Boomerang Read Online Free PDF Page A

loops an arm over my neck and tugs me down the hall. It’s awkward because I’m taller. And because it’s really fucking awkward.
    As we leave the lobby, I glance behind me, but I don’t see her.
    “Forget something?” Rhett says.
    Yes, I’m tempted to say. Maybe the greatest night of my life . But I shake my head. “No, I’m good, man. So, how’s the training going? You ready for the triathlon?”
    For the next half hour, I sign some paperwork in his office as he updates me on his progress. By the time he walks me back out, I know his current weight, BMI, resting heart rate, daily caloric input and output. By my guess, we’re about five minutes away from a full detail on his bowel movements.
    It’s not that I don’t care or that I’m not interested in the guy. It’s just that for me, being fit isn’t about numbers. It’s about the game. The beautiful game, as soccer’s called in Brazil. Playing allowed me to push my physical limits—which was a big draw—but soccer is also about being part of a team. Belonging to something greater than yourself. Rhett’s angle on sports couldn’t be more different than mine. He’s basically a one-man team.
    I stop at his door. “Hey, Rhett. I don’t mean to cut you off, but I thought there was only one internship position.”
    His eyes go wide. “Oh!” He leans in like we’re sharing a secret. “You met Mia, huh? What’d you think? Sweet piece of—”
    “Yeah, I met her,” I interrupt. After one hazy night with her, I shouldn’t care, but I feel like I might punch him if he finishes that thought. “So, what’s the deal? Did they create another position?”
    “No, no.” Rhett’s hand thumps down on my shoulder, and we’re moving through the halls again. What kind of HR guy doesn’t understand personal space? “Boss man wants to be the one to give you the details, or you know I’d tell you everything.”
    He gives me a look, like he and I are tight.
    “Got it,” I say. But I don’t. I didn’t expect this.
    This being Mia.
    I’m already wondering—no, I’m already sure she’s going to be a distraction. Or a temptation.
    Shit. She’ll definitely be both.
    Rhett takes me into a glass-walled office. The furniture is modern, but not fragile or stark. This space looks like it belongs to someone organized, stylish, and rich. Sleek chairs made of wood, accented with glossy black leather. A desk that’s a single thick piece of glass, with nothing but a laptop, a cell phone, and a small bronze tiger resting on its gleaming surface.
    Adam Blackwood looks up from his laptop when Rhett and I walk in. Behind him, Los Angeles stretches out, sun-bathed and bustling. It’s an unusually clear day, and you can see all the way to Santa Monica.
    He stands and comes around the desk, silver cuff links flashing as he offers his hand. “Ethan. Good to see you again. Welcome to Boomerang.”
    Adam is twenty-two, only a year older than me, and already president of a multimillion-dollar enterprise. Of course, it helps when you start your first company at fifteen. He went to Princeton, evidenced by the tiger on his desk, and Boomerang is the third company he’s founded.
    Last night at Duke’s when we met for a drink, it felt like every woman in the place orbited our table. I get checked out here and there myself, but nothing compared to what I experienced being in his company.
    The thing about Adam is that he’s always ten steps ahead of everyone. That’s why he’s so successful. I know I’ll learn a lot from him.
    “Thanks, Adam. It’s good to be here.”
    Adam dismisses Rhett, who leaves with a disappointed pit bull look on his face, then gestures to a chair in a seating area away from his desk. “Have a seat, Ethan.”
    “Thanks.” I sink into a soft leather chair. A series of huge modern paintings of ocean waves line one of the walls. I make a mental note of that. Blackwood might be Ivy League, but he’s also a surfer—or an art collector.
    He pushes