Page 8 of Down & Dirty

“You’re on the team now, Cory. You can call me Ez.”

“You got it, boss,” I replied with a wink. A deep laugh rumbled out of him as he turned to the rest of the men at the table.

“We’re just waiting on one more.”

After making my rounds to say hello to the sea of familiar faces, I settled into a seat and reached for a bottle of water. Just as I took a sip the door opened and the last member of the team strolled in.

Ronnie Stone.

The kid was rocketing up the ranks. He’d had podium finishes in a handful of races last season, even though he’d barely hit the top ten the year before. I was curious as hell who, or what, had lit a fire under his ass to get such a turn around. But I’d never ask. The kid’s ego was already big enough.

“Ronnie,” Ezra exclaimed, stroking the beast a little more.

I fought the instinct to roll my eyes, but a couple of the otherslost that battle. I chuckled under my breath. It was going to be a long season if this was the vibe on day one.

Catching the door as he let it fall behind him was a woman who looked familiar, but who I couldn’t quite place. She wore a stern expression, and immediately pulled her shoulders back, tipping her chin up, as she surveyed the room. Her long blond hair hung in straight lines over her shoulders, and from across the table the icy blue of her eyes held an unfriendly chill.

But then she smiled.

And she was fucking stunning.

Not even the freeze she gave off could keep her from looking like she belonged on the cover of a magazine. Long lashes, and rose-tinted lips that were curled up into a congenial grin that Ezra was eating up.

“Skylar, so lovely to finally meet you in person. Did I hear Ronnie right the other day, that you used to ride?” Ezra wasn’t just stroking Ronnie’s ego, it seemed.

For her part, Skylar, appeared less easily wooed, giving Ezra a kind but guarded smile in response. “I taught him everything he knows.”

Ronnie spun, his face scrunched up as if he was ready to contradict her, ignoring the conversation one of the other coaches had been having with him.

“Well, in that case,” Ezra went on, giving Ronnie a comforting pat on the shoulder before he could interject, “We’ll be adding you to the coaching staff.”

Skylar nodded along, but removed herself from the conversation to mix with the rest of the agents in the corner. I got the impression this wasn’t the first room full of men she’d navigated, and she was doing it well, but I forced myself to stop watching her as she made the rounds. She was the kind of woman I could get distracted by, if I let myself. Strong. Capable. Gorgeous. But given what was on the line, that’d be the dumbest thing I could let happen.

Thanks to my arrangement with Cass, my dance card wasalready full. And even if it wasn’t, a teammate’s sister? Even one that pretty? No thanks. I was as allergic to drama as I was to commitment.

“Skylar Stone.”

“Cory Ellis,” I replied pushing out of my chair and holding out my hand.

A sneer flashed across her face before she took my hand in hers and gave it the fastest shake in history. “Surprised to see you still standing,” she added, her chilly blue eyes sparkling with challenge.

The rest of the group was distracted by their own conversations, so I indulged in the streak of cockiness she sparked. “Yeah, they haven’t been able to get rid of me yet.” I gave her a wink and she rolled her eyes

“Yet. So, there’s still hope.”

I’d met women like her before. Plenty of them. Smart and headstrong, and annoyed at my every move. She glared at me with barely contained contempt, and I huffed out another laugh.

I wasn’t sure exactly what I’d done to piss her off, but for some reason I relished her disdain. Unprovoked and bubbling below the surface. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gotten under a woman’s skin this easily. It was kind of fun.

I couldn’t resist goading her a little more. “And here I thought we were on the same team.”

She looked me up and down, judgment bright on her face. “We’ll see how well you remember that on the course.”

I was going to joke that my memory wasn’t what she had to worry about, but before I could respond one of the coaches clapped his hands and we all fell silent. Skylar slipped into the back, and Ezra and the rest of the OTM management ran through their presentation. It was fancier than any I’d seen, but the substance was the same. A lot of “rah rah kumbaya” bullshit meant to rally the troops and get us to be friends.

The fact that even as teammates we were each other’s direct competition never seemed to phase them. But ultimately, ourbonuses were tied to the score for the team as a whole by the end of the season, so the incentive was where it needed to be to get us to play nice; on the money.

When they finally cut us loose after the tour of the bike shop, I spotted Billy at the far end of the garage and headed his way. It was a relief to have at least one person there I knew and trusted.

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