Chapter Fourteen

Allie brought her coffee mug to her lips and inhaled the sweet deliciousness of her caramel macchiato. It tasted even better than it smelled too - sweet vanilla and caramel, creamy chocolate and bitter coffee. This was the stuff dreams were made of, and she wished she was able to treat herself this way more often.

It wasn't often she was able to actually leave the office and get some work done elsewhere, if she wasn't already at home, so this was a welcome change of pace. Tempest Coffee was bustling with customers, some staying behind to sit on their smartphones or laptops with their coffee, like she was doing, and others taking their go-to cups to go about the rest of their day. She'd always known this place was here in Lodi - she'd just never really got a chance to actually get here. It wasn't that far from the studio, but she just never really had time for the detour, especially since it was a little bit out of her way.

But still, she wished sometimes that she could just slow down and enjoy life a little bit more. Lately, it seemed all she was doing was working or thinking about work, or checking her email to see if there was anything work-related she'd missed. But then again, she'd agreed to take on this extra work knowing full well that she was basically kissing her personal life goodbye. Right about now, her social life consisted of Golden Girls marathons with Dan. Not that she had any problems with that, it would just be nice to do things outside the house that weren't work-related too.

Nothing had forced her to take Samcro as a client - except for, of course, the thought of her former step-brother getting a real shot at seeing his kids again. That had been low and it had been dirty, but it'd worked. No one with a heart could've told him no, and now here she was, sitting in a coffee shop, waiting for Jax and Bobby to arrive so they could head to yet another business meeting.

Tempest Coffee was one of the more popular mom and pop shops around the area. It was also looking to add a location in Charming.

Bobby had brought up this opportunity a few days ago, and she had to marvel at not only his ability to dig up these potential deals, but to make contact and set the meetings so quickly. He really seemed to have his finger on the pulse of everything that was going on in Charming - that was an asset that had to help the club in spades.

If Samcro could get in as a silent investor for this new location, they'd really be on the path to truly and fully going legitimate.

I'm trying, Allie. I'm trying really fucking hard.

She swallowed hard at the sound of his voice in her head. His voice had been so rough...so vulnerable. There was a little bit of hopelessness in his voice too that had made her heart ache. And she believed him. She really did.

Yes, she wanted Opie to see his kids - she wanted that more than anything. And yes, she wanted the club to turn away from the danger and the blood and the bullets. That was just better for everyone and anyone who came into contact with them. But she also wanted that hopelessness to disappear from Jax's voice. She wanted to see him succeed. She wanted him to feel like he wasn't failing. Maybe that was easier said than done, but they were on the right track. And at the end of the day, she just wanted to help him.

Allie didn't know how to feel about that.

She lifted her head at the sound of a motorcycle pulling into the coffee shop's parking lot, frowning when she realized it was just one motorcycle instead of the two she'd been waiting for. She glanced at the time on her laptop and shrugged. Jax had given Opie a little bit of a break from some of his regular club duties so he could be at home with Lyla, so it was just Jax and Bobby headed to this meeting. They'd been given strict instructions to show up at 11:45 for their noon meeting with the owners, and it was 11:34.

Still, when she saw a stocky, wiry-haired familiar figure push through the main entrance, a prickle of disappointment washed over her. Then she quickly shook it off. She waved Bobby over to her table, and he grinned widely back at her as he ambled over. He plopped down in the chair across from her and ran a hand over his wind-mussed hair.

"Hey, Allie," he grinned. "Fancy meetin' you here."

"Well, hello to you too, sir," Allie laughed. "I'm happy to see you here nice and early."

"Hey," Bobby leaned an elbow on the table as he spoke. "I'm all about a good cup'a coffee. There's just nothin' like it...anyway, Jax is on his way. He's tied up with a call, and he sent me ahead so you, and I quote, don't get your panties in a twist about us bein' late again."

She hid her smile with her coffee mug. "Glad to see he's learning."

Bobby laughed heartily as a waitress popped over to take his order. "And then some, sweetheart."

After the waitress walked away with Bobby's drink order, he leaned both arms on the table as he took in his surroundings. From the chalkboard menu, the acoustic covers playing softly in the background to the farmhouse table and chairs, it was cozy and inviting. Warm and comfortable. And just the kind of place Samcro needed to start putting some money into.

If they really wanted to be seen as legitimate, Bobby had reasoned, they needed to show the community they were in it for the long haul. That they were willing to invest in businesses that would help Charming grow and thrive. This wasn't the same thing as putting money into a strip club - or a porn studio for that matter.

This was a real, respectable business with owners who had a reputation for frequently donating to causes around the community as well as promoting everything from local diversity groups to the local school district. This wasn't the type of place that required the kind of meticulous audit she'd needed to perform on Cara Cara or the strip club. Sure, she'd need to do a little digging just to do their due diligence, but she had a feeling everything here was up to par. This was the kind of place where the club needed to pitch themselves to the owner, not the other way around.

"Ouch, girl," Bobby winced at her, gesturing to her nose. "That's not a great look for you."

Her fingers lifted to touch the bridge of her nose on reflex, and she winced a little at the contact. And here she thought she'd hidden it pretty decently with makeup today. That's what she got for not enlisting Dan's help. Even after almost a full week, the bruising had stretched to the corner of her eyes in hues of deep blue and purple markings - no amount of concealer could really do the job though, so maybe she couldn't feel too bad.

