CHAPTER ONE
delayed
Bennett Shaw had already decided this trip was a mistake before Jasper Quinn opened his mouth.
They’d been professional rivals for two years. Not the friendly kind. The kind where Bennett’s data-driven proposals consistently undermined Jasper’s creative pitches, and Jasper’s charm with clients made Bennett’s meticulous planning look rigid and cold. Their colleagues had learned to pick sides. Their boss had learned to keep them in separate rooms.
Bennett led the analytics team with precision and data. Jasper ran creative strategy with charm and instinct. They’d each killed the other’s projects at least three times. Their approaches clashed. Their results didn’t, which made the whole thing worse.
Which made it worse when their boss decided both teams should attend the same conference in Denver. Present competing visions to the Rocky Mountain Raptors, a major potential client looking to overhaul their fan engagement and digital strategy. The professional hockey team was making a push for championship contention and needed their brand to match their ambition. May the best approach win.
Bennett had planned this trip down to the minute. Every meeting mapped. Every talking point refined. Every variable accounted for.
Except Jasper Quinn sitting three seats away at the gate, looking infuriatingly relaxed about the whole thing.
“Is that irritation, or are you always like this before noon?” Jasper said.
Bennett didn’t look up from his phone. “It’s focus. You should try it.”
“I focus just fine,” Jasper said. “I just don’t make it my entire personality.”
“Better than having no substance behind the charm,” Bennett replied.
Jasper’s smile sharpened. “Is that what you tell yourself when clients choose my approach over your spreadsheets?”
He leaned against the empty seat beside him, casual, as if they weren’t professional rivals stuck in the same purgatory of airport delays.
The announcement crackled overhead.
Due to severe weather, all outbound flights are cancelled until further notice.
A collective groan filled the terminal. Bennett’s stomach dropped.
Bennett closed his eyes and fought the spike of frustration. This trip was supposed to be about opportunity. Proving his strategic instincts. Finally getting the acknowledgment he’d earned.
Jasper tilted his head. “Well. This just got interesting.”
“No,” Bennett said flatly. “It got expensive.”
Bennett had spent six months preparing for this pitch. Six months of late nights, market analysis, and building the perfect case. Meanwhile, Jasper had probably sketched his presentation on a napkin last week and would somehow charm the client into ignoring Bennett’s superior strategy.
It had happened before. Three months ago, Bennett’s quarterly roadmap, perfect and airtight, had been shelved infavor of Jasper’s “let’s be flexible and see what happens” approach. The fact that it had worked made Bennett want to throw his laptop out a window.
That was the problem with Jasper. Everything came easy to him. Or at least, he made it look that way.
Which made it deeply unfair that standing this close made his pulse kick up.
Jasper checked his phone. “Hotels are filling fast.”
Bennett’s stomach tightened. “We are not sharing.”
Jasper’s smile softened, just a fraction. “Relax, Shaw. I promise I only bite if asked.”
Bennett swallowed hard.
That was not funny.
CHAPTER TWO
