Chapter One
Dev
September
With his signature wicked smirk in place, Dev “Devilman” Fox sat on top of the conference room table with his weathered boots planted firmly on a plastic chair. He leaned forward with his elbows propped on his knees. His eagle-eyed stare fixed on the towering drop-down screen taking up most of the back wall of the meeting space. A screen so big, it was hard to think of anything else and it definitely threw off the balance of the room.
At least that was his opinion that no one asked for.
So he kept his mouth shut.
Holding his tongue while keeping all the wild craziness leashed up inside his head was a new development in his life. Cash, the guy who owned his heart, called it maturity. Dev suspected it had more to do with the properly prescribed—from a real medical doctor, ADHD medication he popped on the daily. Like as in every morning. Cash lovingly placed a pill on the counter before leaving for work with a sweet note of encouragement to have a good day.
Damn, he loved that man.
Another bonus, Cash had medical insurance that he shared with Dev. It really made a big difference in the medical care he received.
Dammit, Dev. Focus.
He may have exaggerated the claim of being eagle-eyed. As he gripped the presentation remote tighter than any game showcontestant he’d ever seen, anxiety and pressure pumped through his veins. He had one job. To click the button to turn the pages of the PowerPoint presentation Keyes Dixon was giving.
And since he was telling the truth, he’d go a step further. His ass hurt from the uncomfortable seat he’d chosen when he first arrived. Hopping up on the table? What was he thinking? There were ten padded leather chairs in the room.
Lesson learned.
But no lie, his assigned job was challenging. It might be the hardest of his entire life. And with what he had lived through, that said a lot.
The preparation for today’s presentation had taken weeks, maybe months, to nail down. Keyes had done all the heavy lifting in organizing the content, taking this as seriously as he had ever taken anything.
Their audience consisted of one person: Alec Pierce. Keyes’s new husband.
And their sole potential investor.
Months ago, when he and Keyes began to revive their childhood dream of building custom bikes, Alec had guided them to the Small Business Administration. The SBA had then sent them to SCORE Business Mentoring to help mold their dream into a potential professional moneymaker. After all their help in learning what it takes to start a business properly, they were now ready to secure financing.
The kicker, Dev could single-handedly finance the whole operation without an investor. But how did he explain where the money had come from without raising more questions than he was prepared to answer.
“Devilman, what the fuck?” Keyes barked, drawing Dev back into the here and now.
“Shit. Sorry,” he murmured and pushed the button.
Dev stared at the new slide, trying to judge their performance to this point.
Maybe Keyes wasn’t the right person to spearhead this presentation.
This time, Dev caught Keyes’s cue and pushed the button, changing the slide at the right moment. He let go of a pent-up breath. The pressure was off him for at least the next few seconds.
As Keyes continued to speak, Dev cast a sly glance at Alec. He lounged in a leather conference room chair, shifting his attention between Keyes and the screen. He was focused and attentive, with a manila folder open on the table in front of him. He leaned on one elbow with his hand partially covering his mouth.
They were in Alec’s swanky offices in the headquarters of Escape Resorts.
Dev had never seen Alec’s professional side. Keyes’s husband had always come off as pretty arm candy, devoted to Keyes’s happiness. Today, Dev understood it was all a veneer. Alec was a force who challenged everything, grilling Keyes with a barrage of questions as the presentation dragged on.
From this angle, Dev caught a glimpse of Alec’s lips pressed into a tight frown. Huh.
What if he decided to pass on the investment?
He suspected Keyes couldn’t see the frown from his position, facing Alec directly.
