Page 108 of Reputation
“Eavie, can I speak with you for a moment?”Sam asked, pointing toward his office.
She nodded.“Of course,” she answered, smoothing her blouse with shaking hands.She turned terrified eyes on Mandy, who stood watching, unable to do anything.
She followed Sam into his office, closing the door behind her.She lowered herself into the chair across from his desk, perching herself on the edge.Back straight, she folded her hands in her lap to stop the tremors from making them twitch.
Sam sat behind his desk, resting his forearms on the dark surface.He regarded her behind his glasses with a look she couldn’t read.Staying quiet, Eavie waited for him to tell her she was fired.
“Is there something you want to tell me?”he asked her, breaking the silence.“A relationship you want to disclose?”
She almost laughed.Relationship?No, there was no relationship to disclose.What they had done had clearly meant nothing to Jax.She was just another woman to conquer and then release.
Swallowing the manic bubble in her throat, she shook her head, answering honestly.“No, there’s nothing to disclose.There can’t be, right?No inter-office relationships,” Eavie said with a weak smile.
Sam sat back now, still watching her.“Are you sure?”When she nodded, he continued.“You’re denying the rumors about you having a relationship with Jax Morghan.”
Just hearing his name sent a pang of hurt slicing through her chest.Her fingers turned to claws on her legs, biting into the flesh.The pain reminded her of what was at stake, keeping her stoic and upright.She would not cry.“Jax…” she stumbled over his name, the slight uptick almost giving away her emotions, “and I do not have a relationship.”
Sam was silent for a moment, considering.He sat forward again, folding his hands onto his desk.“Listen, if you tell me nothing’s going on, I’ll believe you.”She nodded, relief flooding her.“But,” he added, turning that relief to ice again, “If there was, I’m sure you know the policy.”
“I do,” she confirmed.
“And I’m sure you know why it’s there.To protect the organization and our players, but the other employees as well.It goes both ways.Regardless, we have a lot of great people working for us, and in an organization of this size, sometimes things happen.”
She looked at him, confused.What was he saying?
“Eavie, if there was something going on, all you have to do is disclose it and sign a CRA, and you would be free to…date.”
A CRA, or a consensual relationship agreement, protected the employees and organization if a couple ended things.
Surprised, Eavie tried to understand how she felt knowing that.It would solve the issue of her job, but it didn’t matter, not when he had broken her trust.
“So, just to make sure we are clear,” Sam said.“Is there anything you want to tell me?”
She looked out the window and into the rafters above the practice arena.He was handing her the answer to what, only yesterday, she had begun to believe could happen.Eavie thought she’d found someone who would help her heal.Someone she began to see a future with.
Now everything was burning around her, all because she’d ignored her own warnings.After this, she didn’t think they could go back.
Turning to look at her boss again, the words felt like razor blades in her throat as she spoke them.“No, there’s nothing I want to tell you.Jax and I are not in a relationship.”
Jax walked down the hallway of the player’s level, smiling.He couldn’t help it.He couldn’t stop thinking about her—his incredible, perfect Cinderella.It was so cheesy, but he really felt like Prince Charming.
The two days he’d been away, she was all he’d thought about.It was a miracle he’d been able to concentrate enough on hockey to play without making a mistake.Better yet, they had won both games.
The moment they’d landed back in the city, all he had wanted to do was find her, his insatiable need for her only brewing stronger while he was away.
Jax could still smell her lavender scent, even after showering following his early morning workout.It was as if her presence had embedded itself into his skin.He was walking on cloud nine.Nothing could destroy his mood today.
Heading toward the entrance to the auditorium, he looked up to see several players standing in a group outside the door.At his approach, they turned toward him and began clapping and whistling.
Confused, Jax’s steps faltered.“What’s that for?”he asked, glancing around the group of men, a few reaching out to pat him on the back as he passed by.
“Oh, just congrats on fucking the Ice Queen,” said Cole, using the nickname that had followed her from the Heirs.
Snapping his head to look at him, he asked, “What are you talking about?”
Casting him a shit-eating grin, Cole said, “You and Eavie.I saw you two last night in the parking garage.How long have you been banging her?”he asked, completely unaware of the murderous look on Jax’s face at the callous way he spoke about her.
Jax stared at Cole, the meaning of what he said penetrating the anger.“Fuck,” he said.“You saw us?”
