Page 31 of Crossing Lines

Zeki takes a sip of his beer and glances at me in surprise. “I am?”

“Yeah, I should be supporting your passions rather than judging them.”

“See? That’s what I’m saying.”

“So,” I say, “if your passion is partying, then how can I support you with that?”

“Partying isn’t my passion. Well, not anymore. I went to New York last night to follow up on some leads regarding Stonehaven.”

“Why didn’t you say that before?” I ask in shock. I can’t believe he’s actually working on this, that he’s…helping.

“Because,” he says smugly, “I needed to make my point first, but you’ll be happy I went. You were right. Stonehaven has been spreading rumors about you. They’re saying that working with you is a nightmare, that there were numerous broken promises, and that there was a lack of professionalism from the team.”

“They what?” I demand, a vein throbbing in my temple in time with my rising anger. My reputation is something I pride myself on, and now Stonehaven’s trying to destroy it? “Everything they’re accusing me of is whattheydid.”

“I know,” Zeki says simply. I raise my eyebrows in surprise, and he shrugs. “I know you,” he says. “You’re the most business-focused and professional person I know, and I made sure to spread that information at the party. But I’m going to bring Nate in on this and keep digging into Stonehaven. Just because their CEO is a piece of work doesn’t mean he hacked your house.”

“Thank you.” I rub my temples, a headache already building.

Zeki got more information about what’s going on, and faster than anyone else did. I guess his love for a good party came in handy.

But what Stonehaven is doing? It’s a threat to my business. Do I think they hacked my house? I’m not sure because I don’t know what their motivation would be to do that, but spreading lies about me at such an unstable time for my sponsorship lineup is concerning and suspicious.

“Stonehaven is causing drama at the worst possible time,” I say. “I not only need to replace them as a sponsor ASAP, but I can’t have anyone else drop out.”

“Well, I might have a solution for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“So, while I was at the party, I met a guy named Ben.”

“And who the hell is Ben?” I ask.

“He’s the CEO of Glam Pop. Have you heard of it? It’s a new sparkling water beverage company that’s focusing only on women. They sponsored the party last night, and it really embodied theirSip, Sparkle, and Shineslogan.”

“And what? Ben wants to sponsor the team?”

“Maybe,” Zeki says with a triumphant grin. “He invited us to his weekly golf session with his dad tomorrow morning in New Jersey to pitch the idea to Mick, his dad. Apparently, he’s the numbers guy.”

“Well, shit.” I lean back in my chair, surprised and impressed with this side of Zeki. I’ve never seen him soanimated before. It’s refreshing, and for the first time since he’s arrived, I’m grateful he’s here. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” he says meaningfully. “Now that that’s taken care of, how’s living with Nina going?”

“Fine.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Is that all you have to say?”

“Yes. Why? What did you expect?”

“To be honest? For her to either kill you in your sleep or for you to be fighting nonstop. Since you’re still breathing, I’m assuming it’s the latter.”

“I rarely see her.” It’s a lie, but how can I explain that I can’t seem to stop thinking about her? My brain must’ve short-circuited sometime since I moved in, and it hasn’t come back online since. “We coexist.”

“Coexist, huh? Isthatwhat they’re calling it these days?”

“You’re ridiculous.” I roll my eyes. “Nina isn’t interested in me.”

“But the question is, are you interested in her?”

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