2. Julie
2
N o amount of research could have prepared me for the meeting from hell I just endured.
There was no doubt, I’d have my hands full with Ford Larson, NHL bad boy in desperate need of a new reputation, but finding out his agent is the man who hates me more than he hates spicy food…that’s a challenge I wasn’t counting on.
Damn Kayla for not telling me.
Unable to google who Ford’s agent was should’ve made me suspicious, but I pushed away my gut feeling to prepare for the worst since Jason specializes in MMA fighters instead of hockey players. There was no way Jason would be Ford’s agent.
Ha, the joke is on me.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!” The echo of my heels follows me like a loud storm through the bathroom door. The space has a soft ambient tone, a few brighter lights hanging above the gold-framed mirror, giving me a perfect vision of my shaken reflection.
What the hell am I going to do?
For the next couple of weeks, I have to work with him side by side with a tension as thick as the Berlin wall. It’s gonna take more than a sledgehammer to break through the bricks this righteous asshole has put up.
His constant glare of disdain for the last thirty minutes made it clear he’s still furious, but I’m just as mad because the asshole isn’t innocent in this whole bullshit situation. He’s a stubborn fuck, not willing to listen to reason if he thinks he’s right.
He’s not.
I pull a paper towel from the dispenser on the wall, briefly hold it underneath the sink, then push it to my neck. The wet cloth cools my flushed skin, and I shut my eyes.
I screwed up, yes. But if the bastard had listened for two seconds, this wouldn’t be as stressful as it is now. We could’ve been laughing together, like we used to. Or reliving that one night that’s been replaying rent free in my mind for months.
I shake my head, staring at my flushed self.
I’ve never seen this side of Jason. I’m accustomed to the caring, loyal, and understanding side of him. The one that would go out of his way to make me laugh when all I could do was cry.
The man who was my friend first.
It cracks my heart open a little more than it already was.
The heavy door to the bathroom opens with a sudden click, and I jump up. My hand flies to my beat-up heart when the man of the hour strides forward with purpose and determination, matched with a glare that’s borrowed by the devil himself until he’s standing directly behind me.
He looks like a thunderstorm. Ready to rain his wrath down on me.
When I meet his Nordic blue eyes in the mirror, they are almost luminous under the dim lighting, a sheer contrast with his navy dress shirt as he’s towering over me from behind. He’s close enough to feel his energy pulsing my heart to a racing speed.
Keep breathing, Julie.
“You need to fucking leave.” The growl is deep, rumbling, vibrating through my entire nervous system.
Oh my fucking god.
My heart weeps—no, bawls—at the way he’s speaking to me. The contrast is like day and night, and it’s almost too much to process. I can’t believe our relationship has gone from a comforting warm blanket to a bucket of salt vigorously poured into an open wound.
I suck in a deep breath to prevent my spine from shivering before I open the gold metal faucet to wash my hands.
I don’t have to do shit.
“You’re in the women’s bathroom,” I tell him with as much bravado as I can muster, as I lift my eyes in the mirror, finding his gaze with my chin high.
The cold water cascading over my fingers is meant to calm my senses, but my veins are only heated more as the seconds pass by, his gaze continuing to drill into my aura.
It’s probably a pallet of rainbow and fireworks right now. All over the fucking place.
He just stands there. Staring at me, his eyes almost as narrow as the thin line he’s pressed his firm lips into, the blue flickering around his irises growing darker. As he takes deep breaths, his chest heaves and nostrils flare.
My heart is beating so fast my insides tremble, but I ain’t backing down.
Do you think he’s plotting my murder?
The antique pink-tiled room fuses with an electrifying tension, as if every breath is loaded with anticipation, the air crackling with unspoken words.
I close the faucet and grab a paper towel while sucking in a deep breath. Drying my hands longer than necessary, I sweep my body around to face him, throwing the crumbled sheet in the trash, then meet his harsh gaze with one of my own.
“What do you want, Jason?”
Though his anger tenses every muscle of his features, part of him still feels so familiar.
Does he have to be so beautiful?
“You heard me.” His hot breath flies over my face, his nose close enough to mine to pick up his cologne.
It’s fresh, like lemongrass, mixed with something that I can only describe as home.
Can’t he just smell like onions and cheese or something? It would make hating him back so much easier.
I swallow to prevent myself from running my nose up his neck.
“I’m not–”
“Shouldn’t you be sitting on my brother’s lap like a good girl?” he mocks, his dig sucking the air from my lungs. “Weren’t you two going to take over North Carolina real estate together? What was it Jacob called you two? The Braeden Power Pair?”
