"Because I'm not qualified."
"It's not that hard," he said. "You've just got to be organized." He paused as if thinking. "And your boss? Eh, he's a bit of an ass." A ghost of a smile crossed his features. "But I think you can handle him."
I felt myself swallow.Oh, boy.I'dliketo handle him in more ways than one. At the mere thought, I felt a rush of warmth flash across my cheeks and, like too many times already, settle southward to places best left unmentioned.
Damn it.I should be laughing, not lusting. After all, he'd just called himself an ass. In spite of my own jangled nerves, I was charmed by his self-deprecating humor. And –holy hell– he had a very nice ass, at least from what I'd seen.
Oh, for God's sake.
I gave myself a mental slap in the face. What the hell was wrong with me? It was like every thought led to his body and the things I wanted to do with it – and yeah, the things I'd like done tomein return.
Suddenly, I blurted out, "I can't take it."
As my statement echoed off the walls, I tried not to cringe. I wasn't even sure what I meant. That I couldn’t take the job? Or that I couldn’t take any more thoughts of Jax that were decidedly unprofessional.
Probably, I meant both, because let's face it, working for a guy who made your panties combust was a recipe for guaranteed disaster.
Plus, Allie and I were leaving, and that's all there was to it.
Jax replied, "You can. And you should." His gaze hardened. "And if it gets too tough, let me know. I'll rein it in."
Reining it in – that sounded like a terrific idea. I took a deep steadying breath and forced myself to say what needed saying. "Honestly, thanks. But I see this for what it is."
"Yeah? And what's that?"
"A pity job, like you're only offering it because you think I'm desperate."
In a quiet voice, he said, "And you're not?"
"No. I'm not. In fact, I'm leaving for Nashville as soon as Allie's ready. And maybe, if I'm lucky, I can get my old job back, and…" I hesitated. "…a new place to live, unless Allie and her cousin don't mind me crashing with them for a while…"
As I spoke, I considered all of the logistics. The apartment was a two-bedroom, and Allie's cousin was a little on the prickly side.
But so what? I'd dealt with difficult people before, and besides, it wouldn't take methatlong to save up for my own place.Would it?
And yet, the longer my thoughts churned, the more I started to wonder. What if Icouldn’tget my old job back?
And what about Allie?
Thanks to me, she was unemployed, too. The apartment's lease was in her name. But how could she afford even a portion of the rent with no income?
And then, there was the matter of the truck. We'd been planning to drive it home. Was that still an option?
Doubtful.
For all I knew, the truck was already gone, towed away to some police impound lot or something.
And if that weren't bad enough, I just knew that Allie's decision to borrow that stupid thing would be haunting her forever.
I hadn't been lying about her ex. Stuart reallywasa jackass. And, as long as he owned that truck, he'd be lording it over Allie every chance he got. It would be pathetically easy, too. Even if he didn't press chargesnow, he could threaten them nonstop back home, just for kicks.
The more I sat thinking, the more my head pounded with new uncertainties. Everything was a total mess, and it was all my fault – first for stupidly moving down here and then for calling Allie to rescue me.
In a million years, I'd never be able to make it right – my breath caught – unless…
I sat up straighter in the chair. "This job, how much does it pay?"
As an answer, Jax reached into his top desk drawer and pulled out a typewritten sheet of paper. He slid it toward me, face down across the desktop.
