.” She’s right behind me.

  “I know, and I have an appointment.” I look at her plate. “You didn’t eat anything.”

  “The yogurt tasted funny,” she says.

  “And the waffle?”

  “I’m over waffles. I don’t want them anymore. Can we stop by Sweet Infusion and get a muffin?” Her eyes light up.

  She’s had so much change in her life recently, although I think she loves living here with everyone. Evan does crafts with her, Seth plays games with her, Rian bakes with her, and Dylan lets her talk nonstop. Blanca and Ethan are on their honeymoon. She skips from apartment to apartment way too freely for a five-year-old.

  “I’ll take her, you go.” Jax steps out of the bathroom. He’s had to resort to wearing basketball shorts instead of boxers around the apartment.

  “Are you sure?” I ask.

  Jolie jumps up and down. “Yay! You haven’t seen my school yet.”

  “No, I haven’t.” He heads to his room. “Give me five minutes.”

  “Jax, are you sure?” I hate to put some sort of co-parenting vibe out there—I figure it’s the quickest way to ruin our budding relationship—but I am late to Mr. Holder’s.

  “Positive. Go.” He nods toward the door.

  I give Jolie a huge hug. “See you after school.” I tap her nose with my finger.

  I leave the two of them to be self-sufficient while I run over to the lawyer’s office before I’m so late that he won’t see me.

  Mr. Holder is the one who comes out to greet me. “Morning, my receptionist is sick.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I feared you might be too.” He walks down the hallway to his office and shuts the door behind us. “Have a seat.”

  “Sorry about that, just running late.”

  “Children do that to you.” He sits behind his big ornate desk and picks up a file folder that’s thicker than it should be. “So you wanted to see me?”

  “I want this over with. I’m done with being in limbo.”

  He looks at me and nods. “It’s hard, I know, but I warned you it would be a long process, remember?”

  Yeah, that’s what put me in tears when I left here. “I just want it over. Tell me what to do.”

  “Well, we finally got the papers to him. We have a hearing date, and if he doesn’t show up, that will just extend the process further—but it will also be good for us.”

  “But—”

  He holds up his hand. “I know. This has already gone on longer than you’d like. The best case scenario in this situation is that he signs the papers himself. That he decides on his own to give you sole custody. That’s the fastest, most straightforward way, but rarely does that happen.”

  “He showed up at my apartment and tore up the paperwork. He has no intention of signing.”

  He leans back in his chair. “Is there anyone who might have some influence over him? Someone’s opinion he’d value and who could point out the harm he’s doing to Jolie? I know we’ve talked about addiction… I can change the paperwork to say that full custody remains only while he’s using and that if he gets himself clean and offers drug tests that we’ll amend the agreement. The problem right now is that you never filed a police report, and he has no arrest history, making it that much harder to prove him an unfit parent. Eventually we’ll get there, but I’d hate for you to pay so much to get there, do you understand?”

  I nod. That reminds me… “By the way, that check still hasn’t cleared, so I wrote you a new one.” I pull it out of my purse and slide it across his desk.

  He accepts it. “I’ll check with my accountant.”

  “Just cash this one.”

  “Okay.” He puts it in his drawer.

  I want to say if that’s the way he’s handling his finances, it’s no wonder my check was never cashed, but I keep my thoughts to myself.

  “So you think the fastest and easiest way about this is to get him to sign.”

  “It’ll save you a lot of time and money.” He hands me a file with the paperwork in it. “He has to sign with a notary.”

  “This is a tall order, Mr. Holder.”

  He chuckles. “I understand, but unless he gets arrested, it’s essentially his word against yours.”

  I don’t want Michael in jail. I just want him out of mine and my daughter’s life. “Okay. Thank you.”

  He stands. “If all else fails, we still have our court date, and we’ll get you sole custody that way. This is just the shorter road.”

  “Thanks.”

