CHAPTER NINETEEN
ELISE
“I’VE ACCEPTED MY fate. I’m going to be single forever.” I announced Tuesday night as I sipped the rest of my mango and peach sangria. Between the three of us taking turns filling our cups, the only thing left were mango chunks and peaches at the bottom of the pitcher.
I had officially completed all of the dates Kelsey had set me up on despite the fact that I had Nathan on my mind on all of them.
Kelsey, Taylor, Alessia and I were dressed in pajamas.
“Not forever, just until you’re not working for the boss from hell.” Alessia countered. After our initial invite, Alessia had quickly become one of the girls. She was fun, funny, and easy to be around just like I knew she would be. Kelsey and I were glad to have her in our little fold.
“I can’t believe you didn’t hit it off with any of the men,” Kelsey spoke up, looking up at me as she had her head on my lap. “What happened with Owen? He sent you flowers right and took you out to lunch?”
“Yes, but then Nathan scared him off when we got back.” I frowned remembering Nathan’s dark scowl and menacing tone as he stared at the flowers in my hand and the man who brought me them, as if the Golden Globe actor was nothing more than a piece of gum under his Italian shoes.
“If I didn’t know any better I’d say Mr. Edge was purposely cock-blocking you.” Alessia said before taking a bite out of a mango.
“What? Why would he do that?”
“Because he likes you.” Taylor chimed in from the couch on the opposite side of the room.
She opted out of wearing the matching pajamas, but was dressed comfortably in a pair of men’s boxers and a graphic t-shirt with Tony The Tiger printed in the front and for once her kinky curly hair wasn’t slicked back in a bun, but freely falling down her shoulders.
“He does not like me,” I almost laughed. “That would require feelings and we all know that Mr. Edge doesn’t have any.”
“Then how do you explain when he—” Alessia’s question was cut short by a pounding on the front door.
The room fell quiet and all eyes turned to the door. A chill skated down my spine.
I glanced at my phone. No missed calls. No texts. No reason for anyone to be knocking on my door at this hour.
Kelsey and Alessia exchanged looks.
Taylor took a slow sip of her beer, watching me over the rim. “You expecting someone?”
“No.”
Taylor’s eyes narrowed. She set the beer down and rose slowly, muscles tensing, hand moving to the gun she had hidden underneath her shirt.
Kelsey hated living behind gates and guards.
Said it made her feel like a prisoner in her own life.
So we chose a place that was quiet, beautiful, and just exposed enough to feel normal.
“Stay here,” Taylor ordered softly but firmly. She moved toward the door with cautious, deliberate steps, every inch a professional. When she reached the door, she paused, took a breath, then cracked it open just enough to peer outside.
No one was there.
“All clear.” Taylor announced, putting her gun back on safety mode. “This was left on the welcome mat though.”
I stared at the single red rose in Taylor’s hand and the air left my lungs in a slow, measured exhale.
“Elise?” Alessia’s voice was cautious. “Who is it from?”
I stepped forward, my arms frozen at my sides as I stared at the flower.
It was fresh. Perfect. The delicate petals slightly curled at the edges.
I didn’t need a note to know who it was from.
Jax never sent texts. Never made grand gestures.
But every time before the storm, before the anger, before the bruises he would bring me a single red rose.
Just one rose, always red. Always a warning disguised as something beautiful.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to move. My fingers trembled as I lifted the rose out of Taylor’s grasp. And that’s when I saw the note.
A small, folded slip of paper tucked between the petals.
My stomach twisted, but I already knew what it would say.
Miss me?
The handwriting was familiar. Jagged, uneven, like he’d written it fast.
My pulse pounded in my ears.
“Elise.” Kelsey said my name and my attention snapped to her.
Kelsey, Alessia, and Taylor had gathered behind me, their faces tense with a mixture of concern and something sharper.
Kelsey swallowed. “Tell me that’s not from who I think it’s from.”
Alessia’s lips pressed into a thin line.
Taylor tilted her head, considering the note like she was reading an instruction manual then proceeded to cock her gun.
“Alright,” she said. “Guess I’m killing a man.”
A hollow laugh bubbled up in my throat, but I swallowed it down.
Jax wasn’t just testing the waters. He was reminding me that he still existed. That I would never be fully free of him.
It didn’t matter how big of a city LA was.
I could live in another galaxy and it still wouldn’t be far enough.
I didn’t listen to my gut before when it came to my ex, but I was listening now.
And my gut told me this wasn’t the last time I would hear from Jax.
***
THE SMELL OF fresh coffee was the only thing keeping me tethered to reality the next morning as I leaned against the breakroom counter, waiting for the pot to finish brewing. The quiet hum of the office felt miles away compared to the storm inside my head.
I pressed my hand to the cool granite countertop, smoothing down the crease in my dress, but my mind was still tangled in last night’s nightmare. The rose, the note, the message that meant he was now out there.
I hadn’t slept.
Every creak in the house last night had made my chest tighten. Every gust of wind against the windows had made me flinch. And even though I’d locked every door, closed every curtain, and slept with Kelsey in her bed, I still didn’t feel safe.
And even now, under the bright lights of the breakroom, I could still feel the weight of that rose. Of his note.
My phone buzzed on the counter.
Unknown Number.
I froze and my stomach dropped because I knew with everything in me that it was Jax calling. I swiped to answer the call then exhaled a shaky breath as I leaned my back against the counter and waited to hear from my ex for the first time since he was arrested.
“I’m surprised you answered.” Jax’s raspy voice came through the other end of the line.
