by K. I. Lynn
I smiled and took her hand in mine. “Thank you.”
“Y-you’re welcome.”
I walked through the restaurant and out the back door to the parking lot and my awaiting truck. As I headed off, I formed a plan. Dex was right, as much as I hated to admit it—I had to fuck Hope, and soon. Only after, with a clear head, could I take her on a date. That was if she said yes.
I’d given up trying to figure out what was wrong with me, and gave in to the devil in me that wanted her flesh.
When I walked into the gym with a smile on my face, I felt good. The emotion swiftly vanished when I saw our receptionist and scheduler, Dawn, leaning over the front desk and whispering frantically with Aaron, our youngest trainer.
My neck tensed and my jaw clenched as I walked forward. Something was wrong. Dawn’s eyes widened when she looked up and saw me.
“H-hi, boss.”
I looked between her and Aaron—who looked so nervous he’d turned white.
“What is it?”
“Well, Monica had me come in today for a few clients.”
Dawn bit her bottom lip. “Andrew, Ashley, and Teri.”
I turned my neck, my whole body tensing up, my fingers curling up to a fist. “Those are my clients.” They both nodded, and Aaron turned pale. “Is she here?”
Dawn shook her head. “She’s off today.”
“Then she just caught a break, didn’t she?”
Aaron leaned forward. “Jared, I swear I didn’t have anything to do with it.”
I held my hand out to him, and he slipped his in mine for a shake. “You’re good, man. Calm down.”
“If he’d been Shone…” Dawn trailed off.
I nodded. “That’s a different story.” I reached out for the week’s schedule. It was all marked up, many spots with my name crossed off. The following day was the boxing class, and I tapped my finger over the event.
“Dawn, I hired you, and you’ve been a great employee. That being said, I have to ask you where your allegiance lies.”
She wasted no time responding. “Monica talks down to me like I’m a fucking incompetent toddler. She’s always telling me I need to lose weight because I represent the gym.”
Aaron’s eyes snapped to her figure, and he slowly looked up and down the length of her body. Kid had it bad for her.
I stared at her and shook my head. Dawn was petite, five-two and maybe weighed 110 pounds soaking wet. She was healthy and looked good. Her brown hair and brown eyes added to the girl-next-door look she had going on. Many of our female clients saw her and wanted to look like her. They didn’t want to be like Monica.
I let out a strained breath. “Don’t lose a damn pound. You look great, and it’s obvious Monica and I no longer see eye to eye on what this gym represents.” She smiled at me and played with the zipper on her hoodie. I turned to Aaron next. “How about you?”
“I know I’m still a newbie and all, but you took me under your wing. I’ve seen the underhanded shit she’s done to you.” He held out his fist. “I’m all yours.”
I bumped his offered fist and nodded. “Okay, good.” I looked back down at that damn boxing class. “Do you have the list of people signed up for the Thursday class?”
Dawn nodded. “Yeah. There are six people, and most of them are new members.”
“Call them all up and tell them it’s been cancelled for Thursday and moved to tonight.” I looked to Aaron. “You up to teach a class?”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You’ve been taking my class and helping me for months. Plus, I’ve been watching you with your clients. Time for the next level. Besides, it’s a small class—you’ll do great.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll be able to help out if you need me, and we can talk this afternoon if you need any tips.” I looked back to the schedule. Dex would be in later, along with Alexa. She’d had more than one blowout with Monica in the past, so I knew she would be on my side. By some luck, Monica’s followers were all off for the afternoon as most of their clients were in the morning.
“We’ll be good today, but not a word can be said to Candice, Jordan, Mike, or Stacie.” They both nodded. I looked up at the clock above their heads. It was almost noon, and Andrew wouldn’t be in for about an hour. “I’ve got to do some things in the office.”
I flipped the schedule around and pushed it toward Dawn before walking around the desk.
“Boss?” Dawn stopped me, and I turned back to her. “I know it’s been rough for you lately, and I’m pretty sure you’ve been thinking about your future here. If you leave, will you take me with you? I like working for you, but I’d have to quit if you left and Monica took complete control.”
Her words gave me a pick-me-up, and I smiled at her. “Deal.”
“Me, too!”
I rolled my eyes as Aaron raised his hand. “Back to work.”
I closed the office door behind me and collapsed into my chair. It felt great to have the support of my employees, and Dawn’s admission along with the support of some of my other employees had me thinking more and more about opening a place on my own.
The gym may have been Monica’s idea, but it’d been my skill that got it off the ground and gave it four successful years. With us no longer together, our working relationship had gone from strained to bad. Our business was suffering because of it and had become a sinking ship in my mind.
Dex had a large client base that Monica was shifting to Shone, and her degrading remarks to Dawn pissed me off. Dawn was the one to find and set up our scheduling software. She kept us a well-oiled machine. Alexa was not only a trainer but a nutritionist as well, and she and Monica did not mix well. Add in an eager Aaron, who was great with every member I’d seen him come in contact with, and they made for a great team.
I flipped through my contacts and pulled up the numbers for my lawyer, and my friend, Dave, who was a commercial real estate agent. It wasn’t the right time for it, but it was the necessary time to get things moving. For my own mental health, I needed to separate from Monica completely.
