Chapter 20
LOGAN
The entire floor is buzzing, analysts buried in screens poring over betting patterns, designers fine-tuning the interface, developers pushing out updates to keep us ahead of the competition. This kind of energy is usually my crack, the fuel that keeps me sharp.
But none of it registers the way it usually does.
No matter how hard I try, I can’t stop thinking about Rosie.
The way she felt pressed against me at Eros.
Her breath hitching as the club went dark, anticipating what was coming next.
The way she watched the trio on stage, her body strung tighter than a bowstring.
The way my name sounded on her lips every time I’ve had her since.
I don’t know what that woman is doing to me.
I’ve always had what I’ve considered a healthy sex drive, but with Rosie, I’m insatiable.
It’s an inconvenient distraction considering I’m trying to close the biggest deal of my career, but I can’t find the will to care.
I need to get a grip. Instead, I’m picturing how Rosie would look bent over this desk.
“You’re thinking about her, aren’t you?”
I glance up to find Ryan standing just inside the doorway, smirking as he watches me fantasize about his sister.
Oh, if only he knew, that look would be wiped off his face in an instant.
“Jesus, do you ever knock?” I mutter.
Ryan ignores me, dropping into the black leather chair across from my desk. “Don’t even try to deny it.” His shit-eating grin deepens. “That look on your face could only be about one thing.”
I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Not this again.”
Ryan leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “I know, I know, you’re not ready to tell me about her yet. But I’ve gotta say, this is a good look for you.”
I arch a brow. “Distracted CEO?”
He laughs. “No, lovestruck. Though it’s probably too early for that. Maybe it’s more of a lust drunk situation?”
Eh, you were probably right on the mark with the first one, dude.
Fuck.
I didn’t realize I was being so transparent. If I’m not careful, Ryan’s going to keep pressing until he figures out exactly who’s responsible for putting that look on my face.
Time to shift the focus.
“I take it you had a good weekend?” he asks.
“How about we talk about your weekend instead?” I counter. “How was your big night out with Penelope and her friend from Sonoma?”
Ryan groans, dragging a hand down his face. “Jesus. Don’t remind me.”
“That bad?”
He leans back in the chair, shaking his head. “It started out really well. Good conversation, good energy. It was going exactly how I’d envisioned. Penny’s awesome. I wouldn’t mind getting to know her better. But Mercedes…”
“The friend?”
Ryan nods. “The ex-girlfriend.”
I arch a brow. “Well, there’s a plot twist I didn’t see coming.”
“I know!” Ryan scoffs. “Penny swears they were more like friends-with-benefits, but I don’t think Mercedes agrees. I’m pretty sure the only reason she agreed to the whole three’s company vibe, was because she wanted to prevent Penny from hooking up with me.”
I chuckle. “What’d she do that gave you that impression?”
He rubs the back of his neck. “At first, it was small little digs, like implying I wasn’t Penny’s type, or talking about all the reasons why they were perfect for each other.
I let it slide because whatever, I get it.
Penny’s hot and she seems like a fun girl.
So when her first plan failed, Mercedes claimed she felt a migraine coming on and wanted to head back to Penny’s place.
But when Penny invited me over to hang out while her friend rested, Mercedes’s headache miraculously disappeared. ”
I laugh. “Of course it did.”
“Right? And when that didn’t work, she switched tactics and started hitting on me. I got the impression she was trying to make Penny jealous, except Penny was too busy flirting with me herself to notice.”
“So, let me get this straight. The one you really liked seemed to dig you as well. But you spent the evening trapped in some weird pissing match with her ex while said ex also used you as a pawn in her jealousy ploy?”
Ryan groans. “Pretty much.”
“How did you manage to extricate yourself from that awkward situation?”
“I didn’t want to be straight-up rude, but Mercedes was really pushing it, so I just called it a night. It’s not like I won’t have plenty of opportunities to see Penny again.”
“True.”
Ryan’s disastrous date runs the coffee shop in our lobby. We see her nearly every morning on our way up, sometimes multiple times a day.
