“Got it.” Jax hung up with the guy and pulled up the browser. Then he started the search for property owners.
Meg unlocked the front door to her boutique. It was surreal to think that in about a month, she’d have vacated the place. Jax was right, she did love her boutique. She’d been running it for five years now, and it was her home away from home. Well, really her home, because since the fiasco with Blaine, she’d left her beloved one-bedroom apartment, bought the new place, been dumped by Blaine, and then moved in with her grandma. Nothing like going backward in life.
But it would be fine. Just like she had told Jax. Online shopping was a huge presence in the clothing market anyway. She might have to shift from high-end fashion to more midgrade stuff. She’d swallow that bitter pill later. The best thing she could do right now was get as much as she could out of the current stock.
She had about half an hour before Nashelle would show up for her shift, and Meg took her time going through the rounders, straightening clothing and adjusting some of the racks. Every couple of days she’d redress the mannequins in the front window, and she decided to put out the New Year’s Eve dresses.
Yeah, Christmas shopping was still going on, but it was never too early to shop for New Year’s, right?
She decided on a red dress and a silver dress. Once the mannequins were dressed, she went to the register, where she’d left the discount list. Twenty percent off all scarves and blouses. She hoped this would bring in more customers. Maybe even some new ones. Last night, she’d scheduled an email and Facebook post to go out to all their subscribers. And this morning, a sign she’d ordered would be delivered.
She cringed at the thought of a garish sale sign in the front window, but it couldn’t be helped. Every step would be hard, and she’d make it through. Somehow.
Jax’s offer was generous, sweet, and oh so tempting. But she couldn’t be in debt to him, or any man, again. She’d invested enough into her relationship with Blaine. She didn’t want things to be like that with Jax, didn’t want his dad’s predictions to come true. Dating Jax was something she had to pinch herself over, but she’d never take advantage of him.
Her independent heart was just too stubborn.
The front door’s chimes sounded, and Nashelle walked in.
“Hey, there. You’re early,” Meg said, offering a smile she didn’t feel.
“Yeah, well, the dog was up half the night again crying,” Nashelle said.
Her normally dark-smudged eye makeup didn’t need any embellishment. The circles were violet beneath her eyes.
“You should have called me,” Meg said. “Taken the morning off.”
Nashelle set her leather bag onto the counter. “No, the vet bills are going to kill me. I need the paycheck.”
The comment felt like a knife to the heart, although Meg knew Nashelle didn’t mean it that way. Here Meg was letting all of her employees go, but she’d also come up with an option that might at least help Nashelle.
“So, I was thinking that if you don’t find something full-time soon, you could help me out part-time for a bit.”
Nashelle’s dark eyes flashed to Meg’s. “Helping you with the transition?”
“Yeah.” Meg released a breath. “I can’t promise much, but at least something to tide you over. If you need it.”
“I need it.” Nashelle dug in her bag. “Even if I find something full-time, I’ll need any extra hours. Here it is.” She pulled out her phone. “I wanted to show you an Instagram shopping account. I think you need to start selling directly from Instagram.”
For the next while, Meg browsed Instagram pages to see how they’d set up their selling process. This was all way out of her element. Nashelle set up the sales signs around the store, and their first customer came in around eleven, two hours after the store had opened. Frustrating. At least she bought two items.
By the afternoon, things had picked up, but Meg was still dwelling more and more on Jax’s offer. She knew if she confided in Nashelle, the woman would urge her to take it. Which was why Meg had to keep it to herself.
She planned to go settle the final payment before the bank closed today. She usually did everything online, but she’d be closing out the account, and she needed to give them a heads-up so that she didn’t get automatically billed in another thirty days. After that was done, she’d be giving her landlord notice as well. In their contract, he’d asked for thirty days, and she planned to honor that.
The day passed slowly, and the only bright spots were Jax’s occasional texts. His team would be flying to Denver tonight for tomorrow’s game against Jax’s former teammate, Declan Rivera.
By four, his texts had died off, and she guessed he was at the airport. He’d only be gone a couple of days, and she already missed him. Not that she’d tell him that. He might renew the conversation about being her investor. She had to stay strong in her determination. Still, everything seemed gloomy with the darkening day.
Fitting that the wind picked up, blowing in a snowstorm. No one would be coming in now. She wished she could close down early, but she hated to close before the posted hours.
“You can leave before the storm gets too bad,” Meg told Nashelle.
“Are you sure?” Nashelle said. “You gonna be okay?”
“Yeah, sure.” Meg put on a smile. Nashelle had asked her more than once today if she was okay. Besides the store closing, she was fine. Just had to get over this hurdle.
After Nashelle left, Meg went back to Instagram and took notes on things she liked and ideas that might cross over to her plans. Then she added news of the sale on the Insta page. They only had about a hundred followers, but maybe that would grow with a stronger online presence.
Her mind wandered to Jax and what he was doing. Probably sitting on a plane. Hopefully they got out before the storm. At six sharp, she turned off the lights and exited out the back way. The wind had blown the snow into a frenzy, and she held up her arm to shield her eyes from the pelting snow. She made it to her car, but the windows were caked in icy snow, so she started the car, then used her ice scraper to get the windows decent.
