Page 19 of Reputation (Toronto Royals #1)

Chapter Twelve

Eavie

Sorting through the mail the following Monday, Eavie looked up as Jax walked into her office.

He strolled up to her desk, one hand shoved casually into his pocket, giving her what she now thought of as his panty-dropper smile.

She had no doubt it had caused many women to throw their underwear at him—literally and figuratively.

“Good morning, Cinderella,” he drawled, his deep, smooth voice encircling her. “How was your weekend?”

He was laying the charm on thick this morning. It should have irritated her more than it did.

“Mr. Morghan,” she responded with a nod and a polite, albeit slightly frosty, smile. “My weekend was good, thank you.”

Chuckling, he said, “What’s it going to take to get you to call me Jax?” Leaning down, he added with a cheeky smile, “Or maybe we should test you saying that in bed. Maybe I’d like it then.”

“That’ll never happen,” she countered slowly, deliberately. She forced her face into a mask of ice to hide the fire roaring in her veins.

“Oh, I think you’ll scream more than just my name when I whisper all the dirty things I want to do to you into your ear, right before I do them,” he said, his voice low and husky.

Fuck me.

It was incredibly inappropriate, both his words and her reaction, but it didn’t stop the flood of desire raging through her body.

Even with the distance the piece of furniture afforded her, it wasn’t enough space to stop her skin from tingling.

She crossed her legs under the desk in an attempt to stop the ache building between them as she simultaneously shot him a withering look.

“Can I get you something to drink, Mr. Morghan?” she asked, emphasizing the use of his formal name.

Gazing down at her, his lips lifted on one side. She had to admit, it was sexy as hell. He knew she used his name as a defense mechanism, even if he tried to twist it.

A few heartbeats of silence passed as he watched her. Finally, letting her win this one, he said, “No, thank you. I’m fine.”

Taking a deep breath to try to calm her heartbeat, she said, “Congratulations on another win. The team played well in New York.”

“You watched the game this weekend? I’m flattered you spent your Saturday watching us play. Or were you watching just for me?” he finished, his smile turning cocky.

She laughed without humor. “I’m sure it’ll come as a shock to your ego,” she paused to look up at him, the sarcastic smile dropping from her mouth.

“But I didn’t spend my weekend watching you play hockey.

In fact, I didn’t even think about you,” she deadpanned.

The devilish voice in her head cackled at the lie.

“I had plans on Saturday night, but I saw the highlights in the news yesterday.”

“Oh,” he said, “feisty and beautiful. I’m starting to like this side of you. Tell me, is it just me that gets you this fiery?”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she said with another icy look.

“So, who did you go out with?” His smile dropped a second later. “Was it a date?” he continued, an edge of hardness entering his voice.

She looked up at him curiously, trying to discern what it was she heard in his tone.

Thinking how fun it would be to turn his own game against him, she said, “I may have been. I do have a life outside work, but I don’t see how that’s any of your business.

” This time, she flashed him a bewitching smile before looking at her computer screen.

Silence descended on them for a moment and she snuck a look up at him through her lashes. His jaw was set in a hard line, and while she pretended not to be looking, she watched it tick before he cleared his throat.

“I saw you talking with Patty the other day,” he said finally, his voice lower than it had been a moment ago. “Do you know each other?”

Tilting her head, she regarded him, puzzled about the change in subject. She detected an undertone of displeasure in his words. “Would it bother you if I did?” Eavie shot back, one brow raising.

“No,” Jax said defensively. “You two just looked very friendly .” The way he said the last word had both her brows raising.

Holy shit . Jax Morghan was jealous, and of one of his teammates.

Eavie had to bite her lip to keep from smiling like the cat that ate the cream. Why it brought her such satisfaction she didn’t know—and refused to look at too closely—but the little devil inside her was bristling with pleasure.

Eavie quickly severed the part of her brain that was relishing the moment. Despite enjoying watching confident, playboy Jax Morghan’s display of jealousy, she knew the smartest thing to do was shut it down.

Too bad he made it so easy to want to forget what was at stake.

Lips twitching to the side, she said, “Patty played hockey with my brother at Harvard. Eric was in his last year of med school and was Patty’s mentor. I met him when I went to visit.”