"It's not great, that's for sure," Allie allowed easily with a shrug. "My dad apologizes every time he sees me. Not like that will make it go away, but I guess I did appreciate the flowers and the promise to send me and Dan out for a nice dinner somewhere. I haven't had time to go out to dinner anywhere that wasn't for work in forever."

Now that she really thought about it, she really hadn't had dinner with anybody but Dan since...her eyes widened. She had had dinner with someone other than Dan recently. Best to swallow that one down and never think about it again.

Bobby nodded solemnly with a small smile. "Yeah, I'm sure your dad felt real bad about that. But, hey, now if anyone asks what happened, you can just say you got clocked by your dad and that should shut people up pretty quick."

She laughed, despite the fact that that wasn't really something either of them should be laughing about.

He glanced around again, almost conspiratorially, and gestured with his head toward the main counter. "Ya know, I gotta say, and don't take this the wrong way, but this kinda place seems more your scene than..."

Bobby trailed off, like he'd just realized he'd said a little more than he intended.

Allie's eyebrows lifted with a playful smile. "Than what? You can say it."

He just lifted a shoulder and then leaned forward again to murmur, "A porn studio."

"Ah," she laughed. "Yeah, I get that sometimes. Just comes with the territory, I guess."

Bobby nodded, a small smile curling around his face, and then he blew out a heavy sigh. "Yeah, I suppose I can see that. You always worked for your dad?"

"Pretty much. The club is actually my first client that wasn't my dad. I guess, by the time I started law school, I already knew I'd be working for him and that was that. I never really even considered working for anyone but him. And, I have to say, that made law school just a teeny bit easier knowing I already had a job waiting for me on the other side."

Bobby laughed heartily at that. "I can believe that. Where did you go to law school then?"

She narrowed her eyes playfully at him, and then closed her laptop, where she'd been working on Jax's financial disclosure forms to help move the divorce along.

"Don't you already know the answer to that question?"

He held up both hands with another laugh. "You would be right about that. We may or may not have run a background check on you before givin' you a job offer."

She'd figured as much, and she couldn't blame them either. No harm, no foul.

"Well, UCLA is a great school," Bobby shrugged. "Or so I've been told. Although, you started at USC, right? And then you left after two years and transferred to UCLA."

Allie could hear the question in his voice. While UCLA wasn't a bad school by any means, it wasn't necessarily as good as USC. It wasn't very often that people transferred from a private school to a public school either. But considering she'd given up a scholarship when she transferred, and was determined to pay for school on her own, a public school like UCLA was one she could reasonably afford. There was also the fact that, when everything was said and done, she'd gotten a strongly worded letter from the dean of students essentially barring her from returning to campus. Of course, that was after her transfer had already been processed, so it was more of a formality than anything.

But there was only so much she was willing to tell Bobby.

"That's right," she allowed with a small smile.

Bobby was wagging a finger now as though he was remembering some piece of juicy gossip he'd long forgotten. "And if I remember right, you were in a sorority at USC, weren't you? I think I remember Ope sayin' somethin' about that once."

Allie pushed out a breath, chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, and then took another sip of her macchiato. At some point, she'd have to be able to talk about this, right? At some point, someone would bring something up from that time period in her life, and she wouldn't feel like she was going to throw up. She was an adult, wasn't she? A grown woman who could set aside emotional baggage at a whim. That part of her life had been compartmentalized into a tiny box and shoved up onto the highest shelf in her mind. Seeing as how she was so height-challenged, it was a rare day she actually reached for it.

"That's right," Allie repeated.

In this moment, Bobby felt safe. Probably as non-threatening as it got, too, at least given the current topic of discussion. He had no vested interest in this, other than for some good gossip. And, even though she'd only been around him a handful of times, she got the feeling he wouldn't push too hard if she skated around the truth, which she was absolutely going to do.

"Wanna know a secret?"

His eyes flashed with excitement, and he mirrored her stance, leaning forward to hear her better. "What's that, sweetheart?"

"I got kicked out of that sorority."

Bobby reared back, his eyes wide and then he smacked his hands on the table. "No fuckin' way. Why?"

She smiled back at him, even though she wasn't going to take this much further. "I broke the code of conduct. That's usually what it takes to get expelled. My hearing was a complete joke, too, because they'd all already made up their minds without even hearing my side. It was an utter and complete miscarriage of justice, if you ask me."

Allie swallowed hard at the memory. She hadn't been exaggerating either - the lack of justice in the circumstances that had led to her expulsion from Kappa Delta was almost unfathomable. At least now, with about 12 years separating her from the events that had led up to it, she could say she'd come that far.

"Really?" Bobby's eyebrows waggled high into his forehead, like he couldn't really believe what he was hearing. "What'd you do that was so horrible the Barbies threw you out?"

Allie grinned. "I'll never, ever tell."

She'd never told anyone. And she wasn't about to start now.

"And," she jabbed a playful finger at him. "You, sir, are sworn to secrecy. If I find out that you told anyone in the club, this," she gestured between them, "is over. Don't screw it up, Bobby."

His hands flew up in the air. The faint roar of a motorcycle engine echoed in the distance, and her heart clenched at the sound. Well, this conversation was as good a distraction as any, she supposed.

