Page 2 of King

“Dammit, Steve,” Jared said from the table. “There are only so many times we can save you from Sloan. Seriously. What in the hell did you do?”

“Shit,” Steve whispered, then shrugged after a few more minutes of deep thought. “Fuck it. Dude, we went viral, and if I can make money off this, I won’t need this Warrior gig anymore.”

“You won’t need it anymore if Sloan kills you.” Sid pointed out with a smirk.

“Will you guys stop shitting on my parade?” Steve glared first at Sid and then Jared. “Just once, I would like a pat on the fucking back and a ‘well done, Steve.’” He deepened his voice for that last part, making King chuckle.

“What went viral, Steve?” King asked with a grin.

“I uploaded the recording of you to TikTok yesterday.” Steve grinned as if he was counting his fortune already. “It has over twelve million views and is still going with hundreds of thousands of likes.”

“What the fuck is a TikTok?” Duncan grumbled as he passed, taking his plate to the sink.

Steve’s eyes widened in shock. “Just the biggest social media platform, Grandpa.”

Duncan’s glare should have warned Steve to shut his mouth, but then again, it was Steve.

“People who go viral are becoming millionaires,” Steve said as if that explained everything. “This could be my ticket, boys.”

“Sounds like it could be King’s ticket since he’s the one on the video.” Jared snorted as he also passed with an empty plate.

“Ticket for what?” Jill strolled into the kitchen.

“Finally, someone who isn’t as old as dirt and can respect what the hell I’ve done,” Steve said proudly, scrolling on his phone.

“You mean...whatKinghas done.” Jared reiterated, but Steve ignored him.

Steve stood tall, completely ignoring Jared, a grin stretching across his face as he handed his phone to Jill with a proud tilt to his head. He looked like a kid waiting for praise, practically bouncing with excitement. King leaned casually against the counter. He wasn’t entirely sure what Steve was so hyped about. From his perspective, all he’d done was grab a broken broom, used it as a makeshift fighting staff, and put some old techniques to use. Throwing fists in a fight could get boring, so he liked to mix it up now and then, using whatever he could get his hands on to take down the bad guys. Nothing extraordinary, just business as usual.

“Holy shit!” Jill exclaimed, her eyes widening as she watched the video.

“Told ya!” Steve grinned, rubbing his hands together. He glanced triumphantly at Sid, Jared, and Duncan. “These old fucks have no clue what this means.”

Jill snorted, barely glancing up. “I don’t think you do either.”

Steve smiled even wider but then faltered. “Huh?”

“This has over twelve million views.” Jill frowned, handing the phone back to Steve.

“I know.” Steve nodded, almost drooling at the thought. “It’s fucking awesome.”

“Steve, what possessed you to think Sloan would be okay with one of his Warriors showing off fighting moves on social media? And let’s not forget—shirtless, in gray sweatpants of all things. Have you ever heard of the gray sweatpants trend, Mr. TikTok? I’m honestly shocked we don’t have women lined up outside the door right now,” Jill said, frowning deeply at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Have you forgotten the whole secretary fiasco with Sloan?”

King glanced around the room, noting the knowing grimaces on everyone’s faces. It was clear they all remembered. He, however, had never heard of said...fiasco. “What fiasco?”

“Oh, that fiasco was Jill’s doing.” Jared was more than happy to fill him in. “She decided to put out an ad announcing that Sloan Murphy, aka Warrior Bossman, was hiring a secretary. Hundreds of women showed up but weren’t just after a desk job.”

“Hey!” Jill pointed at Jared. “The ad clearly stated what the position was for. I can’t be blamed for what they were thinking.”

“Which was?” King asked with a half grin, clearly amused. Damn, he wished he could have seen Sloan’s face when a hundred women showed up for the job of being his secretary.

“They wanted Warrior husbands, and as far as they were concerned, any Warrior would do.” Sid shivered at the thought. “Before Lana, I was a ladies’ man.”

Jared snorted with a roll of his eyes at that, but Sid ignored him.

“But to have over a hundred women all trying to get at you, well, that’s some scary ass shit,” Sid continued, shaking his head.

“My balls agree,” Steve added, looking pale, his eyes vacant, and he seemed deep in thought. “I seriously think that woman who chased me with her purse and then soccer kicked me in the nuts was psycho. My nuggets have never been the same.”

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