Thermal Dynamics (Nerds of Paradise Book 5)

by Merry Farmer

  “That’s debatable,” Guy growled.

  Sandy shrugged, letting go of Jogi’s hand and taking a few more steps toward Guy. She cut an imposing figure in her tango costume, her eyes highlighted by the stage make-up. “Speaking of fair and square, you want to justify giving us a score that was three points lower than the next lowest judge?”

  Guy’s face flushed, and he shifted in his spot. “The other judges didn’t see the abundance of flaws in your performance,” he snapped, eyes darting this way and that but not meeting either Jogi’s or Sandy’s. “No professional ballroom judge would have given you a higher score than I did.”

  “This wasn’t a professional competition.” Jogi stepped up to Sandy’s side, gripping the trophy like a weapon. “And while you’re justifying scores like a professional ballroom judge, do you want to tell us what about Ronny and Natalie’s performance was worthy of a ten?”

  “Well…uh…they….” Guy twitched, his face going even redder. “That lift they did in the Lindy.”

  “Oh, come off it, Guy,” Abigail sighed. She grabbed his hand and tried to tug him away. “You know what you did. Just own up to it.”

  Jogi’s brow shot up. Abigail was the last person he would have expected to call her husband out on his antics.

  Guy seemed to embrace her interruption as an excuse to leave. Without another word, he turned and started marching off.

  “I’ll be looking forward to seeing your vote this week,” Sandy called after him.

  To Jogi’s surprise, Guy stopped and spun back to them. He huffed a laugh, a mean grin spreading across his face. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. I’m voting to remove your father as CEO.”

  It felt as though lightning had struck Jogi, but he was sure that was nothing to the shock Sandy felt. “What?” she shouted, her eyes popping wide. She took a few steps toward him. “You’re going back on your word?”

  “What word?” Guy sneered.

  “We made a bet.” Sandy’s voice and jaw were as hard as ice.

  Guy laughed. “So what? Nothing in that bet was legally binding.”

  “Guy,” Abigail hissed. She tried to tug his hand, but Guy shook her off.

  He marched to stand toe-to-toe with Sandy. “You didn’t think I’d let something as important as control of one of the most important financial institutions in Haskell come down to a silly bet on a dance competition, did you?”

  “You made that bet in good faith,” Jogi argued.

  “No, he didn’t,” Sandy said, her voice dangerously low. She narrowed her eyes. “He had no intention of honoring any part of the bet. He was laughing at us from the start.”

  Guy merely grinned at her accusations, all the proof Jogi needed that they were true. The need to do something burned so hot in Jogi that he was surprised the trophy didn’t melt in his hand.

  Sandy shifted her weight, her expression hardening even further. She leaned into Guy in an attempt to intimidate him. “If you don’t man up and honor your bet—”

  “You’ll what?” Guy stopped her before she could get started. He looked down his nose at her. “Where’s the contract stipulating the terms of the bet? Where is any sort of documentation indicating that it was legal and binding?” Without waiting for an answer, he went on with, “You don’t have a legal leg to stand on. I can vote however I want on Tuesday. Think about that next time you start thinking you’re so clever.”

  Sandy started to reply, but Guy wasn’t interested. He turned and marched on, grabbing Abigail’s hand and dragging her along as he did.

  Sandy raised a hand as if she might stop him, but in the end, she just stood there, mouth gaping, a look of furious horror in her eyes. “I can’t believe it,” she said, her voice tight with anger. “I can’t believe that rat is just going to ignore everything we worked for, everything we did, to vote the same way he would have voted to begin with.”

  “I can believe it,” Jogi grumbled, moving to Sandy’s side.

  Sandy shook her head and turned to him. “Everything was for nothing. We did all that, worked so hard, and all for nothing.”

  “Not for nothing.” Jogi stopped her before the swell of anger rippling off of her could explode. He set the trophy down, then rested both of his hands on her forearms. “If not for the competition, we would have gone our separate ways and never looked back.”

