The Better Side of Me - Jerry Cole Page 0,86

She picked up the protein shaker and started shaking it vigorously in front of her face. “He’s selling the whole thing to Abraham – right on down to the last screw. Absolutely mental if you ask me.”

It made no sense. Why the heck would Lance do something like that? Was it Kirk’s fault? Was he trying to put as much distance between himself and Kirk as possible? That... that was actually too painful to even consider.

“Thanks, Cass. I’ll see you later...” Kirk was halfway across the floor before he’d finished speaking. Then, a second later he was out the front door and on the street.

Kirk wasn’t one hundred percent sure why Lance was selling the bar. But he didn’t care. It was a mistake, no matter which way you looked at it. And if Lance did go through with it... he’d regret it for the rest of his life.

No longer content with just walking, Kirk broke out into a run. He had to get to the bank in time. He had to stop Lance before it was too late.

***

Thank God Kirk had started working out. If he hadn’t, there was no way he would have been able to sprint all the way to the bank without passing out on the cold cement, and possibly even dying. But he had. So, he could.

But it was still a challenge! Ten blocks away it was. Ten long, long blocks. The moment Kirk reached the bank, he slowed down to a hasty walk instead, so that he could power through without causing a scene. But the second he slowed down was the second he felt his body begin to reject him.

A sudden heat washed over him from the sprint. Sweat began to seep from his pores. And as his heart rate accelerated, his breathing became labored and unpredictable. But still, he continued on.

Kristy Mitchell’s office was Kirk’s target. It was tucked away at the back, forcing Kirk to labor for even longer than he rightly should have been able to. By the time he reached her closed office door, he was a wreck.

Kirk grabbed the handle to the door, threw it open and barged on inside without so much as a thought.

“Kirk!”

“Mr. Little?”

“What is this?!”

Lance, Abraham, and Kristy all spoke out in unison, each one equally as shocked as the other to see Kirk burst into the office in such a dramatic fashion.

“Don’t do this!” Kirk blurted before he had a chance to think. “Don’t—” The pain in Kirk’s chest exploded out his mouth as he suddenly broke into a coughing fit. He doubled over, punching at his chest with a curled-up fist. “Do— St – Wa—” He tried and failed. His entire body ached.

“Kirk! What are you doing here?” As if on instinct, Lance went straight to him. He crouched down beside Kirk and patted his back. “Are you all right?”

The smell of Lance, so close, sent a pulse through Kirk, and just about gave him a second wind. A part of him wanted to push the man back, to tell him to get his hands off! But another part wanted him to keep going.

In the end, he opted to wave Lance down, but remained where he was, still hunched over. “It’s fine. Really – I ran here, is all. Not as fit as I thought I was.” He pounded at his chest and cleared his throat awkwardly.

“I’m willing to blame the shoes, if you are?” Lance indicted Kirk’s work shoes, a pair of fake-leather dress shoes, with a sly smile and a wink.

He looked as good as ever. Maybe even better? It was that smile that Kirk missed the most. To see Lance joke around, and smile at himself the way he just did, it made Kirk’s heart—

“Excuse me! You can’t be in here!" Kristy stood up from behind her desk. “Leave now, please.” The way she pointed, and the tone of her voice, were enough of an indication that this wasn’t a request.

“All right,” Kirk said hurriedly as he straightened up. He took a few short, sharp breaths. “Just give me one—”

“Kirk. What are you doing here?” Lance sounded worried.

“I came to stop you.”

An awkward pause. “From what...?” Lance always was a bad liar.

Kirk rolled his eyes. “Don’t. I know you’re selling the bar—”

“Hey, hey now.” Abraham jumped up from his seat and hurried to join them. “Don’t be trying to talk him out of it – he already said he would! We shook hands and everything!”

“He’s not going to do