Lincoln

Chapter 1

1

LINCOLN

I fly out of the changing rooms and get the fright of my life when I step straight into the path of someone I wasn’t expecting to be here.

“Holy shit, you scared me. I didn’t realize you were starting tonight.” I extend my hand to welcome the new cleaner and flash the stunning dark-haired woman a smile.

Rio, the gym manager, said he needed a deep clean before a big announcement meeting with senior management tomorrow. I’m positive he said the cleaner was coming in on the morning of the meeting to do that, though.

Maybe I heard him wrong.

She props the mop she’s holding against the wall before shaking my hand, then pushes her long hair over her shoulder nervously as she stares back at me with her deep-brown hypnotic eyes that look like they’re sprinkled with gold. As she clears her throat, I instantly release her hand, step backward, and take her in.

Gorgeous from head to toe, she’s got the most perfect hourglass body .

She’s possibly a wannabe actor or model, which would be about right for Los Angeles. She’s certainly got that whole X-factor vibe about her.

“You don’t need to sign the visitors’ book. It’s just us two in this evening.” I look around the drab gym. It’s a ghost town as usual and nothing like the five-star gym my father and I created at our hotel resort back in Scotland.

I turn my attention back to our newest member of staff. “You know you don’t have to wear gym gear just because we are a gym, right?”

She stares back at me. “Yes.”

I turn my baseball cap around and flash her a smile. “I’m Lincoln, by the way. My work visa runs out in six weeks, and I’m only helping for the next five weeks. Then I’m taking a week off before I return home to Scotland.”

I can’t wait.

Six weeks left .

Los Angeles has been great but I’m excited to see my family again.

“So.” I clap my hands together. “We have the new buyer coming in tomorrow. She’s apparently a proper ball-breaker and we need this place cleaner than clean.” I gesture to the enormous space. “I’m actually surprised we didn’t have to paint the grass green outside for her.” I should have kept that to myself. “Your name is Lucy, isn’t it?”

She nods at me with a smirk.

“Great.”

Maybe she’s nervous as it’s her first shift, but she’s not much of a talker.

“Come this way. I’ll show you where everything is.”

Following my brief tour of the gym, where Lucy barely said two words to me, I leave her to get on with her cleaning duties and head back into the reception area.

Through the large window that separates the gym from reception, I find myself unable to concentrate on the laptop screen and stare at the quiet girl as she moves about the gym.

She shouldn’t be cleaning. She should be sprawled across my bed, begging me to take care of her.

Stop it, Lincoln. No-women rule.

And she’s probably got a boyfriend anyway. No one can be that beautiful and not have a boyfriend.

She turns suddenly. Our eyes lock before she looks away again.

I want her.

But that’s not going to happen as I have inflicted a sex sabbatical on myself while I’ve been traveling around America.

Four and a half months and no pussy and now is not the time for my cock to decide it’s time to want to have some fun again.

Before I left Scotland, I realized that I wasn’t exactly picky with my choice in women, and my home had become a conveyor belt for one-night stands and so I decided my playboy status needed to be reset, and traveling was the perfect opportunity to do that.

I’ve been a good boy… so far.

I inhale deeply . Right, Lincoln, spreadsheet, then have a quick look at the agenda for tomorrow’s entire team meeting with the new owner.

Has Lucy been invited?

Making any excuse to speak to her again, I return to the main gym area. “Lucy, did Rio invite you to the team meeting tomorrow? ”

“Yes.” She turns to face me, holding a roll of blue paper towels and a spray bottle of sanitizer.

“Great. Nine thirty sharp. We don’t want to annoy the new boss, do we? Especially if she is as badass as they say she is.”

“Noted.” She flashes me a cheeky white-toothed smile.

“You’re really pretty. Did you know that?” I blurt without a second thought.

Sucking her plump lips into her mouth, she looks back at me wide-eyed.

“Fuck, sorry I said that. Crap, I’m sorry for swearing, too. My mouth has a tendency to say what my brain is thinking around beautiful women. Shit, I shouldn’t have said that either because we have a no relationships with staff and sexual harassment clause in our contracts. Fuck. Forget I said anything. I’m sorry I swore again. I wasn’t coming on to you. Well, maybe I was, but I didn’t say I wanted to fuck you right here on the weight bench or anything.” I hold both of my hands up in a stop gesture. “And I said ‘fuck’ again. Sorry.” I flap the neck of my tee shirt back and forth nervously as my body fires up like a furnace. “What I was trying to say, well, that I think, you’re really?—”

“Pretty.” She finishes my sentence.

I’m never getting to return home to Scotland. I’ll be in court next week for sexual harassment.

Biting my tongue to stop me from making a bigger fool of myself, I hike my thumb over my shoulder. “I’d better get back to work. Forget what I said. As soon as you’re finished, I think we will close up because no one has been in after ten at night for months.” I look around the unwelcoming space. “The remodeling I would do to this gym.”

“Oh, yeah, what would you do?” she asks.

I love her sweet harmonic American accent that pulls at my dick .

“For a start, install security cameras inside and out. Security men on the doors at night. A woman-only section over there.” I point to the area that could easily be sectioned off. “Better lighting outside. The place needs painting and modern fixtures. The showers need upgrading, and then there’s the dance studio. It could do with a sprung floor. Then I reckon the local cheer teams would hire the facilities. Interactive touchscreen fitness mirrors so people can work out with a virtual instructor. I’d also have a no-mirror section too. For those conscious about their physique.” That would entice more members. “That’s for starters. I know this place could be outstanding.”

“Wow, you’ve really given it some thought. What do you do in Scotland?” she asks.

“Hospitality.” If I tell her I co-own a five-star spa and hotel resort, it makes me sound like an entitled dick. Which, maybe I am, but my father made me work in every section of the hotel to learn the running of the place. My share in the hotel wasn’t given to me; I had to earn it, and I did. I’m itching to get back.

Time stretches between us like an elastic band when she doesn’t ask me anything else. “Okay. I’ll leave you to it.” I walk backward. “I’m sorry about my motormouth.”

“I’ve forgotten what you said already.” Her mouth hitches sideways in a smirk.

“Great.” I turn and walk straight into a machine, battering my shin against the rigid cold metal.

“Fuck,” I hiss. That’s going to leave a mark, and I bruise like a goddamn peach.

Smooth, Lincoln. Real smooth.

I hear a soft giggle. “Are you okay?”

Casually flapping my hand in the air, I give her a thumbs-up and hobble back to the office. Over the next hour, I keep my head down and work on the membership attendance spreadsheet Rio asked me to compile. Eventually, I close my laptop and psych myself up to speak to Lucy again, but I discover she has left.

Without saying goodbye.