Jenna

Apparently, my rendezvous with Tanner in my apartment didn't go off as covert as I had hoped. Lindsey knows. She freaking heard us! Oh, my God!

She doesn't know who I was with, luckily, but she knows there's someone I've been sharing a bed with. And that means every night I've been out all night or coming home late for whatever excuse; she knows now that I was with someone.

Shit!

I panicked when she confronted me about it. I lied and told her it wasn't serious, and I wanted it to stay private for now. I wasn't ready to bring up the fact that I'm falling for Tanner, that the L-word has come to mind when thinking of him.

How am I supposed to explain my sudden change of heart? As far as the roomies know, Tanner and I are on entirely different pages regarding romance. And they still think that I'm annoyed by his very existence.

Lindsey didn't pry when I gave her my bullshit excuse for what was going on, but I know she's curious. And she's observant. So, Tanner and I have had to be extra cautious when we're out with the gang- me more so. She's used to him staring at me and flirting with me. She's seen it several times firsthand. I, on the other hand, have to check myself. I'd have a ton of explaining to do if Lins or the guys caught me checking Tanner out or smiling at him or exchanging more than friendly banter.

It hasn't been easy. I've seen what he has to offer beneath his cold hard exterior, and it makes playing indifferent very difficult. When we go out with everyone, I do occasionally steal a touch here and there. But only when everyone else is nice and plastered.

The last time we went out, I took the risk of sitting next to him at the table, and when everyone was pretty tipsy, I may have copped a feel. It earned me a low growl from my sex god and a look that screamed, 'You'll be punished for that later.' Fuck, that had me soaked. And true to his word, he punished me good and hard later that night. It was incredible.

The team has been practicing like crazy because they're well on their way to the championship and have an excellent chance of winning. My brother's old girlfriend, Mel, is in town for a visit for a couple of weeks, so I've been keeping busy catching up with her to keep myself distracted from the whole work situation.

Nick thinks he's getting close to finding out how to fix everything but hasn't got all the proof he needs just yet to take his information to the CEO. I still don't have any clue why Max would do that in the first place. I mean, I know he's a prick, but why the hell go so far as to get me fired?

I told Mel about the whole situation. She couldn't believe it. She knows who Max is. I've told her about him before, and she knows all about our history. She thinks he's a total creep and her theory is that he got me fired because he was jealous of my success. Fuck, maybe she's right. It does fit his profile to do something like that out of spite. The fucker!

Mel and I decided to meet up for dinner one night, not too far from my apartment. It's nice to see her and catch up. I didn't realize how much I'd missed her. We reminisce about old times, and she tells me about her life in Florida. I tell her what's new here and how she should move back to NYC. 

She laughs and says she's thought about it but needed time away after Justin died. I understand. Other than Mom, Lance, and me, she took his death the hardest, even more than Liam. Everyone was sure Mel and Justin would get married. Then, he was stolen from us.

Mel says she's thought about moving back, that she misses the city, misses the team, and all the friends she had here. Maybe I can convince her to come back. Hearing her talk about her new life, I get the sense that she feels incomplete, lonely even. Maybe coming back would help heal that part of her. I guess we'll see.

~

We finish dinner pretty late and call it a night. Time really does fly when you're having fun. And tonight reminded me of the good old days. She takes a cab back to her sister's place, and I walk home since the apartment isn't too far away and the weather is mild.

I'm lost in thought when suddenly I hear someone call my name. I turn around to see Max standing in an alleyway, leaning up against a building. He has a sick smile on his face.

"What do you want, Max?"

He strokes his lips and moves closer. "I just wanna talk to you, Jen. That okay with you? Or you got some hot date?"

He's got some nerve! Screw this. I don't have to deal with him. I start to walk away. "Fuck you, Max!"

He chuckles and starts to follow me. "Aw, come on! Don't you wanna talk, Jen. Maybe I'll tell you why I did it."

That son of a bitch!

I spin around, rage filling my eyes. His smile is sinister. "I knew that'd get your attention."

"Why? Why did you do it, Max? What did I ever do to you?"

