The little smile that had been on her face from Alex’s kiss vanished.
The grin on his face was the same one she remembered.
That unhurried thing that said he already knew how this conversation was going to go before she opened her mouth.
Lena’s stomach twisted with old hate.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
Jax stepped closer.
“Better question.
What are you doing at an establishment like this, dressed like you just rolled out of someone’s bed?”
“Move.” She stepped to go around him.
He shifted, not blocking her exactly, just occupying the space more.
“Looks like you’ve been practicing.”
“What the fuck have I been practicing??”
“Don’t play dumb now, Lena. I taught you how good your body could feel. And that body…” His eyes trailed down, a faint smirk touching his lips.
“It’s still that tight little thing I broke into, right?”
Lena’s cheeks burned.
A flash of memory hit her.
His apartment.
Her first time.
She had been so braced for pain that she grabbed his headboard before he even touched her, and he laughed.
Not cruelly though.
“Relax, I’ve got you.”
She did, and it didn’t hurt.
He took his time, and when she had her first orgasm she genuinely didn’t understand what was happening to her body for the first three seconds.
Her belly flipped now, remembering nights with Jax that she didn’t want to remember, and she hated every second of it.
“Stay the fuck away from me,” she hissed.
“I’m not the same girl you used to control.”
Jax laughed softly, almost touching her cheek but stopping just short.
“I can see that.
I must have done something right.
I unleashed this side of you.
I’m excited to get to know it better… especially now that I work here.”
“You’re the new manager Glinda hired?!” Lena’s eyes went wide.
“Yes, and if you beg nicely…” He grabbed her waist and pressed her against his crotch.
Lena’s breath hitched, his lips just inches from hers.
“I’ll make you a VIP myself. Best seats in the house to experience everything I’m introducing to Zen.”
His hand moved down and squeezed her right butt cheek.
Lena shuddered under his touch and his intense eyes.
“I think your ass has gotten bigger… I want to see it…”
The door behind them swung open.
Alex stepped in, worry clear on his face.
“Lena, you’ve been gone more than five min—” He froze when he saw a man pinning her to the wall.
In one fast movement, he grabbed Jax by the collar and threw him hard to the floor.
“Get the fuck away from her!”
Jax looked up, brushing himself off with a smirk.
“Well, well. If it isn’t the billionaire best friend. Nice to see you again, Voss.”
“Jax?
What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Just checking to see if I still have an effect on your best friend.” His gaze dropped to Lena’s chest rising and falling heavily.
“Got my answer.”
Lena clenched her fist, marched over, and stomped on his ankle.
He groaned in pain.
“He groped my ass without my consent!
Alex, fire him now.”
“Fire him?
He works here???” Alex spun around.
“Glinda!” He pulled Lena to his side, then stepped in front of her protectively.
Jax was smiling smugly on the floor, his curls thrown back.
Glinda appeared, looked between the three of them, and frowned.
“What’s going on?”
“You hired this man?”
“Yes, he resumed yesterday.
Did he make a mistake?”
“He groped my girl.”
Glinda gasped.
“Jax, is that—”
“Bullshit!” Jax spat, getting to his feet.
“She touched me first.
I accidentally grabbed her ass trying to push her away.
Tell them, Lena.
Tell them everything you said about missing the man who gave you your first orgasm five years ago… the man who taught you the art of self-pleasure…”
“You motherfuck—”
“Tell them!” He cut her off.
“I bet if we spread your legs right now, everyone will see exactly how horny you are for your long lost ex.”
Lena shot forward and slapped him.
She aimed hard but landed weak.
Her insides were burning with two types of rage, one from his lies, and the second she refused to name, because naming it would mean Jax was telling the truth.
“Look at her hands shaking. Tch!” He pointed at her knees.
“You can’t even stand straight. If you’re going to tell lies, at least lie with confidence. I demand an apology. I do not take accusations like this lightly.”
Alex had heard enough.
He punched him in the nose.
“You’re still an asshole after all these years.
You’re fired, Jax.
Drop every company possession in your hands and get the fuck out of my building.”
“That’s unlawful termination and I won’t let it happen.
You should be going after your fuck buddy for getting hot and bothered for another man, instead of letting her manipulate you into firing me.”
The words landed exactly where Jax threw them.
“Nobody is manipulating anyone,” Alex said flatly.
“No?” Jax pressed a finger under his nose, checking for blood, unbothered by what he found.
“Then why are you firing me the moment she says the word? You run a billion dollar company but you can’t make a single decision without checking her face first.” He tilted his head.
“That’s a man on a leash.”
Alex took a step forward.
“Alex.” Lena put a hand on his arm.
Jax watched Alex stop and smiled.
“See. Leash.”
Something snapped in Lena’s chest. Get faster updates on g.com.
She stepped around Alex.
“You think I’m hot and bothered for you?” She was mildly surprised at how even her voice came out.
“Jax, I’m standing here in another man’s shirt with that man’s fingerprints still on my hips.
The reason my hands are shaking is because I stomped on your ankle and I’m still deciding whether to break the other one.
You gave me my first orgasm, congratulations.
My shower head has given me a thousand since then and it never once tried to control where I went.”
“I’m not attracted to trash,” she continued.
“I’ve upgraded significantly. You should see what I work with now.” She smiled with no warmth in it.
“And Alex doesn’t need to fire you.”
That surprised everyone in the room, including Alex, whose hand found her elbow.
“Lena—”
“Why would I?” She kept her eyes on Jax.
“You’d love that. I’d rather keep you exactly where I can see you. Right here, working under me.”
Something moved through Jax’s expression that he covered quickly.
“What do you mean?”
“From now on, I am the senior manager of Zen’s exclusive operations,” she declared.
“That’s not a thing,” Jax rolled his eyes.
“It is now. Right, Alexi?” She turned to Alex.
The room held its breath.
Glinda was already the manager of Zentharis, and Alex had no plans to fire her.
Lena knew that too, which was exactly why she had created a new position on the spot.
“She’s right,” Alex said finally.
“You report to Lena from now on, not Glinda.
Touch her one more time and I’ll murder you.”
“And what if Lena touches me first?”
“It’s Ms. Martinez.
I’m your fucking boss.”
Jax looked at her for a beat.
Then something dark and playful flickered in his eyes and he dropped to his knees right there in front of her, crawling forward until he reached her feet.
He kissed the top of her foot, then moved up her leg, lips brushing her skin.
Two fingers traced teasing circles at the back of her ankle, feeling the way her leg trembled.
“Forgive me, Master,” he murmured, thick with mockery.
“I promise to be your good little boy from now on!”
He looked up at her with a manic, villainous laugh that sent chills down her spine.
Lena kicked him away hard.
“Get the fuck off me!”
She stormed out of Zen without looking back.
The rest of the day didn’t go as she and Alex had planned.
Lena stayed angry and distracted, and by midnight Alex was fast asleep beside her in the penthouse.
But Lena couldn’t close her eyes.
She didn’t even know what, or who, she was thinking about.
Then her phone vibrated.
She groaned and grabbed it.
The text came from an unknown number.
“Your lips are so fucking fat. Did it get that fat after I left… or did it just swell up because I turned you on? Tell me, Lena. I’m so curious it has made me fucking hard…”