Prologue

The Bet

Ray gives his patented panty-dropping smile to the barista handing him his drink then turns his attention back to his phone. Silas, his business partner and friend, barely nods his thanks before taking a long sip of the Americano she brought to their table.

“We have to get Mark to agree on expanding into Sacramento,” Silas opens the conversation.

Ray shrugs, grumbling as he sets his phone aside. “I didn’t think he’d actually put his foot down so hard. We might have to forget the whole thing.”

“You know that’s impossible,” Silas says. “How many promises have you made?”

“Probably not as many as you,” Ray snickers and then grows serious with everything that’s at stake. “Quite a few, though.”

“We may have to overrule him.”

“We promised we’d always agree, all or nothing.” Ray puts his head in his hands. Their plans are going down the drain fast.

“Fuck that college bullshit,” Silas hisses. “The stakes are too high. If this deal goes through, we’ll both finally break the billionaire threshold. Just because Mark was born into that life doesn’t mean we shouldn’t get there. He’s holding us back.”

“Whoa, hang on,” Ray says, frowning. “Mark’s as dedicated to our company as we are. If anything, he goes harder than both of us combined. He can’t help his upbringing.”

Silas rolls his eyes, color rising from his collar. He loosens his tie and tries to relax. “We can’t afford to wait years for him to decide, can we?”

They both stare at their drinks for a long, silent moment, rife with tension.

“We can’t walk away,” Silas reminds him. “It’s not just our reputations on the line. If we cross those guys—”

Ray goes pale and nods. “I get it,” he says, cutting off his business partner before he can spell out the grim details.

They’d dabbled in shady dealings before, all under the radar. This time was different, however. The people they were dealing with Sacramento were the kind of people who settle things with cinder blocks and a midnight trip off the coast.

“So, what do we do about Mark?” Ray sighs. “Outvoting him is out of the question. He’ll know something’s up and start poking around.”

Silas grins. “Okay, if you’re too much of a pussy to stand up to him, I’ve got another plan ready to put in motion. We’re already going on that cruise next week, right?”

“Sure, but I don’t think a little relaxation and a few shots is going to get him to change his mind,” Ray says.

“A bet would, though.” Silas’s grin stretches to reveal all his teeth. “Mark can’t back down from a challenge. It’s in his DNA or some shit to never give up. But we’re about to give him a hurdle that’s too high for even him to get over.”

“What?” Ray snorts. “Karaoke? Table tennis?”

“We’re going to bet he can’t sleep with one of the women on the cruise.”

Ray laughs outright at that. “Come on. Unless it’s a happily married woman there’s no way we win that bet.”

“But not this woman,” he says.

“What do you mean? How can you already know who’s going to be on the ship?”

“Because we’re inviting her, or rather, she’ll be winning an all-expenses paid trip. Mark won’t be able to resist her, but believe me, she’ll be able to resist him. She’s basically Fort Knox.”

“How do you know her?” Ray asks suspiciously.

“You know her, too,” Silas informs him. “You just met her in our meeting with the graphics firm.”

Ray shakes his head. “Who? Not the art director?” Then his eyes widen. “Wait a second. You mean the young woman who made the new logo?”

“She’s the one,” Silas says, rubbing his hands together. “I noticed her the first time I went to see the mockups for our last campaign. I’m friendly with their IT guy over there and he says our little miss Daisy keeps to herself, barely puts her head up from her drawing board, and definitely doesn’t date. He thinks she might secretly be a nun.”

“I don’t know,” Ray says, looking defeated already. Though it’s near impossible to argue with Silas when he’s this manic, he tries anyway. “He just might be able to seduce a nun.”

“Not this one. We’ve got this in the bag. He’ll go for the bet if we offer something he can’t refuse. And she’s not going to give him the time of day. We’re going to get our expansion.”

Silas’s eyes are wild with desperation, a feeling that Ray is beginning to know all too well.

“If you’re sure it’ll work, I guess this is our only shot,” he sighs. “Looks like our whole future is riding on this bet.”