“No. Send him to Evan.”
“Okay?” She sounded confused. He didn’t care.
Tenney hadn’t liked the idea of Greer giving his account up to a “lesser” analyst—Tenney’s words not Greer’s. He’d almost given in and taken the account back. But at four o’clock this morning, with no more than a few restless hours of sleep, he decided all his efforts needed to be laser-focused on winning Dallas back.
His best plan of attack was through BikeBro. By six o’clock this morning, he’d been fully briefed on the Reigns brothers’ day to day operation and the changes his investment firm intended to make to get the company off the ground.
Obsessive, compulsive, dominating, neurotic—any of those words could describe the craziness of his scheme. BikeBro didn’t begin to fill the hours of Greer’s day hence him standing idly in the middle of his office right now. The Reigns brothers ran a haphazard operation.
If Greer dug in, committed the time, he’d certainly have the company operating in its true growth potential. All he had to do was wait to hear back from Ducky after the email he’d sent in the wee hours of the morning.
He looked down at his wristwatch. Eleven forty-five. When did Ducky start his day? Kailey interrupted his thoughts when she beeped in again. “Ducky’s on line two, asking specifically for you. Do you want me to reroute him, too?” Greer flipped around, taking two long strides to his desk. He reached for the handset with his forefinger on the line button when Kailey said, “If you’re still in there, I’ve got a doctor’s appointment this afternoon. I’ll be out for a couple of hours.”
Greer took note of her tone. Her quiet cadence drew his concern. He ratcheted back his hard-edged tone, aiming for gentle and kind. “Is everything okay?”
“I don’t know. Beau’s making me go. I’ve been having headaches. He thinks it’s allergies, but you know how he is,” Kailey said. Greer’s brows came together. Thoughts of Dallas took second place behind Kailey’s possible health complications. What was Beau thinking?
Don’t borrow problems.
“Call me when you’re done. Don’t forget. I’ll be waiting to hear from you.” Greer had to remind himself Beau wouldn’t let anything happen to his sister. He was crazy about Kailey and had been since the moment he first laid eyes on her. It had taken Kailey longer to settle into the idea of a them than it had Beau. Greer smiled at the chase Kailey had given his best friend.
“Do you have your cell phone on you? I haven’t heard the annoying ring this morning.” She had a point. The whole office had to appreciate the silence from his ear-splitting ringtone. Greer had left his cell phone in the car, knowing he was barely keeping it together. In a moment of sheer weakness, he wouldn’t hesitate to break down and beg Dallas to give him another chance.
Greer let go of a heavy resigned sigh as his day just grew more complicated. “No, but I will. Call me when you’re finished with your appointment.”
He didn’t dwell, pushing the line button to take Ducky’s call. The BikeBro’s oversized file folder splayed its contents across his desk. They’d already done so much work in preparing for a national launch. His team impressed him on a regular basis. “Greer Lockhart.”
“Hey, Greer, it’s Ducky.” Ducky’s voice was husky and low. He clearly hadn’t been awake too long.
Greer reached absently backward for his office chair, needing to take a seat before his legs gave out and toppled him to the ground. Ducky’s voice gave him an odd sense of calm and comfort. The squeezing pressure around his heart eased. All the questions he really wanted to ask zinged and zipped through his overcrowded head.
How’s your brother?
What happened to cause him to pull away?
Why is he so afraid to be himself?
Does everyone he dates fall so quickly for him?
Maybe there was a club Greer could join, one filled with broken hearts trailing after Dallas’s affection. At least then he wouldn’t feel so alone.
Of course, Greer couldn’t ask any of that. Instead, he cleared his throat and stuck to his hastily created plan. “Good morning. Thanks for giving me a call. I wanted to let you know I’m taking over your project personally. Evan’s had…something come up.” The lie rolled convincingly off Greer’s deceitful lips.
“Yeah. I read that in your email. I forwarded it to Donny and Dallas. I don’t know if they’ve had time to see it yet,” Ducky said.
Greer swallowed the craven lump forming in his throat. “That’s fine. I saw the corporate name change.”
“Yeah, StreamTrainer felt right. Everything’s moving fast. Secret’s badass. I’m waiting for Dallas to sign off, but I think he will. They’ve got the new logo mockup and a new website ready to launch. I’m stalling for Dallas. I want him to see it all. I think he’s going through something right now…” Ducky abruptly stopped speaking, causing Greer to look at the landline phone display to see if they were still connected. “Wait. No, I didn’t mean it like that. Dallas is the one that has a good feel for our members—”