she’s a geologist because she’d make a terrible business negotiator,” I griped.
“Now is probably not a great time to tell you this,” Jax said, his voice cautious. “But I spoke to somebody in legal, and apparently, they got the same answer from Harlow. One of our attorneys called her this morning. He didn’t tell me what she said word-for-word, but she told him not to call her again, and that she didn’t want any money. Essentially, it sounded like she told him to go screw himself, and hung up, but he’s way too nice of a guy to say it quite that way. Sounds like she needs more time than I thought before I approach her.”
I raked a hand through my hair as I leaned back in my office chair. “I don’t get it. All I want to do is make Taylor’s life easier. She wouldn’t have to stress over going to work if she didn’t want to, or if she wasn’t ready. Her financial worries would essentially be over.”
“Maybe she doesn’t want to become an instant millionaire,” Jax mused.
“I don’t think her refusal has anything to do with her bank account,” I told him.
I could still hear her telling me that I’d hurt her, and dammit, that was killing me. I wasn’t going to see her as a money grubber if she took that settlement. Hell, I wanted her to take it because she deserved it, and not because I saw it as some kind of payoff. I wanted her life to be easier, and I didn’t want her to suffer ever again.
Granted, if we were paying a large sum, we usually did want a legal agreement signed so we didn’t get slapped with a lawsuit the second that enormous check hit their bank. But I hadn’t even thought about that with Taylor. I didn’t give a shit whether she signed anything. I just wanted her…safe.
“I think you should try approaching her about it again. Let me know if she changes her mind and I’ll send the paperwork to legal,” Jax said.
“If she takes the money, it will be a gift from me, no paperwork necessary,” I answered in a clipped tone. “But I doubt that’s going to happen. She’s too damn stubborn.”
Yeah, so, maybe I had said that I wasn’t going to question her bullheadedness because it had saved her life, but now that she was fighting me, I wasn’t so sure about that statement.
“She’s also incredibly smart. I don’t know if those two qualities are a good combination,” Jax mentioned drily.
I grimaced. “She’s not usually like this. Usually, she’s more than willing to compromise, but not on this one. I could see a never-going-to-happen glint in her eyes last night. She really was offended.”
Jax cleared his throat. “Has it even occurred to you that maybe you should just tell her how you feel? I’m assuming she has no idea that you want to be more than a friend who’s helping her out.”
“Hell no, I haven’t told her that I want to get into her panties. She’s been through too much, Jax. It’s too damn soon,” I said remorsefully.
“She looked pretty together when I saw her last night,” he commented. “Maybe she’s not exactly like she was before the kidnapping, but she was probably in amazing physical shape since she was a martial arts teacher. It will take some time for to recover that kind of strength, but there’s nothing wrong with her, Hudson. She can handle knowing that you’re attracted to her, and what you hope will happen.”
“Maybe I have no fucking idea what I want,” I said, frustrated.
“Please don’t even try to tell me that you’re okay with just being a casual friend once she’s fully recovered.”
I thought about that for a minute. Could I handle just being a guy she considered a buddy? Watching her date other men? Hearing about those relationships? Knowing that some other guy was touching her, but not…me. “I can’t,” I answered hoarsely. “It would kill me.”
Bottom line: I wanted Taylor way too much to watch any of those things happen and to be relegated to the category of a casual friend.
“Then I think it’s way beyond time the two of you had that discussion,” Jax said rationally. “Have you made a single move to let her know what you’re thinking?”
“Almost,” I confessed. “Last night before the argument, but I was saved by a little ice cream mishap. I got my shit together before I even had the chance to touch