Chapter Five - Recommendation

Jax’s Point Of View

We were at Reese’s house and by I mean me, Felix, Angelo, and Reese and his best friend Drake. His daughter, Hazel, became someone I grew very fond of. She had the same hazel honey eyes that Nem had like an enchanting goddess. I know they both were close because she blabbered on about their daily phone calls and all of their jokes. A close relationship with her aunt is practically a guaranteed friendship for Hazel.

I am the oldest so I have no nieces and nephews from either of my brother or sister. Angelina is a workaholic of being a torturer in the mafia as well as one of the highest ranks as a criminal in the underground. Hayden is still young and is currently ‘exploring’ the world; his words, not mine. Chief detective of the NYPD is not a role that had impressed my father at all but luckily for Hayden, mum could shut him up with her presence.

“Please, Reina is hot and you’re the overprotective brother for her,” Drake had commented to Reese. I wasn’t quite paying attention to the conversation as my mind wonders onto Nem. Her and her feisty attitude with me. I love her and no matter what I will always love her and there’s no way she’s going anywhere. I would swallow my pride to prove myself being worthy of her presence. No, I wasn’t worthy but that doesn’t mean that I won’t get better till I am worthy of her.

“I’m not overprotective. I am … caring,” Reese spoke out while hesitating in between. Drake lost it and started howling with laughter whereas Reese looked annoyed as his jaw tensed.

“Caring? That’s why you tried to steal one of her guns and she knew it before you could even do it and swung you across the room that you got a concussion. She beat you up in one blow?”

“She could beat anyone up; fucking hell she’s a monster, not a human when it comes to the underground,” Reese stated.

“What does your tattoo mean?” Hazel asked curiously while pointing at the one on my wrists. It read out Nem for Reina. I got it a couple of weeks after I killed her. An endless reminder of the cat and mouse we played acting as if we hated each other just to conceal the deep desire for the sexual deepening attraction we have for one another. She is the love of my life and as much as I would have loved to deny it back then, she always has been and always will be.

“It represents a woman that I fell in love with.”

“Her name is Nem?”

“No, that was the nickname we had for each other.”

“What was your nickname from her?”

“Narc.”

“Cool. Anyways let’s look at my new toy doll.” She started changing the topic. Just then, Nem had entered. Black crop top paired with some black shiny jeans with a black leather jacket. My eyes were on her. On her face focused on her beauty like a spell was enraptured on me. Her hazel honey eyes could represent the sweetness that she was capable of having or the sticky mess she can put someone in with her murdering and fighting abilities.

Her eyes flickered between me and Hazel while plopping herself down on the seat beside Felix. Visibly taking a breath, I could take a small and a slight glimpse and glance at the wrath, rage, and anger that she holds for me and it did not look happy. I hated that is how she feels about me but I could comprehend why she does. I will win her back and marry her. Mark my words.

“Hi, aunty Reina. This is my best friend Jax.” Hazel commented.

“Ok.” She spoke out monotonously, with no hint of happiness. Instead, she sounded drained and chugged down three bottles of beer with no break. I couldn’t help but see that she became one to drink excessively when they began but she wasn’t a lightweight. It would take twenty to thirty shots to get her drunk. Time passed but I found our eyes reconnecting now and then with a softened gaze turning to a harsh cold stare. She could fight off the sexual tension but it will only succeed in the end.

After thirty minutes or so, she got up and left went straight out and the last thing that was heard from her was the door clicking. I was tempted to go after her; so fucking tempted that I began fidgeting with things around me. I couldn’t just watch her walk out because I was in the room where she belonged. I gave another two hours before I left and said my goodbyes to Reese, Ophelia and Hazel.

In the car, I had to think like her. Where would she go if she had to go somewhere to crash? Most likely with friends. I had figured it out; Adelina and Seraphina had landed back here a couple of weeks ago to manage the Romano building more hotels. They landed a deal with Black Enterprises ran by Travis Black, a very influential and powerful man in America. Both of them did an exceptional job of running the company while Nem had gone away.

I got into the car and knocked on the door. The harsh and hard pitter-patter of the rain is all that could be heard against the door. My whole body was soaked so you could see through my shirt. The door opened.

“Get out.” That is all I heard from her with her cold tone.