“Oh,” Jax grumbled, shifting from foot to foot.

Eavie wanted to laugh at the awkward embarrassment from his overreaction, but instead, she swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

His reaction was a glimpse of the sweet, flustered guy who had clumsily admitted he had been watching her the night they met.

The flash caused the feeling in Eavie’s gut to flair.

She opened her mouth to question him about it when her phone rang. Peeling her eyes off him, she shoved the words down and said instead, “Sorry, if you’ll excuse me. Sam will be with you in a moment. Please have a seat.” She gestured to the seating area at the side of the room.

As she picked up the phone, she saw him back away from her desk, taking a seat in one of the bucket chairs. He swiveled it around until he was facing her, or more accurately, staring at her. She could feel his eyes on her face as she spoke to Jessica, one of the travel coordinators for the Royals.

As they discussed some upcoming arrangements, she continued to feel the weight of his gaze. Regardless, she refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing how he affected her and firmly ignored him, her eyes focused intently on her screen.

When she hit the end button on her phone, Jax opened his mouth to say something again, but she was saved from whatever it was when Fred, the Royals head coach, entered her office.

“Good morning, Fred.” She smiled brightly at him. “How was your weekend? Did the girls enjoy the zoo?” she asked, inquiring about the trip he’d planned with his three young daughters.

“Oh, they had a great time! Thank you for the tip about the otter babies. The girls went crazy for them,” he said, his eyes crinkling at the concerns of his dark face as he spoke of his girls.

Behind him, Eavie saw Jax grimace, shaking his head. No doubt he caught her use of Fred’s first name and the friendly conversation.

“Otters are my favorite too. The babies are so fuzzy and cute. I love watching them play in the water, and I am not afraid to admit it,” she said, chuckling.

“If you want to grab a seat, I’ll check if Sam is ready for your meeting.

Can I get you anything to drink?” she asked, standing and coming around her desk.

“A coffee would be great, thank you,” Fred said.

She knocked on Sam’s door and entered at his signal. “Fred and Jax are here for your meeting. Can I get you a coffee?”

“Yes, please. You can send them in as well,” he replied.

As she headed back out, she nodded to the two of them. “He’s ready for you. I’ll be right in with coffee.”

She could hear their footsteps as they headed into Sam’s office, but not before she felt Jax’s eyes on her back as she started working the coffee machine on the sidebar. She focused on her task and waited until she heard the soft click of the office door.

Letting her shoulders fall, she took a deep breath as she brewed two coffees, adding some cream to Fred’s, before taking them into the meeting.

She entered silently and placed both cups down in front of their owners before turning to exit as quietly as she’d come in. When she passed by Jax, she couldn’t help but catch his eye, and the instant they connected, she felt that strange jolt shoot through her.

Steeling her insides, she smiled and nodded to him before escaping to the sanctuary of her office. Once on the other side of the door, she sagged against it and took another deep breath.

What the fuck was that?

Flailing to keep hold of the precarious grip on her professional facade, she gave herself a mental slap and resecured the frostiness that kept most players away.

She needed to keep her guard up around that man.

He had an innate ability to smash right through her walls without even lifting a finger.

All it took was a goddamn look from him, and her insides melted.

Moving back behind her desk, she flopped into her chair.

Rubbing a hand across her forehead, she concluded the only way to accomplish that was to avoid him as much as possible.

She would start by ensuring she and Mandy went to lunch before his meeting ended so she wouldn’t be here when Jax came out.

She carefully watched the clock over the next half hour. The meeting was scheduled to end at noon, which meant if she left now, she had a good thirty-minute buffer before she had to be back. Sliding her chair out, she grabbed her bag and hurried to Mandy’s office across the hall.

“Hi!” she said, breezing through the door. “I know it’s a little early, but I’m starving. How do you feel about going to lunch now?” She smiled innocently, placing one hand over her belly.

“Ugh, yes. Your timing is perfect. I’ve been trying to reconcile Jason’s expenses all morning. My eyes are about to cross.”

Laughing, they made their way to the elevators.

Despite knowing the meeting would likely take the full hour, Eavie couldn’t help checking over her shoulder for any signs of Jax.

Only when the elevator doors slid closed did she release a heavy breath that, for some reason, felt more like disappointment than relief.