Chapter 23
brOOKE
I talked to Dad first, and then I planned to approach Tina.
My dad took the news about as well as I’d expected. I took him out for breakfast, and after a hefty negotiation where he said a bit of butter wouldn’t hurt and I vehemently disagreed, I sprang the news on him.
“Livie, are you sure that’s a good idea?
I’ve known the boy for years. He’s got a reputation.
” My dad only used my nickname when he was worried for me.
“It’s true that his behavior has been different over the last year or so.
But I’m going to keep an eye on him. Mixing your professional and personal life is never a good idea.
Remember what happened at your old job.”
“It’s not the same situation.”
“I know. But you wouldn’t have had to leave your workplace if you weren’t close personally to either Noah or Cami. I just want you to be happy, Livie.”
I gave him a small smile. The last thing I wanted was to let Daddy down.
Later that afternoon, I was tapping my foot repeatedly as I sat in front of my boss.
We’d gone through the agenda for the next few weeks, and now that we’d discussed all the open topics, I wanted to bring up Jace.
I was a face-to-face kind of gal, and I wanted to clear the air as fast as possible.
I was confident in the work I’d done here over the past three months, and I hoped my personal life wouldn’t overshadow my accomplishments.
“Tina, I’d like to talk to you about a personal thing.”
“Sure.”
“Jace and I are seeing each other. It’s not going to interfere with my work in any way, but I wanted you to know.”
Tina, who’d been reviewing one of the contracts as she spoke, looked up suddenly.
“Jace Connor?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Okay. Well, there’s no policy against coworkers dating at the club, so there’s that. But I would’ve expected better of you, honestly.” She pursed her lips, looking at me with clear disappointment.
I was too stunned to say anything more before leaving her office. I had not been expecting that reaction. I would just have to buckle down and put twice the effort into everything. I was determined not to give her one reason to doubt my work.
I was alone at my desk until lunch, when Veronica and Sheila returned from an offsite meeting. I’d asked Veronica for a sandwich, and I could have kissed her for joy when she set it in front of me.
“Thanks.”
Veronica looked at me funny as she sat opposite me.
“Everything okay?”
“Tina told me about you and Jace. Congratulations.”
Something was off, because Veronica looked as if she wished she could stab me rather than congratulate me.
“Thank you. It’s not been going on for long.” I had no clue why I was being defensive.
Veronica smirked. “Right… those flowers were from him?”
“Yes.”
“Smart girl.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I guess that if there will ever be personnel cuts, they won’t let go the MVP’s girlfriend and Coach’s daughter. The opposite is true for promotions.”
I felt my throat tighten. I set my sandwich down, looking straight at Veronica.
“I’d never use my personal connections to get any kind of advantage.”
“Maybe, but they’ll help anyway. That’s just the way the world works. When I applied for your job, Tina said I wasn’t a good fit, yet you being Coach’s daughter seemed to do the trick.”
“My work experience qualified me.” I hadn’t known Veronica had applied for my job. “Jace is a player. My dad is the coach. Neither of them has a say in management decisions.”
“Except that Jace is Graham’s brother-in-law. As I said, smart girl. I mean… until Jace gets bored, at least. We all know he’s not relationship material.”
I also hadn’t realized Veronica had a bitchy side until now.
I hadn’t expected her to question my work ethic or warn me off Jace.
The surprise over the latter turned into a simmering anger.
She didn’t know Jace. Not the way I did.
Sure, she’d been at the club far longer, but I knew enough about Veronica to conclude that she didn’t know any of the players on a personal level.
She hadn’t seen Jace at the foundation with those kids, or heard him talk about Milo or even his siblings. She didn’t know how strong Jace’s love could be, or his devotion. She was judging him based on the image the media had built about him, and it wasn’t fair.
For the rest of the day, I buckled down to work, trying not to take it personally when Veronica and Sheila went on their afternoon coffee break without inviting me.
Frankly, I’d imagined Veronica and Sheila joking with me about Jace, maybe peppering me with questions as they’d done when I’d gotten the flowers.
I’d begun to think of the girls as my friends, but clearly I’d been wrong.
For the first time since I started at the Lords, I couldn’t wait for five o’clock to roll around.
My temples were already pounding. The only light at the end of the tunnel was that I’d made plans with Jace for tonight. I couldn’t wait to see him.
At four fifty-nine, I skidded down to the parking lot. Jace was waiting for me already, leaning against his car, his legs crossed at his ankles, and giving me a big grin.
That grin right there was worth all of it. He held out his arms, and I walked into them without hesitation but only gave him a quick peck on the lips.
“How did it go?” he asked. “If it makes you feel better, I got an ass chewing from Coach, but I was fully expecting him to give me the talk.”
“Sorry about that. He kind of gave me the talk too, but that was the easiest part of the day. My boss was disappointed, and my colleagues think I’m gonna use this to advance my career or that you’ll break my heart.”
Jace jerked his head back. “Babe, I’m sorry. I’ll talk to Tina.”
“No, she’ll come around. I think she was just blindsided.”
At least, I hoped so.
“I can vouch for the other thing. I’m not going to break your heart. Not now or ever. It’s my job to take care of it. Of you.”
I blinked, everything inside me going soft.
“You know what I think?” he continued.
“What?”
“That we need to hurry to Friday dinner. Listen to Hailey and possibly Landon. They’ll sing my praises. I’m not sure where everyone else will stand.”
“Think your own family will warn me off you, Connor? That’s rock bottom, isn’t it?”
“No,” he said seriously. “It’s just that no one’s ever seen me in love until now.”
“You’re in love with me?” I whispered.
“I’m head over heels.”
“Jace, you’re….” I couldn’t say more, because I was a little overwhelmed with emotion. Clearing my throat, I tried again. “I love you. I’m not even sure how it happened, or when. But I do.”
He smiled widely, bringing a hand to the side of my face, leaning in for a kiss. I gave him a quick peck before pulling back. He cocked a brow.
“Right. We need rules,” I said.
“Rules?”
“Yes. No excessive PDA at the club.”
“Define excessive.”
“Anything more than this.” I pointed between us. Jace cocked the other brow too. “Don’t look at me like that. Also, no sex around here.”
Jace didn’t argue, which I took as a sign that he agreed with me. One second later, I realized I’d been deeply mistaken, because he cupped my jaw, pressing his thumb along my lower lip. “When have we ever kept to any rule?”