He shrugs. “I figured it was better to wait until Mercedes leaves town.”
“Seems like a smart move,” I agree.
“Women,” he groans, scrubbing a hand down his face. “But man, at first, that date had so much potential. A Penelope-Mercedes sandwich seemed like a solid investment.”
I shake my head. “But instead, you ended up in the middle of some unresolved ex drama and went to bed with your right hand.”
“Asshole.” Ryan flips me off.
I snort. “You really know how to pick ’em, Ry.”
“Yeah, yeah. Lesson learned.” Ryan groans and stands, stretching. “Well, I should let you get back to pretending you’re focused on work. But don’t think you’re off the hook about this mystery woman, bro.”
I pointedly glance at my watch. “We’ve got twenty minutes until the meeting. Why don’t you duck downstairs, grab us some coffee, and see if you can get Penelope to commit to a solo date with you.”
He smiles. “I like the way you think.”
I exhale sharply as he darts out, relieved my distraction worked.
At least for now.
Thankfully, all it took was a slight increase on our offer, and we officially acquired the IP rights to PPA’s algorithm. We’re about to have our first team meeting to discuss logistics. I have just enough time to skim through my inbox and review the final integration plan before it starts.
I’m the last to arrive just as Jared, our Head of Product and Innovation, pulls up a presentation deck on the screen.
All the executives are here today because we have to pull this off without a hitch.
If everything isn’t perfect when we walk into that meeting with Olympus, we’re fucked.
Failure isn’t an option, but there’s only so much I can control.
Precision is paramount, so if anyone on my team has a question or concern about the project, now is the time to discuss it.
I quietly take a seat at the head of the conference table. “Jared, the floor is yours.” I take a sip of the coffee that was waiting for me, nodding to Ryan in thanks.
“Thanks, Logan.” The Peak Performance Analytics logo flashes across the top as Jared clicks to the first slide.
“Now that our algorithm is locked and loaded, we’re moving into Phase One of the integration.
” Jared advances to the next slide which shows the project’s timeline.
“Over the next four weeks, we’ll be integrating PPA’s predictive model into our platform and running internal tests to make sure it performs accurately before launch.
If everything stays on track, we’ll be ready to demo the enhanced system and begin external testing by the end of next month.
” He clicks to the next slide, which lists each milestone along the way: stress testing the algorithm against historical data, running live simulations without glitches, and proving it can adjust odds in real-time without tanking our risk models.
Li, our Chief Technology Officer, lifts a finger to get Jared’s attention. “And this will give us hard proof our platform can predict betting patterns better than anything else on the market?”
Jared nods. “That’s the goal.”
“Any concerns from Simon’s team on feasibility?” Brandon, our Head of Data Science, asks.
“Not yet,” Jared replies, clicking to the next slide, which maps out PPA’s availability.
“As you can see here, Simon will remain on retainer as a consultant for the next three months, per our agreement. If we need to make changes on the backend, or fine-tune the connection, he’s on call for an additional three. ”
Jared glances around the room, scanning for any last concerns.
“Assuming we stay on schedule, we should have enough real-world data for our pitch to prove our platform’s accuracy and demonstrate why Olympus should lock in an exclusive deal with us.
” He advances to the next slide, a financial breakdown of the project.
“Gretchen, I’ll hand it over to you for the financials. ”
Gretchen, our CFO, makes her way to the front of the room as Jared takes a seat. “Thanks, Jared. From a budget standpoint, we’ve…”
I’m only half-listening as she dives into cost projections, revenue expectations, and the financial risks tied to the rollout. None of it is news to me—I could recite these figures in my sleep—but it’s a necessary formality for everyone else in the room.
Next, Brandon walks us through what we’re doing to keep our risk models from imploding, Li reassures everyone that our infrastructure can handle the load, and Carlos, our Head of Risk & Compliance, breaks down all the red tape we’ll need to cut through before launch.
It’s a lot of back and forth, mostly fine-tuning details we’ve already discussed in smaller meetings.
By the time we wrap, the consensus is clear. We have one shot to sell Olympus on this deal. And if we don’t, someone else eventually will.