"I won't say anything," Bobby laughed, his hands still high in the air. "I promise. But...can I just get one guess? Pretty please?"

"You'll never guess it, so I don't really see the point."

He really wouldn't either. Allie couldn't imagine a scenario where his mind actually found a way to conjure up what had happened. Sometimes, even she couldn't wrap her head around it. That's why she'd chosen not to linger on it, unless absolutely necessary - like right now - and just move on with her life.

"Oh, come on," Bobby laughed again. "What'd you do - show up high to a meeting or somethin'?"

Her lips curled ruefully. "I wish, but I've heard of someone getting sanctioned for that though. Pretty lame, don't you think?"

Any way you sliced it, everything about sororities was pretty lame. The only reason she'd joined her freshman year was because she'd thought it would help her make some actual friends, as opposed to what she'd had in high school. As it turned out, the Kappa Delta house wasn't real big on true sisterhood.

"Sweetheart," Bobby put his hand over his heart as he spoke. "I think gettin' kicked out of anything for bein' high is a complete travesty."

"I agree, but that wasn't it."

"Hmm," he stroked his beard in thought and she had to laugh. He looked a little bit like a slightly deranged Santa Claus with the crazy hair, wiry beard, ringed hands, and leather cut. "Well, I know it wasn't because of your grades, that's for sure. Oh shit," Bobby's eyes grew a little more serious, even as Jax approached their table, "did they find out about your parents and..." he curled his thumb and index finger together in one hand and then jabbed his other index finger through the ring.

Jax's voice called out to them: "What in the hell is happening here?"

Bobby and Allie burst out laughing at the same time as Jax stood in front of their table, his hands shoved deep inside his front pockets and a frown written across his forehead. He didn't look particularly amused. In fact, he looked a little perturbed to find them here, sitting at this table laughing.

"Don't worry about it, prez," Bobby just batted a hand at him. "Inside joke."

Now, Jax rocked back on his heels in thought, his blue eyes darting between them like he just couldn't quite figure out what was going on and what he was seeing. His eyebrows quirked into an even deeper frown at the words inside joke.

"That's right," Allie laughed before turning her attention back to Bobby again. "And to answer your question, no, that wasn't it either. Actually, some of them knew that about my parents and were more intrigued by it than anything."

Bobby nodded in thought, still stroking his beard as he considered his options. "Hmm. Interesting. Oh no, wait, did you wear those Greek symbol things somewhere you weren't supposed to?"

Allie laughed and shook her head. "That wasn't a bad guess, actually. One of the girls I pledged with my freshman year was wearing a Kappa sweatshirt in a picture with a bunch of other people with red solo cups in their hands. That picture, of course, made the rounds on Facebook in about five minutes, and she was packing her bags a couple days later."

He laughed heartily again and slapped the table, probably just to get more of a rise out of Jax. "I bet. Oh, come on, will you just tell me? This one," he jerked a thumb at Jax, who was staring back at them with his forearms crossed tightly over his chest, "will have no idea what you're even talking about. I'll take it to the grave, I swear."

Yeah, she planned on taking it to the grave too.

"I told you," she just shrugged as she packed up her laptop and the few papers she'd had spread out on the table. "I'll never, ever tell."

"Sorority shit, huh?" Jax asked, his eyebrows lifted high into his forehead.

"Uh huh. You know," she grinned. "Pillow fights and stuff."

His eyes narrowed a little, but he still had a ghost of a smile on his face. Not that she cared. They had to put their game faces on for this meeting now, and she didn't really need him poking around in something that had nothing to do with him. If he did find out what they'd been talking about, he just might dig. And while she'd made sure those records were locked up air-tight during her first year of law school, Jax didn't need to be sticking his nose where it definitely didn't belong. Which, of course, was exactly why Bobby had been the safe choice, and Jax was not.

But, still, it felt really good to be able to sit here and feel at least sort of comfortable talking about a microscopic part of this. It felt almost normal too, mainly because there was safety in the knowledge that no matter how hard he tried, Bobby would never, ever figure it out.

"Alright," Allie started again as she slid out of her chair with her laptop safely tucked away into her bag. She grabbed what was left of her macchiato, downed it, and gestured with her head toward the front counter. "You ready for this?"

Jax shrugged as Bobby trailed after them. He gestured for her to take the lead as they weaved around some of the tables, and she wondered if it was because he felt a little out of place here. Because, really, Jax and Bobby stood out like sore thumbs here in this coffee shop. They had smiles on their faces and nodded to some of the patrons as they passed, but that didn't stop the nervous looks from coming their way.

If she didn't know them, and if she didn't know why they were here, Allie just might feel the same way too.

When they got to the counter, Jax and Bobby stayed behind her as she set her empty cup on the counter.

"Hi," she told one of the baristas. "We have an appointment with Mr. Benson at noon. Can you let him know we're here?"

The barista nodded, her eyes shifted carefully to the Reaper cuts behind Allie, and then she disappeared through a back door to get the owner. As they waited, Allie glanced over her shoulder to find Jax inspecting the baked goods behind a glass partition. His eyes slid to her, almost as if he could feel her gaze on him, and his lips curved into a lop-sided grin that was enough to make her toes curl.

She found herself flashing him a quick grin over her shoulder, and then turning back to face the counter just in time for the owner, Xander Benson, to materialize from a room behind the counter. He ran a tired hand through his greying hair, and definitely looked worse for the wear, as though he spent his days and nights here in this coffee shop, with no personal life to show for it. She definitely got that.

