RIVAL SNEAK PEEK

CHAPTER ONE

XAVIER

“The Catskills always reminds me of Dirty Dancing,” Sasha says next to me.

We’re at the first ever King Sports corporate retreat, and while the cabins, the lake, and the whole summer vibe is reminiscent of the classic movie, I hate to burst her bubble.

“Dirty Dancing was actually filmed in Virginia.”

“Geez, could you be any gayer?”

I grin. “I really, really could, but I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want to see me have sex with a man.”

“You’d be correct about that, but speaking of sex …” She nod to Camden Dobre, the hottest intern, sex on legs, who’s standing with our boss, Damon King.

We were instructed to come to this outdoor stage area that’s sometimes used for concerts. Sasha and I were the first ones here, and we’ve watched everyone filter in since. But no one is able to pull my full attention the way Camden can.

“Look at him with his smugness and all-round cocky, know-it-all smirk,” I mutter.

There are five interns fighting it out for a coveted full-time position at this fledging company. Five interns and only two spots. Honestly, I’ll be fine if I don’t get one of those positions, but I won’t be okay if I’m eked out by Camden.

Ideally, it will be Sasha and me. No Camden.

Camden and I are fresh out of Newport college, both with the same graduating GPA, and to look at us on the outside, we’re the same person. Other than the fact he’s blond, and I have dark hair. We both have blue eyes, we both have the physique of an athlete, though he played baseball, and I played lacrosse, so I’m leaner than he is, but still, on the outside, there’s not a lot of differences.

Therefore, he’s my biggest competition. Because why would Damon King want to hire two of the same person? I need to use this retreat to prove that I’m the better candidate on the inside.

And I am.

After enduring four years of college with Camden, I can unequivocally say that I am a better person than him. He’s cocky, arrogant, and entitled. He was the big man on campus. He got all the attention and being publicly bisexual meant he got action everywhere he fucking turned.

I didn’t party. I didn’t goof off. I studied hard for the grades that came easy for Camden, and I had a small group of friends in our lacrosse circle.

Newport is a sporting school that has produced a lot of famous baseball players. The lacrosse team is kind of like the redheaded stepchild of Newport that never gets mentioned. So of course the baseball guys would torment us for being shit and never winning a championship.

I wouldn’t wish pain on anyone, not even my enemy, but I can’t deny that when Camden tore his ACL and was out for most of his last season, that I wasn’t thanking karma for the justice.

I guess this is my karmic justice for gloating about his injury. College is over, and he’s still in my orbit. At this point, I wish he had recovered in time to get scouted to the majors. Hell, the minors. Anywhere but … here.

Damon King laughs at something Camden says, squeezes his shoulder, and then walks away, heading for the tiny stage.

"Welcome, everyone, to the first of what I hope will become a regular corporate retreat for King Sports."

Everyone claps, and Camden even lets out a 'woot!" Just to one-up him, I put my fingers in my mouth and whistle.

He turns around and stares at me, so I cock a brow at him.

If he thinks I’m going to let him overshadow me here, he’s dead wrong. That was just sports. This is business. And I’ve been planning for my future—this future—my entire college career. This is Camden’s back up. His second choice. He’s not top dog here.

We both turn our attention back to our boss. "The dream of owning my own firm is one I've had for so many years, so it's a little overwhelming that not only has it been a success so far, but that we’re growing, and we’re growing rapidly. I really believe we've put together a great team. I wanted to build an amazing foundation for not only queer people in sports but those who otherwise might be overlooked because of their gender, their appearance, or their lack of sporting talent."

I lean in and whisper to Sasha, "Those last three were all about you, weren't they?"

She shoves me, and I laugh a little too loudly. Camden’s blue eyes meet mine again, but I pretend I don’t notice.

Sasha doesn't look like your typical sports agent. I'm not even sure she likes sports. But because her dad is legendary sportscaster Langford Trest, she does know stats. She's smart and knows contract law. The nose ring and pink hair might not fit in with a sports image, but I think that's why Damon hired her. All he cares is that you know what you're doing and you're good at it.

Damon continues. "We've got a lot of team building exercises this weekend, a special dinner, and even some down time, so you won't be stuck with us all the time. But to kick this off, I was thinking of starting a new tradition. The Intern Games." He grins. "Technically, it's not just for interns, though I think it will be mostly the interns who will enter. It's voluntary, so not everyone has to participate, but the reward is you move out of the share building and into your very own cabin next to mine where you'll get some one-on-one mentoring sessions to pick my brain about sports, my career, your career, and what you want to get out of King Sports."

I need to win that. I don't care what I have to do.

"Lane Pierce, the head of our very own Public Relations department, has agreed to help, so come on up here, Lane."

A sexy-as-fuck man with dark hair that's got sprinklings of silver joins Damon King on stage. I haven't met Lane yet, because he lives on the West Coast and only turns up when there’s a PR disaster, but I'm glad he's here. I want to pick his brains at some time too because I wouldn't mind knowing more about the PR side of the business.

