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“Since I stopped touring with him, the sponsorships have dwindled off. Together, we were unique. My story of being an Olympic competitor and him helping me find another outlet, something they could market. Alone, he’s one guy among many. There are lots of younger, better competitors starting the sport every day. It’s only been recently that he has turned bitter. We got an offer on the land, the building and the business about six months ago. And Eric wanted to take it. I had no interest. I mean, the offer was good. But it wasn’t enough for me to start again by myself.”
“What did he do?” Ink asked.
“The partnership contract we drew up said that we both had to agree to sell the business. So there wasn’t much he could do. He was pissed. I felt guilty but not enough to give up on this place. So I took what little savings I had, and I started buying out his half. Every month I buy a little more, but it’s going to take another couple months before I can fully buy him out of the business at the rate we set.”
“He didn’t seem to want to wait.” Ink’s observation was the truth. Eric hadn’t been happy with her, but he had been willing to wait. At least at first.
“A couple months ago, he started taking money out of the safe without asking. I wouldn’t figure it out till I went to reconcile the next day. The first time I let it slide. Asked him about it. He apologized and said he had a sponsorship fall through and he needed travel money.” She’d believed it to be a one-time thing and let it go. “Then it kept happening. He stopped even bothering with explanations. The last contract I had him sign, when I bought more shares, clearly outlined that he no longer had access rights to the working capital. So a couple weeks ago, I got the safe combination changed.”
“And he discovered that tonight.” Hannibal’s smile was pleased.
“Yes, I guess the extra money I gave him to buy more shares and the dividend check ran out. I have an accountant sign off on the amount he gets so that there can be no argument that he is getting his fair share. I hadn’t seen him in those few weeks. I’d hoped he was off finding another way to bring in money, but when I saw the light on up here earlier, I knew it was him.” She remembered the fear and anger at seeing the light on when she clearly remembered turning it off before coming down. She wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing that it had interrupted whatever had been happening between her and these men. “He can’t get the money anymore, but I wasn’t sure what he would do once he figured that out.”
Ink scowled. “Why didn’t you tell us? We would have come up here with you.”
Jade laughed at the serious expressions on the men’s faces. “We met less than an hour ago and I’m supposed to say, what? ‘Hey guys, we’ve been flirting pretty hard and I think my business partner is upstairs about to flip out. You look big and burly, want to come be my backup?’”
She didn’t think it was possible, but Hannibal looked even more upset than when he had burst into the room earlier. “We would have done that.”
They both looked deadly serious. She smiled, glad they weren’t looking at her like she was crazy. “I think you would have, but I wasn’t comfortable asking you to.” Jade took a deep breath and admitted, “I am glad you came up. He’s never been that aggressive before. He’s never physically gotten violent. Smashing the stuff on the desk isn’t like him.” The doubtful looks on their faces forced a bit more honesty out of her. “Yes, he can be an asshole, but I’m used to that. Maybe I should have given him the money.”
Guilt pricked at her conscience. Eric had always been there for her emotionally. Did she need to be more understanding?
“If he needs money that bad, he could come in and work like you do.” Ink obviously had no sympathy for her old friend.
She nodded, not able to argue the sentiment. “I offered, we have several people who would happily pay for individual lessons from him. But he said he’s too busy. I can’t help but worry. Our friendship has deteriorated over the last six months and I honestly don’t know what’s going on in his life. We don’t talk anymore.”
“Were the two of you an item in the past?” Hannibal asked.
“No, though he wanted to be.” Jade shrugged. “I never saw him that way. The TV liked to paint us as a couple, though. And I kept my mouth shut for the sake of marketing. He’s not the type of man I’m attracted to.”
“And what type of man is that?” Ink stepped closer. She had slowly been leaning against her desk in an attempt to create distance. In this small office with these two men, that wasn’t really possible.
“I like my men with a bit more ink.” Both men laughed and seemed surprised by her attempt to lighten the conversation.
“Is that so?” Hannibal traced his fingers up her arm, his voice dark with suggestion. She wasn’t sure if the shivers that ran up her spine were from his words or his gentle touch. “You’re playing with fire, Jade.”
The conversation had taken a quick turn, she didn’t mind. Worrying about her dissolving friendship was hard and drained her emotionally. Flirting with these two men, while outrageous and almost surreal, was something that made her feel empowered. “I’ve been known to take a few risks.”
She looked down, blushing at her blatant offer. People on the Parkour circuit and here at the gym all marveled at the risky stunts she was willing to attempt. Truth was, she was never happier than she was when she was pushing herself to her limits. Her body, her mind, all of it.
It wasn’t the adrenaline so much as the freedom she found when she was trying to do something that didn’t allow her to be anything but present in the moment. Whether it was racing across the rooftop doing flips and tricks, or climbing an impossible mountain and hanging on by the tips of her fingers. That was another thing Eric didn’t understand. How she could love pushing herself like that, but not want the spotlight or the attention.
How for her it wasn’t the rush, but the pure focus of pushing yourself to your absolute limit. Knowing that each time she could go a little bit further, do a little bit more. Mentally, she had never competed with other people. That wasn’t the point of it all for her. It was about being in competition with herself. However, she had never taken those kinds of risks with a man.
“Just how wild are you willing to get?” Ink pushed her hair behind her ear, his finger catching slightly. “Think carefully before you answer.”
It took little thought. Reckless as it might seem, she knew she would regret it if she didn’t experience what these men were offering. “Well, apparently I’m willing to offer myself to two men I met only an hour ago because I like their artwork.”
Hannibal’s chuckle was like warm velvet against her skin. “Is that all you like about us? Our art?”
Her cheeks heated. “No. I like the packaging too.”
The two men exchanged a look that had her insides heating. Hannibal nodded and turned her to face him. “I’m gonna get real with you,cher. What my Brother and I like is not what you would call vanilla.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. Her mind was racing at all the distinct possibilities. She’d had partners try different things with her. Some of them even tried dominating her. The idea of a man taking control turned her on, but she hadn’t found one who could pull it off. She thought over their interactions so far and felt herself grow wet at the idea of these two men doing things she had only read about to her body.
“Two bad ass men who obviously like to share. I wasn’t thinking we were going to be lying down in a bed of roses.”
