Free In the Fast Lane (Fast Series Book 1) by Evie Anderson

could and could not date.
    “Dude, he’s French. Those guys are like, born trying to get laid. He’s also her ex-boyfriend, so...” Sawyer added and turned back to his time sheets. As if that explained a damn thing.
    Annoyed by this obvious lack of concern, Dalton flipped him the bird once he turned his back. “Well, if he’s her ex-boyfriend, why are we letting him interview her?”
    Sawyer sighed, put the time sheets down, and lifted his head to fix Dalton with a look of extreme annoyance. “One, because she’s a big girl and can handle herself. Two, because in that relationship, she decides if and when they sleep together. If she wants to, they do. If not, they don’t. It doesn’t affect her swimming, and she sure as hell isn’t going to get a chance to screw him while she’s locked away in her dorm room, so I’m not terribly worried about it. Settle down, okay, Daddy?”
    There was something sick and wrong about being referred to as Jessi’s daddy...unless of course they were in the middle of fooling around and he asked her to call him—
    Dalton brought his mind back around. He shouldn’t be thinking of Jessi like that, and he really needed to focus. Dalton was trailing off less and less since he’d been coaching. He still slipped up though.
    Forcing his mind back to the current situation, he was unpleasantly surprised to realize that part of his anger toward Jessi and her little French boy-toy had everything to do with a hurt ego. It wasn’t that he thought she hadn’t slept with someone by now, or that he was under some grand illusion that she’d spent all these years pining after him. It was just that...well, yes, he’d always sort of assumed those things when he thought of Jessi. He wasn’t that much of a dick, really. It was just that his only lasting memory of their time in Brazil was of her being so enamored with him. He supposed his thoughts should really have focused on how epically devastated and disappointed she’d looked when she found him on that balcony.
    He should have known better though. Women like Jessi didn’t lick their wounds for long. So, she’d gone and rebounded with le boy-toy . Great. Dalton only hoped for her sake that the little douche had been filling out his Speedo a little better by the time they’d hooked up.
    For the purpose of seeing the sun rise the next day, Dalton fixed his scowl into what he hoped looked like a coach’s concern for his swimmer as opposed to a jealous ex-whatever-he’d-been. When he felt like he had his features under control, he turned to Sawyer. “How long are these interviews going to take? I’ve got a hell of a problem with Tanner’s dolphin kick, and a little board work wouldn’t hurt any of them.”
    While it was mostly pretense, Dalton inwardly smiled at the thought of throwing kick boards and making them dolphin kick all the way down the pool...and back. Over and over again. He found his mood improving exponentially as he continued to build the workout in his head.
    “I’m really proud of you, man.” Sawyer said, bringing Dalton back to the present.
    It didn’t escape Dalton that Sawyer’s little touchy-feel-good statement had carefully avoided answering his question about how long the damn interviews were going to take.
    “Thanks. How long?”
    Sawyer ignored him and continued his masochistic attempt to make them both feel uncomfortable. “You need to learn to take a compliment. I’m serious. You’re doing a really great job. It’s only been a couple of days and you’ve got them shaping up nicely. I’ve never seen you so focused.”
    “You weren’t there eight years ago when I was trying to beat your ass,” Dalton replied with a grin.
    Sawyer grinned right back. He rolled his tongue in his cheek and gave a few short nods. Apparently, he had some fond memories of his own when it came to their rivalry. “Man, you really went after me. I gotta admit, after Omaha, I was scared shitless. I didn’t realize how bad I