It’s not until I’m back into my place that I realize there is no saving my sign and my knees are both bleeding. I clean myself up and head over to Millie’s house to enjoy some pizza. I’m not going to let some idiot deter me from my cause. Tomorrow is a new day and now I’m more determined than ever.
4
Jax
I settle into my office chair and look over to the small leather sofa to see Bear lounging on it as if he owns the thing. I shake my head while scanning my desk to see if there’s anything important on it. After a few moments I give up on trying to concentrate on anything. My mind is restless and my body feels out of sorts. Maybe I’m coming down with something. I shake that thought off because I know it’s not that. Before I can think any more about it, my phone begins to vibrate. I pick it up and see that Jason is calling me.
He owns the construction company that builds or updates our shops. It must be the time of day where he gives me a daily update on things. I no longer man the front lines. That’s what the people I hired are for. My time is better spent doing other stuff. With Jason it’s different. We’ve been together from the start. I hired him for my first building. He was as wet behind the ears as I was back then but I saw the drive in him. I enjoyed working with him. He was dependable and true to his word when he gave it. I respect those things in a person.
“Tell me everything is going perfectly and I don’t need to stay on this phone more than a few minutes,” I say with a smile on my face. These calls are always the same every single day that we are working a site. Jason is usually a man of few words but this time I’m met with silence.
“We got a problem, boss.” The smile I am wearing drops from my face. Shit. It really has to be one if he is calling me over it.
“What’s the issue? Is everything not up to code? Did someone forget to get permits?” I rattle off the first things that come to my mind that could possibly be wrong.
“It’s none of the above.” That’s the only thing he says. My patience wears thinner by the second as I wait for Jason to explain what the issue is. “It’s a girl. She’s protesting the site and causing a commotion.” He lets out a long sigh. “She made her local paper. That said, every speeding ticket in this place makes their paper. Seven people caught last week if you’re wondering,” he says dryly.
“What else?” Jason might be a man of few words but I can read him well. He made the small joke because he didn’t want to say the rest.
“Check your email.” He finally gives. I pull my phone away from my ear, hitting speaker before dropping it down onto my desk. An email from Jason dings into my box. I click it. My whole world tilts on its axis as a beautiful face fills my screen. My eyes lock on hers and I swear I fall under some weird spell. I forget I’m on the phone or anything else until Jason speaks again. “It’s a video. Hit play.”
He jerks me back to reality. I haven’t made it that far to see it was a video. I click the play button and watch as she runs into a man. My fist clenches when her tiny body comes into contact with his. I stand as I watch her fall. My chair goes flying back, hitting the wall behind me. I can’t hear what is said but I can make out the word bitch that comes from his mouth.
“He’s fired,” I shout. I watch as he rips her sign in half and storms off. The rage I feel inside of me has me pacing back and forth. How could anyone speak to that perfect being in that matter? After seeing her gorgeous face I feel a renewed sense of purpose. I’m now determined to know everything about this little protester.
“Already done that,” Jason tells me. I close out my screen.
“Bear, up,” I tell him. He lazily opens his eyes, rolling over so he half falls off the sofa. Bear follows me as I exit my office. Brent is sitting at his desk. “Call Stan,” I tell him. He nods.
“I just wanted you to hear about it from me. I didn’t know if the video could get out there or what not, but I fired the dipshit. That said, the fall hasn’t stopped her. She was back out there all day yesterday protesting with a new sign. I was informed she’s there again now.”