Max gets closer to my face, dropping his smile. Now, his face was covered with anger. "Why?! Why?!"

He laughs maniacally. "I'll tell you why Jen. Because you thought you were too good for me. You, with your hotshot clients and your hotshot friends. Too good for me once you had all of them. And you wanted to keep them all to yourself, even the new one. What's his name again? T.J.?"

Is he serious right now? He's lost his fucking mind! "What are you talking about?"

"I let it go that you didn't want me, Jen, but then you started to mess with my career. You couldn't let me have just one of those hotshot clients of yours, could you? You wanted them all to yourself."

I stare at him, dumbfounded. He's absolutely certifiable! I messed with his career? Bullshit! He was just too lazy to find a job with a reputable company so he could get contracts with the better athletes. Fucking dickhead! "You've lost your damn mind!"

I'm about to walk away when he says something that turns my blood to ice. "I know you talked that new guy out of contracting with me. Or should I say screwed?"

I feel the color drain from my face. "W-what?"

Max narrows his eyes at me. The smirk returned to his face. "I saw you two, Jen. One afternoon, I came by the complex to try to talk to him again after he said he wasn't interested in my contract. I saw you pull him into a conference room. Then, I heard you fucking him!"

My jaw drops. He fucking saw us. He fucking heard us. Oh, no! "Oh my, God!" My voice comes out in a whisper.

Max thinks he's won. He thinks he's got me cornered. "That's right. I heard you! I listened as you called out for your precious Tanner as he made you come."

I feel my heart drop. He heard everything. Did he stand there and listen the whole time? Sick fuck!

"Tell me, Jen, is that how you kept the others from contracting with me too? Or just him? Is that why you left me? Were you fucking your other clients too?!"

The loud smack echoes through the alley as my hand connects with his face. "How dare you!"

Max grabs his face and chuckles. "I'm really going to love taking your place. With you gone, AthletaWear now has an opening, and with my impeccable moral standards, they'll welcome me with open arms."

A realization hits me. He wants revenge for me dumping him, for me being more successful than him. His fragile ego couldn't take it. "Is that why you did this? So you could get back at me for dumping you by stealing my job?!"

He closes the distance between us, stalking up to me like a predator. "You tried to take everything from me, Jen. You left me; then you tried to keep those clients of yours all to yourself. Didn't want to share your success."

I'm seconds away from kneeing him in the balls. "You're delusional! You won't get away with this; you know that, right?"

He leans closer, just inches from my ear. "Maybe, but do you really think you'll get your job back after the head honcho finds out you've been fucking all of your clients?"

I push him back, making him stumble to the ground. "That's a lie, and you know it!"

Max laughs as he lays there, looking up at me, venom in his words. "Oh, so is it just Tanner you've been fucking, then?"

I glare at him as he picks himself up off the ground. "Nonetheless, my point remains. You're done, Jen. You have nothing. Even if they find out what I did, they won't take you back. They wouldn't want the slut rep who keeps clients interested by fucking them."

I'm done. I've had enough. It's time to walk away before I end up in jail. "Go fuck yourself, Max!"

I walk away from him quickly as he calls after me. "Always a pleasure talking to you, Jen!"

~

I get home as fast as possible, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. Luckily, no one was in the living room when I got there. So, I slip unnoticed into my room. I debate telling Tanner about what happened with Max because I don't want to cause him any distractions with the games coming up, but I can't keep something like this from him.

He's livid after I tell him what happened and says he will strangle Max next time he sees him. I calm him down and tell him not to do anything rash. We discuss what to do about everything and decide it's best if I fill Nick in on what is going on, including what is going on with Tanner and me.

Once I hang up with Tanner, I take a deep breath and make one more call- to Nick. I have to come clean to him, even if it costs me my shot at getting my job back.

I take a deep breath and hit the dial button.  

A/N:

Whoa! What a chapter! 

What do you guys think of Jenna's exchange with Max in the alley? 

Is he certifiable? Or is he just an super jackass? 

Let me know your thoughts here. 

And as always, thank you for reading!   💖