The streets were a mess, and she was grateful her bank stayed open until seven, because it took her almost forty-five minutes to make the usually ten-minute drive. After hurrying inside the bank, she took a minute to thaw out from the bitter wind outside.
It was another ten minutes before she was seated across from an account manager. She gave out her information and explained that she wanted to close out the auto-pay.
“You’ll have to pay December’s payment right now, then,” the woman, whose nametag read Lisa, said.
“Sure thing,” Meg said. “I can do a transfer from my savings into the payment account.”
“Very well.” Lisa typed on the keyboard, then frowned.
At her silence, Meg said, “What is it? I should have enough in savings.”
“It’s not that,” Lisa says. “I don’t see a balance on the payment account.”
“It’s under my business name, Meg’s Loft.”
“Yeah, I have that pulled up.” Lisa rotated the monitor. “The balance due was paid this morning.”
Meg was confused. “It already transferred? It’s supposed to come out next week.”
Lisa tapped on the keyboard. “Hang on.” She studied the screen. “The payment came from another account . . . from another bank, in fact.”
This was bizarre. Maybe the landlord had made the payment and wanted her to pay him directly now? That was what he’d proposed years ago, but Meg had felt safer about doing everything through a banking institution, so they’d set up the payment system.
“Can you tell me who it was?” She fully expected Lisa to say Darrel Smith, but she didn’t.
“Oh.” Lisa’s brows pulled together. “It came from a personal account. Jackson Emerson.”
Meg didn’t move, couldn’t think. “Are you sure?” she breathed.
“Uh, yes,” Lisa continued. “Says here it tra
nsferred around ten this morning. And there’s an automatic payment set up as well. No cutoff date.”
Meg swallowed. “So the same amount will be paid next month?”
“Correct.” Lisa tapped a few more things. “Do you still want to close the account?”
“Yes, but I need to make a phone call first.” She looked down at her cell phone. Jax was probably still in the air. She looked back at Lisa’s curious gaze. “I’ll, uh, be back in the morning and get things straightened out.”
Meg hurried out of the bank, her mind reeling. She didn’t even register the worsened storm until she felt like her breath had been stolen by the wind. She climbed into her car and just sat for a moment. Numbness pulsed through her. What had Jax done? She didn’t know whether to cry or be angry.
She’d told him no . . . and yet . . . did he think she wouldn’t find out? Wouldn’t know that her lease was suddenly paid in full? Meg smacked the steering wheel. She didn’t want a man who didn’t respect her wishes. Her feelings.
Jax wasn’t like Blaine, no, but this was still similar to the line of thought when someone thought they knew what was best for her. When someone else believed he was in charge of her life.
Meg exhaled a shaky breath. She could go home and cry, and then when Jax’s plane landed, she’d call him. Tell him to stay out of her boutique business. He’d hurt her, maybe unintentionally, but the worst thing about it was that this was something his dad might do.
The interior of the car was nearly freezing, and Meg pushed on the ignition starter, but nothing happened. The maintenance light blinked on. “No!” she cried. “Don’t do this now!”
The battery was brand new. She hadn’t left lights on. The car had been running fine twenty minutes ago. She tried again. Then again. She pounded the steering wheel, this time for a different reason.
She zipped up her coat, then she called roadside assistance. No one answered at first, which was weird, so she called back. The operator that came on sounded frazzled.
“Can I help you?”
“My car won’t start,” Meg said. “I just had the battery replaced, though, so I don’t know what’s going on.”
“All right, ma’am, what’s your location?”
Meg gave it to her.
“It looks like there are significant delays in your area because of a storm,” the woman said. “Estimated arrival of a work truck is two and a half to three hours.”
Meg’s breath stalled. “That long? Aren’t there any backups for storms?”
“Those are the backups,” the woman said.
“Okay,” Meg said. “Book me, but if I find another option I’ll cancel.” She couldn’t sit in the car for three hours, and the bank had already closed. She craned her neck to see that yep, she was in the financial district, and nothing looked open around her.
“Very well, ma’am,” the dispatcher said. “You’ll get an update call a bit later with a more firm time.”
After she hung up, she considered her options of whom to call. Nashelle? No, her car was a beater. Grandma? Not in this weather. Her other employees used public transportation. Her phone rang, and Meg wondered if luck was on her side and the dispatcher was calling back.
To her surprise, Jax’s name flashed across the screen. How long had his flight been? And did she want to talk to him now? Her thoughts were scattered as it was, and she needed to get someplace warm.
“Hello?” she said, her heart thudding.
“Hey.” His tone was warm, easy.
This annoyed her. He didn’t know she knew about the lease payment, or maybe he had the arrogance to not think it a big deal to go behind her back.
“Are you in Wyoming already?” she said, hoping her voice was steady and not hinting at the anger bubbling in her chest.
“Nah. Our flight was cancelled. We’ll fly out early tomorrow, or as soon as the runways are cleared.”
He was still in Chicago.
She closed her eyes. She needed to confront him—now, before it gnawed a hole in her gut. But she was also seeing her breath inside the car as the icy weather crept in.