His loose-fitting black dress pants and simple polo shirt with the Tempest Coffee logo sewn on the front were a far cry from the expensive suit Dominic King had been wearing. He rubbed his hands on his thighs to wipe something off them, and then extended a hand out to Allie with a weary smile in greeting.

"Xander Benson," he told her. "I take it you're Allie Levy?"

"Yes," she smiled back warmly as they shook hands. "We spoke on the phone."

But when Xander really got a good look at her face, his eyes darkened almost imperceptibly. He tore his eyes away to narrow them at Jax, who was already reaching out a ringed hand for Xander to shake. If Jax noticed the shift in the air, he didn't show it.

"Hey there, Mr. Benson," Jax told him with a congenial grin. "Jax Teller, and this," he gestured to Bobby with his free hand, "is our club treasurer, Bobby Munson."

Bobby and Xander shook hands as well, and once the initial meet and greet was over, Xander gestured for them to step around the counter to follow him down the hallway he'd just come out of a few minutes ago. He led them over to a closed door, holding the door open for them to pass through.

"Please excuse the clutter," Xander told them as they ventured deeper inside the room, which was clearly his office. "All these expansion plans are making a mountain of my desk, if you know what I mean."

"Trust me," Allie laughed easily. "This is nothing. You've clearly never seen my office."

Which, in light of all the excitement over at the studio within the last week, had finally started to feel a little bit more functional again.

"Yes, I'm sure an attorney such as yourself has a considerable backlog of paperwork on her desk," Xander replied with a smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

She squashed the wave of uneasiness that hit her at that moment. Maybe he was just tired - he was clearly overworked and stressed out and it was perfectly understandable that he didn't really have time for much small talk during his day.

"Well," Allie decided to just cut right to it. She dropped into one of the chairs across from Xander's desk and Jax followed suit, folding himself down into the chair next to her. Bobby, now chairless, opted to take his place at Jax's shoulder. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us today. I know you're very busy right now with everything going on. Congratulations, by the way, on the expansion. That's exciting news for everyone, especially those of us living in Charming."

She shot Jax a quick glance and found him nodding with a friendly smile on his face. Okay, so maybe so far, so good. They just had to keep this meeting going.

"Right," Xander smiled tightly as he sat back in his chair. "Thank you."

Allie pulled some papers out of her bag and promptly handed them to Xander from across his desk. "As you know, the club is interested in becoming a silent partner in the new location planned for Charming," she nodded to the papers in his hand, "you'll see our proposal is very generous and would include plenty of leeway for both parties to amend the agreement as the business continues to grow. My clients are prepared to offer you a line of credit to help you cover any additional expenses that may come up, and they're also interested in working with you on any community-based outreach you might be planning for Charming."

That was more or less what they'd come here to say, and the longer they sat there in silence, the more she had to fight the urge to fidget in her seat. Even Jax shifted a little uncomfortably next to her as he moved to rest his elbow on the armrest.

"So," Allie tried again, this time with as friendly a smile as she could muster. "Do you have any questions for us?"

Xander's eyes hadn't left the papers she'd given him this entire time. Finally, he exhaled exasperatedly and tossed the papers onto his desk. When his gaze sliced back up to them, all sense of cordiality had disappeared now. That air of neighborliness he was known for? Nowhere to be found. And her heart dropped right into her stomach.

"Alright," Xander started, his eyes turning harder and harder the longer this went on. "You've had your fun. You roll up in here with your fancy lawyer with her fancy words and fancy paperwork, and you think that's somehow gonna make me forget who you are? What you do?"

Allie's eyes flew to Jax, who'd stiffened in his seat. He was leaning forward now with his elbows hitched into his thighs, and all the tattoos on his forearms on full display - that probably wasn't helping. She'd expected to see steam pouring from his ears, but instead, he frowned. His shoulders hunched. His hands sat folded hopelessly in his lap.

"I'm sorry," Allie shook her head. "There must be some misunderstanding here. We came into this meeting with you today on good faith - we were under the impression you were serious about considering us as investors."

Xander just huffed out a laugh before leveling a hard stare right at Jax. "You could throw $1 million at me in cash right now and I wouldn't take it."

"Excuse me?" Allie pushed out roughly.

Bobby shifted tensely behind them, and from the corner of her eye, she could see the leather on Jax's chest rising and falling at an alarming pace. Still, he didn't move. It was almost as though he was frozen to the seat underneath him, terrified of what he might do if he did move. Bobby, it seemed, was following his president's lead. If Jax didn't react, then he probably wouldn't either.

Xander's lips just curled proudly. "You heard me, miss. I don't think I need to repeat myself. And before you bother to ask, I agreed to this meeting to let you get this out of your system. You people need to understand that no amount of money, strong-arming, or blackmail is ever going to be enough to get me to agree to become partners with a bunch of thugs riding around on Harleys. When my new location opens in Charming, you are not welcome there."

Jax pushed a slow, rough breath through his nose before nodding tightly. "Alright. We appreciate your honesty."

Then he gestured to her with his head toward the door, signaling that it was time to get the hell out of here. Just as Allie grabbed the proposal papers back from him and turned on her heel to follow Jax and Bobby out the door, Xander's voice rang out again:

"You know, son, you've got a lot of nerve showing up here with this woman all banged up like that."

