He turned toward Kailey, grinning like a Cheshire cat as his ass hit the windowpane. Dallas sounded good, and even under all the pressure, they felt solid. This might as well be like having one of their random chats throughout the day.
“Would you still love me if I did lose my mind?” Greer asked, teasingly.
“Greer. How much did you offer Donny? Can we afford it?” Dallas asked, his tone turning firm.
“Eventually. StreamTrainer will be able to pay me back. And if not, that’s okay too. It’s part of the risk,” Greer explained. It was how he saw it too.
“Tell me the number,” Dallas replied.
“I don’t want to,” Greer countered happily.
“I’m coming up there.”
“No.” He pushed his ass off the window as if that alone had the power to stop Dallas. “Where you think you’re not worth anything, Donny thinks he’s worth everything. Stay away, Dallas. I’m serious. He’s either going to accept my offer or we’ll enact the provision I set in the contract which states we’ll pay his salary through the end of next year and call it done. Either way, you guys are protected. This new offer has a tiered payout with a stronger, long-term NDA. It’s generous.”
After a moment of Dallas’s complete silence, Greer looked down at the phone to see if they were still connected. They were, so he waited.
“Greer, our individual balances are off in our relationship. You give more—”
“Love, I feel that way about you every day. You’re too good a guy for the likes of me. Please let me feel like I’m balancing out contributions to us.” Greer turned back to the window. This time he saw the electrician’s beginning to install the Christmas lights on the property ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. They had more important things to discuss than money. “How are you doing with it all? I didn’t stick around long enough to know.”
“I was fine until you started talking about money. Two hundred million dollars? I was hoping to consistently earn a hundred thousand dollars a year.”
Greer grinned again and lowered his voice, teasing when he said, “Woo. Daddy makes the big bucks. I’m gonna be living like a king.”
It worked. Dallas barked out a laugh as Kailey’s high heels hit the floor and she started for the door. “This is taking an unexpected turn into something I’m not going to be able to scrub from my brain.”
The knock on the door had Kailey stopping in her tracks, and Greer turning to look that direction.
“Answer it, Kailey. I’ll call you back, Dallas.”
“Not on your life.” Dallas’s voice hardened.
Greer couldn’t make himself hang up, no matter how badly he wished he could. He wanted Dallas to always see him as a man who could move mountains. Not one who utterly failed to protect his love when it mattered the most.
Evan stood in the doorway. Donny and Cari waited several feet away at the top of the staircase.
“We need your signature and to get copies made. Can you handle that for me, Kailey?” Evan asked, sounding serious and stern. The giant grin and thumbs-up he hid in the middle of his chest where Donny couldn’t see told Greer everything he wanted to know.
Kailey rushed to take the paperwork and started for his desk. She had a pen in hand, extending it to Greer before he got there.
“Did he agree to the terms of the new NDA?” Greer asked, hopefully loud enough for Donny to hear.
“Yes. And all payments will cease if the terms are broken.”
Greer scribbled his initials and name where Kailey pointed. He whispered for her ears only. “Work at lightning speed.”
“Got it,” she nodded, gathering the papers and starting for the door.
“Evan, will you stay with her?” Greer asked. Who knew when the ticking time bomb out there might blow.
“Of course.” When the office door shut, Greer let go of a pent-up breath as his ass hit the edge of his desk.
Greer’s relief was staggering. The dark cloud of worry over Dallas’s family that had hung over him for months and months had fizzled into nothing. He and Dallas had weathered the storm together and had come out on the other side. His hand instinctively lifted the cell phone to his ear.
“Did you hear all that?”
“Enough to hear Donny took the deal,” Dallas said. “Ducky’s with me now. We promise to pay you back every dime.”
“I know you will. I have no fear. Listen, Ducky’s got a lot about to hit him with your family. Talk him into staying with us for the next few weeks. We’ll deal with it all together.”
“I’ll tell him but I don’t think he will. He’s got a gaming tournament this weekend and into next week. I’m hearing that he’s reserved a suite at Escape properties for his team. He’s taking some days off. They’ve already got the place set up with their computer equipment. The team’s name is Team StreamTrainer Extreme. Our wedding is messing with their play time. We’ve been instructed to be efficient with the ceremony.” Dallas chuckled as he spoke that last line. He could hear Ducky talking and laughing too. Greer’s gaze lowered to the floor, his smile growing along with the brothers’ revelry. He loved his new family. “He’s bringing his new gaming laptop. A lot’s changed with him since I’ve been preoccupied with you.”