That dynamic was sure to make for a fun team-building competition. Ethan’s boss decided entering a company team in the Extreme Beast Eco Challenge was a great way to generate some buzz for his financial firm. He’d put Ethan in charge of the logistics and like everything Ethan did, he’d thrown himself completely into it, seeking out the best and not settling until he got it. It was the reason for meeting at the hottest new gym in town.
Amanda plastered a smile on her face and exhaled gratefully. There were four couples competing in the challenge and only three present, which meant she wasn’t the last to arrive. Hopefully that would be enough to save her from Ethan’s lecture later.
“Amanda, you remember the head of Bransford, Peter?” said Ethan, motioning to his boss.
“Of course.” Amanda took his offered hand and tried to ignore the once-over the older man gave her. He had a firm grip and the loose-skinned, stringy look middle-aged men got when they started working out after years of sitting behind a desk.
“You’re our ringer,” he said, holding onto her hand for a moment longer than was comfortable.
Amanda opened her mouth to refute his claim but Ethan beat her to it.
“We’ll win the climbing leg of the competition. With Amanda and me leading, it’s a lock.” He wrapped a possessive arm around her shoulder, and she tried to find it endearing instead of irritating. Work Ethan was too much of a kiss-up for her comfort, but she told herself it was part of him being responsible and caring about his career. There was nothing wrong with being ambitious and working to get ahead.
“I have no doubt,” said Peter, amake it soedge to his voice. “This is my wife, Jessica. She’s going to be a real asset to the team. She used to be a dancer.”
Amanda shook the twenty-something’s hand, careful to maintain eye contact and avoid staring at the other woman’s clearly enhanced cleavage. For a moment, she wondered if he meant exotic or some other kind of dancing, but either would work for their purposes. Pole dancing was strenuous work, and core strength and agility would be more advantageous than brute muscle for most of the challenges.
“I thought Max and Jennifer were planning to join us,” said the woman, standing on the opposite side of the small group.
She clearly planned on partnering with someone other than the man to Ethan’s right, who deliberately avoided making eye contact with her. The atmosphere between them felt too charged for simple dislike. She’d ask Ethan later about their story. Maybe it was something juicy, like an office romance gone awry or something.
“We’ve had a bit of a setback,” said Ethan, looking uncomfortable for the first time. “Max and Jennifer dropped out, and I’ve had some trouble filling their slots. Now that they’ve published the schedule of events, the list of volunteers has shrunk significantly.”
“We need four couples to be able to compete,” said Peter, restating what Amanda was pretty sure was obvious to everyone, but most importantly, to Ethan.
“Don’t worry, sir. I’ll find another pair.”
Peter gave Ethan a look that all but screamedsee that you do, and Amanda felt an overwhelming urge to come to his aid. She knew how much he hated to be unprepared.
“I’m sure Gabe and Becca would be happy to compete.” Happy was probably an overstatement, but she had no doubt she could guilt her siblings into doing what she needed them to.
Becca at least would be happy for a chance to meet some new people. She was by far the most social of all of them.
“I think you’d like my brother. He’s a runner.” She directed her comment to the woman whose name she still didn’t know. Gabe was more than a runner. He and her brother Emerson ran Southerland Security, a private security firm. Despite generally being buttheads, her brothers were beasts. The fitness part wouldn’t be a problem for Gabe. “I’m Amanda, by the way.”
“Natalie,” said the other woman, clearly grateful.
Even the sullen guy visibly perked up now that he knew he wouldn’t have to partner with Natalie.
“Do you really think they’ll do it?” The interest in Ethan’s expression made it clear how much he’d been sweating filling the empty slots. He’d never been much of a fan of her brothers and sister. She always assumed it was because he wasn’t close to his family and when the Southerlands got together, they could be a lot to take. The fact that he seemed to be looking forward to spending time with them felt significant.
“Sure. As long as they don’t have anything else going on, I know they will. Let me ask them.” She stepped outside the circle of the group to send a quick text to her brother and sister. Becca’ssounds like funresponse came back almost immediately. It took a moment longer for Gabe to respond and he ended his reply with ayou’re going to owe me, but just as she’d known he would, he said yes.
“There he is,” called Ethan from behind her. “The man who’s going to whip us into shape.”
Amanda turned around to tell Ethan her brother and sister were in and to see who he was talking about. She looked past the small group of her teammates in time to see Michael crossing the gym to meet them.
MICHAEL HAD SPENT MOST OF the morning wrestling with equipment maintenance and warranty info. They’d had a nice rush of business since the gym opened two months earlier, but nothing that should have put any real wear and tear on his new machines. He certainly shouldn’t be having problems with them already. He’d been trying to reach the manufacturer for days and the guy finally decided to call him back right before his meeting with the Eco Challenge team from the Bransford firm. By the time he got the guy to agree to send out a tech, he’d had to add running late to his frustrating afternoon.
He scanned the small group clustered in the small waiting area and barely managed to school his expression when his gaze landed on Amanda Southerland. He could tell the moment she saw him because a blush colored her beautiful face. For a split second, her head tipped almost sheepishly and then she seemed to collect herself, squaring her shoulders and standing up straighter. He had no problem with her feeling uncomfortable in front of him. He’d suspected she’d been ducking his calls, and her expression confirmed it.
None of that mattered now. If she was on the challenge team, then she couldn’t hide from him. They’d have more than enough time to get to know each other, and he’d have a chance to figure out if the Amanda playing a starring role in his dreams at night had anything to do with the woman standing in front of him. Or if his overactive imagination had invented her. Either way, his day had just taken a decided turn for the better.
“This is the man who’s going to turn us into a winning beast of a team,” said Ethan.
Michael resisted the urge to roll his eyes and concentrated instead on channeling a positive professional image. He’d found the man who hired him overzealous from the start but mostly harmless. And if he wanted to play weekend warrior with his work buddies, who was Michael to stop him? The corporate connection was good for his business—had the potential to be great—and if he wanted to make a success of Lift, he needed all the positive press he could get.
He was curious how Amanda played into the situation. She hadn’t seemed like the gung ho team type, but honestly, he didn’t know her. Not beyond their brief interaction and watching the way she’d tackled the rock. Anything else he thought he knew was his projection.
