31. Jax
Jax
Lola’s bachelorette party is right around the corner from the office, so I end up heading there straight from work the following Friday.
As I stand at my desk, tugging at my clothes, I try to work out why I’m so uncomfortable with my outfit. I usually don’t care what other people think, but I don’t want to stand out.
The only thing I could find in my room that wasn’t black was an old jacket that I thought I’d thrown out. It’s pale green and doesn’t go with my hair.
I considered dying it purple again, just to see the look on Gray’s face, but I didn’t have time. I’m fussing with my clothes irritably when I hear him laugh behind me.
“You look nice.”
“Shut up,” I murmur as I glance at the rest of the office. The floor is pretty much deserted, but I’m still paranoid about him using such an informal tone with me.
Work has been unbelievably busy in the last couple of days, but I’ve noticed a change in Gray. He’s not half as brisk as he used to be, and anything he asks me to do is framed as a question rather than an order. And sometimes he even says please and thank you.
Except when he commanded that I blow him before a conference call, that is.
I shudder at the memory. I’d been on my knees, taking his cock to the back of my throat repeatedly, as he groaned above me. We were on mute, the rest of the call joining, voices coming out of his computer screen even as he gripped my hair like a vice and slammed into my mouth.
He comes to stand beside me now, a foot of space between us, but I step further away just in case. He smirks at me.
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
“Nothing.”
“Say that again in that tone, and I’ll throw you over my knee.”
I clench my fists, looking up at him, about to give him a piece of my mind, when I freeze as I see his sister walking through the office towards us.
“Shit, Carrie’s here. Does she know I work for you now?”
“I told her you were gonna meet her here, calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down.”
He turns, waving at Carrie as she approaches us.
She looks effortless, her short brown hair pinned back with sparkling clips, her eyelids glistening with glitter, too.
Her dress is full of sequins, silver shimmering from every angle, and her boots are platforms that look as if they’ve come straight off the catwalk.
I feel like roadkill by comparison.
“Hey!” she says, grinning at me. “The cavalry has arrived. I hope you don’t mind, but Gray told me you needed something more on theme.”
She’s carrying a tote bag at her side and pulls a jacket from it as I watch. It’s white leather, covered in every jewel you could imagine.
“I had it for a party I went to years ago,” she says with a grimace. “Thought it was just the thing! You don’t have to wear it for long, I promise.”
I take it, staring at her in disbelief. “You brought this for me?”
“Of course!” she says happily, and I look down at the jacket, horrified to find my eyes pricking with tears.
No one has ever lent me clothes before. I’ve been surrounded by boys as long as I can remember. It feels special that she’s brought it for me, and I’m touched that Gray thought to ask.
I shrug off the horrible green jacket and put on Carrie’s. It’s ridiculous and nothing like the kind of thing I would usually wear, but I’m more grateful than I can say.
“Thanks,” I choke out, glad to see Carrie is distracted, rummaging in her bag for something else.
Gray turns to me, his hand reaching out and folding the collar back, straightening it for me. He tucks my hair behind my ear, and his thumb brushes my cheek.
“Here, I thought these would look awesome in your hair.”
Carrie holds out a closed fist to me, and I reach out as a handful of small beads falls into my palm. There are dozens of tiny clips, each with a diamante, that sparkle beautifully in the light.
Before I can refuse and give them back, Gray has plucked them out of my palm and moved around to my back. One by one, he begins attaching them to my hair.
“Wow, I wish I had someone to do my hair for me,” Carrie says, smiling approvingly at her brother.
I don’t know what the hell to say and just stand mutely as he puts the rest of them in, smoothing his fingers through my hair at any given opportunity.
“There, now you look like a fairy princess,” he says teasingly as he finishes up.
“Go to hell, Gray,” I mutter irritably, and Carrie bursts out laughing, holding out her arm to me.
“Ready to go?” she asks.
I glance back at Gray, wondering if he’s going to kiss me goodbye. Then I promptly pull Carrie toward the elevator and away from him.
Since when does an escort get a kiss goodbye from a client?
The bachelorette is a lot better than I expected.
It’s more intimate than I had pictured, with only five other women there along with Lola and her sisters. Maddy, Carrie, and Erica spoil her with everything she could have asked for, including a cake, several bottles of champagne, and balloons.
The venue is beautiful, understated, and not what I had pictured at all.
The bachelorette parties of my friends usually involve strippers, too much vodka, vomiting, and regret. This one is neat, tidy, and sensible. I love it.
Carrie and Erica are hilarious and include me in all their conversations. I don’t feel left out, even though I don’t talk much, letting the bride-to-be have her moment.
But when the conversation moves around to Gray, I can’t help but prick up my ears.
“Is he going to be part of the wedding?” one of the other women asks Lola.
“He’s giving me away,” she says with a smile. “But he doesn’t want to.”
There is a chorus of concerned ‘oohs’, and I catch Carrie’s eye as she rolls hers dramatically.
“Why not?” the same woman asks. I think her name is Fiona.
“Because he’s a little bit famous,” Lola mutters. “And he doesn’t want to distract from my day, apparently. But I have already told him that if he doesn’t walk me down the aisle, I’ll disown him forever.”
“Has he been a nightmare about the budget?” Fiona asks.
Lola is in the midst of pouring herself another glass of champagne, and she pauses, giving a little quick shake of her head before she puts the bottle down.
She’s kind of drunk, her eyes becoming more unfocused.
“You know, he’s actually been awesome,” she says thickly, and Carrie rubs her shoulder gently as Lola sniffs, sitting back in her chair, her eyes glassy.
“Martin really struggled with the fact that Gray was paying for everything at first. Like, we actually had a fight about it right after we got engaged. He’s worked so hard all his life, but he doesn’t make a ton of money.
I was stupid and told him all these grand plans I had for the wedding.
I just didn’t consider that he would never be able to afford it.
Then, when I realized, all I said was that we should roll back a bunch of stuff to make it cheaper.
He got really upset and said he would make it happen, whatever it took.
But I knew it would be really hard for him. ”
She sniffs. “Anyway, one day he comes home, and he tells me that Gray’s invited him to lunch. I was like, great, maybe my big brother’s being a neanderthal, telling Martin to ‘look after me, or he’ll break his legs’ or whatever.”
There’s a ripple of laughter around the table.
“But when Martin got home that night, he was really quiet, and I was thinking, oh shit, Gray actually has threatened him or something.” Lola starts to cry, and she has to pause for a moment before she can continue.
“But then he told me that Gray said everything he had was Martin’s now.
That the money didn’t matter, and it was a privilege that he wanted to join our family, and that Gray would pay for the wedding. ”
She wipes at her eyes as Maddy and Carrie lean into her.
Every woman in the party is now swooning over Gray as I sit back and sip my drink, watching his sisters come together.
“He’s paid for everything I wanted. Everything. He might complain about it, and he’s definitely told me I have stupid taste in flowers, but even when he got pissed at me, it was never a question that he wouldn’t support me. Dad would be so proud of him.”
Lola nods. “Since Gray was nineteen, when dad died, he just stepped in, took charge, and got us all through college. We barely know how he managed it, do we?” All four sisters shake their heads in response.
“But he’s never once turned his back on us,” Lola continues, her fingers tightening around Maddy’s hand, “and he’s the best brother ever. ”
“You’re a lucky bitch,” Fiona says drunkenly, turning to me as they all raise their glasses.
“To Gray and Jax!” Carrie says impulsively, giggling manically to herself.
I try to shrink back in my chair, attempting to get a handle on the man I thought I knew, and the man seen through the eyes of the women who love him.