Not Interested
927 Words
There were only three things Jax Romano had never been called.
Poor.
Powerless.
Forgettable.
Until last night…
He’d acquired a fourth.
“i********: Boy.”
Matteo didn’t let him forget it.
“You know,” Matteo said, dropping into the leather chair across from Jax’s desk, “I’ve been thinking.”
Jax didn’t look up from the file in front of him.
“That’s dangerous.”
“I might start calling you i********: Boy too.”
Silence.
“You’ve been smiling a lot lately.”
“I’m working.”
“No.”
Matteo leaned back.
“You’re sulking.”
“I don’t sulk.”
“You got rejected before even making a move.”
“I wasn’t rejected.”
Matteo burst out laughing.
“She didn’t even shake your hand.”
Jax closed the file with more force than necessary.
“Are you done?”
“Not even close.”
Across town…
Ava lay sprawled across Linda’s couch wearing an oversized hoodie and fuzzy socks.
Aliyat was halfway through making popcorn.
Linda was replaying videos from her birthday.
“Oh my God.”
She paused the screen.
“You can literally see Jax staring at you.”
Ava didn’t bother looking.
“I’m sure he was looking at the cake.”
“The cake wasn’t standing.”
“Maybe it should’ve been.”
Aliyat laughed.
Linda threw a pillow at Ava.
“You are impossible.”
“I prefer emotionally unavailable.”
Linda pointed dramatically.
“See? This is exactly why you’re single.”
“No.”
Ava smiled.
“I’m single because I finally learned how to leave when the red flags arrive instead of waiting for them to turn into disasters.”
The room fell quiet.
Aliyat nodded slowly.
“Growth.”
Linda sighed.
“…Growth.”
Later that afternoon…
Jax did something he almost never did.
He asked for help.
He called Linda.
She answered on the second ring.
“Well, this is unexpected.”
“I need a favor.”
Linda laughed.
“Already?”
“Don’t sound so excited.”
“I’m trying not to.”
Jax leaned back in his chair.
“There’s a charity gala on Friday.”
“So?”
“I have two invitations.”
“You want me to come?”
“I want all three of you to come.”
Linda smiled knowingly.
“So this isn’t about me.”
“No.”
“It’s about Ava.”
“…Yes.”
Linda was quiet for a second.
Then she spoke.
“I’m only agreeing because it’s a group event.”
“I know.”
“And if you embarrass her—”
“I won’t.”
“If you flirt with every woman in the room”
“I won’t.”
“If you make her uncomfortable”
“I won’t.”
Linda smiled to herself.
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“You’ve never sounded this careful before.”
That evening…
Linda walked into Ava’s apartment carrying takeout.
“I bring noodles.”
“I love you.”
“I know.”
They settled onto the kitchen island.
Linda casually reached into the bag.
“Oh…”
“I forgot to mention.”
“Mhm?”
“There’s a charity gala on Friday.”
“I’m not going.”
“You don’t even know what it is.”
“I still don’t want to go.”
“It’s for children’s hospitals.”
Ava sighed.
“Linda…”
“It’s a group thing.”
“No.”
“I’m going.”
“Wonderful.”
“Aliyat’s going.”
“I hope you both have fun.”
Linda took a dramatic breath.
“…Jax invited us.”
Ava stopped eating.
For exactly three seconds.
Then she continued.
“No.”
Linda blinked.
“No?”
“I’m not spending my Friday watching women throw themselves at a man who thinks eye contact is a personality trait.”
Linda burst into laughter.
“That was oddly specific.”
“I’m observant.”
“He specifically asked for you to come.”
Ava looked up.
“And?”
“…And?”
“I said no.”
Linda stared.
“You don’t even know him.”
“I know enough.”
“He hasn’t done anything.”
“Exactly.”
Linda frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Ava rested her chin on her hand.
“The last man I trusted didn’t hurt me on the first day either.”
Silence.
“I’ve learned something.”
“What?”
“Potential has broken my heart more times than reality.”
Linda didn’t have a response.
Because she knew Ava wasn’t talking about Jax anymore.
She was talking about every man who came before him.
The next morning…
Jax’s phone buzzed.
Linda: She said no.
He read the message twice.
Then typed.
Jax: Why?
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
Finally…
Linda: Because she thinks you’re exactly like every other man who’s disappointed her.
Jax stared at the message.
For once…
He didn’t know what to say.
He slipped the phone into his pocket and looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office.
Every deal he’d ever wanted…
He’d closed.
Every negotiation…
He’d won.
Every obstacle…
He’d overcome.
But somehow…
The woman who didn’t even know him had already decided who he was.
And for the first time in years…
Jax Romano realized something that made him surprisingly uncomfortable.
Maybe charm wasn’t going to be enough.
Maybe this time…
He was going to have to earn the chance to be seen.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD