Page 4 of Reputation
who’s also about to be the EA to the Royal’s GM?
FaceTime you later so you can witness the ensuing happy dance!
She dropped her phone back into her bag as she bounded down the old, tiled stairs into the subway.It wasn’t quite five, but the subway rush hour was still on summer time.No one was ready to admit that fall had begun spreading it’s fingers through the city.People sneaking out of work early herded through the gates, criss crossing each other in their dash to get home.
Not wanting to miss the train arriving at her platform, Eavie carefully hurried down the escalator, balancing precariously in her high heels on the grated steps, and slipped through the doors as the bells shrilled their closing.
Greeted by the crush of people inside, she shimmied down the center aisle until she found a spot where she could reach the loop hanging from the upper bar.Hugging her bag to her chest with her arm, she clasped the rung above her, catching her balance just in time.The train jolted forward, and the sea of bodies shifted together like a current.Glancing at her watch, she calculated she would have just enough time to run home and change into something less businessy before meeting Joyce.
“Congratulations, you badass bitch!”Joyce exclaimed, seated at their usual high-top table.At Eavie’s arrival, she pulled the cork on a bottle of champagne.The resounding pop was loud enough to hear over the hum of the crowd packing the popular bar to capacity.
Eavie laughed giddily, uncaring about the attention they were drawing.“Ah, thank you!”she said with an excited shimmy of her shoulders.
With one arm, Joyce reached out and drew Eavie into a crushing hug, which, given Eavie’s height of five foot nine, brought Joyce to her shoulder.With the other, she poured two glasses of bubbling champagne.
Joyce was the definition of petite.She was born to be a dancer at only five-foot-four, with a tiny figure and a beautifully elegant carriage.On the outside, she looked like a porcelain doll, but on the inside, she was pure toned muscle and one hundred percent sass.
Her straight, shoulder-length black hair and almond-shaped eyes, so dark that they appeared as black as her tresses, only added to her delicate image.Still, there was absolutely nothing fragile about her personality.Clad in a short black skirt and long-sleeved black bodysuit, she looked as fierce as her temperament.Joyce could party most of the Bay Street Boys in this bar under the table.Her doll-like facade hid the fact that she could chug a beer like a champ.
Handing one flute to Eavie, she said, “To you, my darling, for kicking ass and landing the promotion!”
Eavie’s smile widened as she let out an excited laugh.She raised her glass and clinked it with Joyce’s.She couldn’t douse the stupid smile she’d been wearing since she left David’s office.
“I honestly can’t believe I got the job.There were so many applicants, many more qualified than me,” she said honestly.While she had been dead set on getting the job, it didn’t stop a small part of her from doubting.
Never one to pull punches, Joyce said, “Maybe, but they picked you.Already working for the organization would set you apart,” she observed, pointing a perfectly manicured finger at Eavie.“You have a great reputation there, and you said David gave a recommendation.I’m sure he wasn’t happy at the prospect of losing you, so for him to do that shows you earned it.”
“You never fail to be my hype woman, do you?”Eavie laughed, taking another sip of the crisp, fruity champagne.
“Forever,” Joyce echoed firmly, punctuating the statement with a decisive nod.Her hair shimmered in the low light of the bar as it swayed with the movement.
“Now, I know this night is about me,” Eavie paused, giving Joyce a cheeky smirk, “but I want to hear all the new gossip from the company,” referring to where Joyce danced for the National Ballet and its infamous drama.There was never a dull moment behind those elegant stage curtains.It was probably one of the things Eavie missed the most about working for the National Ballet—real life reality TV.
Joyce returned Eavie’s look with a mischievous one that matched the twinkle shining in her dark eyes.“Oh, do I have so much to tell you!”
Chapter Two
Jax
Jax Morghan leaned his forearms on the upper-level railing inside the trendy bar.The cold iron bit into his muscles as he held a beer carefully between his palms, his gaze roaming the crowded room below.It was so congested with finance bros and women decked out in voguish corporate attire that the place must be close to capacity.The women’s high-waisted, flowy pants made the space between bodies look non-existent in the seductive lighting and matched the taupe-colored slacks all the guys seemed to favor.At least they had left their Patagonia vests at their offices, allowing their different colored shirts to set them apart—if you could call various shades and patterns of blue different.
He observed the patrons below with the same calculating scrutiny he used to size up an opposing player on the ice.He silently judged them as he chatted with Anton Balakin, nicknamed Tony, a veteran defenseman from his team.
Tony was relaying a story about his three-year-old daughter’s latest mischief.As Jax listened, laughing at his description of Analise’s toddler shenanigans, Jax found his gaze returning again and again to the blonde at the back of the room.
He’d been watching her from the moment she’d appeared through the curtained doors, seizing his attention instantly, like a rare blue rose among a field of common red ones.He was so uncharacteristically captivated by her that he couldn’t pull his mind, or eyes, away for more than a few seconds.
From his position on the second floor, he had a clear view of her over the heads of the other patrons.His eyes swept the contours of her face and figure repeatedly, and each time, the only word he could think of to describe her wasbombshell.He’d certainly felt like the room had rocked when she’d walked in.
Her golden hair was long and thick, the shiny hue reflecting the soft glow of the filament bulbs hanging from the contemporary light fixtures.As she’d moved through the bar, he’d noticed her long, elegant legs clad in tight black pants, which outlined how tall she was, with a body designed to bring a man to his knees.
When she’d first appeared, he’d watched her glance around the room before her gaze trailed higher to the upper level.For a split second, he hoped she was here to attend their team event.On the heels of that thought was an intense stab of jealousy that stung his chest as he realized that would mean she was a guest of one of his teammates.Before he could analyze the mixed, irrational reactions of excitement and jealousy, the host drew her attention away, and the envy was replaced with disappointment as she was led deep into the bar.
Taking a long sip of his cold beer, Jax tried to shake off the foreign reactions and focus back on the conversation he was having with Anton, but he found his eyes continuing to track her as she moved through the crowd, talking animatedly with the host and waving to servers as she passed by them.She was clearly a regular here, something Jax took note of, though he wasn’t sure why.
Finally, she stopped before a small, dark-haired woman who popped the cork on a bottle of champagne when the bombshell arrived at the table.An air of excitement sparked around them, and based on the smile on the blonde’s face, Jax guessed they were celebrating something.Maybe a birthday or an engagement?He tried to see if she had a ring on her finger, but from this distance, and with her back to him, he couldn’t see her hand clearly enough to confirm.Again, for reasons that escaped him, it bothered him that he couldn’t deduce immediately if she was single.
Regardless, he couldn’t help but watch her as she drank delicately from her champagne flute and chatted with her companion, fascinated with how she focused all her attention on her friend, oblivious to the looks she was getting from the men around her.Her elegant movements, how her smile lit up her face when she laughed, or how her fingers stroked the stem of her glass, transfixed him.He couldn’t remember the last time any woman had captured his attention so fiercely.