  Her expression softened a little, but not nearly enough.

  “If we hadn’t made that bet, we wouldn’t have been forced to face each other,” he went on. “You have to admit that this has been a massive growth experience for both of us.”

  She sighed, but still didn’t seem to have words.

  “We would have given up after that first night, and we would have missed so, so much.” He tightened his grip on her and stared straight into her eyes, willing her to feel the intensity of everything he felt. “We would have missed out on that day at the lake. I would have missed the opportunity to be there for you when your dad was in the hospital. And—” He took a breath, emotion blooming within him. “—I never would have gotten to hear you say that you love me.”

  Sandy’s anger vanished in an instant, and the joy of victory that had nothing to do with dancing returned. “You told me you loved me,” she said, her voice cracking. “You love me.”

  “I do,” he said, feeling as if his heart and body was too small to contain the force of everything he felt for her. “I do love you, Sandy. And I’m going to prove it to you.”

  She swayed closer to him, probably expecting some sort of passionate embrace. But instead, he broke away from her and started stomping down the hall the way Guy had gone.

  “What are you doing?” she called out, jogging to catch up with him.

  “I’m doing what needs to be done,” he said.

  They reached the door at the end of the hall, and Jogi pushed it open, stepping out into the humid, late-summer night. He followed the path that led around the corner of the building toward the parking lot, Sandy just behind him. It was his luck that they caught up to Guy and Abigail at the edge of the parking lot, before they reached their car.

  “Stop,” Jogi shouted after them. “You are going to stop right there and listen to what I have to say.”

  Guy did stop, but only to turn and say, “Really? I’m going to stop and listen to the likes of you?”

  Jogi ignored the insult and charged on. “I don’t know what you think you stand to gain by acting like Richard Bonneville’s peon, but you’re making a huge mistake. Not only because everyone will see just who yanks your chain, but because you seem to think that integrity means nothing.”

  Sandy caught up to him, but she seemed far more interested in what Jogi had to say than in adding her own bit.

  Guy shifted his weight, crossed his arms, and narrowed his eyes, but before he could go on, Jogi said, “I don’t care if you think you’re acting in your best interest or if you think you’ll get something out of whatever plans Bonneville has for the bank. I don’t even care if you can look yourself in the mirror every morning or sleep well at night. You took a chance, you made a gamble, and in spite of your best efforts to sway things in your direction, you lost. And if you can’t honor that, what are you going to do when a situation comes along that really matters to you?

  “Who runs the bank doesn’t affect you in the least,” Jogi pushed on. “Everyone knows that. But it does affect the woman I love and her entire family. And I, at least, will do everything in my power to protect the things that matter to Sandy, because I love her. I risked looking like a complete fool in this dance competition because I care about what happens to her, whether she’s happy or not. Can you say the same thing? Can you say that you value something higher than money or influence or being in Bonneville’s pocket?”

  He left the question hanging, but snuck a quick look at Abigail. Abigail wore an anxious, longing look. It was a look that said his words had had an impact on someone, even if it wasn’t Guy.

  “I don’t have to stand here an
d listen to this,” Guy said, sounding gruff, but red in the face.

  Jogi shrugged. “And I don’t have to waste any more of my time trying to turn you into a decent human being.”

  Without waiting for a reaction, Jogi turned and took Sandy’s hand. She wore a stunned look, but as they started to walk away, that look turned into a proud grin. “You sure told him,” she murmured.

  “Yeah, I guess you’re starting to rub off on me.”

  Sandy broke into a smile.

  “Wait!” The call from behind had both of them stopping and looking back over their shoulders. Guy had moved on to his car, but Abigail had taken a step toward them. She had her hand raised, and when she saw that she had Jogi’s attention, she risked a weak smile and said, “I’m going to clear my schedule to make space for you to have a showing.”

  Jogi’s brow shot up. He exchanged a surprised look with Sandy, then turned back to Abigail. “Thank you so much.”

