Shit like that pissed Mason off. “I’m not going to skate by on that. I know Jude is tough, and I want to prove to him I can do the job.”
Russell wiped his lips and peered at him over the napkin. “Being family, you don’t have to worry about the same mistake I made.”
Intrigued, Mason set his chopsticks on the plate and picked up his glass. “Which was what?”
“Coming on to him, asking him out.”
In the middle of drinking his beer, Mason choked. “You what?” he wheezed out. “You asked Jude out?” His boredom vanished. “What the hell did he do?” Knowing Jude, Mason couldn’t imagine it went well.
“Not officially, but I flirted and suggested we get together.” Russell’s eyes danced. “It was before I knew what a dud he was personally.”
Mason’s body flushed hot as he recalled the intensity of Jude’s dark gaze roaming over his naked body and the hot, wet swipe of Jude’s tongue down his stomach, then circling his dick.
“He’s pretty closed off.” Genuinely curious, Mason prodded Russell. “So what happened?”
“He shut me down right away.”
Relief poured through him, which he found disconcerting. Why did he care that nothing happened between Jude and Russell? He didn’t even like Jude.
Except when he’s drunk and fucking you into the next morning.
“I’m not surprised. Jude is all business.”
“Yeah, man, I pity you. Guy has no sense of humor.”
It wasn’t fair to sit there and bash Jude. “I don’t have any issues with him. As to what you said earlier, I’m on probation. Just because I’m family doesn’t mean I can slack off. I have to prove myself like anyone else.”
“Well, at least you won’t hit on him. You already know the score.”
Mason’s grimace didn’t go unnoticed.
“Oh shit, you did?”
“What? No, of course not.” Mason’s laugh was uneasy. “I’ve known Jude for too many years. He’s like my brother—family.” He forced himself to drink the rest of his beer. “I don’t think of him like that.”
* * *
The next morning Mason made sure to be in the office before seven thirty. He’d hoped to beat Jude in, but of course the man was already there, watching a Mojo pitch commercial on the large television screen behind his desk and taking notes.
“Didn’t your mother ever tell you you’d go blind if you sat so close to the television?” He’d meant it as a joke, and his heart sank when Jude’s eyes turned deadly cold. What did he say wrong? Was there ever going to be a time when they could talk to each other like normal people?
“Don’t you have anything better to do than stand around talking to me? I’m finishing this up. I suggest you settle in for the morning, and then we can get to work.”
“I’ll be right in.”
He set his coffee on his desk and took out his laptop from his backpack. He didn’t know why he was so nervous. He could handle this. Giving himself an internal pep talk, Mason retraced his steps to Jude’s office, and without waiting for an invitation, sat at the conference table and opened his computer.
“Have a nice evening?”
Jude’s question threw him. “Uh, yeah, I guess. I didn’t do much. After dinner I started contacting some of the influencers and models I know.”
“And?”
He opened his inbox. “I got responses from three of the seven I emailed.” A quick scan of their messages brought relief. “They’re all interested in working with us. And their reach is huge. Hundreds of thousands of followers, one close to a million.”
Jude’s dark gaze pinned him. “So your pitch is going to rely solely on these people, then? Is that it?”
The undercurrent in Jude’s voice annoyed him. Like he wasn’t proving his worth.