“Nem, baby, let me speak-“ I pleaded perhaps in desperation but also gently not to force myself

“GET OUT!” she screamed while getting her gun out and aiming at his kneecap and I know she won’t miss since she is a professional, “before, I shoot you.”

“I need you to listen to me, Nem, please let me apolo-“ she shot bullet piercing through my shoulder and not the kneecaps. This could be because she didn’t want to harm me. Could be a weakness or could just be a warning for me.

Stepping in through the door pinned me to the wall opposite her, disarming her of her gun and shoving into one side of the floor.

“LISTEN TO ME. I AM SOO SORRY AND YOU JUST NEED TO HAV-“ I yelled back at her making sure she gets the message.

“SHUT UP! I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOU AND HEAR ANYTHING!” she interrupted and yelled back at the same volume.

I took her screaming and left but right before I left a strong kiss on her forehead. I also said, “Я люблю тебя, даже если ты не позволишь мне сказать это. (I love you, even if you won’t let me say it)” I whispered in Russian trying my best to hide my frustration from her not letting me talk at all with a kiss. She truly is the love of my life but if she needs me to walk out and leave her alone, I’ll give her that. I’ll give her just the amount she needs, which in my books is one night so guess I’ll see her tomorrow.

I drove home and went to my office to a lovely stack of papers dumped on my desk. With a couple of drinks and some papers, I had finished and headed to bed in her room. Within a couple of hours, it became morning and the day had restarted once again except this time Nem was back from the dead.

She’s stubborn, a lot. If she doesn’t want to do something, she won’t unless she is persuaded into it’ that was exactly what I was going to do. I know where she used to take her coffee in the morning before work. It was around the block from where her office was and it was also joined with a small local bookshop. Guess I’m in the dire urge to drink some coffee.

I took a shower, changed into casual clothes, and walked out to the coffee shop at the time that she would be in. There she was with a book in her hand while sipping on some warm coffee. The café was empty so my eyes rested on her. Near the bookshelf viewing which book she may buy but then she flickered through the moments and had a smile resting on her face. It made her face glow and bought a little warmth to me as well.

“The Deal by Elle Kennedy, eh?” I asked while approaching her taking the book out of her hand and kissing a soft gentleman on her cheeks.

“Why are you here?” she asked giving a breath out as if she was already out of patience with me.

“I’m here to ask you whether you enjoyed the moment where Garret made her use her vibrator on herself while he jerked off or when he made the handoff campus-wide rule for Hannah,” I spoke with a sly smirk on my face.

“You …. You read books?” she questioned with a confused look.

“Of course I do, I preferably love the enemies-to-lovers trope; it had to be one of my favorites. I’ve read the Off-campus series and am in the progress of reading the Briar – U series.”

“So you’ve read the mistake?” she questioned raising her eyebrows.

“Where Grace had faked her pleasure to Logan and it destroyed his ego, inevitably.” I laughed; it was a funny book.

“And the rest-“

“The risk? The fake dating between Brenna and Jake. Yeah, there’s had the cutest romance; after Garett and Hannah. Always will be number one in my books.”

“Stop following me, Jax.”

“No, I want recommendations on books, preferably the slow burns with two people trying to fight their connection when they were soulmates from the moment they met but they were blind.”

She huffed annoyed, “I would recommend Birthday Girl by Penelo-“

“Penelope Douglas about Jordan and Pike Lawson, who is her ex-boyfriend’s dad, but yet they fell for each other and in the end have kids and her ex was happy with it. Yeah, I’ve read it but that’s not what I was referring to,” she scrunched her eyebrows together and looked perplexed and what I had just said, “I was talking about me and you and whether you like it or not.”

She returned the book to the bookshelf where it belonged and grabbed the coffee from the table she set it on and went to the door and began walking the way back to her office.

“You and I will never happen.” She said sternly and tried to make her best cold voice.

“Then why do you freeze when I touch your hips and when I pull you in, your breath hitches,” I started walking beside her.

“Leave. Me. Alone.” She said while we reached her office.

There was a clipboard full of names at the receptions where she had told me to leave; I respected her boundaries so I did.

“What’s this list for?”

“Applications to be Miss Romano’s secretary,” the receptionist replied.

It seems like I have found my next job for some time.