My ultimate dream is to be a hybrid agent. Contracts and negotiations are fun, but something I know I'll find tedious after a while. PR sounds like a chaotic mess, and as stressful as it would probably be, spinning stories, cleaning up an athlete's image ... I think I could be good at it.

Maybe. I have no experience whatsoever in it, but I can learn.

"So, the parameters," Lane says. "We have a range of activities and tasks that are worth so many points per completion. Some are more difficult than others, which will win you more points, but if you get stuck, and can't complete it, you get nothing. The smaller tasks aren't worth a lot of points, but they're easy, so it really depends on your strengths and how fast you can move."

I could do the bigger tasks if they're physically challenging, but I'm sure Camden could do all of them a lot faster than I could. I could mix in a big task with a lot of little tasks, but it will all depend on what they are.

“You in?” I ask Sasha.

“Of course I’m in. Not that I have a chance in hell of winning, but I don’t buy the whole ‘It’s voluntary’ thing. He’s testing to see who’s willing to put in the work. Win or lose, it doesn’t matter. He just wants enthusiasm.”

“If that was the case, why offer a free mentorship as a reward?”

She waves me off. “As if he’s not going to give us all that same opportunity at some point during this retreat.”

Sasha might be right, but I can’t risk it. I need to win.

Lane fiddles with a remote that lights up the big outdoor screen above the stage. Three columns pop up.

“As you can see, there are three categories you can compete in,” Damon says. “Sports knowledge trivia. I want to see how much you all know. Stats across different sports, clients we’ve repped, and the history of certain sports. Now, I know a lot of you specialize in certain sports, so you will pick topics before answering the questions under that topic. Each topic is worth ten points. Ten questions. One point a correct answer. Next up we have PR nightmares. These involve real-life scenarios that I, myself, or my last firm has dealt with directly. Lane will give you a scenario with a multiple choice answer, each with a secret point score. Five points for the recommended route to fix the issue, three for the next best option, one point to the third, and zero points for if you chose this option, what the fuck are you doing in this business?”

Everyone sniggers.

"And finally, we have the physical portion of the tasks. These don't really prove anything to me. I just wanted to make you all sweat. Exercise is good for the soul and all that."

"Just kill me now," Sasha mumbles.

"There's a ropes course behind us just inside the woods, it's the highest point scoring activity--fifty points just for completing it--but it will eat into your time, so choose wisely. You will have half an hour to do as many activities as you like, so if you think you can get through the course in under the average of eighteen minutes and twenty-one seconds, you have a chance to use your last twelve minutes on any of the other tasks. You'll also get a bonus ten points if you beat the average time. We have water activities to our right. Kayaking, stand up paddle boarding or swimming out to the buoy in the middle of the lake and back will earn you thirty points, and you can do it as many times as you like, but keep your eye on the clock."

I do some quick math, and while the physical activities are a lot higher in points, if there are trivia topics I know, I have the potential to earn the same amount of points in a hell of a lot shorter time.

Wanting to make us sweat is a lie. He's testing our organizational skills and logic. On the outside, it looks as though doing the physical activities would be the smartest choice, but if you break it down into logical steps, if I do the gauntlet of PR nightmares, fifty to sixty trivia questions, I still might have time to kayak out to that buoy to finish. If I know Camden at all, and I like to think I do, he's without a doubt going for the big points. He'll no doubt beat the average time too. So if he does that, and then some questions, I’ll still score more points than him.

"Are there any questions?" Damon asks.

Everyone is silent.

"In that case, can everyone who is willing to participate come to the front of the stage here."

Camden, being so far up Damon's ass is basically there already. Sasha and I make our way through the crowd until we're at the front with the other interns and Wendy from accounting who's about a billion years old.

"What?" she says sweetly when everyone stares at her. "It sounds fun."

“Any last takers?” Damon asks. “Can you all please pay attention to your safety briefing for the ropes course.”

We listen while the resort staff go through the different clips, the harness, and how to do the course safely without breaking our necks, and then it’s time to start.

I turn to Sasha. “We’ve got this.”

She pats my shoulder. “You’ve got this. Kick his ass. I’m just going to do my best.”

I love Sasha to death, but she needs to work on her confidence if she’s got any chance of getting one of these intern spots. “Don’t do the obvious,” I say quickly. “Everyone is going to go for the physical ones because they’re high points, but if you do the math, you can earn more points if you score on the intellectual stuff. You know stats.”

“Giving away your game plan isn’t smart, you know.”

“Yeah, well, I’d rather you beat me than him.” I nod in Camden’s direction only to notice him staring at me with a cocky half-smile.

I expect something condescending to fall from his mouth—some quip about being used to losing and trying to get in my head to throw me off my game. He no longer has that hold over me. I’ll no longer allow him to live rent free in my head.

His smile widens, and he tips his head. “Good luck. May the best person win.”

The condescension is missing. Camden Dobre is being … genuine?

He takes off at a run before I can register the games have started.

Motherfucker.

Maybe he still knows how to get into my head after all.