Page 18 of Offensive Plays

The champagne glass making its way to my lips halts as I freeze. My eyes shift around the room before I turn to my brother, "Where?"

He tilts his head to the far corner of the room where, no doubt, Jonah and his perfect fiancee are seated at a table surrounded by other well-known Houston business owners.

They're all laughing at something Rina just said from the stage, and as if some inexplicable thread connects us, Jonah's gaze wanders and lands right on me.

Shit. Twice in one week. That's got to be bad juju.

He probably noticed when three people at my table stared in his direction simultaneously.

"Who are we looking at?" Izzy takes her seat next to Ryker and grabs a glass of water from the table.

"Nobody," I say, clipped, turning back to my table mates and sucking down more of my champagne.

"Well, Nobody is coming this way," Kesley announces.

"What?" I nearly spit out what's in my mouth. When I hear the deep timbre of his voice just a few feet behind me.

"Hello, there. You all must be Mikey's friends," Jonah says. The pretty, doe-eyed Lillian is still laughing with the other attendees at their table. But her eyes are on me.

"Yeah, only we call him Fergie," Zane says, stiffening beside Kesley. Something about Michael's brother always put Zane on edge. He didn't like him much when we were dating. Maybe deep down, Zane knows that he's hiding something.

"Fergie," Jonah repeats. "Cute. Well, let's hope he wins himself a good date tonight. That boy needs all the help he can get."

Ugh. He's so smug. I don't care what kind of title he totes these days...he's still a slime ball.

"I'm sure he will," I say, before turning my back to him.

Rina finishes the bid for Sincaid. "Six thousand dollars—sold!" she hits the mallet against the podium. We all look up.

"Damn. The rookie brought in six g's. Not too shabby," Zane says.

Rina introduces the next player. And feeling Jonah's presence behind me has me wanting to do something.

"My money's on Fergie," I announce to the table as I dig out my Amex and toss it into the pile of cash.

Jonah coughs from behind me. "Like I said, he needs all the help he can get."

I flush with anger at his comment. I hate arrogant pricks, and Jonah Ferguson might be the most arrogant of all the pricks I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. Much less have inside of me. I shiver at the memory.

He might have everyone else fooled. But not me, I know just what he's capable of.

"Your brother is twice the man you could ever hope to be," I say, rising from my chair and brushing past him as I head to the auction table to grab the paddle I left behind when I walked in.

I'm going to make sure Michael Ferguson gets the highest bid tonight if it's the last thing I do. And I can't wait to see Jonah's look when I walk up to claim my prize.

How do you beat an arrogant asshole? You gotta play like one.

Chapter 5

Michael

"How do I look?" Hicks asks, as he straightens the bow tie around his neck.

"Like you're about to be pimped out in the name of charity," I say to him with a smirk.

"It's for a good cause," he reminds me. "Wish me luck."

He steps onto the stage just as Rina announces, "Next up, we have left-winger, Number Fourteen, Joshua Hicks!"

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