“Fuck you.” He knows I hate that name.
The arrogant asshole also knows I hate that Jacob is working for my father in general. But what I hate most is how I want to blurt out all the shit his brother pulled recently, only I can’t.
“I don’t know what kind of sick trick you two are pulling, but I will not let you destroy what I’ve built for the last couple of months.”
My eyebrows knit together, my heart tensing as if a knife gets plowed right into the center.
Wait, what ? I almost chuckle. Almost. He might not know the full truth of my situation with his brother, but after all these years, Jason should at least know I would never do anything to hurt him intentionally.
It stings.
“Whoa, Jay. You know me so well.” I pull my shoulders back a little and cross my arms in front of my chest.
I can’t believe he’s dead set on painting me as the villain, putting me in the same category as his brother.
“Yeah, selfish, narcissistic…” His voice trails off, still pinning me down with his blue eyes that used to radiate comfort as he places his hands on the sink beside me to cage me in.
Excuse me?!
The heat of his body so close to mine is messing with my mind, but my fury is greater than whatever power play he’s trying to pull.
“Finish that sentence.” Anger flares around my lips close to his.
My glare grows as I notice him flounder while I dare him to be as cruel as he wants to be. To attack me with his words and become the person he hates even more than he hates me.
“Shut up,” he barks, studying my features as if he’s looking for answers to questions he won’t ask himself.
“No. Finish it. What, Jason? Bitch? Whore? Gold digger? Tell me what you really think about me!”
“Stay out of my business!”
Yeah, that’s what I thought.
“I work for NVS, not for you.”
“Drop Ford or I will make your life a living hell.”
Ha, doesn’t he know hell is exactly where I am? Lost in some kind of weird purgatory that’s eating me alive every day because I made the stupid mistake of falling for his brother once upon a time?
I was so proud of myself when I finally told Jacob I was completely done, trusting my gut instead of his pretty words. But I didn’t realize how much of a parasite he really is.
Now he’s got me pinned against the wall with no way to get rid of him unless I hurt the people I love the most.
And they have been through enough.
“You wouldn’t,” I say simply, my voice soft and composed.
Though being brothers with my wicked ex, the man in front of me is nothing like that. Jason is not built for evil plays and wicked schemes. Right? Though, the dark glint in his eyes has me swallowing away whatever doubt is trying to settle in my throat.
“Don’t fucking test me. You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Gulp. “Can’t wait to find out.”
“Go home, Julie.” Turning around, he runs a frustrated hand through his tousled blond hair before he flips his attention back, pointing an accusing finger at my face. “Or dating my brother will be nothing compared to the misery I’ll bring you in the next couple of weeks.”
My insides swirl with an agonizing confusion, my eyes squinted for a moment as I examine the hatred covering his face like a mask.
Is he really prepared to fuck with my life for payback? Is that really the man he’s become? The man my actions have made?
Hell fucking no.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” I push his solid chest to create some distance between us. “This is not about you, Jason!”
He takes another step closer, fuming above me like a bull that wants to trample me into the dirt.
“Right, because you didn’t come here to piss me off? You and Jacob are laughing about this tonight over a glass of wine?”
I let out a humorless laugh.
God, no. If I never have to talk to his brother for the rest of my life, I’ll die a happy girl.
“Have you seen your brother in the last couple of months?” I pop an eyebrow at that ridiculous comment. “Talked to him?”
Maybe if he would’ve pulled his head out of his ass and paid attention, he’d be able to connect the dots. Stubborn motherfucker.
“No, but he’s always close when it comes to you.” He strolls toward the door, frustration dripping from his face.
“You are impossible!”
“And you are in my fucking space!” he shouts, the door handle in his hand.
“I’m just doing my job!”
“Then quit! Stop ruining my fucking life by being here! I told you I never wanted to see you again. I fucking meant it. Get the fuck out of my sight and stay that way.”
Our eyes stay locked, as he’s trying to stare me into submission.
How did we get here?
“I’m just a fucking girl, Jason.” There’s sadness in my words that’s slowly poisoning all my organs. This was never how this was supposed to go. “If I have the ability to ruin your life, you really need to reevaluate your priorities.”
Hurt flashes through the lividness in his eyes, cutting deep into my damaged heart.
There! That’s what I’ve been looking for. His hurt is my hope.
He still cares. It’s small. It’s tucked deep. But that little fragment of hurt says it all.
That’s how badly I fucked him up.
