Page 25 of Jump Back On

When the doors opened on the ground floor, I stepped out to see a few faces I recognized. One man jerked his chin at me in greeting: Jake Cunningham. We weren't exactly friends, but back in Cheyenne, he'd been friendly.

"Morning, Jake," I said.

He simply glanced across the room. "You might want to rethink running around on your own, Cody."

Following his gaze, I saw Austin and Eli standing together. They were probably looking for that free breakfast or something. I also didn't care. Scanning the room, I found the man I wanted sitting in one of the plush chairs that made up this lobby.

"Came to meet my rep," I told Jake, slapping his arm lightly. "I think I'm ok."

"And you never know who is going to be on the elevator with you."

"They have security cameras," I pointed out. "I figure that's called proof."

Jake chuckled. "You win." And with a smile, he stepped back, letting me go on my way.

I made a straight line for Max. "Hey," I said as I rounded the corner so he could see me.

"Cody!" The man jumped up with a smile taking over his face. "How's my favorite female bull rider?"

I had to laugh at that. "The only one? No, I'm good."

"And the bruises are fading," he said, nodding. "Well, I got us a conference room over here."

Pressing his hand to my shoulder, the man turned me towards a hallway. Together, we walked down it and into a smaller room. It wasn't anything fancy; this hotel was meant for business meetings, and it showed. But the best part was the box sitting on the table.

"Chaps, vest, and..." Max opened the top and pulled out something black. "I tracked down those shirts you like. The ones that say ‘Girls Do It’ and ‘Better’ on the sleeves."

"No way!" I breathed, snagging the shirt from his hand to make sure it was the same.

I barely had it unfolded before Max added, "And we put Mike's patches on the shoulders. I got three, so you can have one for each day. If you give me the ones you're currently wearing, we'll put patches on them and make sure they all match."

"I only have two," I admitted. "That was all they had in the store."

"Then I'll get one more," he said. "The company who makes them was surprised to hear they were being used in the PBR, since it's a woman's shirt. When I said you're a woman, a rider, and the style makes a statement, they were more than willing to donate as many as you need for as long as you need."

"Nice," I breathed.

"And," he continued, "they might be marketing them as worn by this professional bull rider."

I paused to look up at him. "That's actually kinda weird."

"You'll need to get used to it," he said. "You, Cody Jennings, are going to become very famous. Now sit."

I claimed a chair beside the box. He took one across from me and pulled out a leather folder. One by one, Max laid out the contracts we'd been talking about. I'd already signed them, making sure to do that Monday night so I could get this moving. He'd still insisted I look them over before this weekend, assuring me he could tweak things if we had to.

"Ok, for the business side of things…" He chuckled. "Mike's should've filled up your fridge. Under Armor was supposed to send a care package. I had Tillman add some jeans to this box. Three are the style you're in now, but they also included a few others to see if you like something more than what you currently have."

"Perfect," I said. "I'll probably try the others between events, though."

"Makes sense." Then he pushed the paperwork over. "And for the next order of business. Did you want to make any changes to these?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I had J.D. look at them, and he says it's all pretty standard stuff."

"Well, Grace with Under Armor made some suggestions," Max said. "Troy, with Mike's, shouldn't have a problem with it."

"What changes?"

The adorable and cherubic smile this man was known for made a sudden appearance. "Oh, just something about your personal life. I added in a line about your behavior and reputation, just so the harassment those boys have been giving you won't come back to cause problems later."

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