Page 41 of Rival Desires

“Really? She came on to you?”

He smirked, his eyes practically on fire. “Oh, not just that, my dear. We went on a couple of ‘dates,’” he said, air quotes dangling from every syllable.

A glimmer of hope flickered in my brain. “You think she’d remember you, I mean... that?”

Sergio looked at me like I just asked if the sky was blue. He arched an eyebrow, and his fingers formed a steeple of arrogance on his knee. “Trust me, once I give a woman my ‘extra attention’...well, let’s just say I’m hard to forget,” he winked, leaving me to fill in the blanks on his ‘date’ with the cougar.

“This could work,” I said, sounding more confident than I felt. “One of my goals in this competition is to show Nadine that Palmer Money Management can compete. Just because we’re smaller doesn’t mean we can’t hold our own against the big players like Gracen & McCrae.”

“You got it, boss!” Sergio said with a grin. “We’ll prove we can compete with the big dogs like Gracen & McCrae. And don’t worry,” he added with a wink, “I’ll to go the extra mile if you catch my drift. I mean, for the sake of the team, of course.” He flashed me a cheeky smile.

Yep, leave it to Sergio to slip in a borderline-inappropriate comment. As much as I tried to brush it off, that pesky voice in my head wouldn’t let up. My old man’s words kept echoing in my mind, telling me I had no place in this “man’s world” if I couldn’t handle a little locker room banter. I mean, ‘boys will be boys,’ right? But why did they have to be such pigs?

But there was no time to dwell on those thoughts now. I had a competition to win and a business to run. I had to remind myself that I could hold my own against Gracen & McCrae.

“Just make sure the ‘extra mile’ is within the boundaries of our guidelines. But, enough chit-chat,” I said, forcing a smile and pushing aside my frustration. “I found more background information about Nadine. We can reconvene in the morning and hash out your ideas then. Maybe even develop a game plan to show Nadine that we’re serious about going the extra mile.”

Sergio flashed me a grin, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “You got it, boss. I’ll make sure to give those papers athoroughexamination. If you know what I mean.”

I groaned inwardly. As long as Sergio was willing to work hard and help Palmer Money Management compete with the big dogs, I could tolerate his lewd comments- for now.

TWENTY-THREE

Cory

The sun had long since dipped below the horizon when I found myself slumped back in my desk chair, massaging my throbbing temples. This little rivalry with Rylee had started to wear on me more than I wanted to acknowledge. I’d been squinting at my computer screen for what felt like an eternity, desperately trying to cook up a proposal for Nadine Seaworth that would knock her socks off. But my brain was as blank as a freshly painted wall and just about as useful.

Fury had offered to take over since he knew my history with Rylee complicated things. And a part of me wanted to hand this off to him. It would certainly be easier. But my pride wouldn’t let me quit, especially when I’d already put so much work into getting this account.

At first, I felt confident I could win Nadine over. Fury believed in me and said I had this in the bag. But the more I tried to think of creative ways to impress Nadine and her sophisticated financial tastes, the more I realized my ideas were totally uninspired.Generic. Run-of-the-mill. It was the kind of thing Rylee would top easily.

With a groan, I dropped my head into my hands and racked my brain for a unique strategy. Something tailored specifically to Nadine Seaworth. I thought about her background, her interests, her family history. There had to be an angle I wasn’t seeing. A way to appeal to her on a personal level.

I stared blankly at the screen, mentally sifting through every detail I knew about Nadine, when a knock on my door drew my attention. Warner stood there, his jacket draped over his arm.

His sudden appearance snapped me out of my strategy-brainstorming daze. I glanced at the clock, and the time stared back at me accusingly. Yikes, it was super late. Warner had stuck around way past normal work hours, all because I’d been so wrapped up in outsmarting Nadine.

“Sorry about that, Warner,” I said, wincing. “I lost track of time again. I didn’t mean to make you work the graveyard shift.”

Warner flashed me a grin. “Any breakthroughs on that Nadine proposal yet?”

I let out a heavy sigh and rubbed my hand through my hair. “To be honest, man, I’m still in a rut. I keep thinking how Rylee’s going to try to one-up us.”

Warner rolled his eyes. “Just do your thing, man. Focus on our game plan and forget about what Rylee’s planning.”

Warner was spot-on, but it wasn’t as simple as that. Nadine was no pushover, and the mere thought of disappointing Fury made my stomach somersault. I was determined to prove to him I had the chops to land a big client for our company, like he always did.

Warner seemed to sense my resolve and backed off. “Alright, boss man. I’ll let you get back to it.”

I smiled, appreciative of his empathy. “Thanks, Warner. And again, sorry for keeping you so late.”

“No worries.” He replied, turning to leave.

He turned to leave but stopped, turning back with a serious look. “Don’t pull an all-nighter, alright? Work’s important, but it isn’t everything.”

His words echoed in my mind as he walked toward the elevator, and my thoughts, again, went to Rylee. Not that they’d ever been far from her in the first place.

I’d barely scribbled a few thoughts when the elevator chimed, making me wonder if Warner had forgotten something or if Fury had returned to check up on me. I glanced up, and lo and behold, an unexpected yet familiar figure emerged. Raising my eyebrows, I got up and headed towards my office door.

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