Jax's steps halted and he swiveled back to glance at Xander over his shoulder, shoving his hands deep inside his pockets again. When he glanced at Allie, his blue eyes were hard and impassive. But the second his eyes swept over the bruising on her nose, his jaw clenched tight.

"I don't care what you do behind closed doors," Xander went on, rising from his chair now as he spoke. "But I don't want that around my customers. We're not that kind of establishment here. And I can't abide by a man that would flaunt his handiwork around town like it's some kind of badge of honor."

Jax flashed him a bitter, taut grin with an even tighter nod as he rocked back on his heels. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Mr. Benson."

He flicked his gaze back to Allie and gestured with his head toward the door again. "Come on, Allie. This was a waste of time."

She started to follow him out the door. She really did. But she just couldn't let this one go, at least not without getting the last word. That's what she did for a living, wasn't it? And that's what the club was paying her to do anyway. So, she turned on her heel and faced Xander again head-on.

"You know," she smiled grimly. "For a man who prides himself on supporting the members of the community and totes diversity and acceptance and social healing all over his business's social media accounts, I would've thought you'd be the kind of man who'd be willing to look past stereotypes and give people the benefit of the doubt. For the record, Mr. Benson, this," she gestured to the bruising on her nose, "is none of your business. But since you expressed your concern so tactfully, you'll be happy to know that my client wasn't responsible, but why would you care about that, right? You'd already made up your mind long before any of us had a chance to speak. Thank you for wasting our time over something that could've been handled with a phone call, but...you showed us, right?"

She paused long enough to see his eyebrows hitch up into his forehead, and then she followed Jax out the door.

***

He wasn't quite sure how he made it out of that building without flipping over any tables. All the tables, all the people inside, they all passed by in a red blur. Somehow, though, he made it outside and headed straight for his bike with long, purposeful strides. The sooner he could get away from this place, the better.

His nerves were wreaking havoc right now, so he lit a cigarette as soon as he could get one in between his lips. Even that shot of nicotine wasn't really helping. So he stood there by the curb, mindlessly exhaling long tendrils of smoke from his nostrils because he just didn't know what else to do. If he hopped on his bike right now and sped away, he just might crash the thing because he was too keyed up to focus on any one thing right now.

Footsteps clicked and shuffled behind him, but Jax just stared straight ahead. He blew out a deep breath and then took another long pull from his cigarette because he had to. If he couldn't get a handle on his shit within the next 30 seconds, he'd end up back inside that coffee shop, and then he'd probably find himself getting escorted out in handcuffs.

What the hell had he been doing? Thinking this was going to work? Thinking the club even had a real shot at this...what a fucking epic waste of time.

"Hey, prez?" Bobby's hesitant voice called out to him, but he had to ignore it for now. He wasn't quite ready to face either of them yet. "That was my fault in there - I was the one who brought this to you. This one's on me."

"Nah, Bobby," he called out over his shoulder. "You didn't do anything but your job, bro."

Jax kept his shoulders squared with the curb and shoved his free hand in his pocket just to remove the temptation of punching something. What good would it do anything? He'd feel better for about two seconds and then all he'd be left with was bloody knuckles and a sore fist. Wouldn't make anything better. Wouldn't change the inevitable either.

And then his eyes dropped to his bike and his heart backflipped into his stomach.

Fucking front wheel was flat.

Of course. Of fucking course. It was lucky he loved his bike too much to kick it.

"Aw, shit," Bobby was saying now as he moved to stand at Jax's shoulder. He crouched down to get a better look at the flat with his hands on his thighs with a grimace. "Whatdya think? Nail?"

"Fuck if I care," Jax sighed. He flicked his spent cherry into the street, shoving his hands in his front pockets to maintain some semblance of control.

Bobby shot him a sympathetic grin, knowing him well enough to know when to leave well enough alone, and he brought his prepay to his ear - probably to call into T-M to get a trailer over here to pick up his bike.

So now, to add insult to injury, he'd have to sit here until a prospect rolled up here with a trailer.

Bobby snapped his prepay shut and clapped Jax on the shoulder. "They're on their way."

Leaving him with about a half hour to kill in Lodi. Just fucking great.

"You know, Jax," Allie's soft voice called out from behind his shoulder. "I could give you a ride back to the clubhouse so you don't have to wait. I don't mind."

He still couldn't let himself look at her. If he did, he'd see that bruise on her nose. And then he'd have to reconcile the sympathy he was sure he'd see on her face. It was already seeping from her voice. He didn't know if he could handle seeing it too.

"Nah," he told her evenly. "I'm gonna stay with my bike."

"Or, you know," Bobby threw out with a goofy grin. "You could always ride bitch on my bike if you don't wanna wait. Don't worry, I'll keep 'er nice and warm for ya."

Jax rocked back on his heels, finally letting a little bit of the humor in this situation creep in. He turned his head to flash Bobby a grin, and he allowed one, good laugh to shake his shoulders, but that was about the best he could do. He didn't really have the energy to push it any further.

"As tempting as that sounds," Jax grinned again. "I don't think that'll be necessary, bro."

He clapped Bobby on the shoulder, who just shrugged. "You want me to wait?"

