Page 28 of Hard Count
“If you ever need to talk, I’m here. I remember reading about it when it happened, and I am so sorry,” Noah said.
Piper nodded. “I appreciate that, Noah.”
Noah swung his legs off the bed, still wrapped loosely in the sheet. He crossed the room slowly, stopping in front of Piper, close enough to connect lips but stopped short.
“You regret last night?”
Piper met his eyes.
“No, but it was a bad idea for our careers.”
“True, but it was really fucking hot,” Noah smiled as he gave Piper a soft kiss on his neck.
“You should go before traffic makes you late,” Noah said.
“I know.”
Piper reached for his jacket. Noah caught his wrist before he could pull away. It wasn’t forceful. Just enough to stop him. “Hey.”
“We’re still rivals,” Noah said.
“Deal.” Piper nodded.
“Sunday doesn’t change, we remain competitive as fuck at work.”
“Agree.”
Noah smiled faintly. “Good.”
Piper nodded. “Good.”
They stood there staring into each other's eyes. Then Piper pulled free. He walked toward the door, paused once with his hand on the handle, and turned his head.
“What are we off the field?”
Noah smiled.
“Us.”
Chapter Twelve: Atherton
Piper took the first flight to Atherton that morning. His mind was racing.
Joan, I’d like to speak with your manager. I am making fucking terrible decisions.
No solutions presenting themselves in his brain. What he did know was that he just had the best night of his life and now he was about to do a job he wasn’t proud of, but a job that had afforded him his career.
The car pulled up to the first set of gates at Jayson’s sprawling mansion in Atherton.
Atherton was home to the elite of the tech industry and had thatthe-apocalypse-was-designed-heresort of tranquility.
Piper rolled down the window in the back seat. “Hey.”
“Sup, Piper,” the guard said.
“Sup, Leon.” Piper nodded as the gate opened to a long driveway.
Once at the door, Piper let himself into the house using a retinal scan that all guests were required to utilize. Security had multiple layers because Jayson was one of the highest profile tech billionaires on earth.
