HARLEY

S ix weeks later.

Planning a surprise weekend in New York City for Jax and Aria turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me, and I’d always have Ace to thank for it. And in a way, Jax too.

In the last six weeks that Ace and Jax were at Safe Haven, I’d worked with Devon almost daily. For the first time in my life, I felt proud of my myself, my work and especially of my boyfriend, Ace.

It still felt weird to use the word boyfriend, but I had to admit, that’s exactly what he was. He’d come down to see me on weekends and spend his weeks with Jax. From what he’d told me, Jax was responding to treatment really well and was making solid progress. Ace did all the classes and workshops right alongside him, but was also making some major life changes. He no longer had baggies of coke in his pockets and in his car and he said he didn’t even miss it. He’d always been more of a social user, always going along with Jax and his antics, but thankfully, hadn’t been completely reliant on it. Of course, none of this applied to drinking or smoking joints, thank goodness. Personally, I wasn’t ready to give any of that up and fortunately, Ace didn’t have to. Jax, on the other hand, was a very different case. Ace had to tell the Gage and Rocco and most of all, Kade, that they couldn’t have any substances around Jax when he returned. He was very much an addict and would need to clean all that stuff out of his daily life when he returned. Aria would have her hands full with Jax when she got back. Getting an addict to stay clean was no simple task, but we had all promised to work together and support him.

And of course, my guy had made sure that Ron wouldn’t bother me again while he was gone. I’d heard from Tony that Ace had wired ten grand to Ron to shut him up for a while. I was no longer scared of getting hurt or lost in this relationship. In fact, for the first time in my life, I was feeling protected, taken care of, and I loved it. It still felt foreign to me, but in a good way. Because of Ace’s actions, I’d been able to jump right in to my work with Devon. We still had a few days to go before the band and I all headed out to New York City to surprise Aria at her last show. All the prep for the party was finally done, and I was dying for the big day to arrive. Not being able to share this with Aria had been torturous, but also totally worth it. She wasn’t just going to be completely surprised… she was going to be totally shocked. I knew her so well and Jax had been so specific in his requests that planning it all had been super easy.

Right from the start, Devon had me coming in to the office daily with him. He’d given me the reception desk and some basic duties like answering the phone, taking messages along with planning Jax’s big reveal. But it didn’t take long to turn into a lot more. By the time the eight weeks had rolled around, it felt like I’d been Devon’s assistant for years.

“Harley!” He called through the open door to his office one Tuesday afternoon.

“Just finishing something. Give me two minutes?” I called back.

“All good, H.”

Not only did we work well together, but Devon and I had actually become friends over the last few weeks of spending time together. Our time was ending, though, and I found myself thinking about it more and more.

When Ace had come back on the weekends, we talked a lot about what would happen after New York. Coming back home and going back to work at the club somehow didn’t excite me, like I always thought it would. Unlike most of the girls I knew, I stripped because it made me feel good, powerful, and in control. It was also the reason I didn’t date. Yet now, everything felt different. I’d always hated men trying to control me and it seemed that every guy I’d ever tried to date wanted just that. Except Ace. My guy was actually different. And how many girls actually got to say that?

Of course, once Ace knew how much I was enjoying this break from the club, he’d started bugging me not to go back at all. It was sweet, but of course; working with Devon had been temporary and I couldn’t lose sight of that. I did plan on letting Devon know that if other things came up, I’d be willing to help part time. Maybe I’d get lucky, and he’d have another project for me later on.

Once I finished typing up the letter that he’d asked me to do. I pushed back my chair, grabbed my Snapple iced tea, a notebook, and a pen before heading over to Devon’s office. I learned early on that Devon’s chats always involved taking notes of some kind.

“Have a seat.” He motioned to the chair without even looking up from his paperwork.

He seemed deep in thought, so I sat quietly and waited. Finally, he looked up, smiled wide, and clapped the binder shut. “Having you here these last two months has been great, Harley. And there’s a lot going on around here lately. I just booked the band for a bunch of local gigs, TV specials and some other things, too. I’ll be needing a full-time assistant to keep everything running smoothly. Would you consider it?”

What? Could this really be happening? It felt like I was stuck in the chair, frozen in place.

“This is not coming from Ace, by the way. Just so you know.” Devon folded his hands in his lap and waited for me to respond.

Maybe I looked suspicious because, after a few seconds, Devon raised his hands and swore that this was all coming from him, and him alone. “This is coming from me only. I swear it to you. Ace has no idea I’m even offering this to you. I like you, Harley, and you do great work. I really hope you’ll stay on.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, but Ace has really been pushing for— ,”

Devon cut me off. “Last chance, H. This is how much the job pays.” He said, pushing a small folded paper over to me.

My shaky hand reached to open it.

“You want the job or not?”

Suddenly, everything seemed really clear. I could permanently stop stripping and work for the band… for good. It was a wild idea, one I’d truly never had before. I’d never really dreamed of anything for my future. Seeing myself in any capacity beyond the club was very foreign to me… but I liked it. Really liked it.

“Wow…” And that was all it took for the little voice in the back of my head to take charge. Despite my internal freak out, I followed my gut. “I’m in, let’s do it.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Devon jumped up from his chair and came around the other side of the desk to hug me.

“I’m so happy, H! Honestly, we make a great team and you working for me means I can explore more opportunities for the band and besides… you’re naturally good at it. You’re perfect for this job.” Devon grinned happily.

I could feel my confidence growing with all his compliments and despite how stripping had made me feel powerful. This was way better. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d felt that way. Maybe this was the first.

***

“Babe, this is better than I could have ever hoped for.” Ace cheered when I’d told him the news. “My girl officially works for the band!” He yelled out to no one. We were alone at his place, and his housekeeper Gilda had already left for the night.

“No one is here but us.” I laughed as he kissed me.

A dark look crossed over my boyfriend’s eyes. “Just the way I like it.”

Ever since he’d been home from rehab, Ace had been all over me. Day and night, all he wanted was to keep me naked and sated in his bed. I couldn’t argue with that. That warm fuzzy feeling was back again, and it wrapped me up tightly in its embrace. I could really get used to this.