Page 28 of One Bad Idea

Suddenly, I wanted to smile, too. I liked this guy – not in a romantic way. But rather, I admired everything that he'd accomplished, especially at such a young age. And more importantly, he'd rescued my friend.

Obviously, he was the reason I'd found her safe and sound, rather than in serious trouble. And he liked her. I could tell, which only proved that he had terrific taste.

Still, there was one thing that confused the heck out of me.

The guy in the hoodie – the guy Inowknew as Jaden Bishop – he was a total jackass. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't imagine him being half of the dream-team that I'd admired for so long.

Maybe I should've recognized the brothers on my own, but then again, it's not like I'd ever expected to meet them in person.

When we moved on to discussing my qualifications, I was already prepared. Even without a resume, I was able to rattle off a list of previous responsibilities that aligned surprisingly well with the duties of this job, at least according to what Jax had told me – not that he'd shown me a description or anything.

While discussing my experience, I glossed over my most-recent job and focused mostly on the job that I'd had before that. It was another assistant position, this one for a commercial builder.

I concluded by saying, "And I'm sure he'd give me a good reference. Do you want his number?"

He studied my face. "No."

I paused. "Really?"

"Tell me," he said, "this builder, was he your most-recent employer?"

I tensed. Now,thatwas a dangerous question. I hesitated for a long moment before saying, "No. He wasn't."

Slowly, Jax leaned back in his chair. "Right."

Something in his demeanor suggested that he knew a lot more than he'd been letting on. I tried to think.Had Cassidy told him that I'd just been fired?

If she had, I couldn’t blame her. I mean, it's not like I wanted to lie about it. It’s just that, well, I was kind of hoping that it wouldn't come upquiteso soon.

Still, I wanted to be honest with him. After all, if I got this job – and I only prayed that I did – I'd be the guy's personal assistant. It was a close working relationship, one that required trust both ways.

"Alright," I said. "You want the truth?" I took a deep, calming breath and just said it. "Actually, I was fired."

He gave me an inscrutable look. "Is that so?"

"Yes. It is. And I don't want to make excuses or anything…" I paused, wondering how much I should say.

He made a forwarding motion with his hand. "But?"

I sighed. "But I'd been working for twenty days straight, without a single day off, and—"

"And you'd had enough?"

"No." I hesitated. "Well, yes. But that's not what got me fired."

"So, what did?" he asked.

"An argument, actually."And this was putting it mildly."You see, he wouldn’t give me the day off, meaning today, even after I practically begged him." My voice picked up steam. "I even offered to work double the hours tomorrow."

Jax frowned. "But what about the drive?"

"You mean the drive back to Nashville? What about it?"

"When were you planning to sleep?"

I tried to laugh. "Who needs sleep, right?"

When he made no reply, I added, "The thing is, Cassidy needed me. So when my boss said no, I, uh, well, you know…" I gave a loose shrug and let the sentenced trail off.