“So, knowing all of that doesn’t make you want to cut ties with me?” Jax had to play more surprised than she really was. She knew he didn’t have a clean record. Nor did he associate with those who did. Even though she didn’t do what she just told him about, there were other dark parts of her past that she wasn’t proud of. Parts of herself that she thought best kept hidden. Parts that would completely qualify her for this company.

Sharing herself with people was uncomfortable. The truth of it was, if that situation had really gone down like that, she probably would have done exactly what she just lied about. She definitely didn’t like that about herself.

“Look, Jax,” Lance said sternly. “I’ve hired a lot of people who’ve done a lot worse than any of what you just told me. Don’t worry. I’ll find you a place here.”

She visibly relaxed. “That’s good. I really do want to work for you. Outside of wanting revenge on the Sweeneys I think it will be nice to work together again.” She’d forgotten to flirt with him amid all of the stress of the lies and truths she’d just shared. “So, if I was an assistant,” she asked suggestively, “would that mean that I get to work closely with you?”

“Uh, yeah. You’d-ah you’d be a shared assistant between me and Darius.” He blushed deeply. “You’d work most closely with Elvia. She’s on the hiring committee for that position.”

“Hiring committee?”

“You thought I wasn’t going to make you work for this a little bit?” He nudged her with his elbow.

The playfulness caught her off guard. It was a refreshing break from the heady tension. “I mean, yeah. I knew you’d make me work for it. I just haven't been interviewed for anything in 5 years.” It had been ridiculous, she supposed, to assume that he would just hand her a job. Besides, she’d be more respected by her potential co-workers if she had to go through normal channels to get it.

“So, honestly, Jax. Do you want to be a bodyguard or an assistant? You’re more qualified for a bodyguard. But Elvia is a great teacher, and would have you trained in no time,” Lance paused. He didn’t know which one he wanted her to do. Both prospects terrified him for completely different reasons. Having her close to him was trouble enough. But letting Darius close to her for an extended period of time? They’d come to blows eventually. He was sure of it. Maybe he could establish a peace between them before anything happened. Cut off the head of the beast before it hatched, in a manner of speaking.

She hesitated. If he didn’t know her better, he would have assumed those were nerves he was seeing. “How much time do I have to think about it before you need an answer? Well. I guess a better question would be–when do you need these,” she smirked at him coyly, “positions filled?”

Laughter bubbled out of him again. “I…uh…you…we need bodies in about a week,” he said haltingly. “If you choose to work with Darius, I want to warn you…He’s not a big fan of you right now. He doesn’t like your background.”

“Shouldn’t he have a say in who is protecting him?” Jax asked.

Lance sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Sure I’d let him have a say. If he would actually pick someone. But he’s been dragging his feet for over 3 months after his last guy quit, and I don’t like him going to meetings alone.”

“But why are you even giving me the option if you know he won’t like me?”

“Honestly, I think you two would get along fantastically if he can look past your background, and you can table your…” He stopped, blushing.

Jax went cold. There was, of course, always something people didn’t like about each other. It’s the nature of humanity. But to know that there was something Lance felt the need to protect his man from? It threw her off in a big way. “My what? Table my what?” She chuckled a little to try to ease the sudden tension. “Come on Lance, what’s wrong with me?” Mirroring his actions from before, she nudged him with her elbow. She didn’t know what scared her more. That there was already something about her that might ruin her whole assignment, or the fact that Lance didn’t see her as a perfect woman.

Humorless, he said, “You uh….you come on a little strong.”

“A little strong? What’s that mean?”

He sighed. “The intensity, Jax. I don’t think you realize how intense you are. The way you bore into people’s eyes. The way your laugh is like an afterthought chuckle. The way you constantly look like you just had the best sex of your life. I mean, just the way you talk to people. There’s very little levity with you. You need to lighten up. Darius is a joker. He teases everyone about everything. He’s passionate and a little moody. And you’re just,” he breathed deeply into his lungs, “You’re so serious. Just…lighten up a little.” He didn’t want to have this conversation with her. Talking was starting to get exhausting.

“I get it, I guess.” She said. That was it? She’d expected something worse. This was definitely not the first time she’d been told this, and she doubted it would be the last. A similar conversation with her captain came to mind. As she started to fiddle with the empty mug in her hand, she wondered to herself what she’d expected him to say.

“I guess I just thought you might think of me as perfect.” What?! She heard the words come out of her mouth before her brain caught up, and hated every one of them. It’d absentmindedly just spilled out of her. Quickly, she looked at his face to gauge his reaction, not sure at all what he might think about the asinine word vomit.

He laughed a little, and took the mug from her. “I think assistants need a little more tact than that, love. Bodyguard it is.” Walking over to the desk, he pressed a button on the landline. “Elvia, would you mind terribly bringing Jax another of those fantastic lattes? I will have one too if you have the time. And see if Darius is available for a few minutes?”

“You got it bossman.” Elvia chirped over the line.

Lance settled back onto the sofa next to Jax, infinitesimally closer to her, their elbows brushing against each other.

She looked at him, focusing on keeping things light and jovial. “So Darius’ bodyguard, huh? I can’t be yours?”

“I like mine a lot, honestly. And as Darius is the head of security, anything else would be a demotion for him. Bodyguards here do more than just security,” he said.

“Oh I’m sure I’ll be driving him all over the city, right?” She shuddered a little at the idea of the servant-type role she was sure Darius would try to make her fill.

“Actually, Darius likes to drive himself most places. He loves his car. I don’t think he would trust his own mother with it.” Lance grabbed his laptop, and opened the job description. “Come to think of it, I think you’d be great for this position. You’d be talking to the feds some. You’d also be helping us navigate the legal side of the business–helping us make sure our cover is solid, alibis, etc. We don’t run an operation like the Sweeny’s, so it wouldn’t be anything too nefarious that you’d be helping us cover up. But it’s definitely a way that you could be a great asset to our company.”

“Is it often that you have to deal with the feds? I didn’t think they had anything on you,” she asked as nonchalantly as she could. Be careful, she thought to herself. If she wasn’t, there would be a lot of explaining to do.

“From everything we know, we’re not under any sort of scrutiny. We keep our noses clean for the most part. Apart from marijuana distribution they don’t really have anything to worry about with us, so we’re mostly left alone.” The lie flowed so naturally from his lips, she almost believed him. Almost. “But if I or anyone else ever gets questioned, I think it might be a good idea to rope you into those conversations. You’d have a good idea of what to look out for, how they might try to trip us up, you know?”

Elvia breezed in with two cups of coffee and a notepad tucked under her arm. For all the world, she looked like she should be the boss, and Lance the assistant. Her charcoal slacks and purple silk blouse were expertly steamed, and her elegant earrings screamed, “I am a professional, respect me.” Lance’s untucked plaid shirt was lightly rumpled, and his 5 o’clock shadow said, “I’ll probably mess up your coffee.” Yet as he politely accepted the coffee from her, and gave her instructions about his afternoon schedule, Jax could tell that Elvia had the highest respect for Lance, and was perfectly content with their respective roles.

She started to wonder if she should have accepted the assistant position when she’d had the chance.