Page 20 of Own the Eights
Hector rubbed his hands together. “Let’s just say, you’ve made it to the final round of competition, and now we’re going to see what you’re really made of.”
“We’re competing against each other?” Jordan asked.
“Yes and no. You’re going to be working together,” Hector said, opening a folder on the table and handing them each a piece of paper. “This is a loose schedule. We still want you to maintain your blogs and keep doing what you’re doing. But we’re adding in some surprise events—challenges—that could be sprung on you at any time. Luckily, you both live and work in the same area, Jordan at the Deacon CrossFit and Georgie at Jensen’s Books. That’ll be convenient.”
“But I thought there was going to be just one winner,” Jordan posited.
Bobby and Hector shared a curious look. “Yes, we want to shake things up around here with some fresh talent.”
“Then how will you decide?” she asked.
“Likes,” Bobby answered.
“Likes?” she parroted back.
Bobby pushed his glasses up from where they’d slid down his nose. “Yes, you’ll each post about your experience on the challenges you complete together, and we’ll use the likes metric to calculate your scores.”
Jordan crossed his arms. “But our blogs are completely different.”
“Not really,” Bobby countered gently. “If you boil your blogs down to the basics, they’re actually quite similar.”
Georgie sat forward. “I need to respectfully disagree, Mr. Chang. Own the Eights has nothing in common with the Marks Perfect Ten Mindset.”
She’d seen posts from Jordan’s blog pop up in her newsfeed. With titles likePick a Perfect Protein PowderandHow to Date a Ten, there was no way they were alike.
Hector offered the hint of a smile. “You both offer ways to better oneself, correct?”
“And you both give relationship, lifestyle, and fitness advice,” Bobby added.
Jordan put up his hand. “I need to agree with Georgie and respectfully disagree. What kind of fitness advice could Georgie dispense? You just said that she works at a bookstore.”
She lifted her chin. “Iowna bookstore.”
Jordan waved off the comment. “Fine, but still. What kind of exercise advice are you qualified to blog about?”
She gave him her best shit-eating grin. “Meditation, yoga, and meandering walks.”
“Meandering what?” Jordan questioned.
“Walks,” she repeated as if she were addressing an idiot—because she was. “Meandering walks are an excellent way to not only get in a little exercise but also an outlet to spark creativity and fresh ideas.”
He smirked. “Did you come up with that outfit combination on ameanderingwalk?”
She channeled the take-no-shit attitude of Hermione Granger and gave him her best stink eye. “Did I call you a supreme asshat on the way up here? I should have called you, His Majesty the High Emperor of Asshattery. What an honor it is to bask in your eternal perfection.”
She held his burning gaze, unwavering.
“This is going to be great!” Hector cooed, cutting short their staring contest.
“Great?” she and her asshat partner snapped in unison.
Hector nodded. “The energy between the two of you is electric! The CityBeat readers will love it.”
She blushed. The Emperor of Asshattery name-calling was not professional, but the CityBeat founders seemed to love it.
Hector leaned in. “Listen, you both are very comfortable in your worlds. Putting you together may shake things up for both your blogs, in a good way.”
“And you do share many crossover followers,” Bobby added.