  “My husband may be a horse’s ass,” she said, raising her voice so that Guy could hear and glancing sideways to where he was getting into the car, “but I honor my bets. You deserved to win, no matter who tried to stop you.” Her voice had taken on a hard edge. She nodded to Jogi, then marched around the car to open the passenger door and flop inside.

  Jogi looked back to Sandy. “That was unexpected.”

  They continued back toward the gym and the hall where they’d left the trophy.

  “I dunno.” Sandy shrugged, sending one final glance over her shoulder as Guy started the car and turned on the headlights. “Abigail has more of a backbone than people give her credit for.” She focused her smile on Jogi. “She’s smart enough to know brilliance when she sees it, and you, my sexy boy, are brilliant.”

  They’d reached the gym door, but before Jogi could reach for it, Sandy grabbed him by the open sides of his shirt and pulled him close for a kiss. Jogi was taken by surprise, but in no time, he was returning her passion. He circled his arms around her and brought her flush against his body. Their mouths melded together, his body instantly ready and aching to get home and continue where their tango had left off.

  When at last Sandy broke the kiss, they were both left hot and panting.

  “I can’t say I’m thrilled that we’ll lose the bank,” she said, cradling his face in her hands, “but as far as I’m concerned, I’ve got the best prize anyone could ask for right here.”

  “Really?” He spread his hands across her waist, sliding one up to brush the underside of her breast. “You don’t want a glitzy trophy or a shiny plaque to hang on the wall?” Part of him wanted to ask if she would have been happier with a flashier guy, one who matched her ambition with his own.

  A bigger part of him knew they were beyond that. Especially when she laughed low in her throat and kissed him, slow and deep.

  “I’ve got exactly what I want right here,” she purred, angling her hips into his. “And there’s no way I’m going to make the mistake of letting you get away again.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  After the high of Friday night and the relative joy of the weekend, Sandy dreaded Tuesday.

  “So you never told Dad about Guy’s bet?” Rita asked from the chair opposite Sandy’s desk.

  Sandy shook her head. “I didn’t want to get his hopes up, and after the fact, I didn’t want to do anything to raise his blood pressure.”

  Rita made a face and a noise to go with it. “I could wring Guy’s neck right now.”

  “Trust me, I know.” Sandy flopped back in her seat, rubbing her forehead. “Are they over there voting right now?” she asked with her eyes closed.

  “Probably. The meeting was supposed to start at ten.”

  “Lovely.”

  She opened her eyes and glanced out the window. Her office was only a few buildings down from the bank. It would take her about three minutes to walk over there and give the entire board a piece of her mind. But what was the point? Richard would never listen, and Guy had clearly made up his mind to be a vile little shit.

  “It’ll be weird not being in control of the bank after all these generations,” she said, sounding pathetic to her own ears.

  “I have no idea what Dad will do with himself,” Rita agreed. “He was so bored until his doc let him go back to work last week. He’ll—”

  She was interrupted by a knock on the open door. Sandy sat straighter and smiled at the sight of Jogi standing there. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

  “No, not at all.” Sandy all but leapt out of her chair and danced across the room to greet Jogi with a kiss. He was the one good thing that had happened to her since Guy’s betrayal. Heck, he was the best thing that had happened to her in years. She threw her arms around him, avoiding the camera case looped over his shoulder.

  “Okay, I guess it’s time for me to head back over to my office now,” Rita said in a teasing voice as she stood.

  “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.” Jogi let go of Sandy, looking deliciously sheepish as he apologized to Rita.

  “Don’t worry about it.” Rita held up a hand as she crossed to the door. “I have an appointment at ten-thirty anyhow. I should probably prep for that.”

  “Lunch later?” Sandy asked her as she edged past Jogi and into the hall.

  “Yeah, that’d be great,” Rita said. “We can commiserate the end of the family legacy together.”

