Chapter 29

By midday, Jay thought the brass was leaning toward sending them out to take care of the mess, and then by three that afternoon, things had turned around. Frustration grew, and he and his team headed out to the obstacle course to burn off some energy. They ran into Wild’s team who was just finishing up their time on the course.

“Hey, where have you all been all day?” Andy asked.

“In conference,” Jay answered.

Peach rolled his eyes. “Ugh. I hate days like that.”

Griz shook his head. “It’s the back and forth that gets me.”

Jax took a swig of water and then met Jay’s gaze. “Heard you were dating a reporter.”

Jay shrugged. He didn’t want to get into the details. Nichole wasn’t just some girl he was dating. She was someone he could see a future with.

Peach’s eyebrows shot up. “Risky.”

He shrugged. “Sure. But I trust her.”

Apple huffed and stepped away. He guessed Apple still needed some convincing. It was insulting that the guys thought Nichole was dating him to get information. She wasn’t like that. The only remedy was time. Apple would just have to see the proof that Nichole wouldn’t betray them.

Griz grunted. “Give him a break. Seriously, Nichole hasn’t done anything to make anyone suspicious. She isn’t taking advantage of Jay. And if she does, we’ll figure it out.”

Jay turned to Griz. “How would we figure it out?”

“We aren’t going to grill her, but it will be obvious because we’ve got your back.”

Peach shook his head. “Be careful.”

Jay wanted to tell Peach to fuck off, but he knew the guy wasn’t trying to be a jerk. He was truly concerned that someone would take advantage of him. He had a handle on everything. If he had any doubts about Nichole, he would ask her about it. For now, he would trust her.

After getting some exercise, they showered and then headed back into the conference room. The huge conflict they expected to erupt had calmed enough for them to stand down. They wouldn’t be traveling overseas to fix a problem some terrorist group started. He loved his job and loved the excitement and adventure, but right now, he just wanted to be at home with Nichole.

One of the teams would have to travel soon, and normally, he would want the team to be theirs, but with Nichole living with him, he wanted to stay here at Coronado and spend more time with her.