It’s not hard to imagine Jace—in all his sarcastic, cocky glory—with a heavy dose of irritability thrown in. “Coffee and doughnuts,” I repeat. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
"Smart girl. Are you getting out or do you plan on sitting in here all morning, listening to—" She presses one ear inside my Jeep but immediately recoils. "Oh, sweetie, no. John Mayer? I'm going to have to call and cancel your satellite radio until you find a better station."
"This song is a classic," I grumble as I follow her inside. While she rattles off why my choice of music is heinous and gathers papers from the printer, I grab a glazed doughnut and a cup of coffee.
"He said he's already had you sign the NDA, which is, like, his big thing. The guy fucking hates cell phones and cameras with a passion. Just give me back the rest later today or tomorrow." She hands the paperwork over to me, and I leaf through them between bites of my doughnut. "Payday falls every other Friday.”
"Sounds perfect."
"Theo and Griff are working on getting your office ready, but it shouldn't take much longer. Jace thought you'd be in later." Parking herself in her rolling chair, she brings her knees up to her chest and drums her fingertips against her leggings, right over a yellow smiley emoji. "You look a little ... out of it."
"Yes, well—" I inhale deeply and filter my fingers through my hair before pinning the jet-black strands behind either ear. "He told you about the other night, didn't he?"
Her lips curl toward her nose like she smells something awful. Which is probably the stench of my anxiety. "I can say he didn't if it will make you feel better.” When I let out a throaty groan and sink down in one of the chairs beside her desk, she lowers her feet to the floor and shimmies herself closer. "Look, I thought he told you everything during the interview."
From her wide eyes and the hand placed firmly over her heart, I believe her. "Then he comes home Saturday night grinning like the cat that ate the canary, and—" When my body goes taut, she pauses, a frown forming on her face. "What's wrong, Sunshine?"
Jace had gone home to Daisy.
Right after he’d loosened my buttons. After he set my body aflame with that piercing blue stare and guarded smile. After he took me to a sex party. And even though I had a hunch they were together when I saw them together yesterday morning, my heart still lurches. Which is ridiculous. At the end of the day, it shouldn't matter to me at all who or what Jace Exley goes home to.
"It's nothing.” I smile tightly, but Daisy’s brows shoot up toward her platinum hairline.
"No, it's not. You look like I just punched you in the spleen and stole your lunch money.”
"I promise it's fine." And by fine, I mean I feel shitty for letting Jace get to me when he already has someone.
She stares at me unblinking for a moment, then a grin nudges her lips. "Jace isn't my boyfriend, Sunshine. I'm engaged to Theo—have been for what seems like for-e-ver because he's dragging his feet getting the show on the road. Jace spent the weekend with us while the painters were sprucing up his place."
"Oh."
"You're squishing your doughnut." She gestures to the remainder of the pastry in my fist. Checking the metal clock on her desk, she says, "We have another ten minutes before work officially starts, and since everything is fine and I don’t want to scare you off on your first day here, tell me about this amazing marketing plan you have. And, seriously, stop harassing that poor doughnut. It’s had enough, don’t you think?"
Nodding, I loosen my grip.
To be honest, my amazing marketing plan flew out the window the second I realized the nature of EXtreme’s business. I still plan to call my friend Andi who designs the best websites I've ever seen, but I’ll have to reevaluate other ways to promote the company. Something tells me the clock conventions I researched as soon as he offered me the job last weekend aren’t going to cut it.
"You have no idea, do you?" Daisy's voice cuts into my thoughts. "It's okay if you don't. I'd never owned a computer before I started working here."
"Of course I have an idea,” I argue, tossing my smooshed doughnut in the wastebasket by her desk. “I just want to run them by Jace first.”
"You're a consummate bullshitter. No wonder he chose you over Mr. Dungeons and Dragons." She runs her gaze over my body and bites her lip. "Guess it also helps that you look like that."
Ignoring that last part, because I'm not entirely sure how I should react to her thinking I was hired because of my physique, I arch an eyebrow. "Who’s Mr. Dungeons and Dragons?"
She rolls her chair so close to mine she’s practically in my lap. "So, he had this other guy who applied for the position—a real douche if you ask me—but it takes one to know one, right?" I lift my shoulders half-heartedly, not wanting to do any more damage by confirming that I think Jace is the king of the douches. She takes my shrug as an invitation to keep talking. "Well, this motherfucker had dragon tats everywhere and all he could talk about was how he uses our stuff in his own—”
"Daisy," a low voice growls in warning a few feet away. Both our heads snap toward the entrance to the workshop, where Jace is standing with one arm propped against the doorframe and his other hand skimming through his dark hair. He's wearing a long sleeve black V-neck with the sleeves pushed up to his forearms and a pair of work pants that are covered in black smudges and tiny flecks of metal. He looks dirty.
Dirty and too sexy for his own damn good.
I feel awful for thinking that, but not as bad since I know he and Daisy aren’t together.
He gives me a self-possessed turn of his full lips. "Morning, Williams.”
"Jace," I say with a stiff nod.
"The guys are still working on your office," he explains then yawns into his elbow. "Come with me while you wait. I want you to get a taste for what we do here."
A taste for what they do. The other night wasn't enough flavor?
Shakily, I fold my paperwork into the pocket of my laptop bag. Daisy flashes me an enthusiastic thumbs up and backs her chair away so I can stand.
"Let me know if you need to know how anything works," she's saying loudly as I follow after him. "Good luck. And if any of the guys give you shit, don't be afraid to tell them to fuck off."
Jace and I make a pit stop by my new office, which is slightly bigger than the reception area. The only furniture is a cushy rolling chair identical to Daisy's and an oversized desk that I can tell has been newly assembled based on the Ikea box leaned against one wall. After I put my laptop bag beneath the desk, Jace formally introduces me to Theo and Griffin. I feel my face catch fire when the latter says he’s always been a fan of hot Korean chicks.
"She's half-Vietnamese, you git," Jace points out, casting a dark look at Griffin, who shrugs sheepishly.