Page 7 of The Billionaire’s Fake Fiancée
"Au contraire." Arpad grins. "Eric and Damian are best buddies. Trust each other enough to go at it whenever they meet in the ring. Eric and Jace here have more fights as business partners and ones far more vicious than what you see there."
Jace stiffens at the description of his and Eric's business relationship. It's true they often have differing points of view on how to expand the business. That's also the reason Jace had taken Eric on as his business partner, hoping their opinions would balance each other out.
Now Jace wonders if he had miscalculated. Perhaps he and Eric are too different to work together.
"Men!" Karina snorts. Her almond shaped eyes narrowed at the edges, lending an air of exotica to her face.
"But what would you do without us, darling?" Arpad slips his arm around Karina, in a 'we are just friends' fashion, only to have her raise an eyebrow at him.
"Your banker-wanker charms don’t work on me." Her voice is casual. Too casual.
"Careful, Arpad," Jace chuckles. "She's the most lethal of all of us and you know that."
It's true, Jace realizes, even as he says it. Karina had trained with her father in the martial arts since she was five. At eighteen, she'd started her own security business. Now she provided bodyguards for some of the biggest names in Hollywood and in the corporate world.
"Hey." Arpad rubs the place over his heart, in mock pain, widening his eyes, "I wasn't flirting, honest."
"Yeah." Karina snorts again. "You can't help but pounce on anything in a skirt. At least Jace here is more discerning."
"Am I?" Jace asks, surprised.
Is that why he's never been in a long-term relationship even though he's almost thirty? All the more reason Jace's reaction to Sienna is so surprising. The intensity of the attraction has shaken him more than he'll care to admit.
"Hey, you." Jace starts as Karina ruffles his hair, her gesture affectionate. "Where did you go to?"
"Not fair," Arpad protests. "He gets his hair fluffed, and I don't even get a hello."
"You, Mr. Money Bags, are an out-and-out shark. You should be grateful that, despite being a banker, you still have friends," Karina replies.
"Ouch." Jace laughs aloud as he gets to his feet.
"You don't laugh." She turns on him. "You, Mr. Angel Investor like control too much. You think you can control your destiny and the people in your life, you think wrong. You never know when fate has a surprise right around the corner."
Jace blinks, puts up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "You're right, of course."
"Ha," Karina snorts. "You charmer, you."
Sliding an arm around Karina, Jace slaps Arpad on the back. "We men have to stick together sometimes too." Jace tells Arpad. "We're here for you, you know that."
When Karina speaks next, her tone is serious, "In this town where only money speaks, here in this gym, we're all equal. It’s why we hang out here, right?"
Jace nods, his features solemn, remembering how they'd met. A few years ago, it had been only the five of them working out late one night at this gym.
A loud argument from the gym-manager's office had attracted Arpad and Jace.
Turned out Bosco, who ran the gym, didn't have money to meet his rent. His landlord had arrived with his team, threatened to evict him.
On the spot, Arpad had offered to pay off his dues.
But even that had no effect. The landlord wanted Bosco out so he could sell up to a developer.
Things had gotten ugly when the landlord's man attacked the two of them. Eric, Damian and Karina had helped fight the thugs off.
The five had pooled in money, helped Bosco buy the gym outright, making them all part-owners.
Now they hung out here, a close friendship having sprung up between them.
Karina's right. In this gym, it doesn't matter who they are, or how much money they have. Here it's about working out. Honest sweat that strips each of them of the veneer they often have to present to the world.