“Are you stuck at the airport?” she asked.
“I just got home,” he said. “A truck comes in handy in these situations. What about you? Did you get to your grandma’s okay?”
“Not exactly.”
She hated the concern she heard in his voice when he said, “What’s going on? Are you stuck at your boutique?”
“I made it to the bank, but now my car won’t start,” she said. “Roadside assistance is delayed for a few hours, but I think Nashelle can pick me up.” Lie.
“I’ll come,” Jax said. Easy. Natural. Like they were dating and it was no big deal. Bailing her out with car troubles and financial troubles.
“I’m fine, I don’t want to tell Nashelle to turn around.” Was she really going to follow through with this lie? Her body had started to shiver.
“What’s she driving?”
“A . . . Hyundai Elantra.” At least that wasn’t a lie.
“Call her right now to cancel, then text me your location,” Jax said. “I’ll pick her up too if she gets stuck.”
“Jax—”
“The news says the snow’s gonna dump two feet,” Jax said. “The whole city will be buried.”
Meg breathed out, breathed in. Then she cracked. “Okay.”
She hung up, and with trembling fingers, she pinned her location, then texted it to Jax.
See you soon, he wrote back.
Her eyes slid shut, and she swallowed against the painful lump in her throat. She hated that she was crying now. She hated that he was helping her tonight. She hated that he’d gone behind her back on the lease.
Meg couldn’t feel her toes by the time Jax’s truck lights flashed into the parking lot. Relief shot through her at the sight of her rescuer, even though she was reluctant to feel grateful. She’d cancelled the roadside assistance, so she’d call them in the morning to reschedule once the roads had all been plowed.
Meg grabbed her purse and double-checked that the keys and phone were inside, then she climbed out.
“You okay?” Jax said, trudging through the collecting snow toward her car, his gaze scanning her face.
“Fine.”
Worry etched his brow. “Wait in the truck. I’ll see if I can get it started.”
Of course. Typical male. As if she hadn’t been sitting in the cold for an hour and hadn’t tried a dozen times. “Sure.” She handed over her keys, then hurried to the truck through several inches of snow that had fallen. The wind was still fierce, stacking up drifts along the side of the bank building. She hoped that she’d be able to get her car out of the parking lot tomorrow.
Once inside the cab of the truck, Meg gave into the shivering. Her entire body ached with cold. She didn’t want Jax to know how desperate she’d been, so by the time he returned from his stubborn check of her car, with no better results, she’d taken several deep breaths to stop her teeth from chattering.
Jax climbed into the truck, and just his large presence, his very maleness, and the way he looked over at her made her stomach clench with regret. Why had he done such a dumb thing? Just when she was letting down her guard and believing that what was going on between them could turn into the real thing.
“It think it’s the starter,” he said. “How old is the car?”
“Three years.”
Jax nodded. “Could be, although it’s kind of early for a starter to go out.” He eyed her as she stayed close to the passenger door. “Come here; you’re shivering.”
She was, but she knew any contact with Jax would kill her resolve. “I’m good.”
She felt his hesitation, his confusion, but he didn’t push her. He pulled out of the parking lot and turned onto the main road. There were flashing lights up ahead—probably an accident—it was as if the entire city had come to a standstill.
Jax took some back roads through neighborhoods she probably normally wouldn’t have dared to d
rive herself, but they were free of accidents.
“Is your grandma okay in this kind of storm?”
“Yeah,” Meg said, her voice sounding too high-pitched. “She was at home when it started to snow. She doesn’t go out at night by herself anyway.”
Jax nodded, then drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. Tap. Tap. Tap.
Kind of like her rapid pulse.
She was thawing out, but that only made her emotions surface. Whatever happened, she was determined not to cry in front of Jax. She didn’t want his insincere apologies just because she was crying about him giving her money. Someone else might think she was crazy to turn down such a generous offer, but it was the only way Meg could retain her dignity.
Jax had known something was wrong the minute Meg had answered her phone. She was stressed, that was clear, but it was more than the car breakdown. He wanted to question her about whether it was still under warranty, because the car was creating too much trouble in too short of a time.
But she was on the edge, and he was pretty sure he knew why.
He’d picked her up at the bank . . . and that was clue enough. He let her have her silence on the rest of the drive, though, and as he pulled up to her grandma’s, he said, “Meghan, I can explain.”
Her inhale was sharp, and he put the truck into park, letting it idle in her grandma’s driveway. The snow was nearly a foot deep already, and he was sure he’d be driving to his place with his flashers on. But that didn’t matter right now. Making things good with Meg did.
She wiped at her eyes.
Damn.
“Sorry,” she said. “I don’t mean to cry. I’m mad at myself, in fact, because I cry too much in front of you. But I thought I told you I can’t accept your money. I thought you understood. But you’ve treated it like a joke and disrespected my wishes.”
Jax felt like his heart had just been carved out. “Meghan, I don’t think it’s a joke. I wanted to surprise you, I guess. And hoped that you’d be excited, grateful even.”
She turned to look at him, her mascara already smudged.
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