Page 66 of Protected By the Billionaire Ex-SEAL
“Me versus you and these trained men?” Leon scoffs. “My wife might kick me off the curb and marry one of them instead if she sees how much of a disgrace I am.”
Laughter rings before a man joins us, his eyes twinkling. “Why, Leon, I don’t mind that at all. Please join the obstacle course. So I can finally have a chance with your wife.”
Ingrid laughs and shakes her head. “Sorry, Jack. I’m not into playboys who just want another notch in their bedpost.”
“Ouch. Harsh. My heart.” Jack glances at Raven. “Are you free? Maybe you can nurse my broken heart.”
I tense, waiting for her to be uncomfortable, especially when two more guys join in. But she smiles and shrugs.
“I’m not a nurse. But I’m pretty good at breaking stuff. I can add to that heartbreak.”
“Rejected within five seconds,” the second guy howls, putting an arm around Jack. They rib him over his antics, then turn to the woman who marches toward us.
“You guys are idiots. But that’s okay. It’ll be so much fun to beat your asses later.”
They rib her, too, but she roasts them again without batting an eyelash. I bite back a laugh. “Raven, these are some of my agents. Jack Lionel, Michael Dane, Kyle Oscar, and Stacy Ridges.”
“It’s nice to meet you all.”
My nerves go away a bit when I find Raven chatting them up, her body language more at ease and curious than anything. We make our rounds until everyone’s there, then do a roll call before Leon announces the first activity.
“Race to get the green flags! The first five to get them will get the best lunch of the day, including a year’s worth of breakfast at their diner of choice!”
An excited cry stirs the air while Raven’s eyes widen. “And that’s just the first prize? What are the other prizes?”
I wink. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
It’s no surprise that Stacy grabs the first green flag, as her agility has always been her power move and one of the reasons why I hired her straight from her military discharge. But Jack isn’t far behind, and the two pretty much go head-to-head against each activity.
“Are they your best agents or something?”
I grin. “I have a lot of great agents. But these two are probably the most competitive. But it’s a strange competition.”
“Why strange?”
“Because it doesn’t seem to matter to them if they’re not top one. They just don’t want the other to be a rank above.”
“Just a friendly ongoing competition, then?”
I study the two, who are arguing over the last activity as Jack tries to get on Stacy’s nerves and Stacy’s trying not to lose her cool. Something is simmering between these two, but the last I know is that Jack isn’t the type to sleep with co-workers, while Stacy doesn’t do relationships. Maybe it’s just the ongoing rivalry.
“Probably. Anyway, I’m up.”
Her brows raise. “You’re joining the obstacle course?”
“Yeah.” I smirk. “To make it more fun.”
Ingrid announces the prize for this activity: a trip for two to the Caribbean, with all expenses paid. I can feel the excitement swirling in the air and get pumped, too, as we line up in groups and give it a go. Each group gets a winner, and the winners compete in the finals.
“Hey, boss. Wanna split the first-place prize and go on a trip with me?” Ethan Thomas grins as he positions himself beside me.
“What, with all those honeymoon activity inclusions?” I chuckle. “Could be fun.”
“You just have to let me win, boss.”
I hunker down. “You just have to beat me.”
As soon as the horn sounds, I’m on the move, the adrenaline rushing out of my pores and instinct dictating my steps. I’ve done obstacles like this one for so long and can probably do it in my sleep, but so can my agents. Jack, Stacy, and I take the lead, but soon the two fall behind and I’m neck and neck with Ethan, whose face is already a bright red.