Page 88 of One Good Crash

Jaden sputtered, "What the fuck?" He glared at his brother. "You're joking, right?"

As an answer, Jax looked to Allie and said, "Welcome aboard." And with that, he turned and stalked back into his office.

After a split second, Jaden and I followed after him.

As I scrambled to keep up, I called out, "Wait, I thought she'd be working foryou."

Jaden added, "Yeah, what the hell?"

Jax stopped and turned around. He gave his brother a hard look. "I already have an assistant."

I blurted out, "You do?"

"Yes. I do." He flicked his head toward his brother. "Morgan washisassistant, not mine."

I stood in stunned disbelief.Oh, crap.Why hadn't I realized that? Stupidly, I'd just assumed that she'd be working for Jax. I felt my gaze narrow. Jaxhadto know what I'd been thinking. And yet, he'd said nothing to correct my assumption.

Jaden was telling Jax, "So? We'll switch, not a big deal."

"Wecan'tswitch," Jax told him. "You know it. And I know it."

I looked from brother to brother. Obviously, I was missing something, but what? I asked, "Why can't you switch?"

Jax replied, "Ask my brother. He knows."

I looked to Jaden. "Well?"

Ignoring me, he turned hard eyes on his brother. "I swear to God, I'll get you for this."

"No," Jax said. "You won't. Because this makes us even."

Jaden was still glowering. "For what?"

"For hiring Morgan in the first place."

Jaden gave a dramatic groan. "Shit, this again?"

"Hell yeah," Jax said. "I told you not to, but you did anyway."

Jaden practically yelled, "So?"

"So, it'syourbed.Youlie in it."

Jaden shot back, "No way. She's a fuckin' psycho."

I made a sound of annoyance. "Hey! She is not. She's perfectly lovely. And really smart, too."

In unison, the three of us turned to look at Allie. She was standing exactly where we'd left her. She hadn't even bothered to straighten her clothes, and I swear to God, her hair looked even messier than it had a moment earlier.

Damn it.Was shetryingto sabotage this?

If so, it made no sense. Oh sure, she obviously wasn't a huge fan of Jaden, but he couldn’t be worse than her last employer, could he?

I gave Allie a reassuring smile. "Go on, tell him. You'll be great at this."

But she said nothing. Instead, she reached up and scratched her bare stomach, like some drunk at a ballgame.

What the hell?