The CEO's Romantic Wager

Chapter Four: Confronting Him

Jayla sat cross-legged on the bare floor of the living room, wrapped in her favorite cozy Christmas blanket as she hung out with her best friend and roommate, Gimorrah.

It was Friday night, and like they usually did when they were both home with no plans for the night, the two girls had set up a spread of snacks and drinks for a little Netflix and Chill time, roomies edition.

They had picked one of those sappy Hallmark Christmas movies, with the arrogant city girl and the down-to-earth guy next door in her tiny hometown—wait that was basically describing every Hallmark movie there was, but… you get my drift.

The movie droned on, but neither of the girls paid it any attention, each of them lost in their own world.

Gimorrah, for one, was having a flirty exchange via text with the girl she had gone home with from the gallery a week ago, and as for Jayla, well, she couldn’t get her mind off the strange way things had ended with her boss that very night.

Could you believe that he had avoided her since then?

A week had passed since Ajax Creed had left her standing on the curb like that, and in the days that had followed, he practically avoided her, first through his working from home to avoid traffic sham, to his back-to-back meetings that he claimed did not require her to be present.

She was so lost in thought and yet terribly fixated on the TV screen that when the credits began to roll, and she still maintained her engrossed state, Gimorrah knew without a doubt that something was up with her best friend.

“Okay girl, something is up, and I want you to spill. Now.” She got right into it, setting her phone aside.

“Okay, Gim…” The blonde girl adjusted herself on the floor, fully facing her friend. “It… it’s about Mr. Creed.”

“Ah, your hot sexy brooding boss with the brown skin and dark hair I’d like to bury my hands in…” She trailed off at the pointed look Jayla gave her, a contrite one sneaking its way up on her beautiful flawless face. “Yeah, sorry, my bad… is he still ignoring you?”

“You know what? He is, Gimorrah… he still is.” Jayla let out a loud sigh, popping a few popcorn kernels into her mouth.

“I just don’t get it. One minute, we’re talking normally, having fun, enjoying the night, the next, he’s storming off and avoiding me like the plague. The whole week, he’s barely looked at me, let alone spoken more than three words to me. I can’t figure out what I did wrong… if I even did anything at all.”

And for the blond-haired woman, she hated that a man she didn’t even care much about was filling up her thoughts like that.

Gimorrah reached for her glass of pink bubbly, swirling the drink absentmindedly as she scrutinized her friend, apparently deep in contemplation.

“Maybe you bringing up the Christmas thing was a trigger for him? You never know what kind of baggage people be carrying these days.”

Jayla groaned out her frustration, “So why not confront me about it, get it off your chest instead of closing off and acting like a real b***h?”

“Woah, I ain’t your boss… calm down for a sec, girl,” Gimorrah warned.

“Sorry.” Jayla let out an embarrassed laugh, calming down enough to get her point across, “I just don’t understand the hot-and-cold behavior. One moment he’s acting like he’s genuinely interested in getting to know me and being friends, and the next, it’s like I don’t even exist, and all over what? Me calling him out for being a Grinch? But that is exactly what he is!”

Gimorrah leaned back, her green eyes narrowing in mock suspicion. “Maybe it’s part of his master plan. A carefully plotted agenda to capture your heart,” She said spookily, “Who knows? Maybe he’s testing you! Maybe it’s some psychological trick. You know, the whole ‘act distant to make her want me more’ strategy.”

Jayla rolled her eyes at her best friend.

Gimorrah usually gave the best advice, but today she just wasn’t helping. “Come now, Gimorrah, that’s ridiculous. Mr. Creed has never looked at me in that light, and he never will. Trust me… I am not his type, and he certainly isn’t mine,” She declared confidently.

“And what exactly is your type, Jayla Beckett? Pray, do tell.” Gimorrah blinked eagerly, and like a demon of mischief, her eyes lit up at the way her friend’s cheeks instantly turned hot.

“Well, I don’t know if I have one, but at least I know for certain that he shouldn’t be a playboy for one.” She shot at her best friend.

“Yeah, touché.” Gimorrah nodded in acceptance.

“You know what, Jayla… I can see it’s really bothering you, so here’s what you’re going to do. Monday if he comes into the office, don’t you dare let him off the hook, confront him right away, even if he doesn’t want to, and find out what all of that’s about…”

“Oh, you bet your ass that’s exactly what I’m going to do,” Jayla finished determinedly, a small chuckle leaving her lips, “Thanks a lot, Gim… getting that off my chest really helped.” She sighed at her friend in relief.

Gimorrah pressed a hand to her chest, downing the rest of her champagne in a gulp. “Anything for you, my love.”

The moment passed, and Jayla lifted a brow mischievously, “You know, now that we have gotten my issues out of the way, it’s your turn now. Who keeps texting you, and don’t think I haven’t noticed because I was deep in thought. Come on girl, spill.” She threw the Artist’s words right back at her.

Gimorrah stood up and tried to make a dash for it to her room, and Jayla chased after her, their loud laughter and thumping footsteps reverberating across the entire two-bedroom apartment.

******

On Monday morning, Jayla arrived at work, half-expecting the same cold shoulder from her boss.

She told herself she’d stay professional, maintain her composure, and not let his confusing behavior get to her.

Jayla had been doing some serious thinking last night, and she had decided that why did she need to confront him over what was clearly his decision?

If avoiding her because of a simple misunderstanding was what he wanted to do, he could… she was just going to focus on her work as being his assistant, and if his behavior towards her got in the way of that and her getting paid, then that was where she was going to strike.

But as soon as she got to the top floor, there he was, stuck in a position that showed that he had been waiting for her.

I guess he finally wanted to talk now.

“Ms. Beckett.” He gave her a friendly smile and handed her a file, like they hadn’t spent an entire week avoiding each other.

“Good morning. Hope you had a nice weekend,” he said, keeping his voice light and conversational with no hint of malice or curtness like there had been in the past few days.

As much as the blonde woman wanted to jump right into confronting him, she did her best to keep her own tone neutral. “It was…uhm, good, thank you. And yours?”

“Not bad at all,” he replied easily.

Jayla nodded and tried to walk over to her workstation, but his next set of words caught her off guard. “By the way, Ms. Beckett, I was thinking—perhaps you’d like to join me for lunch today? I know a great place just down the street. It’d be my treat, you know, for the shitty way I’ve been in the past few days.”

Oh.

This time, Jayla didn’t hide her confusion. She crossed her arms, meeting his gaze directly. “Mr. Creed, can I ask you something?”

He raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Of course.”

“What exactly is this ‘hot and cold’ game about?” She asked him, keeping her voice steady. “One moment, you’re friendly, inviting me to lunch, asking to join me on my out-of-office events, the next, you’re walking out on me... and ignoring me all week. What’s your agenda? What do you want with me?” She eyed him suspiciously.

Ajax Creed blinked, looking genuinely surprised for a moment at the calm and yet authoritative way she confronted him.

Only a few people dared to do what she had just done, but she was right.

He had been a total ass to her, and perhaps this was exactly what he needed. To come clean and tell her the truth, you know… get everything off his chest.

And so, raising his hands in surrender, a charming grin formed on his face. “Alright, alright, you’ve got me, Ms. Beckett. I do have an agenda in mind where you’re concerned, and given the unforgivable way I have treated you, I guess it’s only fair that I tell you the truth and get it over and done with. So, here’s me, coming clean.”