Page 19 of The Encounter
“Never over a woman.”
“Wow,” she said. She leaned back in her chair. “You must really like her.”
He bit the inside of his cheek. He did really like her. Maddie differed from all the others. She didn’t toss herself at him, didn’t take their excursion on Halloween to the press for her ten minutes of fame, didn’t seek him out. She was the perfect amount of discreet and had protected his privacy. That alone amped up his attraction to her.
Another knock sounded on his door, and without waiting for a response, Seth, another one of his employees, opened the door.
“Hey boss! You busy?” His eyes flashed to Haley, and he smiled before stepping inside and shutting the door behind him. “Nevermind. I can see you aren’t.”
He walked over and dropped into a chair beside Haley. “Hey Hail.”
She turned and glared at him. “How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?”
Seth put a hand to his chin and pretended to think. “Um. Well, how many times have you told me to stop?”
She rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Jace.
When he didn’t say anything, Haley spoke again. “Look, Jace, just be yourself. You know you’re charming. Hell, girls toss themselves at you every day. You are everything a girl could want. She’d be crazy not to want to date you.”
Seth threw his arms out as if he were a referee. “Wait, wait, wait. You’re asking for advice from Hail, but not from me?”
Seth had been one of his first employees after Haley when he opened the club four years prior, and because of it, they became fast friends. When Jace had brought Seth on, he thought Seth and Haley would get along well, and he even thought there was a spark between the two of them. But Seth liked to tease Haley to no end, and Haley made it clear she was less than impressed with Seth. Unfortunately, it only seemed to egg Seth on more.
Jace leaned forward. “Haley is a woman, so her advice is helpful.”
“My advice is always helpful, too. I’m popular amongst the women.”
Haley rolled her eyes dramatically. “Oh God. If he thinks he’s popular, the world is ending.”
Seth’s head whipped toward her. “I’ll have you know I had three different women slip me their numbers last night.”
“And let me guess, you slept with all three of them.”
A smile grew on Seth’s face. Without even waiting for his response, Haley shook her head.
“You’re a pig.”
“Oink, baby,” Seth said.
“Good God.” She stood up and walked to the door. “Jace, let me know if you need any advice. I’m all ears. And you know it’ll be far better than advicehe—“ She jabbed a finger toward Seth. “—will give you.”
He smiled. “Thanks, Haley. I appreciate that.”
“What are friends for?” She smiled and pulled open the door. After shooting a glare at Seth, she walked out and shut the door behind her.
“I think she needs some Midol,” Seth said.
Jace shook his head at Seth. If there was one thing he had learned, it was that he couldn’t respond to Seth’s comments, or it only egged him on more. Haley had never been able to help herself and constantly engaged with Seth’s remarks, despite Jace telling her to ignore him. Luckily, they had enough professionalism when customers were in the bar that they could work together if needed. The club was usually busy enough that even if the two of them were near each other, there wasn’t much time to talk, so Haley didn’t have to endure Seth’s remarks all night long. However, Jace attempted to schedule them at different bars in the club, so they wouldn’thaveto work together.
“So what’s going on? Does this have to do with that girl from the other night?” Seth asked.
Jace nodded. “Yeah, I asked her out on a date, and she said yes.”
“That’s awesome, dude.”
“I’m honestly nervous. It’s been a while.”
Seth leaned forward and furrowed his eyebrows, his eyes filling with concern, and lowered his voice. “You’re worried your dick doesn’t work anymore?”
