A war brewed underneath the surface between them. Dallas felt it in his bones. Until it came to a head, he wouldn’t borrow problems.
Dallas never took his eyes off Skye as he spoke. “We sold twenty-three thousand boxes last month. I’m doing my share.”
Donny gave a humorless laugh. “Yeah, with lots of help. Cari should’ve been a partner before Skye. She’s family.”
Dallas said nothing as the class came to an official end. He loved Cari. She was a sister to him, and she could at times calm Donny’s rage. But she hadn’t been much more than an occasional instructor in the early days. His brother had kept Cari at a distance on purpose. His growing arrogance demanded he be the bread-winning king of his castle.
“You’re changing, brother. The clothes. The car. You’re always gone. Ducky sees it too. This won’t end well if you keep trying to live the high-life off the back of this company.”
Dallas was certain his neck flushed under his indifferent pose. His jaw locked and ticced as he repeated Donny’s usual slur. “Because I’m a headcase, right?”
“You always have been.” Donny dropped his insult and turned away. Dallas listened to the measured step of his retreat. His brother had delivered the mean-spirited blow and didn’t need to say another word. He was certain Donny had planned his attack, wanting to hurt Dallas after losing the vote against Skye.
Anger licked along his spine, begging him to confront Donny. Make the jerk eat those words by way of a fist to his hateful mouth.
The secret of juggling his life weighed heavy on his shoulders. Many days, most actually, Dallas kept his head down and lips sealed, doing what he should.
The pretense of his and Greer’s relationship was almost non-existent. They kept it professional when Greer came to Dallas’s office. Outside of that, they were a devoted couple. No matter how Greer tried, he couldn’t keep his hands to himself, and Dallas didn’t want him to. The life they shared was wonderful. They were so functional and loving.
Greer was his best friend. And he never wanted that to change.
“What’d you think?” Lost in thought, Dallas focused his attention on Skye, standing right in front of him with a beaming grin. “Don’t let him get to you.”
“I’m not. You don’t either,” he said, pushing off the wall.
“Not today, for sure.” She squirted a long stream of water from her water bottle into her mouth. “The other studio’s almost ready. Have you seen it?”
“It’s been a few days,” he said, nodding toward the new filming studio, in the opposite direction of the way Donny had gone. “Show me?”
“Come on.” The studios were side by side. They walked through the class participants while they gathered their belongings. He loved they were to the point of having full classes and smiled at many as they passed by.
The second studio was designed for professional filming—YouTube, the website, and commercials would be videoed there. It was smaller than the original studio, but sleek and brand new. Their logo lit the backdrop of the stage with professional lighting angled in all the right directions.
“I might have to come back and film classes,” he said as he climbed the steps to the stage.
“You know you’re the most requested instructor still to this day. I’d put you on the schedule anytime,” she said, following him up.
All the happy feelings of success tingled along his skin. His pride in what they had accomplished swelled his chest. Less than two years ago, Dallas had absently brought the idea up to Ducky during a holiday dinner at his parents. Donny had inserted his contribution. A dream stated offhandedly, and here they were…
“We did it.”
“You did it,” she said, knocking him in the arm, heading toward the stationary bike.
“You too,” he shot back, tucking his hands inside his slacks pockets. “You jumped in when we needed you the most. You made sure we had classes even when I couldn’t pay you or handle the load myself.”
“Best decision I’ve ever made.” Her pretty, smiling face beamed up at him while she patted his belly. “Are you getting enough exercise? You seem to have a pretty cushy life.” The laugh she gave caused him to laugh too.
Now that he was a man in love, in a life that he loved, he and Greer only worked out three days a week. What they did do very well was eat and drink together. Greer loved to share all sorts of new foods and wines with him. His body wasn’t quite as hard as it used to be.
“All right, I’ll take on a class or two when I’m in town. We finally seem to be leveling out in orders. At least until next month. I keep hearing about the January rush.”
Skye stood with her feet apart, arms crossing over her chest, gaze calculating. “Do a YouTube class for me. It’ll be a big deal that you’re back. I heard we’re having a twenty percent off sale for Black Friday weekend. Do a cameo that weekend too. It’ll push those sales, I’m certain.”