  “But listen, you’re not to put yourself in harm’s way to make this happen. That’s not what I’m saying. Find someone else who might have some pull in his life.”

  I nod.

  “Good, I’ll walk you out.”

  I say goodbye to him and leave the office, the paperwork feeling heavy in my bag. How will I ever get Michael to sign these papers? I need this situation resolved, not just for the good of my daughter, but for the good of Jax’s and my relationship. We’ve infiltrated his life and apartment more than he thought we would. If I have any hope of a future with him, I need to get my ass out of that apartment. Otherwise one day he’s going to crack and wonder what he was thinking.

  I head into work, the building dark since I’m the first to arrive. I flip on the lights and put my stuff away by my station, then go in the back and start the coffee maker. When I come back out, Sandy’s there.

  “Sandy?” I ask.

  She offers me a nervous smile but doesn’t move.

  “What’s going on?” I walk over to her and lead her to a chair in the waiting room. “Sandy? Are you okay?”

  She blinks and grabs my hands, squeezing them. “I’m so stupid.”

  “What? What do you mean?” I ask.

  “He came to visit me, said he wanted to get clean, that he was ready.”

  I nod slowly. “Okay.”

  “I let him stay the night.” She looks at me as though I should know what happened next. “He stole all my jewelry. Luckily, I had my purse in the safe. But he took the baseball cards he and his dad saved all those years. They’re probably worth nothing.” She bends forward and cries. “I thought finally, finally he’s seen what he’s been doing. That he had a wake-up call, maybe when he found you and Jax.” She shakes her head. “I almost told him where you guys were, but I said you haven’t needed me lately, so I didn’t know where you’d gone.”

  “Thank you,” I say, relief washing through me.

  She looks at me. “Have you spoken to the lawyer? He mentioned a court date last night. Wanted me to hire him a lawyer.”

  “And what did you say?”

  “I said he had to go to rehab first.”

  I lean back in the chair. “The lawyer wants me to get him to sign papers in front of a notary. That it’s the fastest way t
o get this all resolved.”

  Sandy’s shoulders sink and she shakes her head. “He’ll never do it.”

  “I know.”

  The door opens and Lyle barrels in. “Vegas, baby! You must be so excited. I just saw your name right next to Jax’s on Instagram. Awesome.” He takes out his Airbuds. “Hey, Sandy.”

  “What is he talking about?” Sandy asks.

  I shake my head. “Nothing.”

  “Nothing?” Lyle can’t seem to take a hint. “She’s going to Vegas with Jax while he does a pop-up event. It’s a huge deal. Her name is gonna be out there and people will see her work. It’s a great opportunity.”

  “Really?” Sandy smiles and grips my hands.

  “I’m not going,” I say to her and Lyle. “I can’t.”

  “Why not?” Sandy asks. “I’ll take Jolie. I never would’ve allowed him in if she was there. You know that, right?”

  “I do.” I nod. “I just can’t leave. Not with everything up in the air. And there’s no way Jolie can come with us.”

  “Oh, sweetie, you deserve it.” She squeezes my hands.

  “Jolie’s first. Always.”

  The door opens again, and Jax walks in and pats Sandy on the shoulder. “Hey, Sandy. Lyle. Don’t worry, she’s safe in her chair in class. I walked her in.”

  “You walked her in?” I ask. “She let you?”

  He puts his stuff on his chair and shrugs out of his jacket. “She said no, but I insisted.”

  I shake my head. “And?”

  “I think the teacher thinks I’m her manny,” he says. “I did ask Annabelle where she put her fourth-place trophy.”

  “You did not?” I ask, rolling my eyes.

  “I told her Jolie’s first place one is on her nightstand and she kisses it every night.”

  “Seriously?”

  He chuckles. “No. I’m not a complete asshole. Especially to a kid.” Then he must realize Sandy’s been crying because he looks between us. “Everything good?”

  I nod.

  “No, Frankie said she’s not going to Vegas,” Sandy says.