Chapter 5 - Part 1

Bree took a deep breath to calm her frantic heart. Her nervousness doubled when she finally faced Sir Jax and saw the anger in his eyes. They were blazing with accusation.

Bree swallowed hard.

"Jax, darling, what took you so long?" Elise suddenly appeared from behind Jax, her face scowling. But when she saw Jax carrying Amy, her expression quickly changed. Her face brightened, and she gave the child an overly sweet smile. Bree couldn't tell if it was genuine or just for show.

"Amy, baby! Oh, my... I was so worried about you! Where have you been? Are you alright?" Elise dramatically exclaimed as she approached and hugged the child.

Bree grimaced at Elise’s exaggerated tone. Okay. Confirmed. It was all for show. Bree raised an eyebrow when Elise deliberately pressed her body against Jackson while hugging the child.

It was no secret among Jackson’s employees that the two had some kind of relationship—if it could even be called that. Elise Trinidad always visited Jackson Samaniego, but she was never seen at any company events. Either their relationship was private, or there was no real relationship at all.

Did she really have to press her big boobs against Sir Jax’s arm?

Bree forced herself not to roll her eyes at the sudden irritation blooming inside her. She couldn’t understand why she felt that tiny spark of annoyance seeing Elise’s large chest against Jackson’s arm.

Are you jealous? Insecure because you don’t have big and bouncy boobs?

Bree wanted to punch that part of her brain—the part that always played the villain in her life.

She wasn’t jealous! Why would she be? She didn’t even like this man; he had the worst attitude. She was just annoyed at Elise for acting overly familiar!

Why do you care if Elise is acting close to Jackson? For all you know, they’ve probably done far worse inside his office!

"You’re so annoying!" Bree snapped at her own thoughts. She immediately covered her mouth when she realized she had said that out loud.

Elise turned sharply to Bree, glaring at her with fury.

"You useless bitch! You can’t even do your job properly!? You had one simple task, and you still messed it up! What if something bad had happened to Amy? You’re a completely worthless nanny!" Elise screamed at Bree, then turned to Jax. "Jackson, you should fire her!"

Bree’s mouth dropped open at Elise’s words. Her brain momentarily froze, leaving her speechless.

Was she serious? Did Elise really think she was Amy’s nanny? Couldn’t she see the office attire she was wearing and the company ID hanging around her neck?

Bree glanced at Sir Jax, but she immediately regretted it. She wished she hadn’t looked at him. He was staring at her intensely, his eyes burning—not with anger, but with something else Bree couldn’t quite identify. His jaw was clenched as if he was holding something back.

Holding back what? Bree wondered, confused.

Jax ignored Elise’s words. He continued to stare at Bree. Something stirred inside him when he saw this woman with his daughter. A distant memory from the past suddenly surfaced in his mind, overwhelming him.

"Hey, Jackson, are you even listening to me?" Elise snapped her fingers in front of Jax, trying to get his attention, but he didn’t even glance at her.

"What?" he asked, still looking only at Bree.

"I said, fire that woman! She's not doing her job well," Elise demanded. "I can recommend the best nannies for our baby Amy."

Bree forced herself not to bite her lip. Her legs were shaking from the intensity of Jackson’s gaze. For the first time in the many months she had been working at his company, she felt like she wanted to melt. Whenever he scolded her before, his stare was never like this.

His gaze stirred something deep inside her—something untouched and forbidden. Bree wanted to say something to correct Elise, but she couldn’t find her voice. It was as if her tongue had turned to stone, refusing to cooperate with her brain. Her knees were weak, and her heart was racing faster than it should. She wanted to look away, but even her eyes seemed to have a mind of their own, refusing to obey her.

"She’s not my nanny. She’s Daddy’s secretary, and she helped me."

Amy suddenly spoke up. "Daddy, please don’t fire her. I don’t want her to lose her job. She didn’t do anything wrong," the child pleaded in a small voice. Amy wrapped her little arms around Jax’s broad shoulders, facing Bree.

Bree let out a breath of relief and smiled at the child. Finally, someone had defended her. She hadn’t even been able to speak up for herself earlier.

Elise blinked a few times before looking Bree up and down again. Disbelief was evident on her beautiful face. She probably couldn’t believe that Bree was one of Jackson Samaniego’s secretaries.

Bree was dressed in a simple cream-colored button-down long-sleeve blouse, paired with an above-the-knee pencil skirt. Her outfit was appropriate for an office setting, but the way Elise scanned her from head to toe felt judgmental, as if she found Bree repulsive.

"This woman is your secretary? Are you serious?" Elise blurted out, turning to Jackson for confirmation.

Bree was about to respond when another woman suddenly appeared, breathless and looking extremely worried. Chris followed closely behind her.

"Sir, I’m really sorry. I didn’t even realize Amy had wandered off," the woman said, her voice trembling. She looked like she was about to cry, already expecting to lose her job.

Jackson was known for firing employees over even the smallest mistakes. The woman was probably certain that she wouldn’t have a job by tomorrow.

Bree felt sorry for her. She knew what it was like to be unemployed. For someone in desperate financial need, losing a job was devastating. If only she could help the poor woman—but Bree knew she had no power to do so. If she interfered, she might end up getting fired herself.

Bree expected Jackson to lash out at the woman, but he was still staring at her with that strange expression. Bree felt her face heat up.

What is wrong with Sir Jax? Why is he looking at me like that?

She suddenly felt as if everything around them blurred, leaving only her and Jackson in focus. Even Elise’s voice, still scolding Amy’s nanny, faded into the background. Bree could only hear her own breathing and the loud pounding of her heart.

Bree was mesmerized by Jackson’s eyes. She couldn’t blink or look away. She was being pulled into the depths of his intense gaze. Her lips parted slightly as a tingling sensation spread through her entire body, reaching places she never expected. Her face grew even redder.

The moment was broken when a heavy arm draped over Bree’s shoulders. Her thoughts about Jackson’s intense stare and the sensations she just felt suddenly evaporated. When she turned to see who it was, she found Chris, Jax’s cousin and one of the company’s top executives.

Chris was grinning from ear to ear as he casually slung his arm around Bree’s small frame.

"How are you, Bree?" he asked with a charming smile, revealing his white teeth and the adorable dimple on his left cheek.

"What are you doing here?" Jackson’s voice was cold and emotionless.

Chris shrugged. "Well, I saw Amy’s nanny frantically looking for her. So, as a good citizen of this country, I helped a woman in need." He turned to Bree and winked playfully.

For a moment, Bree was distracted by Chris’ smile. She stared at him, noticing the resemblance between him and Jackson. Seeing his smiling face now, she wondered what Jackson would look like if he ever smiled.

He’d definitely be even more handsome. Bree was sure of it.

"Aren’t you supposed to be working? I expect you to be working your ass off for my company, not flirting around my building," Jackson said coldly.

Bree snapped out of it, her face turning red in embarrassment. She hadn’t even realized she had been staring at Chris.

Jackson glared at his cousin, irritation bubbling inside him. He had no idea why it pissed him off to see Chris with Bree. But he hated it.