Least Resistance is the third story in the Jocks and Geeks series. It releases February 15 and with his story, the series is complete. I really loved writing all three of the stories int his series and I hope you enjoyed Heavy Lifting, Balancing Act… and come to love Least Resistance as well.
Title: Least Resistance
Author: Andrew Grey
Series: Jocks and Geeks Book 3
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 15, 2022
Edition/Formats Available In: eBook
Blurb/Synopsis:
Marti is a confident, energetic, and talented florist who has been attracted to standoffish Ivan for the past couple of years. He’d pretty much given up on him until their paths cross again when has a meeting with the penny-pinching landlord of the flower shop where he works.
Competitive bodybuilder Ivan Detrikov has a landlord father who doesn’t approve of his career choices, or much else in his life. Ivan is well aware of Marti’s interest and he finds the other man captivating, but feels he needs to focus his energy toward his career, and any chance at love is just a distraction.
Everything changes when Ivan encounters Marti at his father’s office. Marti’s “guns blazing” attitude and forceful arguments in favor of the shop where he works captivate Ivan and awaken the attraction that has simmered since their first meeting. But his father’s heartless pursuit of his goals puts Marti’s flower shop dreams in peril and endangers the relationship they are just starting to build.
Book Links
Excerpt:
Marti looked toward the still-closed door and then at Doris, like she could do anything. It would take a miracle for Dimitri Detrikov to take more than five minutes to stop counting his piles of money like fucking King Midas. “Okay. So, I guess….”
Ivan shook his head. “Go on and talk to him. Maybe he’ll pour all his anger issues on me and actually be nice to you. What is it you want?”
“He’s the landlord of the flower shop I work at, the Flower Basket. And, well, we need him to not raise the rent so we can have a chance to build the business instead of folding up altogether.” He seemed defeated, and Ivan knew in part that was his fault, though he knew his father, and frankly, Marti had about a snowball’s chance in hell of getting what he wanted.
“You can go on in,” Doris told Marti, who now seemed almost ghostly white. “He isn’t going to eat you.”
Marti didn’t look like he was so sure of that. Still, Ivan had to give him credit. He stiffened his back, and Doris opened the door and then took her place at the desk once more. She was the only person Ivan’s father didn’t intimidate. Sometimes Ivan wondered what she had on the old bastard, but whatever the reason, she simply went on with her work.
Marti went into Mr. Detrikov’s office, and Ivan stayed out of sight, near Doris’s desk. He wasn’t sure why, other than the fact that Marti amused him and his father was in a really foul mood that was to a large extent his fault.
“Mr. Detrikov, I’m here to discuss the rent on the Prospect Avenue home of the Flower Basket,” Marti said.
“You aren’t the tenant,” Mr. Detrikov said in that way he had of dismissing people.
“I’m here on her behalf.” Marti cleared his throat. “What I’m here to ask is that the rent stay the same for the next year.”
“Why in the hell would I do that?” Mr. Detrikov demanded in a tone that sent most people running for cover.
“Because it will cost you less and in the end and make you more money,” Marti said, and Ivan wanted to punch the air. “We need the rent to remain at the current rate so we can build the business back to where it was after the last years’ hardships. I’m sure you understand what happened. An increase will mean that the business will close.”
“And that’s my problem… how?” That was Ivan’s father—always a caring and compassionate man.
“Simple…” Marti’s voice grew stronger.
“I think I’ve heard enough already. I don’t have time for people who want me to give them a break. If I did, I’d never get any work done. Show yourself out.”
Ivan winced at the dismissive tone, but it was one her had heard many times over the years. The kiss of death.
“Excuse me,” Marti snapped right back. “You need to listen to me. I walked all the way down here to speak to you, and you’ll listen. If we have to close, then the building’s condition and code issues, which are grandfathered in, will need to be remediated, at a cost of thousands. And the building department will be sure to hear about them. Also, you’ll have to make the building ready for a new tenant and then find someone to lease the space. It will take years for you to recoup the costs. All that can be alleviated for you by simply not raising the rent.” Damn, Marty was good. “But since you were such a dick, I think a rent reduction is in order since there are issues that you are responsible for that have not been fixed, which the building department will also be informed of. Those will cost you plenty to repair, but we can make those repairs over the next year, with a reduction in the monthly rent of, say, five hundred dollars this year and then a two-hundred-dollar increase in each of the next three years. In the end, you’ll get a better building, no building department violations and reports that you’ll have to deal with, and no huge cash outlay to bring the building up to the current code.”
Ivan glanced around the door to see Marti with his Easter-egg pink hair leaning over his father’s desk and his dad as pale as the white sheets of paper he was holding.
Author Information
Andrew grew up in western Michigan with a father who loved to tell stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then he has lived throughout the country and traveled throughout the world. He has a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and works in information systems for a large corporation.
Andrew’s hobbies include collecting antiques, gardening, and leaving his dirty dishes anywhere but in the sink (particularly when writing) He considers himself blessed with an accepting family, fantastic friends, and the world’s most supportive and loving partner. Andrew currently lives in beautiful, historic Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
