Page 21 of Just My Luck

I frowned, the happiness instantly vanishing as concern slammed straight into me like a train going a million miles an hour at my chest. “Whoa. Sofia? What’s wrong?” I rushed over to her side, leaning down. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. What happened?”

Without a word, Sofia pointed a trembling finger at her computer screen.

I leaned closer, my eyes quickly scanning the open email on her monitor.

From: [email protected]

Subject: You haven’t won!

You think you’re so fucking smart? You think you can completely humiliate me and take credit for my vision? You have no idea what you’ve started with your lies. I am going to do everything in my power to make sure you lose everything. And don’t think that I’m only coming for your career. I personally guarantee you are going to regret ever crossing me. Watch your back, bitch.

As I read Leonard’s words, my blood ran ice-cold before instantly turning to boiling lava. A wave of pure, protective fury rushed through my veins.

“That absolute piece of shit,” I said, my voice dropping into a low, tight register. “He’s lost his mind.”

“I… I should,” Sofia stammered, her voice shaking violently as her gaze flicked toward the door, as if Leonard would rush through it at any minute.

“Hey,” I said firmly, placing a grounded, solid hand on her shoulder to center her. “I’ve got you. I’m calling HR and legal. They are trained to handle things like this better than we are. We have to protect you first. Physically. Legally.” I squeezed her shoulder lightly, forcing her to look at me. “Got it?”

Before she could spiral or protest, I reached over, grabbed her desk phone.

After I hung up the receiver, I remained firmly at Sofia’s side for the rest of the afternoon. The Onyx files, retail accounts, and my own exhaustion were put completely on hold. I didn’t leave her for more than five minutes at a time and watched over her like a hawk.

In the next few days, several things became the focus of the office. One, Leonard was banned from the building and a restraining order was put in place. Second, Rick and Sofia’s relationship was made public in the office, approved by not only HR but the board itself.

I was happy for them. Really.

But it did get me thinking about what was going on between Jax and me. We’d even had a small fight about it, which is why I had slept in my own bed the last few nights. I needed time to think and Jax was, well, busy.

I knew he was still working on the Onyx account without me. It hadn’t really mattered since I was buried under a pile of my own accounts.

By Friday evening, the distance between us had stretched too thin. I waited until the office had cleared out before heading to his office to find him standing by his windows, staring out at the mountain range beyond.

“We need to talk,” I said quietly, closing the office door behind me.

He turned, the exhaustion in his posture softening the second his eyes met mine. “Okay.” He smiled and walked over to reach for me, but I held up my hands.

“First, let’s talk,” I said, stepping around him and crossing my arms tightly against my chest. “Watching Rick and Sofia go to HR… watching them stand up in front of the whole agency and just own what they have together… it made me realize something. I’m tired of sneaking around. I hate hiding in the shadows. I want us to either go public or, at the very least, let me tell Sofia. She’s my best friend.”

“The timing is off. With Rick and Sofia going public, how is it going to look if we follow? The board is watching every single move this family makes right now. Besides, if we go public, people will claim I’m giving you preferential treatment on accounts—like they did with Rick and Sofia.”

“I don’t care about office rumors!” I cut in, my voice rising as four years of buried frustration boiled to the surface. “Sofia and Rick seem to be making it work. HR cleared them. The board cleared them. You’re using the agency as a shield because you’re terrified of what happens when we stop pretending!”

“It’s not a shield, it’s protecting what we built!” Jax snapped, taking a step toward me, his jaw clenching hard. “I am trying to keep the agency stable and handle my father’s workload. Keeping this between us keeps you safe, Nova. Why can’t we just leave things the way they are?”

“Because ‘the way things are’ feels like you’re hiding me,” I said, the words coming out quieter this time, laced with a bitter sting. Tears prickled at the corners of my eyes, and I hated myself for it. “We’ve known each other so long, we’ve both ignored rumors. Besides, I love what we have. But I can’t keep living in two different realities. If you can’t even let me tell my best friend, then I don’t know what we’re doing together.”

I turned on my heel, grabbing the handle of his office door, ready to walk out before I completely broke down in front of him.

“Nova, wait⁠—”

Before I could pull the door open, Jax was there. His broad hand slammed flat against the wood above my head, blocking my exit.

In one swift, desperate motion, he spun me around and hauled me flush against his chest. He buried his face into the crook of my neck, his lips pressing hard into the skin right below my ear as his arms wrapped around me like steel bands. I felt the ragged, uneven rise and fall of his chest, the fierce vibration of his body against mine.

“Don’t,” he rasped, his voice raw, gravelly, and entirely stripped of his executive composure. He squeezed me tightly, burying his face deeper into my hair, inhaling the scent of me as if he were suffocating. “Please, Nova. Don’t walk out that door. I can’t lose you. God, I cannot lose you.”

My heart hammered violently against my ribs, all the anger in my chest melting into a heavy, aching tenderness. My hands lifted on instinct, my fingers tangling into the soft hair at the back of his neck as I held him back just as hard.