I hang back as the room clears, stretching my arms above my head as Ryan rolls his neck. Jared collects his laptop, giving us both a nod before stepping out of the room.
“That went well,” Ryan muses, closing his leather notebook with a flick of his wrist. “Don’t you think?”
“Yeah, but I’m not celebrating anything until we have Olympus locked in. Those bastards are playing hard to get.”
Ryan smirks. “That’s rich coming from you.”
I arch a brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What do you think it means?” he counters. “You’re no stranger to making people work for your attention, Logan.”
I snort, shaking my head. “Jeez, dude, way to make me sound like an arrogant douche.”
He rolls his eyes. “I just meant you’re…extraordinarily selective about who you spend your time with.”
I shrug. “I don’t see a problem with that.”
Ryan tilts his head, studying me. “Hey, totally off topic, but when’s the last time you talked to Rosalie?”
Not as off topic as you think, bud. As a matter of fact, I talked to her just this morning, when I left her naked and supremely satisfied from our morning fuckfest.
My pulse jumps, but I keep my expression neutral, taking a slow sip of my coffee to cover my reaction. “I dunno. Why?”
Ryan exhales, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m kinda worried about her. I tried making plans with her over Valentine’s weekend, thought she could use a distraction from, you know…everything.”
“What’d she say?” I ask, working to keep my tone casual.
Ryan frowns. “That’s the thing. She was cagey as hell. Just said she already had plans but wouldn’t tell me what they were.”
A muscle tightens in my jaw. If Ryan somehow finds out she went to Tahoe, there’s no way he won’t do the math.
He blows out a breath. “Maybe I’ll swing by her place tonight with dinner and try to feel her out. Pump her for information.”
“Yeah, sure. Good idea.”
I make a mental note to text Rosie, giving her a heads-up. I’m pretty sure I left my jacket hanging on the hook by her front door.
Damn. We need to be more careful.
It’ll be a disaster if Ryan finds out before Rosie’s ready.
Hell, who am I kidding? It’ll be a disaster either way.
He’ll know we were sneaking around behind his back.
But I’d rather break it to him on our terms, not his.
But besides that, I don’t want Ryan to blow this up before it’s even had a chance to become something.
As much as I hate hiding what she means to me, over the last week, I’ve come to understand why Rosie wanted to wait to tell her family about our new dynamic.
It’s been really fucking great having time together—just us—without anyone second-guessing what we are to each other.
We’re learning each other in a whole new way, and I don’t just mean sexually.
I don’t think it would’ve happened this easily with outside noise getting in the way.
This thing between us, it has endgame potential. I know it. She knows it.
But she’s guarding her heart, and I won’t push her before she’s ready.
Rosie is an overthinker, and when that happens, sometimes she’s plagued with intrusive thoughts.
She’s told me before that she needs time to process—to sort facts from bullshit, as she puts it—or she risks spiraling.
The last thing I want to do is trigger her fight-or-flight response, which is why I’ve been making a conscious effort to stay steady, to show her I’ll be as patient as she needs me to be.
When she’s ready to move on to the next stage—and I’m confident she will be at some point in the near future—then I’ll be right by her side.
Ryan taps his pen on the table, dragging me back to the present. “You good?”
“Yeah,” I say, forcing a smirk. “Just wondering how long it’ll take before your sister turns the tables on you and gets you to spill all the details about your twisted love triangle.”
Ryan laughs. “Oh, fuck off.”
I roll my shoulders, pushing aside the unease creeping through me.
I fucking hate lying to him. But Rosie’s worth the temporary discomfort it’s causing.
I knew she was mine the second she let me pull her into my arms that first night in Tahoe.
I knew it every time she’s looked at me since.
And I know it now, as I sit here, pretending I don’t care that my best friend is one step away from figuring it all out.
But I’ll do whatever it takes to protect this until Rosie gives me the green light to tell him.
Ryan studies me, his expression unreadable. “You sure you’re okay?”
I give him a cocky grin because it’s a lot easier than admitting the truth. “Absolutely.”