Chapter 6 #2
“You were just in the ring,” I blurted, wondering why in the hell I was even bantering with him. I should just leave him to it and continue my work, but for some reason, my feet refused to move from their spot.
“Now I’m in here.” He tilted his head ever so slightly, his left brow arched in either amusement or annoyance. If I had to guess, I’d say it was the latter. “Unless you wanna see my dick again, I suggest you get out of here.”
Numerous responses rattled around in my brain, but I didn’t voice any of them. Instead, I turned on my heel and rushed out of the room so fast, I was surprised there wasn’t a trail of fire behind me.
I thought I heard him chuckle, but I doubted he was the type of man to find amusement in any type of situation.
After familiarizing myself with the bookkeeping software and taking inventory, I finally finished my work at six o’clock.
After closing the office door, I headed back toward the gym, wondering if it would be okay if I joined the other members and used one of the two empty treadmills.
I wanted to ask Lance before I took any liberties, but he wasn’t anywhere to be found.
And neither was Jackson, which was a good thing.
After our run-in earlier, he was the last person I wanted to see.
“Can I help you with something?” a man asked.
I turned around to see who’d spoken. I didn’t know his name, but I recognized him. He was the stocky one with gray hair and was probably forty-five or so.
“I’m Sophie. Lance hired me to help out around here.”
He extended his hand, his grip strong when I placed my palm in his. “I’m Elton. Jackson’s manager.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” A moment passed before he repeated his question, “Did you need help with something?”
“I’m not sure if I’m allowed, since I don’t have a membership, but I was wondering if I’d be able to use one of the treadmills. I’d go for a run outside, but it’s raining.”
“Of course. You’re part of the staff now. You can use the facilities whenever you want. Jackson is the owner, and he’d tell you the same thing.”
I doubt that.
His cell rang as he started to say something else. “I have to take this. Nice to meet you, Sophie.” He strolled toward the door as he answered his phone.
After disappearing upstairs to change into a different sports top and running sneakers, I reentered the gym, popped my earbuds back in, and selected the treadmill in the center row, deciding on an interval workout set for forty-five minutes.
Adjusting the volume of my music, I lost myself to the beat of the first song, then the second, and so on.
Running had always been my way of escaping my life.
The pounding of the pavement, or treadmill in this case, helped me when my marriage started to fall apart, which unfortunately began not long after I said, “I do.” The exercise was also a godsend after I was cleared to continue after…
. Well, perhaps it was still too fresh to rehash, having happened only six months ago, right before I made the decision to leave my husband for good.
During the last two minutes of my workout, my steps slowed, allowing my body to start the process of cooling down.
Sweat dripped into every crevice as my breathing also started to slow.
My gaze had been locked on the brick wall in front of me, and it wasn’t until the belt stopped moving that I noticed someone to my left.
Clicking the button on my earbud to pause the music, I turned to see who’d walked up next to me.
A man stood beside me, his smile widening the longer he held my attention.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi.” A bout of silence descended. “Did you want the treadmill?”
“No. I just got done with my workout.” He gripped the railing of the machine I stood on, licking his lips and averting his gaze for a moment. “Are you new here?”
“I am. Today is my first day working here.”
“Oh.”
The surprise in his voice prompting me to ask, “Is there something wrong with me working here?”
“What? Oh, no. I’m just surprised is all.”
“And why is that?”
“I’m shocked you’d want to work with him.”
Him could only refer to one person, but I asked my next question anyway.
“Him who?”
“Crew. He’s a mean sonofabitch.” The man’s round eyes widened after his little outburst. “Please don’t tell him I said that. He’ll revoke my membership, and this is a great gym.”
“Your secret is safe with me.” His posture softened.
“As far as knowing him or his personality, I don’t,” I half lied.
I wasn’t trying to protect Jackson in any way, but I mostly spoke the truth.
I’d had several unsavory encounters with the man, but I didn’t truly know him.
Maybe he was a guarded individual for a reason, and perhaps in time he’d show me a nicer side of him.
I inwardly chuckled at the ridiculous notion.
“It’s probably best you just stay away from him.” The slight awkwardness that bounced between us didn’t last long as he extended his hand toward me. “I’m Chet.”
“Sophie.”
He shifted his weight to his left leg, the light blue T-shirt he wore clinging to a well-defined physique.
Strands of dark blond hair clung to his forehead, a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his face.
In what I was sure was a mindless action, he raised the bottom of his shirt and wiped his face.
I didn’t look away when he revealed the six-pack he hid beneath the material, but luckily he didn’t catch me staring.
“I know this is sudden, and I hope you won’t think this is too forward, but I was wondering if I could take you out sometime.”
“Thank you for the offer, but I’m not dating right now.”
“Why’s that?”
I wasn’t in the headspace to get into my current situation, and with a stranger no less.
And I must’ve pulled a face, because he backed up a step and let go of the treadmill as his stare briefly drifted past me and landed somewhere across the room.
“No need to explain, Sophie.” He suddenly looked nervous, so much so, I turned around to see who he’d been looking at, but there was no one there but Lance.
“It was nice to meet you, and I guess I’ll just see you around.
” I swiveled around to look at him once more, but he walked off before I could respond.
“That was weird,” I mumbled to myself, stepping off the treadmill and grabbing a bottle of cleaner and a cloth to wipe down the machine.
Several minutes later, as I was midstride across the gym, a wave of dizziness washed over me, and I stumbled.
“You okay?” Elton asked, rushing forward and extending his arm toward me before I fell over.
“Yeah. Just forgot to eat, that’s all.”
“Not smart, especially before a workout.”
“I know.”
I flashed him a tight grin, taking a few deep breaths to ward off the lightheadedness. My dad insisted on me taking frozen meals from the house, so at least I would have something to eat when I retreated to my apartment.
When I finally regained my bearings, I released his arm.
“All better?” he asked, his light brown eyes assessing me.
“I’m good. I’ll eat as soon as I get upstairs.”
“Okay, have a good night.”
“You too.”
My gaze followed him as he headed toward Chet.
At first, I assumed they were friendly, but from the way Chet’s posture straightened, I believed there might be some sort of issue between them.
From where I stood, the only thing I could see was Chet shaking his head, then the slumping of his shoulders right before Elton walked away.
The man who’d hit on me clenched his fists several times before stalking out of the gym.
My first thought was that he got in trouble for talking to me, but as the ridiculous thought formed, I pushed it aside because it was simply asinine.