“Which is?” Libby barked.
Briggs shot another glance his way.
“You can tell me, Briggs. I won’t let Raz pummel you…yet,” Libby said, her tone growing firm.
She might be a yoga instructor, but she could turn on the fight when she wanted.
“Yeah, I’m a bit frightened,” Briggs admitted. “I’m not sure who scares me more—you or the Beast. You’ve got an arm on you, Miss Lamb.”
“Briggs,” Libby snapped. “What’s the message?”
The agent glanced away. “You’re fired from teaching at that studio.”
Libby sighed, then stared at the ceiling. “I figured that might have happened,” she lamented before zeroing back in on his agent. “Now, what do you know about me?”
Briggs tapped his mobile’s screen. “Ah, here we are. I’ve got the report. You’re Libby Caroline Lamb. Age twenty-five. Graduated uni with honors. Double major with bachelor’s degrees in kinesiology and physical education with an emphasis on elementary education. You’re a yoga instructor with several fancy accreditations. Your mother, Aurora, is deceased. Your father, Connolly, is alive, but he’s got a patchy job history.”
Connolly?
His ears perked up at the mention of Libby’s dad’s name.
Hadn’t the cop asked her if she was related to a Connolly Lamb? She’d said no. Had she lied to the police?
“Your younger brothers,” Briggs continued, “both twenty-one years old, Anders and Alec Lamb, are attending uni in Ecuador in a study abroad program that incorporates a volunteer component. They’ve been accepted into a program there to study medicine. Their admissions status is pending, awaiting a final tuition payment, and your landlord says he had to kick you out tonight. It’s been quite a day for you, Miss Lamb.”
Libby sighed. “It has. I’m a cosmic karma catastrophe.”
“Does that sound about right?” Briggs pressed.
Her shoulders slumped a fraction. “Yes.”
Raz stared at her. They had more in common than he thought. “Your younger brothers are twins?”
Libby nodded as the ghost of a grin cut through her forlorn expression. “They want to practice medicine in impacted communities. They’re good men.”
“And that’s how my company wants to help you, Libby,” Briggs slipped in, back to looking like a puffed-up peacock.
Libby shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
“To sweeten the deal,” Briggs continued, “my sports management firm would be happy to cover the costs of the lads’ schooling in exchange for your spiritual advisor services.”
“You’ll pay the balance?” she stammered.
Briggs stared at his mobile’s screen. “A little over sixteen thousand dollars?”
“Yes,” she replied, her voice a scratch of a whisper.
Raz couldn’t take it. He couldn’t stand there and watch his agent manipulate her.
“You can’t threaten her like that, Briggs,” he said, closing in on the man again. “What you’re doing is blackmail.”
The agent raised his hands defensively. “It’s not a threat, champ. It’s an offer.”
“Aug?” Raz bit out, turning to his trainer. “What do you have to say about this?”
The toothpick pressed between Augie’s lips swiveled as he pondered the question. “I’d say after tonight’s episode, you and Miss Lamb are inextricably connected. The best option for both of you is to work together. That’s the only way you come out of it without looking like bleeding deviants.” Aug studied Libby, then gave her a nod. “What’s the harm in letting her be your spiritual advisor? She may teach you a thing or two. She’s already improved your sprints, mate. And you need someone to watch over Sebastian.”
The gravity of the situation hit like a swift jab to the gut.
“What about my training, Aug? Am I supposed to commute to the city each day between donkey practice runs?”
“Lad, I have a place near Aspen,” the trainer replied.
Raz’s jaw dropped. “You have a mountain home?”
“Yeah, most rich people around here do,” Aug replied with a shrug.
“I never thought of you as a rich person.”
“Think of the quid you’ve got piled up,” the trainer tossed back.
“Yeah?”
“I have twenty percent of that. I’m bloody rich by any standard,” Augie exclaimed, quite animated for the usually stone-faced bloke.
Raz shifted his weight. “Why didn’t you mention you had a mountain house?”
“Never came up. Luanne likes it. She can wander around, finding interesting rocks and gemstone and take in the scenery. And I’ve come to appreciate hiking.”
“Hiking?” Raz exclaimed.
Bonkers! The world had gone blooming bonkers.
If the crusty Augie Bimston could enjoy lollygagging and bloody hiking around where the rich and famous congregated, any damn thing was possible.
“This is a win-win situation,” Madelyn offered smoothly, sliding into the conversation. “Erasmus, you’ll be able to train in the mountains. I have a feeling the preparations for the Ass-in-Nine race will coincide nicely with your boxing regimen.”
“I believe it will,” Augie agreed. “I already have Raz running five to ten miles three days a week. I don’t bloody care if he does it with a donkey, a goat, or a mythical unicorn with a flowing white mane. He needs to get in the miles for endurance.”
“And Libby,” Madelyn continued as his head was about to explode, “don’t forget, the nanny position pays very well. With the sports agency prepared to make the final tuition payment for your brothers, the income you generate as a nanny is yours to do with as you wish.”
Raz surveyed the room, working to get his bearings.
All these damned rules!
He wanted to whisk Libby off her feet, throw her over his shoulder like a caveman, and bust out of this room.
“Libby, Erasmus, here’s what it boils down to,” Augie began. “Best-case scenario. You run the race. You train together and present a united front. Otherwise, you know what happens, Raz. You become fodder for the tabloids. It’s not a lot of time to commit. The fight will be here before you know it. It’s in—”
“Sixty days,” Madelyn interjected. “The same amount of time as the nanny match trial period. You know how it works, don’t you, Libby?”
Libby nodded. “At the end of the trial period, the agreement can be voided by either party. No questions asked.”
“That is correct,” Madelyn purred.
“Then, Lion, you regain your title of heavyweight champion and return to the UK, a beloved national treasure,” Briggs added, finding his voice.
Could it be that easy?
“You’re not staying in Colorado, Raz?” Libby asked, watching him closely.
He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I don’t know, plum.”
“I saw you visiting Mitch and Rowen’s kids’ school a few months ago. I thought…”
He glanced away. “I was just taking a look.”
“I see,” she answered.