Page 77 of Own the Eights
“One thousand going twice.”
His cool demeanor cracked, and he smiled up at her with such tender devotion that all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around this man and never let go.
“Sold to the gentleman for one thousand dollars.”
She held his gaze until Deacon came up and tapped him on the shoulder. Jordan frowned as the man whispered something into his ear, then followed his mentor out of the ballroom.
The auctioneer led her off the stage, and she lost sight of Jordan and Deacon in the commotion. But one thing was for sure, she could tell from Jordan’s strained expression that whatever Deacon had said, her ten wasn’t pleased.
She headed toward the exit to catch up to them when Save the Whales Steve blocked her path.
“It’s so great to see you, Georgie!”
She needed to get to Jordan. The tightness in her chest and the anxious flutter in her belly were not good signs, but that didn’t give her license to be rude.
“Yes, it is,” she answered, remembering her manners.
A man came up and wrapped his arm around Steve’s waist. “Is this her?”
“Who’s this?” she asked.
“Sorry, this is my boyfriend, Carson. I told him all about meeting you in the grocery store. When I saw you up on stage, I couldn’t believe it was the cucumber girl. I told him, ‘We have to bid on her!’”
The cucumber girl?
Well, there had to be worse nicknames, and she couldn’t help but chuckle. Save the Whales Steve had had zero interest in her romantically. Jordan was going to get a real kick out of that.
“That was very kind of you to bid on me. But would you excuse me a moment? I need to find someone.”
The men wished her well, and she set off, leaving the ballroom and was about to look for Jordan in the lobby when raised voices, Deacon and Jordan’s voices, coming from an empty hallway caught her attention. Slowly, she made her way toward the sound then stopped next to the entrance to the ladies’ room just out of the men’s view.
“She’s got you off track, Jordan! For fuck’s sake, you wore Birkenstocks to the gym the other day.”
“It’s not like that, Deac. I know what my priorities are.”
Georgie pressed her hand to her lips, holding back a gasp, hardly able to believe they were arguing about her.
Deacon threw up his hands. “Do you remember your priorities? Are you going to tell me right here, right now that nothing serious is going on with that girl? Because I can tell you one thing. She is not going to help you get ahead. And know this, I do not surround myself with losers. I hope you understand what I’m telling you.”
She held her breath and waited for Jordan to respond.
“It’s nothing serious, Deac. You know I’m in it to win.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat. Had she misunderstood? Had Jordan misspoken?
Deacon’s callous smirk confirmed she’d heard him crystal clear.
Jordan’s longtime mentor patted his shoulder. “Attaboy! Don’t you ever forget that I took you under my wing. I made a warrior out of a weakling. Everyone knows you’re my protégé, Jordan. Weakness from you would reflect poorly on me and the gym. I know you want to branch out on your own. I’m sure you can understand, I can only support you in that endeavor if I believe that you’re one hundred percent committed to your goals. I need you to tell me because I think you may have forgotten. What’s priority number one?”
A muscle twitched in Jordan’s jaw as he looked away and mumbled something under his breath.
“Speak up, son!” Deacon barked.
Jordan met the man’s gaze. “Win. Priority number one is to always win.”
“Damn right. Finish what you start and crushanyonewho gets in your way.”
Georgie’s heartbeat hammered in her chest, and the hallway went topsy-turvy just as the door to the women’s restroom swung open, and she let out a surprised yelp.