"Nah," Jax just shook his head. No sense in making both of them stick around here any longer than necessary. "Why don't you head back to the clubhouse - start roundin' up everyone to get to the chapel. We've got a lot of shit to talk about at church."

"Fair enough, prez," Bobby lifted a shoulder as he reached for his helmet. He swung a leg over the side of his bike and revved the engine to life. Then he lifted his eyes to the sky in thought before wagging a finger at Allie. "Hazing?"

"No," she laughed. "I would never."

Huh. At this point, he didn't even care anymore. They could have their inside jokes and their secrets. All he wanted to do was hole up into a corner of the clubhouse with a bottle of Jack and a pack of smokes. Was that too much to ask?

Bobby stroked his beard in thought. "Public intoxication?"

"No!"

Her bright laugh bounced off the pavement, and despite everything, he found himself grinning at the sound. It sounded different than it had over the phone, a little bit clearer, a little bit more musical, and a little bit contagious. He figured it didn't really matter why she was laughing - he was just happy to hear it.

And then, just as quickly as that feeling of lightness lifted him up, he crashed back down to reality again.

Bobby shook his finger at her again with a wide grin, and then he revved his engine again. "I"ll figure it out eventually. Mark my words, girl!"

He waved them off as he sped away down the street to head back to Charming and back to the clubhouse. So now, Jax really had no other options. The buffer was gone, and he had to look at her eventually. He really didn't want to.

But his hands were tied.

Jax pushed out a deep breath through his nose and just couldn't bring himself to do it. He took another step forward and folded himself down on the curb. Resting an elbow on his knee, he dipped his hand inside his cut for his cigarette pack again and lit up another one before he could stop himself. He really shouldn't have been surprised when he felt Allie shift next to his shoulder as she lowered herself down next to him, careful to keep the hem on her red skirt below her knees.

And he still couldn't look at her.

Before she had a chance to even try to speak, he snatched the opportunity right up from under her. If he didn't give her the chance to bring it up, then they couldn't talk about it, right?

"I remember what I was supposed to tell ya," Jax told her, but kept his eyes trained on the road in front of him. "Your presence is both required and expected at the fundraiser on Saturday. Gemma was not pleased when you skipped out on family dinner last week."

"I didn't skip out," Allie shrugged. "I've been playing catch up at the studio all week and I couldn't get out of the office in time."

Sure, she couldn't. While he could admit there had been a lot of hustle and bustle at the studio since two of Georgie Caruso's guys had paid a visit - two of the actors had up and quit and four of the crew members had threatened to walk out - so she really had been dealing with a mess. It was clear by now that Allie handled much of the HR and employment issues at the studio and Jimmy's strengths were more in the creative and marketing side, but...that was a lot of shit to clean up.

Still, Gemma Teller-Morrow did not tolerate being stood up.

"Well," he grinned. "All I'm gonna say is that if you don't show up at the Taste of Charming on Saturday - with your roommate, too, by the way - Gemma is gonna hunt you down. I'm not exactly sure what she'll do when she finds you, but trust me, she will find you and whatever happens after that won't be pretty."

"I guess you're right..." she trailed off before shooting him a hopeful grin. "You really think there's no way out of it?"

"I learned a long time ago that everyone is better off just towing the party line when it comes to my mother, and she takes that fundraiser pretty damn seriously."

It was the one town event where the club could truly show up and participate in the community the way they wanted to. They'd been doing it for so long that no one batted an eye at their presence, or their sizable contribution. And Gemma spared no expense in making sure the club's booth was fully stocked with the best food and the best drinks so it brought in the most donations.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Allie smiling at him, watching him, trying to figure out how to approach what had happened here today. He'd rather they didn't. After a few moments of silence between them, her soft voice called out to him again.

"It was a big swing, Jax. We knew it might not pan out, and we missed. So now, we just move on to the next opportunity and then the one after that and the one after that."

Before he could stop himself, his head turned to her and his eyes dropped right to that bruise on the bridge of her nose. His jaw clenched tightly, and he snapped his head away to face the street again, where it was safer, where he was less likely to see something that would make him jump up from this curb and start pounding his fists into a wall.

"Jax - "

"We don't gotta talk about it, darlin'," he cut in roughly, still keeping his eyes trained ahead. "I appreciate everything you did in there before, but none of it really mattered anyway."

Because at the end of the day, men like Xander Benson would never do business with men like him.

"Jax," Allie murmured softly. "I'm still sorry it happened. I wish he hadn't done that."

He just shrugged. What else could he do?

"It's fine though, right? Because no matter what I do and no matter how hard I try, it's never really gonna be enough. Getting out of guns isn't enough. We're always gonna be the thugs on the Harleys, running muscle for porn studios and strip clubs."

And, it seemed, he'd always be seen as the kind of man who could do that to Allie's face. And he was, wasn't he? He was guilty of it. Maybe he wasn't responsible for the way her nose looked right now, but had he squeezed just a little bit harder that time in the clubhouse, he would've left a nasty bruise on her wrist. He was capable of the kind of violence that would make a grown man wet their pants.

The way he'd handled Georgie Caruso and his pair of idiots was just second nature. That was all he knew and all he'd probably ever know. It was the one language he spoke fluently and he spoke it whenever it suited him.

"Nothin's ever really gonna change," he pushed out roughly as he reached inside his cut for his cigarettes again. "That much I do know."

