Page 74 of Own the Eights
Jordan Marks in gym attire was crazy attractive. Jordan Marks in jeans and Birkenstocks was super yummy. But Jordan Marks in a tux was a showstopper.
“Good luck!” Layla called, and Jordan’s eyes went wide.
“That’s…” he began.
“Yep, but don’t worry. She’s either really cool or totally stalking you. I’m not sure which,” Georgie supplied, biting back a grin.
With a stunned expression, he waved goodbye to the redhead, then opened the car door and helped her inside the sleek black SUV.
Once the car started moving, he took her hand. “What do you think we’re walking into tonight?”
Georgie shrugged then glanced down at her dress. “Probably not zip lining or scuba diving.”
“Jesus, you kill me.” He chuckled and pressed a kiss to her palm.
The SUV didn’t have far to go. In a matter of minutes, the car pulled up to one of Denver’s grand historic hotels, and a valet opened the door and helped her out.
“Welcome! The gala is being held in the main ballroom,” the man said with a quick nod before moving on to the car pulling up behind them.
“It’s a gala,” she said to Jordan as he pressed his hand to the small of her back and led her inside.
“An after-school literacy program fundraiser. It sounds right up your alley,” he added, gesturing to a banner in the hotel’s lavish lobby.
“I know about them. I’ve donated books to this organization,” she replied.
They entered the grand ballroom, packed with elegantly dressed women and men looking smart in their tuxedos when Barry emerged from a group of people and hurried over.
“You guys look great. Are you ready for tonight?”
She’d almost forgotten. CityBeat’s founders, Hector and Bobby, loved a good twist. Anything could happen tonight, and there were plenty of CityBeat people filming and photographing the event.
She shared a look with Jordan. “We’re up for anything. Have Daniel and Danielle arrived?”
The Dannies had more likes than them, but the brother and sister duo hadn’t posted in a few days, which was odd. They usually produced so much content that it seemed like they’d need a team of people to do all the work.
Barry frowned. “They told us that a family issue had come up and that they couldn’t make it tonight.”
She and Jordan shared another look. He’d never been a fan of the Dannies, but she couldn’t help but hope they were all right.
“I just got off the phone with Danielle, and she assured me that she and her brother will be at the final event this weekend. But there have been some anomalies with their blog,” the man added.
“What kind of anomalies?” Jordan asked.
“Nothing to worry about. Just odd surges with their followers. I probably shouldn’t have even mentioned it,” the man said as beads of perspiration formed above his lip.
As it stood, the Dannies were in first place with her in second and Jordan a close third. It turns out, CityBeat followers love a good girl gone bad, and her wet T-shirt stunt had garnered the Own the Eights blog an avalanche of likes and new followers.
“Mentioned what?”
Georgie turned to find the CityBeat founders heading their way. The flamboyant Hector had gone with an electric blue tuxedo while the reserved Bobby stuck with the traditional black and white.
“Just talking about the contest, boss,” Barry said, clearly nervous he’d dropped that little nugget of info.
“Well, one thing is for sure. People are loving our naughty bookseller,” Hector said, greeting her with a kiss to the cheek.
Bobby adjusted his glasses. “And Jordan’s goat breakthrough also set the platform on fire.”
“Between you and me,” Hector said, lowering his voice and putting a hand on Jordan’s shoulder. “Goats always kind of creeped me out, too. Your phobia admission was quite inspiring.”