“You obviously couldn’t take the hint of me not wanting to talk to you.” I did nothing but ignore his calls since the moment he was locked up.
“Still got that fire in you I see,” He chuckled. “Did you enjoy the gift I left you last night?”
“I loved it so much that it’s sitting at the bottom of my trash can right now.”
“I’m hurt.”
“You have three minutes.” I told him as I stood up straighter. Any other position made me feel vulnerable and exposed.
“I miss you.” Jax told me, his voice dropping to a softer decimal. It was that tone and a few sweet words that would make me forgive him all those times I knew I shouldn’t.
“Two minutes and forty-five seconds.”
“You can act as tough all you want, but I know you miss me too.” Jax continued.
He couldn’t be more wrong.
There was no part of me that missed Jax.
The moment they put those handcuffs on him he was as good as dead to me.
He may have been my first everything, but he didn't love me. Maybe somewhere deep in his twisted mind he believed he did, but that wasn’t love and for a long time I let myself believe that it was.
I should’ve walked away the first time he hit me. Instead, I let a single apology, feather kisses, and honey-filled words rope me back in time after time.
But never again.
“You’re wrong.”
“I know you remember how good we were together,” Jax continued as if I hadn’t spoken.
“Remember that night on Butterfly Beach?” he went on.
“We were with our friends. You had on that sexy pink bikini and your hair was in braids. We lit a bonfire and I put my hoodie around you and held you for the rest of the night because you were cold.”
I did remember that night. I remembered the scratchy hoodie, the ocean breeze, the music and laughter.
I also remembered how he pulled me away from everyone because he didn’t like the way one of his male friends was talking to me.
I remembered the grip on my arm, the tight-lipped smile when we came back, the apology later that night that tasted like smoke and fear.
“You made me leave early,” I said flatly.
“What?”
“You told me if I didn’t stop laughing with your friend Landon, you’d make a scene. And then you gave me a busted lip when we got home, accusing me of trying to make a fool out of you in front of our friends.”
“Why are you being like this?” He dropped the remorseful ex-boyfriend act. “Is it because you have a new man? Is that it?”
“No. That’s not it.” I don’t know why I told him the truth. It wasn’t like it was any of his business.
“Then what is it, Elise? I think I’ve been more than forgiving of you for putting me in that fucking place and now you’re telling me you can’t give me another chance?” His tone continued to grow darker.
“You put yourself in there asshole and your three minutes are up.” I announced before pulling the phone away from my ear.
“I’m going to see you again,” he promised, voice dropping to a sinister whisper. “Sooner than you think. And when I do, when I finally get you alone, you won’t be able to run.”
I slammed my finger down on the end button before he could think to say anything else.
My heart pounded, but I kept my hand steady. He didn’t deserve my fear. Not anymore.
The coffee machine beeped, and just as I reached for the pot, Melissa’s head popped into the room.
“Elise? Mr. Edge is looking for you. He wants to see you now.” Her voice was casual, but her eyes flicked with concern. “Are you okay?”
I forced a tight smile. “Yeah, just desperately in need of some caffeine.” I joked. “And thanks for telling me. I'll be right there.”
I turned the machine off before I left the breakroom and headed for Nathan’s office. I knocked once before letting myself inside, where Nathan was seated behind his desk, his attention on his phone. When he looked up and saw me, his expression shifted instantly.
Blue eyes narrowed with concern. “What’s the matter?”
There it was again. That unsettling ability of his to read me better than I wanted him to.
“I’m okay,” I lied with a smile. “Just still recovering from too much sangria and not enough self-control from my girls night in last night.”
Nathan’s expression didn’t change. “Try again.” I could practically hear the gears turning.
“I’m fine,” I tried again. “Promise.”
He didn’t believe me, but he let it go.
“I need you at the Fire & Ice Awards this year,” Nathan said instead, blissfully changing the subject. “You’ll be attending as my date.”
I blinked. “Me?”
“The award show,” he clarified, like I’d somehow misheard. “It's Friday night.”
“You usually bring whatever actress-slash-lingerie model you’re sleeping with at the time,” I said before I could stop myself.
Nathan tilted his head, amused. “Didn’t realize you were keeping track.”
“I have eyes. And a memory.”
He smirked. “Well, this year I’m bringing you.”
“Why?”
His brow lifted. “You’re my assistant.”
“I’ve been your assistant for three years and you’ve never brought me before.”
Nathan shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal then pulled out his wallet, took out his black Amex card and slid it across the desk toward me. “Use this to buy something to wear.”
“Oh no, that’s not necessary. I can buy my own dress for the occasion.”
“I know you can, but I want to do this.”
I picked up the card. “What’s my limit?”
“The same as mine.”
“That’s... that’s insane.” I hesitated, my hand itching to place the card back down on his desk. “What if I spend a lot?”
“That’s the idea.”
“Don’t tempt me. I have expensive taste.”
“I’m counting on it.” Nathan replied, evenly.
I tapped my chin playfully. “Now, are we thinking classy and professional or are you hoping I show up in something that makes the photographers assume we’re dating?”
Nathan’s jaw twitched, and a slow smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I'll leave the choice up to you.”
I grinned. “You know, just trying to strike the right balance between a powerful assistant and a red carpet baddie.”
“Try not to get carried away,” he muttered.
I gripped the card tightly in my hand.“You might regret giving me this.”
“I doubt that,” Nathan said smoothly but his eyes followed me in a way that made my skin prickle. “And Elise?”
“Yeah?”
His gaze lingered on me. “You’ll look beautiful in whatever you decide.”