They sat there on that curb in silence, watching the cars pass them by with Jax quietly exhaling smoke through his nose and Allie seated next to him with her chin in her hands. It was just easier this way - not to talk about it. Not to turn it into some kind of epic fight or bring it to the table to figure out how to burn Xander Benson's business to the ground. He didn't want that.

A year ago, maybe even a few months ago, he would've been on Xander Benson before he even finished talking, punching and strangling the words from his throat for even daring to speak them out loud. A year ago, he never would've tolerated anyone speaking to him that way, let alone speaking about the club that way.

Maybe it was the six months he'd spent in Stockton. Maybe it was the weight of the president patch sewn onto his cut. Either way, he knew now that beating Xander Benson to a pulp wouldn't solve the problem. It would only make it worse.

And then Allie's soft voice called out to him again.

"Were you guys serious about helping with the community outreach part of this or was that just part of the pitch?"

He frowned, flicking some of the ash from his cigarette before he finally let himself look at her again. Even with that god-awful bruise coloring her nose and stretching all the way up to the corner of her eyes, she really was something to behold. Soft, intelligent eyes. Just a touch of pink on her cheeks. An easy smile. A mind that was always working, always turning and turning.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Allie just lifted a shoulder. "Do you really want to work more with the community or did you just want me to put that in the proposal to get him to say yes?"

He considered her words carefully - sure, the club had added that in there to help sweeten the deal, to show Benson they were serious. But had it panned out, they would've followed through with that promise, no questions asked.

"I don't think anyone in the club would have a problem with it," he allowed with a shrug.

Allie nodded slowly, her eyes still fixed on the road in thought. "Don't take this the wrong way - and, because I'm your attorney, it's my job to tell you the truth - but I think we all put the cart before the horse on this one. I mean, he was always gonna say no, right? Given the club's reputation and his reputation, we could've walked in there with $10 million, and that was never going to be enough."

"Yeah, well," Jax replied, unable to stop the bitterness that crept through his voice. "We've thrown money at a problem before and usually have better results."

"Right. And that's because the problems you were throwing money at before were problems that could be bought."

He cocked an eyebrow at her, and she grinned back at him with a shrug.

"You know what I mean," Allie pushed on. "Maybe we shouldn't have expected someone like him to take the club's money, at least not right now. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are other ways to solve the...image issue the club has, if you will, without having to depend on other community members to be willing to work with you."

Right. Because it wasn't enough to want to work with them. They had to want to work with the club too.

"If the problem is people having an issue with where the money comes from - whether it's a donation or an investment - there are ways around that. Plenty of businesses create separate LLCs strictly to funnel funds through so when they actually turn around and use the money for something, it looks like it's coming from that separate LLC, not the actual business."

His mind worked its way around what she was saying, and his lips curled into a grin. "That sounds a little bit like money laundering, Attorney Levy. I wouldn't have thought you had that in you."

"Well," she laughed. "I guess that is how a person could launder money, if that's what they wanted to do. But it's not illegal if the money is coming from legitimate sources."

Huh. Now he kinda got the impression she was onto something.

"So, people like my dad, for example," Allie went on with a knowing smile. "Not exactly an ideal candidate for sponsoring little league teams and making friendly in-kind donations to the local elementary schools, right?"

Jax huffed out a laugh. "Right."

"So what he does is contribute monthly gifts to an LLC that I set up for him - the funds absolutely come from profits from the studio, but like I said, it's not illegal if the money is coming from legitimate sources. Then, he uses that LLC to cut checks every quarter to things like the Boys & Girls Club and the homeless shelter on the other side of town. No one bats an eye, even though they all know where the money actually comes from, because it doesn't look like it's coming from the studio, you know what I mean? When places like that have to list out their regular donors, Sweet Productions is never on the list. Money is money. And as long as the check doesn't look like it's coming from a porn studio, they have no problem taking it."

His brow crinkled in thought as he flicked some more ash from his cigarette. "But people still know the money is coming from your dad, though, right?"

"Sure," she shrugged. "It's not a secret. And since the company on the check doesn't say Sweet Productions, they can all claim ignorance whenever they need to. Some people call and thank my dad directly for the contribution and others pretend they don't know where it's coming from."

He nodded slowly as everything she'd said swum around in his mind. "I'd have to take that to the table."

"Of course," Allie smiled. "There are some things you just can't move past, you know? My dad is always going to work in porn. That's just who he is and who he's always been. I don't think there's anything wrong with that either. I think he figured out a long time ago that the people who can't look past that are the people he shouldn't want to do business with in the first place. And, not only does he get the tax write-off every year, but he also gets to feel like he's doing his part, even if he doesn't always get the credit for it. If you're doing it for the name recognition, then you're probably doing it for the wrong reasons."

His lips quirked up into a small grin. Yeah, he got the point. And he'd be taking that to the table too.

"Alright," Jax smiled as he rested his elbows on his knees to get a better look at her. "But, since you're my lawyer and we can say these kinda things to each other, you should know that the club needs to keep movin' on these deals. It's not just about having the legitimate cash to funnel into a shell corp or whatever that really is," he laughed when her nose crinkled up in defiance, "but the club needs the cash too. We need it to stay afloat just...in general, you know? I know you said we should take it slow, and you'd be right about that in any other scenario, but we can't wait that long. We need the money, and we need to start getting it now. Getting partnered up with your dad and the studio was a huge start, and that retail building will definitely help, but that's not enough on its own."