Chapter 5
Aaron did a great job teaching the beginner’s boxing class. So well, in fact, a few of his students signed up for personal training with him. He seemed so excited.
The call with my lawyer went well, and he started the paperwork to separate me from Title Fitness. Luckily, we’d been talked into a Partnership Agreement when we opened up, something I was very thankful for as it was going to make what would’ve been a messy separation so much easier. However, I wasn’t happy when he told me it would take about ninety days for everything to settle and that he needed to meet with both of us.
In other words, I needed to get a new place very soon. There was bound to be a shit storm when Monica found out I planned on opening my own place with half our employees.
We had signed a five-year lease, and there were only ten months left on the contract. She could hop along by herself in that time.
For the first time in months, I felt pretty good, and nothing was going to knock me down—not even Monica’s persistent phone calls. My phone rang again on the drive to the gym, and for the fifth time in a row, I hit ignore. I knew she was pissed about the cancelled class. Two could play her little game.
As soon as I walked through the door, she was on me. “What did you do?”
“Why, sweet cheeks, whatever do you mean?”
Her face dropped at my condescending tone. I wasn’t the beaten-down man she saw a few days ago. I’d come back with a vengeance and a devilish streak.
“You’re a fucking asshole.”
“And you’re a fucking bitch.”
Her anger surged. “I set that class up for Shone.”
“Who doesn’t know shit about boxing. He knows what little he learned in my classes and the few attempts by you.” I leaned forward and glared at her. “He’s a gym rat, not a trainer.”
“He’s a great trainer.” Her jaw jutted forward.
I arched a brow at h
er and turned to Shone, folding my arms across my chest. “Where’s the sartorius muscle located?”
He gave me a blank stare. “Umm.” He looked to Monica for help. “It’s in the forearm, right here.” He gestured near his elbow.
“That’s the supinator or five other muscles in that area. The sartorius is the longest muscle on the body.” I drew a line with my finger down and around my thigh, then ended at the inside of my knee. “I figured it’d be pretty easy one to remember.” I shook my head and looked back at Monica. “Why’d you hire him?”
Her whole body tensed, vibrating from the force. “Shut up!”
“Shut up? That’s a terrible reason.”
She screeched and stomped off to our office, slamming the door. Objects crashed against the wall, breaking, and I was happy I’d gone through and taken any personal items and personal information home the prior day.
Dex walked up, complete shock written on his face. “Dude, what happened to you?”
I shrugged. “I gave in.”
“Gave in?”
“Gave up fighting everything. I’m going to have Hope and get Monica out of my life for good.”
“Have you talked to Hope? Did you fuck her?”
“No, but she works tonight.”
Dex slapped me on the back. “Good to see you again.”
I swung my arm to the side and punched his stomach. “Back to work.”
He rubbed his stomach and smiled. “Aye, aye, Capitano!”
I leaned against the front desk, smiling at Dawn. “Who’s on my hit list today?”
She reached out and gave me a high five. “Welcome back, boss.” She beamed at me. Was I really that far gone lately? “You’ve got Jason at two, followed by Sarah at three.”
I nodded. “Plenty of time for a workout. Thanks.” I patted the desk as I stepped away. “Yo, Dex!” His head popped up. “Workout?”
He gave me the thumbs-up and I moved to the locker room, a bit of a skip in my step that I didn’t even realize I’d been missing.
--oOo--
Cassie and her husband were keeping Mom company for the night, so I was in no rush to get home after my last client. It wasn’t a family dinner—those took place on Sundays—so I knew I wasn’t expected to be there.
I had someone to visit.
Still clad in my workout gear and my black t-shirt with the word “TRAINER” written across the back, I drove back to Union Jack’s to see the girl who made me crazy.
The hostess, Adriane, remembered me from the day before and sat me in Hope’s nearly empty section. I vibrated just knowing she was near. When she came out from behind the kitchen door, I shuddered and adjusted my hardening cock.
She stopped a few feet from the table and stared at me. “What are you doing here?”
I had to bite my tongue to keep from moaning at the view of her cleavage in her tank top. A ripple moved through every nerve in my body.
“I can’t have dinner and a drink?” I quirked my brow at her. Her movements were slow and cautious as she closed the last few feet. “Why are you acting so afraid of me?”
She slammed a napkin down on the table in front of me and glared. “What can I get you to drink?”
I smirked at her. “I’m not sure I can have what I want.”
She looked away, the buzzing heat between us increasing. “Dos Equis?”
I was pleasantly surprised that she remembered. “Water will do me for now.”
She backed up, nearly tripping on her own feet as she turned to head to the bar, an embarrassed blush flooding her face. She looked over at me a couple of times, and I stared straight at her. Last time, I was unprepared to see her again, but tonight, I was going to make sure she knew I wasn’t afraid of the intensity between us.
When she returned with my water and set the glass down, it slipped, tipping over and sloshing water onto the table. We both reached for it, and I barely managed to keep from touching her. The static current was still through the roof with how close we got. I couldn’t image how bad it would be when I actually got some skin-on-skin contact.
