widened into that cocky, arrogant grin of his. I shouldn’t have mentioned Daisy, but she’d struck a nerve with me more than any of his normal airheads had done. I could dismiss the bimbos easily enough, but Daisy was intelligent and an important part of his life. Basically, she had a lot in common with me, but she was confident and determined enough to stake a claim with him, whereas I just dwelled on the past.
“You don’t need to be jealous of Daisy. She’s always like that with me. To be honest, I can’t stand to be around her for more than an hour at a time.”
“Then why is she your agent?” I asked.
“Because no one else can stand to be around her for very long either. I think that’s why she always gets a good deal for me. People just want her to go away, so they give her what she wants. You’re not competing with her, don’t worry.”
“I wasn’t worried,” I replied, with a little too much aggression. “Look, I don’t want you moving here and you don’t want to move here, so let’s just think of a way to get through this with the minimal amount of hassle.”
“Spending time with me is a hassle now, is it?”
“No,” I replied quickly. He actually looked a little hurt at my comment, and not for the first time I wished I could read him better. One second he would act like some glorified frat boy trying to hook up at a party, and the next he seemed to actually have feelings. Sometimes I thought the arrogance was an act, but I was probably just seeing what I wanted to see.
The air conditioning continued pumping into the office, and yet my body temperature was beginning to rise again. I wanted to open a button on my blouse, but I could hardly do that in front of Jaxon without him taking it as some kind of invitation to gorge on my breasts. Not that I would mind.
At this point, I could hardly deny that I was attracted to him. I wanted him to take me. I’d spent four years thinking about it. But I couldn’t just act on instinct. I wasn’t some mindless animal. Jaxon had everything he wanted in life, and that was great for him, but I still had a long way to go before I had achieved my goals, and they didn’t include hooking up with a soccer player. Even one as stunning as Jaxon.
“Let’s go outside and get coffee,” Jaxon said.
“In case you hadn’t noticed, I have a job to do. I can’t just leave at the drop of a hat. Your mom went to a lot of effort to get me this job. I can’t let her down.” Besides, I still hadn’t cooled down from my experience this morning. The last thing I wanted right now was to go outside into the humidity again.
“Having coffee with me is doing your job. And don’t worry about my mom. She acts in her own best interests, so if she got you this job it was for her benefit, not yours. You don’t owe her anything.”
“You shouldn’t talk about her like that,” I said. I didn’t like Carrie, but I also didn’t like to hear Jaxon criticize his own mom. “She just wants you to come home. It’s not easy for her, having you the other side of the ocean.”
“She doesn’t care where I live,” Jaxon said. “She’s doing this to curry favor with a client. She wants you to feel like you’re in her debt, but if anything it’s the other way round. You’re doing her the favor. My mom is good at manipulating people. She used to do it with my father all the time until he came to his senses and left.”
Carrie never talked about her former husband, but Jaxon used to talk about him all the time. When his parents had split up, Jaxon had wanted to live with his dad, but his dad had insisted he stay with his mom for the time being.
“Have you seen your father since you came to New York?” I asked.
“No,” Jaxon replied. “He lives in California now, so I’ll see him when the tour moves to the West Coast in a few weeks.”
“What does he do these days?” I asked.
“He makes most of his money talking at conferences now. He worked in
“You don’t need to be jealous of Daisy. She’s always like that with me. To be honest, I can’t stand to be around her for more than an hour at a time.”
“Then why is she your agent?” I asked.
“Because no one else can stand to be around her for very long either. I think that’s why she always gets a good deal for me. People just want her to go away, so they give her what she wants. You’re not competing with her, don’t worry.”
“I wasn’t worried,” I replied, with a little too much aggression. “Look, I don’t want you moving here and you don’t want to move here, so let’s just think of a way to get through this with the minimal amount of hassle.”
“Spending time with me is a hassle now, is it?”
“No,” I replied quickly. He actually looked a little hurt at my comment, and not for the first time I wished I could read him better. One second he would act like some glorified frat boy trying to hook up at a party, and the next he seemed to actually have feelings. Sometimes I thought the arrogance was an act, but I was probably just seeing what I wanted to see.
The air conditioning continued pumping into the office, and yet my body temperature was beginning to rise again. I wanted to open a button on my blouse, but I could hardly do that in front of Jaxon without him taking it as some kind of invitation to gorge on my breasts. Not that I would mind.
At this point, I could hardly deny that I was attracted to him. I wanted him to take me. I’d spent four years thinking about it. But I couldn’t just act on instinct. I wasn’t some mindless animal. Jaxon had everything he wanted in life, and that was great for him, but I still had a long way to go before I had achieved my goals, and they didn’t include hooking up with a soccer player. Even one as stunning as Jaxon.
“Let’s go outside and get coffee,” Jaxon said.
“In case you hadn’t noticed, I have a job to do. I can’t just leave at the drop of a hat. Your mom went to a lot of effort to get me this job. I can’t let her down.” Besides, I still hadn’t cooled down from my experience this morning. The last thing I wanted right now was to go outside into the humidity again.
“Having coffee with me is doing your job. And don’t worry about my mom. She acts in her own best interests, so if she got you this job it was for her benefit, not yours. You don’t owe her anything.”
“You shouldn’t talk about her like that,” I said. I didn’t like Carrie, but I also didn’t like to hear Jaxon criticize his own mom. “She just wants you to come home. It’s not easy for her, having you the other side of the ocean.”
“She doesn’t care where I live,” Jaxon said. “She’s doing this to curry favor with a client. She wants you to feel like you’re in her debt, but if anything it’s the other way round. You’re doing her the favor. My mom is good at manipulating people. She used to do it with my father all the time until he came to his senses and left.”
Carrie never talked about her former husband, but Jaxon used to talk about him all the time. When his parents had split up, Jaxon had wanted to live with his dad, but his dad had insisted he stay with his mom for the time being.
“Have you seen your father since you came to New York?” I asked.
“No,” Jaxon replied. “He lives in California now, so I’ll see him when the tour moves to the West Coast in a few weeks.”
“What does he do these days?” I asked.
“He makes most of his money talking at conferences now. He worked in
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