Sterling (Carolina Reapers 6)

More of Jansen.

More snarky teases and gentle questions.

More molten looks that turned my insides liquid.

Just more…

And maybe, if he could enlighten me on the situation, then I could talk to Langley and—

“That’s none of your business.” His words cut into my racing thoughts, and I inwardly recoiled.

But he was right.

It truly wasn’t my business. Just because I’d developed this…feeling around him didn’t mean he’d done the same for me.

Fine. Fair enough.

“Okay,” I said, my stomach twisting as the confession rose on my tongue. “I honestly didn’t realize how deep this went, and I’m sorry. But I’m going to put myself out there and beg a favor.” He tilted his head, so I hurried on. “I’ve been trying to reach you for weeks to talk this out,” I said, my breath shaking. “But you’ve ghosted me for some reason, and that’s okay!” I spoke a little quicker when he looked like he might apologize. “I get it. Kind of. I’m not someone you want to pick up the phone for. But, if you would have, then I would’ve asked you weeks ago.”

“Ask me what?”

He knew what. He had to after what Langley had said. He wanted to hear me say it.

“To agree to take part in these promos. The exposure will be so good for the family image we’re going for—”

Jansen scoffed, cutting off my words. That anger returned sizzling in my chest. I cooled it, taking a deep breath. Yes, I had tried to contact him for a month. No, I hadn’t realized how shitty the situation was. This was on me, not him. But still, he wasn’t even hearing me out.

“What’s it going to take for you to cooperate?” I popped my hip out, resting my hand there for good measure. If he was about to shut me down, then I wanted to at least appear strong enough to take the blow.

He tracked the move with a hawk-like gaze, the corner of his mouth ticking up into that smirk that drove me crazy.

“Why is it important to you that I get along with him?”

“You know why,” I said. “Langley has left me in charge of the pair of you. The promo spots are incredibly important for this season’s direction.”

Sterling shook his head. “I think you should convince her to drop the idea.”

“Give me a good enough reason, and maybe I will.” I arched a brow at him, waiting.

He tilted his head. “You’d do that for me?” Was that hope in his eyes? “Or for Maxim?”

“Maxim has already agreed to be a professional. He’s willing to set aside whatever this is between you two and do what’s best for the team.”

A muscle in his jaw flexed, those blue eyes turning hard as gemstones. “You already talked to him about it.” It wasn’t a question, he knew as much from the meeting prior.

“Yes,” I said, the air suddenly tight in my lungs. Why did that feel like a betrayal? That’d I’d gone to Maxim first. “He was at my brother’s house,” I hurried to add, relieving some of the pain in my chest. “It wasn’t hard to talk to him.”

“But it’s hard to talk to me?” He folded his arms over his massive chest. “You didn’t have too hard a time in that elevator.” His eyes trailed the length of my body, and warm shivers danced along my skin.

But I saw the deflection for what it was—hide whatever this anger was behind teasing flirts and distracting looks.

“What’s it going to take, Jansen?” I asked again.

“What’s between you and Maxim?” he fired back.

I furrowed my brow, then shook my head. “That’s none of your business,” I hurled his own words back in his face.

He flinched as if I’d smacked him, but something clicked in his eyes, some mixture of disappointment and anger.

I blew out a breath. He’d had an attitude ever since Maxim had rushed to help me out of that elevator, and I was so beyond done with the bullshit. They had issues, clearly, and I wasn’t about to get in the middle of a family squabble. Didn’t matter how much I ached to help Sterling through whatever plagued him so badly. Didn’t matter that I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him since that night in the elevator. I couldn’t and wouldn’t allow these sensations to stand in the way of my work.

“This is that important to you?” he asked after a few tense moments of silence.

“It’s important to the team—”

“I’m asking if it’s important to you.”

A crackle of fire licked up my spine at the primal tenor in his tone.

“Yes,” I breathed the word. “What’s it going to take to get you to play nice for the season?” I asked for the final time.

Sterling shifted, something playful returning to his eyes. “I’ll agree to work on this issue and play nice if you work on yours.”