Seconds ticked by before understanding sank in, but Donny’s scowl finally transitioned into a grin. Dallas’s mind raced at the possibility as his heartbeat drummed wildly against his rib cage, sending adrenaline rushing through his veins. It wasn’t too late. This could be the answer to all their problems.
“I’ll call in late and reschedule my clients, but I think Skye should lead the class tonight. I’ll sign on in my second account as a cyclist. I can build a decent speed to give our members something to compete against,” Dallas said, thinking out loud.
“You’re a dipshit.” Donny reached around Dallas to swat at the back of Ducky’s head, dislodging the headphones again. The petty move was designed to give him the last word. Donny had always been an asshole.
Dallas turned a pleading gaze to Ducky, willing him not to throw another fit.
“I’ll call in late to work too, and I’ll go home right now to put the whole site on blast. Talk to Skye. Tell her to wear the new workout gear. I know it’s early, but maybe we should debut the leaderboard tonight,” Donny said.
“Sounds great. This is big.” Dallas’s grin grew as hope filled his heart. Donny must have felt it too because he drew Dallas into a tight bear hug. Ducky deserved all the praise for this one. Tonight might just be the big break they’d been waiting for.
=?=
The overhead lighting in Greer Lockhart’s uptown Dallas, Texas, office suddenly brightened, taking his concentration and focused gaze up to the ceiling then over to the floor length windows overlooking a patch of winter-dried grass. The dark gray sky caught him off guard. He wasn’t prepared for dusk to already be settling over the hustle and bustle of his busy day. Still in doubt of the time, Greer lifted his cell phone, verifying the hour. Five thirty in the afternoon. Where had the day gone?
Probably the same place the week had gone. Time always flew in the wild chess game of his life. Greer shoved back from his office chair while reaching for his mouse to put his desktop to sleep. He grabbed the small remote control next to his keyboard and pointed it at the panel of television monitors attached to the wall across from his desk.
Now that the stock market had closed, all six screens were focused on a spirited volley, rehashing the volatility of any given security during the day’s trading. He never had the volume high, just loud enough to drown out anything other than the numbers constantly running through his head. To Greer, they were like an orchestra playing the finest symphony. He loved everything about the chatter of the stock exchange.
A quiet knock on his open door drew his mind away from his inner musings. He cast a glance over his shoulder as he took his suit coat off the hook behind his desk. “You asked me to remind you it’s five thirty.”
“The days fly,” he said by way of acknowledgement, not as any sort of conversation starter.
He shrugged on his suit jacket as his assistant, Kailey, stepped fully inside his office. She was a sassy woman who always dressed sharply and stood ready to give him a hard time. She crossed her arms, the pointy fingernails of one hand drumming on her bicep. They were freshly polished in the same color as her shoes. Every day she coordinated her fingernail color to match something in her ensemble. All the time it must take to accomplish that seemed exhausting to Greer.
Kailey was also married to his best friend and silent business partner, Beau Harris. They were newlyweds. Deeply, if not a bit sickly, in love.
“Are you signing on to BikeBro tonight?” she asked.
“I am. Skye texted, asking me to.” Greer barely spared a glance in her direction as he made sure his collar lay down correctly.
“Good. They’re all excited. They’re doing their first site-wide competition. They’re giving away big prizes—a year’s free membership.” Kailey waggled her perfectly plucked brows as if that were a huge incentive.
Skye had become Kailey’s best friend. She was also Greer’s personal trainer and latest “maybe” sexual interest. It had been a while since he’d been interested in a woman. So long in fact that he thought he had tipped the Kinsey scale all the way over to gay man. Skye drew him in with her tight athletic body, long dark hair, and even longer legs. Her thick black eyeliner—man, he had a thing for eyeliner—had captured his attention.
They had been dancing around one another for a while now. Skye claimed to have a strong moral compass. She wanted to get to know him before taking things to the next level. Greer didn’t doubt her sincerity, but he wasn’t looking for long-term anything. He only wanted to fuck her. The idea of having to date someone just to get inside their pants seemed its own kind of tedious hell, and that was probably why he preferred men in the first place. Men never had a three-date requirement for sex—at least none he’d met. Hell, opening the front door could be foreplay enough for the men in his life.