“Okay, then, no big deal. You can still meet Tawna. Right?”
“Right,” Jax said. He’d deal with this later. “Sure, why not, right?”
“Right. Now you’re thinking. I’ll bring pictures of Tawna with me. You won’t even remember the other girl by the time I get there. ”
Jax disconnected, dropped his phone to the bed, and raked his hand through his hair. Wouldn’t even remember her? Jax wondered how he could possibly forget her. He closed his eyes, brought the panties to his nose, and pulled in her scent. The spicy, floral, musky smell of her burst at the center of his body and radiated electric waves outward. Memories of every minute with her flooded his brain. Her laugh. Her playfulness. The way she’d fed him the Godiva, bite by bite. The way she’d licked every inch of his body just as she’d promised. The way she’d kissed him good-bye, as if she didn’t want to leave him.
He knew, without a doubt, he’d never wanted a woman like this. Which he understood, somewhere in his psyche, stemmed more from the fact that he couldn’t have her than the fact that she was as perfect as she seemed. Had to be. At least it had to be what he told himself.
His phone rang again, breaking into his memories. “Fuck. I can’t even wallow in my misery in peace. ”
He sat up, glanced over at the rumpled sheets where Lexi had been lying just a couple of hours ago.
“I told you in the very beginning, Jax. I just can’t have any complications in my life right now. ”
He’d gone from an asset that every woman wanted to use to a complication Lexi wanted to get rid of.
“I need to find some kind of happy medium,” he muttered as he picked up his phone and answered, “What now?”
“Whoa. ” Ty laughed the word. “Dude. Who stole your mojo this morning?”
“Oh, sorry, Ty. ” Jax pitched the underwear across the room. “What’s up, kid?”
“Things go south with Miss Anonymous?” Ty asked, his tone surprisingly compassionate.
Jax laughed. “Not exactly. I just have a hard time accepting I’m not going to get what I want. ”
“Spoiled Hollywood brat. ”
“That’s me. ”
“Hey, sorry, dude. I know you were into her. ”
“Thanks,” Jax said, feeling better just talking to Ty. “What’s up?”
“We got some awesome new ponies in this morning. Come in early and we can run them along the bay. ”
Now that made Jax smile. “That is exactly what I need today. ” The kind of adrenaline rush he would need every day for however long it took to get Lexi out from under his skin. “I’ll be there in half an hour. ”
Fifteen
“Lexi. ” Martina’s smooth voice took on a too sweet tone over the phone, obviously trying to make up for the news she’d just delivered. “I know it’s never easy to take criticism, but I thought you’d want to know. And, to be honest, I wanted you to know because I desperately want you to win over the hearts of the board the way you stole mine years ago. ”
Lexi had been tapping the pen tip against the notepad on her desk when their conversation had begun. Now she was stabbing it. At one a. m. on a Wednesday morning, after working eighteen-hour days for the last three weeks straight—exactly three weeks from the day she’d met Jax—Lexi had little patience left.
“You’re right, Martina. ” To hell with tiptoeing. “And it’s especially not easy on this project. I’ve put an exorbitant amount of time into those designs, but I do appreciate your honesty. And to be perfectly honest in return, your board is wrong. I know this demographic. They’re strong, empowered women who enjoy living life. Getting married later has allowed them to sow their oats and they’re secure with their sexuality. A lifetime of living with the overexposure of American media has made them comfortable showing off their bodies.
“I know Galliano is more on the conservative side, but your whole purpose for bringing youth on board is to pull in a new clientele. That won’t happen if you don’t step out of Galliano’s current mold. I’ve passed on several big clients to give myself time to design these gowns. They’re already in production. I’ve already made a deep investment in this partnership, Martina, with no guarantee of getting it. I just don’t know how much more I can give. ”
More than that, Lexi had come to realize over the last three weeks she’d given up a hell of a lot more than time, money, and clients. She’d passed up on a pretty good bet at a winner with Jax—something she’d only fully realized as time passed and he continued to cling to her every thought.
“You’re designs are stunning, Lexi,” Martina said. “There’s no doubt how much time you’ve invested. I don’t think the alterations need to be drastic. I’d suggest simply making some of the small changes we discussed and resubmitting them on new boards. A different display will make them look like all new designs. It would really probably only be a day or two’s worth of work. Surely that’s worth the future opportunities this partnership would bring you. ”
Martina’s voice expressed her excitement over the idea, as if Lexi should be thrilled. Instead, Lexi’s throat grew so thick with frustration, she could barely speak.
“Resubmitting?” Her voice came out as a raspy whisper. Lexi dropped her pen. “You’re asking me to resubmit the altered designs for…approval?”
She wanted to add, I’m not a fucking intern but stopped herself. Barely. Lexi gritted her teeth. She’d spent so many years struggling. Had busted her ass, sewn her fingers raw, worked for free, gone days without sleep for every accomplishment, every accolade. She’d broken in a long fucking time ago.