Neither Dre nor I rushed to grab it, but eventually my irritated curiosity got the best of me and I picked up the paper.
“Partner teams will compete against each other to earn the most points. A private benefactor donated a very nice chunk of money with wishes that at least half be used toward the crew in the way I deemed best. The chief and I agree that this program is where we want that half to go.”
“So, the winning team gets…” Dre trailed off.
“The winning team will split two-thousand dollars. Like I said, it seems our benefactor had a very good year and wanted to share the wealth.”
Hating to admit it, my interest was piqued. A challenge usually got my competitive side to kick in; add in a prize and I was in. And this prize was none too shabby; a grand in my pocket would come in quite handy. Having to share the winnings with Dre would suck, but at least I’d get my portion.
I scanned the list. “And these are the ways we can earn points?”
Julia nodded, a gleam in her eyes as if she recognized she’d just hooked me. “Different challenges, if you will, for partners to complete together. The more you complete, the more points you earn. Each challenge has the option for bonus points as well.”
Dre leaned over to look at the list and I begrudgingly held it between us so he could see. “Work out together?”
I wasn’t even looking at his face, but I heard the whine in his voice. Dre wasn’t a fan of hitting the gym unless forced to. How the man stayed looking so fine was beyond me.
Not that it mattered how fine he looked.
At all.
“Doesn’t have to be intense workouts,” Julia said. “A run, some weights, hit the pads together, hell, even yoga would count.”
“How do we account for these challenges? Who’s to say we don’t just check off the box and call it done?” I narrowed my eyes, already contemplating which partner teams would be most likely to cheat and which would be our true competition.
“That’s the fun part. There’s a bulletin board in the main room. As you participate in a challenge, you snap a picture and put it on the board. Bonus points for posting the picture on social media with our hashtags #RemingtonEMSTeamChallenge and #RemingtonEMSPowerTeam.” Julia was nearly beaming, which was odd for our hard-nosed boss, and I knew she was quite pleased with the prospect of this challenge.
“What’s the end game?” Dre voiced my question.
“Build up our partners, be seen in the community, do some good.” Julia shrugged. “Three months is a long time to do some great things. I know you two got thrown together, but you’re my top team and I expect top results. This should be a good time for you to move from good together to great together. By the end of this challenge, you’ll be working together like a well-oiled machine. And if you’re on board, the rest of the crew will be, too.” She leaned forward on her elbows. “I know I can count on you to show them how it’s done.”
“When does this start?” Dre asked.
“On the first, so a couple days. I want you talking it up on your shifts. Look over the list, make your plans.”
“What are the rules as far as completing challenges on or off shift?” I scanned the list, already getting some ideas. Would have been better if I could just do each challenge on my own, but I guess that would have defeated the team part of the whole thing.
“That’s up to each partner team. Neither option is required, but as long as it’s not interfering with your shift responsibilities, it’s fair game.” Julia glanced at her phone. “Meeting with the chief. He’s going to be pleased to hear our best is on board.”
Effectively dismissed, Dre and I left the office. I stopped by the little copy machine in the hallway. The device was likely older than me and could only handle a few copies at a time, but it was good enough to make a copy of the list for Dre so he didn’t have to be reading over my shoulder.
Because you like the idea of feeling his heat close to you, his breath against your neck, and his scent teasing you.
Fuck that shit. Just figured he’d need his own copy.
“So, I guess we take a look at this and make a plan?” Dre asked.
“Yeah, sounds like it.” I turned to face him. “We’re going to win. I want that money and I don’t back down from a challenge like this.”
“Okay?”
“I’m just saying, any other team winning this isn’t an option. But that doesn’t mean we’re talking or bonding or any of that shit.” I lifted my chin in silent defiance.
Dre rolled his eyes and huffed. “Fine, whatever the great Khi thinks is best. But I’d like it noted that I think a partner team would do best if they worked together like an actual team. You know, talked, trusted, respected each other.”
“Nah, we’ve got this in the bag either way. No reason to mess with our setup.” I wasn’t giving Dre the chance to bring up the past and go all let’s talk about our feelings shit on me.
“Our setup is shitty and hindering our performance. Just think how good we could be if we didn’t have the awkward tension between us.” Dre folded his arms across his chest.
“Nope. The tension keeps us on our toes. We’re already the best, no higher level to reach.” I hated the way the words tasted on my tongue. Dre and I both knew, even as the best, we could do better. Maybe it wasn’t a competition between us and the other partners, but our best
