“So this is you, dickhead,” I mutter, glaring at a photo of a clean-cut guy with perfect teeth and blond hair.
And of course, he looks exactly like the type of pretentious asshole who would secretly record his girlfriend during sex. Not to mention, he looks more like a Chad than a Ryan. IYKYK.
Most of the posts I’m scrolling through show him attending fitness expos or business events. In almost every photo, he’s wearing an expensive suit and a smug smile that makes me want to punch him in his fucking face.
His Instagram feed is filled with gym selfies, motivational quotes, and pictures of expensive cars. Nothing screams:I’m two million dollars in debtmore, but appearances can be deceiving. Not to mention his casual look—khaki pants and polo shirts—just adds to the overall douche-canoe vibe.
“What are you hiding, you piece of shit?”
When I dig deeper, I find articles about Summit Studio’s creation.
According to Business Insider, Ryan and Sasha met in college. Both are fitness enthusiasts who saw an opportunity in the market. They started small—with just a single studio in Portland—before rapidly expanding throughout the United States. This is information I already know.
I click over to Summit’s website, navigating to theirAbout Uspage. There’s a professional photo of Sasha and Ryan standing back-to-back, arms crossed, both smiling confidently at the camera. She looks incredible—strong, confident, radiant.
He looks like a tool.
The bio underneath says they built the business on“mutual respect and a shared passion for helping people transform their lives through fitness.”
What a load of bullshit. If he respected her, he wouldn’t have recorded her without her consent.
My blood boils just thinking about it. What kind of scumbag does that to someone they claim to care about?
As I keep digging, I find recent articles about rumors of a business split, but nothing indicating financial trouble on Ryan’s part. In fact, most articles paint him as a fitness industry golden boy.
Ilace my fingers behind my head in frustration and growl. Something doesn’t add up. Why would he be so desperate to sell his half of the business if everything seems to be going so good?
Next, I pull up his LinkedIn profile. Harvard Business School. Internships at a couple of Fortune 500 companies. Executive positions at two other popular fitness chains right before Summit came to fruition.
On paper, he’s the perfect business partner. If there’s one thing I do know better than most, it’s that some people have an innate ability to hide their demons, and hide them well.
After about an hour, I’ve compiled a decent file on Ryan Collins, but nothing that would explain a potential reason for blackmail. No signs of financial distress, no scandals, nothing that would suggest he’s desperate enough to extort his ex-partner.
But the one thing I do notice? The guy posts like clockwork, and there’s been no activity on any of his socials for the past three days.
My Skype rings and I glance over to see Dylan’s username flashing on the screen.
“Tell me you’ve got something,” I say as soon as his face appears.
Thick black-rimmed glasses frame gray eyes; his dark hair is messy, and he has at least three days’ worth of stubble on his face.
“Oh, I’ve got something alright,” he answers, typing furiously. “Your boy Ryan is in some deep shit.”
“How deep we talkin’?”
“Marianas Trench.” Dylan takes a swig from what looks like an energy drink before he continues. “I traced the text message. It came from a burner phone, but I was able to track the purchase back to a convenience store in Vegas.”
“Las Vegas?” I lean forward, interested.
“Yep. And guess who’s been making regular trips to Sin City over the past two years?” he asks rhetorically. “Your girlfriend’s ex has a serious gambling problem. I hacked into his credit card statements?—”
“Jesus, Dylan?—”
“Do you want my help or not?” he cuts me off, raising an eyebrow.
“Fine,” I sigh. “Go on.”
“As I was saying, his credit card statements show regular cash advances at various casinos. We’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars. And get this—he’s been taking out loans from some very unsavory characters, too.”