  She tried to make it sound light-hearted, but as Rita walked away, Sandy’s shoulders dropped. Jogi only had to look at her, that kindness in his eyes saying more than any placating words could.

  “I’ve tried getting used to the idea of losing the bank all weekend, but I still can’t,” Sandy said as she walked back to her desk.

  Jogi shut the office door, then moved to take the seat Rita had vacated. “It’ll be all right. You guys are smart, and people like Richard always end up hanging themselves with all the rope they hoard.”

  Sandy smirked and shook her head. “Obviously, you haven’t lived in Haskell very long.” Inwardly, her whole chest radiated heat over the love she felt for him.

  “I’ve lived here long enough to get the gist of things,” he replied with a teasing grin. “And I have a feeling I’ll be living here for a long time to come.”

  She returned his flirty smile with one of her own. It was too bad her entire desk was between them. Then again, maybe if she swept all of her files and office supplies and computer parts onto the floor, they could have wild sex on the desktop. Not that they hadn’t done enough of that over the weekend.

  There was another reason she had called him to her office, though. With a tempting quirk of her eyebrow, she took a print-out from the spot where she’d set it aside earlier and handed it across to him.

  “There you go,” she said. “Your little plagiarism problem is taken care of.”

  Jogi’s expression brightened as he took the printed-out email and read it over. “Just like that?”

  “Just like that,” Sandy repeated. She leaned back in her chair, savoring the tiny victory. It was nothing compared to the hideous trophy that currently sat on her dining room table, or to the even bigger prize she held in her heart as she watched Jogi read the email. But knowing that she’d untied an annoying knot for Jogi, that she’d done something right that would actually help him, for a change, was a beautiful feeling.

  “So he’s removed the cover and the image from his website?” Jogi asked.

  “Yep.” Sandy nodded. “I checked myself to be sure. I told you sending a big, scary lawyer after him would scare the guy.”

  Jogi laughed. “You got that done pretty quick, all things considered.”

  She teased him with a haughty smile. “It would have been resolved a lot faster if you’d come to me in the first place.”

  “I would have come to you in the first place if I hadn’t been so gun-shy.”

  He was teasing too, but his words struck an unhappy chord in Sandy’s heart. “I should have trusted you from the start. I wa
s stupid not to see how trustworthy you are.”

  Jogi shrugged, putting the paper back on her desk and taking his camera case off his shoulders. “People do stupid things all the time. We’re just lucky that we got a second chance to get it right.”

  “Thank God for that. I would have missed out on so many things if we hadn’t.” She raked him with a sultry glance, enjoying the fact that she could get that hot and that silly with him so easily now.

  Jogi grinned from ear-to-ear. “You’re pretty sexy for a big, scary lawyer, you know.” He unzipped his camera case. “Which is why I brought this with me.” He took out one of his better cameras. Sandy was pretty impressed with herself for being able to tell the difference between the expensive ones and the ones he had for fun now. “I thought I’d capture this moment for posterity. And maybe for any business cards or advertisements you might want to put together.”

  “You want to take my picture?” She raised a hand to her hair to be sure everything was where she wanted it to be.

  “Babe, I always want to take pictures of you,” he said, a sultry growl in his voice.

  The hot, buzzing temptation of posing for some scandalously intimate photos for Jogi teased its way through her. They could have some serious fun taking pics like that. Although the thought of what might happen if those pics ended up in the wrong hands gave her pause.

  A few professional photos might be really useful, though. She sat a little straighter, pulling her chair closer to her desk so that she could fold her arms across the desktop as Jogi stood and stepped back to check his angles.

  “So how do you want me?” she asked with a mischievous flicker of her eyebrow.

  Jogi had raised his camera to his eye, but lowered it as he chuckled, “I don’t know if you want me to answer that question in your office.”

  “Maybe I do,” she replied, warm with giddiness and affection. Which felt strange, considering how her family’s legacy was falling apart just a few buildings away. Maybe some things mattered more than legacies. Maybe looking forward was the way to go instead of looking back.