Page 22 of Fierce-Jax

“Which is a great thing for Eli and your sister, but maybe not so great for Uncle Jax,” she said, smiling.

It was the first time that was voiced and it hit him hard how true it was.

“No,” he said.

The elevator door opened much faster than he would have liked.

“I can take that now if you want?”

“I have to give you door-to-door service like you did me,” he said, grinning.

“I’m going to let you,” she said.

He was pretty sure his smile was matching hers and he wished he had the courage to ask her for a drink or dinner.

The only problem was, he didn’t want to find out he’d be nothing more than a friend.

Wishing or wondering was better than the answer if it was an answer he didn’t want to hear.

Jax was getting in his head more than he ever had before and hated it but couldn’t seem to turn the dial back.

They got to her suite, she pulled her keys out and unlocked the door, then punched in the alarm code. He didn’t have analarm in his office and wasn’t sure he wanted it. Too many people coming in at different times that could set it off if they forgot.

“Where do you want this?” he asked.

“I’ll take it now,” she said, her hands reaching for the box, their fingers touching, and the heat he’d felt when he’d been here as a patient was the same.

He hadn’t imagined it and he almost wished he had, as it would add to his other thoughts of not having the courage to ask her out.

She lifted the box out of his hands and he said the stupidest thing for a guy who was great with words. “Good thing the rash is gone. I would hate to give it to you.”

She let out a little laugh. “I wouldn’t have minded. I might know a thing or two about curing it,” she said.

A touch of heat filled his cheeks and he had to get the hell out of there. “Have a great day,” he said.

“You too,” she said after her smile dropped.

He wasn’t sure what that was about and didn’t want to stay and find out.

He returned to the hall and waited for the elevator. This time there was a woman in it when he got in and hit the button to his floor.

“You’re Jax Hollister, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” he said, turning to the woman. “I’m sorry, have we met?”

“No.” She put her hand out. “I’m Paisley. I work on the ninth floor but was trying to find a new job. I saw that you had an opening in your accounting department. I looked at your website to get an idea of the business and who everyone was. I saw your picture and recognized you.”

Now he was in his element.

His confidence bell was ringing.

In five seconds he liked that she knew who he was, was outspoken enough to approach him, and said that she looked into the agency and what was offered.

That was several steps ahead of many other people he interviewed.

“Why are you looking to leave your current job?” he asked quickly. They were almost on the sixth floor.

“They are sourcing out what I do to a CPA firm. I’ll probably get laid off soon. I decided to be proactive.”