Page 75 of Own the Eights
Jordan blushed then cleared his throat. “I’m just happy that I helped some people address their fears.”
“You two have quite a following now,” Bobby said, glancing at his phone, set to the Battle of the Blogs scoreboard. “And still with a sixty-nine percent crossover. It’s amazing that no matter the increase in your followers, that number remains the same.”
At the thought of sixty-nine, something they’d totally done thanks to the continuingKama Sutraresearch endeavor, it was Georgie’s turn to blush.
And the CityBeat community seemed to have taken notice of the chemistry between the eight and the ten. Despite thousands of blog comments asking if she and Jordan were a couple, they hadn’t made anything official. Sure, the world watched as she got him through goat yoga and then when he’d defended her honor and dumped a beer on a guy’s head before saving her from a nasty fall. But they were still competitors. A fact even the best sex and the sweetest gestures couldn’t keep from the back of her mind. And while she desperately needed the prize money, she couldn’t deny that Jordan’s dream was any less worthy than hers.
“Jordan!” came a man’s boisterous voice.
Jordan looked over his shoulder. “Deacon’s here! Do you mind if I go say hello?”
“Not if you don’t mind us stealing Georgie for a bit,” Hector said, sharing a furtive look with Bobby.
She smiled up at Jordan. “I’ll be fine. Tell Deacon hi for me.”
He leaned in to kiss her, then glanced at his mentor and froze. “I’ll only be a minute.”
She nodded and tried to ignore the twist in her gut. Of course, he couldn’t kiss her in the middle of a gala with the CityBeat founders standing two feet away. She had to be patient. The contest would end, and then they could figure out what to do next.
“Shall we,” Hector said, gesturing to a table, and she was grateful for the distraction.
Barry bid them goodbye and headed back to the group of CityBeat producers while she took a seat with Bobby and Hector, planting themselves one on each side of her.
“Looks like the eight and the ten may be a thing,” Hector said with a coy smile.
“Um…well…you see…Jordan and I…” she began, sounding like a bumbling idiot.
“Opposites do attract,” Bobby said, meeting Hector’s gaze.
Hector chuckled. “They sure do. You thought I was a real jackass when we first met.”
“How did you two meet?” Georgie asked, happy to shift the conversation away from her and Jordan.
Bobby adjusted his glasses. “Hector and I were assigned to work together on a project when we were seniors in college, and I was sure he was going to ruin everything.”
“Until you fell in love with me and acknowledged my stunning intelligence,” Hector added with a twinkle in his eyes.
Bobby smiled lovingly at his partner. “You see, Georgie, that project was the basis for the CityBeat platform. Hector and his crazy ways forced me out of my comfort zone. He made me see things differently.”
Hector relaxed into the chair. “And Bobby did the same for me. On the surface, he was a quiet computer nerd, and I was a loud-mouthed know it all. It took us coming together to build something as brilliant as CityBeat and to learn that we weren’t so different after all.”
“That’s such a sweet story,” she said, glancing between the men.
“You and Jordan were certainly on opposite ends of the spectrum when we threw you two together. But it looks like things have improved,” Hector said with his coy expression back in place.
“Oh…that,” she replied, back to stammering like a guilty witness on the stand.
Bobby and Hector shared another knowing glance as the lights in the ballroom dimmed, and a man appeared on the stage at the front of the room.
“Oh, goody! It’s time!” Hector crooned.
“Time for what?” Georgie asked.
Bobby leaned in. “Hector and I have a little wager going on for what might happen in the next four minutes.”
SweetPride and Prejudice! A CityBeat twist!
“What’s about to happen?” she asked when a spotlight illuminated their table.