“No, you’re not just a girl. Not to me.” He pauses, unspoken emotion clear in every shade of his gaze until they shift back to darkness in the blink of an eye. “I don’t want you here. Go fucking home.” He’s almost pleading as he pulls the back of his neck. “You’re a realtor, for God’s sake.”
I shake my head. “Not anymore.”
Jacob made sure of that.
“Why? Why, Jules?” He takes three long strides back into the bathroom until I can count the few freckles on his nose, doing my best to breathe as I swallow the pain away that comes from my nickname rolling off his lips.
“Why the fuck are you here? Just to piss me off some more? To push the knife a little deeper into my back?”
Hyper aware of how close his body is next to mine, I grip the sink to keep myself from leaning in and soaking in his warmth. I want to wrap my arms around him and disappear into his toned arms. I want to rest my head against his heartbeat and let it settle me into a state of relaxation I haven’t felt since the last time he embraced me.
But his nasty glare keeps me grounded.
“Don’t flatter yourself. They offered me a job, and I took it.” It was a lifeline I needed to get the hell out of Braeden, North Carolina, our hometown, as fast as fucking lightning.
The escape I needed to take a breath and figure out my next move without Jacob popping up like a Jack-in-the-Box whenever he wanted.
“And Jacob let you?”
No. But I was gone before he knew it, and considering he technically wanted me out of the picture anyway, his stalking has reduced to texts. Which I can easily ignore.
I lift my chin a little more, praying he will read between the lines if he just tamed his ornery attitude for two seconds. “Your brother doesn’t control me.”
“No, he just owns you.”
“ Nobody owns me,” I bite back, though that feels like a lie.
My mind is owned by one Spencer brother, my heart at the mercy of the other. I’m not just fucked. I’m doomed. God must be playing a fucking trick on me.
His eyes stay connected with mine, as if my words are slowly sinking in, and for just another moment, I think I see him.
The man who will bend over backwards to deliver his best friend, Hunter, to the love of his life. The man who will fly his mother to her favorite restaurant in New York for her birthday. The boy who would bring me a single pink rose when I was sad because he knows pink makes me happy.
But it’s gone before I can blink.
Dammit.
“Drop Ford.” His tone is menacing, rippling a shiver down my spine before he turns his back on me. “I mean it, or I’ll go to Edward myself.”
What-fucking-ever.
“You’ll only make a fool out of yourself.”
“Excuse me?” Jason spins back around, his eyes wide and sinister, but after experiencing the energy he’s pulling me into, I trust he won’t actually hurt me and I can handle his unsettling glare.
It only fuels mine, and he fucking deserves it. He’s the one who’s pushing us in this direction. I’m just playing his game.
Let’s go.
“What do you think it will look like if you tell Edward you won’t work with me because of a personal vendetta? Bet that would be a great look for Spencer Sports.” My voice is calm and collected, intended to piss him off even more. “Barely six months in, and already Jason Spencer is having issues with Brand Managers less qualified than he is.”
He snorts. “You got that right.”
I ignore his dig. “If the following weeks go as planned and we can clean up Ford’s reputation, I’m authorized to offer him a five-million-dollar deal for the next two years.”
Jason’s eyebrows hitch up a tad, telling me that’s a higher number than he expected before it rapidly returns to the frown he was sporting. “I’ll get him another deal.”
I snicker. No, he won’t.
“No athlete in his right mind will turn down a five-million-dollar deal with NVS, especially one who needs to desperately wash up his reputation. How many years does Ford have left in the NHL with the amount of bad press he’s gathering left and right? One? Maybe two?” I don’t even try to hide the smugness in my tone, because you know what? He’s asking for it.
“So, in my opinion, you have two options. One, you and I can establish a civil working relationship that will benefit Ford, NVS, and Spencer Sports . Two, you go somewhere else, Ford finds out you passed on a five-million-dollar deal and he fires you before you got Spencer Sports where you want it to be.”
He might think I’m evil, but the reality is, I want him to succeed. I want him to become the biggest agency in the country, representing athletes all over the world.
So, I’ll do whatever it takes to make him push his hate for me aside and do what’s best for him. Even if that ticks him off.
With nostrils flaring, he lets out a grunt as his lip lifts in a deep snarl.
“You’re going to regret every minute of the next six weeks,” he says, as he finally walks away. “I promise you.”
I exhale, the air almost painfully erupting from my lungs. “What happened to the guy who was my friend since we were teenagers?”
With a pinched expression, our eyes connect, more hurt wrinkling the skin around his eyes. “He left when you fucked him over.”
I wince when he slams the door behind him, feeling like my heart is being run over by a truck, my gaze crammed shut.
“Don’t I fucking know it.”