Chapter 5 #4
I saw Bree’s jaw drop so fast I worried she’d need to pick it up off the silk upholstery.
But it was Jaxson’s reaction that made my breath catch.
His entire body went rigid beside me, and the temperature around our table seemed to drop ten degrees.
I’d seen Jaxson angry before, but this was different.
This was the calm before a Category 5 hurricane.
His fingers, still wrapped around his water glass, had gone white at the knuckles. When he spoke, his voice was perfectly controlled, perfectly polite—and absolutely terrifying.
“Ms. Thompson,” he said, using her surname for the first time that evening.
The shift from ‘Sara’ wasn’t lost on anyone at the table.
“I understand you’re a valued client, and Calloway & Co.
appreciates your business.” He paused, and his next words could have frozen Hell over.
“However, if you ever imply something like that about my brother again, I’ll personally ensure that every real estate agency in the city knows exactly why they shouldn’t work with you. ”
His grip on my arm tightened protectively, but his smile remained professional—the kind of smile that reminded everyone that Jaxson Sinclair hadn’t become one of Calloway and Co.’s top agents by being nice.
“I’ve lived with Lan for ten years,” he continued, his voice still deadly calm, “and trust me, the only thing he’s guilty of is having a face that makes people forget their manners. Something you seem to be demonstrating quite effectively right now.”
His words sent a warm rush through me that had nothing to do with embarrassment and everything to do with how fiercely he defended me. It was moments like these that made my hopeless crush even more impossible to overcome—when Jaxson showed just how much he cared, how far he’d go to protect me.
Sara’s face went through several interesting color changes, landing somewhere between mortified and furious. “I… I didn’t mean to imply—”
“Look,” I cut in, channeling every ounce of sass I’d learned from Bree, “contrary to whatever Lifetime movie is playing in your head, I don’t actually spend my shifts plotting ways to seduce the general public.
And FYI, I already have someone I’m in love with—shocking as that might be to your ‘poor-people-can’t-have-feelings’ worldview. ”
The moment the words left my mouth, I felt Jaxson’s arm tense differently around me.
Fantastic. Spectacular. I’d just graduated from defending my honor to practically skywriting my feelings across the gilded bamboo ceiling.
Next time, why not just hire a mariachi band to announce my love life?
Maybe commission Eleanor to put it on the tasting menu as a special.
Tonight’s surprise course: Lan Ji’s emotional destruction, paired with a 2019 Burgundy.
“I’m going back to work,” I announced, extracting myself from Jaxson’s grip before this situation could derail any further into a soap opera. “Some of us earn our keep the old-fashioned way—by actually working for it.”
“Lan?” Jaxson’s voice held a note I couldn’t quite decipher and honestly didn’t want to add to my already overflowing plate of complications.
I forced a smile that belonged on one of Eleanor’s lacquered menu covers. “It’s fine, Jaxson.” I turned to Sara, channeling my inner mean girl. “Pro tip? Maybe don’t judge the staff until you’ve walked a mile in their non-designer shoes.”
With that, I turned and headed for the staff room, my heart pounding against my ribs like it was trying to escape. Behind me, I heard Bree’s voice, cold as liquid nitrogen. “Thanks for ruining the fun, Sara.” A moment later, she was beside me.
As we pushed through the swinging doors into the relative safety of the staff area, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. My hands were shaking slightly—from anger, from embarrassment, from the lingering sensation of Jaxson’s arm around me, I couldn’t tell.
“Well,” Bree said, leaning against the wall, “that was…”
“A disaster?” I supplied, slumping into the nearest chair. “A catastrophe? A new low in the ongoing saga of ‘Lan Ji: Human Train Wreck’?”
“I was going to say ‘revealing,’” she replied, a knowing smile playing at her lips. “Did you see his face when you mentioned being in love with someone? For a second there, I thought he was going to break that glass.”
“He was probably just surprised,” I muttered, though a treacherous spark of hope flickered in my chest. “Or worried about who’s been distracting his little brother from his studies.”
Bree rolled her eyes so hard I worried they might get stuck. “You’re hopeless. Absolutely hopeless.” She pushed away from the wall. “Come on, break’s over. Let’s get back out there before Warren has a conniption.”
As I followed her back into the fray, I couldn’t help glancing toward Jaxson’s table. He was leaning forward, saying something to Sara with that intense focus he got when he was serious about something. Whatever it was, she didn’t look happy about it.
I turned away before he could catch me looking. I had covers to clear, tips to earn, and a heart to protect. The last thing I needed was to feed this hopeless crush with more what-ifs and maybes.