“Sorry.” She wiped away the spilled liquid with some napkins.
“Nothing to be sorry about, Hope.”
Her eyes fluttered as I said her name, eliciting the response I was going for. The muscles in her jaw tensed.
“Are you ready to order?”
“I’d like the spicy veggie wrap.”
“For your side?”
“Chips are fine.”
I handed her the menu, and she started to go, then stopped. “Why?”
I sighed, knowing exactly what she meant—the same thing I’d given up on asking. “Fuck if I know.”
She headed back into the kitchen, and I was left with a nearly empty area, nothing good on TV, and a water. Maybe I should’ve gotten the beer. Then again, the calories alone from the other night equated to about ten extra hours of cardio for my week. As much as I loved their pizza, I couldn’t handle it twice in one week.
I pulled out my phone, distracting myself from thoughts of touching her, of letting my cock loose on her. Anything to keep me in check. Puppies seemed like a nice, safe subject.
“Fuck.”
My eye twitched, recognizing the voice of my vapid ex immediately.
“Really, Jared? You didn’t ruin things enough today, so you had to fuck up my dinner tonight?”
The hostess sat them directly across the empty space from me. Shone walked in behind her, ever the lost puppy.
“I was here first. Ignore me, and both our dinners will remain intact.” I glared at her, hoping my death ray beams would work, but they were fresh out of laser gas.
Unfortunately, Hope was their waitress as well. I hated that she was subjected to their poison. As she placed a napkin on their table, it fluttered to the ground. Without thought, she turned around and leaned over, giving me full view of her fuckable tits.
I groaned and palmed my cock, pressing against the hard-on coming back like it’d never gone down when Monica entered the room. The sight killed me and ended way too soon, so I focused on her round ass and fucktastic curvy hips.
Yeah, maybe not such a good idea with the hell-bitch so close.
Once she got their drink order, she came back to check on me. “Refill?”
I licked my lips. “I can’t stop thinking about what I really want.”
She reached out and grabbed my glass. “And for now, that means water.”
I leaned out of the booth to watch her ass as she walked away. No reason to be shy about it.
“A chubby girl, Jared? Really?” the evil voice called out from across the room.
“She’s not chubby.” I turned to glare at her, teeth grinding together.
She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “She’s packing on a few extra pounds.”
I swiveled in the booth to face her. “Are you saying that because you’re a super-skinny, muscle-obsessed bitch, you can’t see the beauty and sexiness in a soft, healthy, curvy body? I remember back when we met—when you were human—you weren’t too far off from her.”
“I was never that bad.”
“No, you were never that good. She’s a fucking goddess.” I smirked at her and grabbed my dick. “Are you jealous that she can turn me on just by looking at her?”
Her gaze narrowed. “Shouldn’t you be home with your mommy?”
“Shouldn’t you be shutting your fucking trap before you piss me off any more?” I turned to Shone, who sat there with stupid written all over his face, staring at us. “Dude, her pussy isn’t worth the hassle—I should know.”
Monica jumped up, hissing, her face red and angry. “You wouldn’t know good pussy if it jumped on your dick.”
I remained staring at Shone, ignore her tantrum. “And how the fuck do you put up with her bitchitude? I mean, there’s got to be tons of dim-witted girls out there that would be a perfect match for you color of crayon.”
“Man, shut up. Stop pulling me into it.” Shone shook
his head and looked at her. “Babe, sit down and ignore him.”
“You should listen to your pup.”
“He’s twenty-four, asshole!”
“And you’re thirty.”
“Shut the fuck up.” She snarled at me, shaking, and by the expression on Shone’s face, he had no idea.
“That’s your comeback?” I quirked my brow at her and then tipped my head back, a strained laugh coming from my chest. “Thank God there are only ten months left on the lease.”
And there it was—the first hint of what was going down. She’d find out next week anyway.
Her expression was priceless—wide-eyed horror. It shocked me to see, because she was smart. How could she not see the writing on the wall? We were done as business partners.
“You think I’m afraid of you?” Her hand shooed at me. “Crawl on back to your mommy’s house.”
I stood up and faced her full on, every muscle tight. I was ready to fucking hit her, and there was no one to hold me back or calm me down—though Shone stood, moving to stand between us.
“Say another fucking word about my mom, bitch.”
“What? What will you do, dickwad?”
I’d become so lost in the blazing anger that I didn’t notice the surge of lust that suddenly pumped through me. It wasn’t until a scream echoed off the walls that my vision cleared and I saw Hope at their table.
“Oops,” she said, picking up a now-empty cup of soda.
“You idiot!” Monica’s screech could be heard blocks away.
“I’m sorry.” Hope remained calm and collected, nothing like when she was near me. A glance my way with a small smile was all I needed to understand she’d done it on purpose.
It was the first sign she’d given me to show she was interested in me for more than the strange, overpowering attraction between us.
Chapter 6
The manager came out and asked us to either calm down or leave. There was no way in hell I was leaving, and Monica didn’t back down either. Instead, in her soaking wet clothes, she finally stopped talking and sat back down. She and Shone stayed on their side and left me alone.
Peace at last.