"That's information that would've been helpful to me, I don't know," she lifted an eyebrow at him. "Maybe a month ago. If I'd known it was that serious, I would've been more aggressive a lot sooner."

His lips pulled apart in a wince. Yeah, that was probably true too. But that was also club business, and they hadn't hired her to be their accountant. That's what they had Bobby for - who knew the ins and outs of what they earned from guns, and exactly how much they were going to need to make up the difference to be able to not only survive, but be able to have actual lives too. They didn't need a lawyer to help them do that, but, he had to admit, maybe they'd kept some of those details a little too close to the chest.

"We'd wanted to keep all that separate," Jax allowed with a tight grin. "And don't take this the wrong way, but nobody really thought you needed the details on our side business, if you know what I mean."

"I guess that's fair," Allie replied softly. "I don't really want to know either."

He nodded again, dipping his head down a little. Another wave of silence washed over them before she spoke again.

"I can't believe I'm about to suggest this, and I'm sure I'll regret it later, but maybe..." she trailed off, glancing at him apprehensively. "Maybe we need to open negotiations back up with Dominic King."

His lips parted to respond, but she jumped in before he could say anything.

"I know, I know. But if the club really needs the cash, and needs it quick, then you're right. You can't wait. And I get the impression, at least with him, that we'd have the upper hand in negotiations. He wants to partner with the club bad and there's nothing wrong with using that to our advantage. I can't imagine that we couldn't negotiate a higher percentage of the profits or something along those lines too."

Jax pushed out a deep breath. He didn't like the idea of working with a guy like Dominic King, and he could see from the frown on her face that she didn't really like the idea either. But then again, maybe guys like King were the kind of guys they needed to work with because guys like King were the kind of guys who didn't hold it against them that they were just a bunch of thugs riding around on Harleys. King probably even saw it more as an asset than anything.

"So maybe," Allie started again with a small smile. "And just hear me out - maybe we go back to the negotiation table with Dominic King. I don't see any real reason not to go through with the audit, considering he actually provides me with the information I actually need to do it. And if that audit kicks up anything we don't like, then we have our answer. And if any of those things are things we can live with, then that's more ammo for negotiations."

Jax chewed on the inside of his cheek in thought. "Yeah, well, I guess I don't have to like the guy to work with him."

"That's true. And if we move on it, I could easily add some language into the agreement that makes it clear the club can pull out at any time or after a certain amount of time, if that's what you want."

He nodded slowly. The initial meeting with King hadn't gone well, but this meeting with Benson certainly hadn't gone the way he thought it would either. Now that he'd been on the other side of it, maybe he needed to think about giving King the benefit of the doubt. At least for now.

The club couldn't afford to wait anyway.

"So, say we move forward and the club puts money into The Crown Jewel's expansion plans," Allie went on. "After a few years, once you've made your profit, you could pull out of the deal without any loss and probably without any hard feelings too. That buys the club more time to keep looking for other opportunities elsewhere that we can all feel a little bit better about."

He had to grin. He might've felt like he was failing at every turn since putting on the president patch, but the one thing he'd done right - at least so far - was hiring her. That was one decision he'd never regret. With her on their side, and with her ability to think outside the box, maybe things were really going to be okay.

"And," Allie was smiling now. "If the club chooses, I'd be happy to set up that LLC to help you start making some legitimate donations around Charming. I don't see why you need to depend on someone else in the community for help with that. The club is already pretty deep into the Taste of Charming fundraiser every year anyway, and this really isn't that different - it's just a little more official, if that makes sense."

It did make sense. It made a lot of sense.

"You mean, the Taste of Charming fundraiser that you will absolutely be showin' up for on Saturday?" he grinned at her, nudging her a little with his elbow.

Allie blew out a deep breath and scrubbed a hand over her eyes. "I guess."

He was still laughing when a T-M truck with a trailer pulled up in front of Jax's bike. He flicked his cigarette out onto the street, and then rose up from the curb. Without much thought, he reached down to hold out his hand to her.

Allie glanced at his outstretched hand for a moment before sliding her much softer hand into his calloused one. He pulled her gently up to her feet, feeling his chest tighten a little when her hand lingered in his for just a moment. Then she shocked him by slipping her hand from his and wrapping her arm around his neck to pull him in for a quick hug. He didn't even get a chance to slip a hand on her hip before she pulled away and took a small step back.

"We're gonna figure this out, Jax," she told him with a soft smile. "Everything is gonna be okay if we give it a little time."

His lips curled up in a smile. That was the best response he could give her right now. His senses were still a little shaken by the feeling of her soft skin against his neck and her body pressed up against his chest. It was only for a moment, but it was plenty long enough to know what that felt like now. As if he'd ever be able to forget.

"I should..." she glanced over her shoulder, where her BMW was parked a few spaces away. "I should probably get going."

"Alright."

She waved a little awkwardly as she turned on her heel, adjusting her bag over her shoulder, and headed for her car. It suddenly struck him that he was doing this a lot - watching her walk away from him. Watching her leave him in her dust. Watching her outsmart everyone in the room, including him, and then drop the mic and walk away.

Sooner or later, he wondered if he'd ever get the courage to reach out and pull her back to him. Probably a waste of time even thinking about it.

Why would someone like her ever want anything to do with a guy like him?