Chapter Two
Acacia
I couldn’t help myself. I went home and read half of the book like it was my new lifeline. And maybe it is desperation that leads me to follow its advice, but there is no turning around now.
Tugging at my short skirt, I slowly sit on my desk chair. When I chose this outfit, the fact that I would mostly be sitting had escaped my mind. I had gotten up early, curling my hair and applying more makeup than usual. I found a khaki pencil skirt that I could barely pull up over my ass and a size too small dark blue blouse, and left open a few extra buttons. My push-up bra is working double time to give me any resemblance to cleavage.
“Woah. I think you went past inner wanton and straight to make me your mistress,” Malissa says, leaning on the desk.
I look up at her with wide eyes. “Does it look bad?”
She shakes her head. “Uhm. No. You look like a wet dream.”
“Oh okay, that’s good. The book said to release your inner wanton is to embrace one’s sexuality. I picked out my sexiest clothes.”
Malissa’s eyebrows scrunch. “I don’t think—”
The door to the upstairs offices opens, banging into the stairwell and stopping Malissa mid-sentence. I stand on shaky legs, pulling on the skirt again, but she smacks my hand away.
Callum walks out. Today he’s in a loose sleeveless tank and gray sweatpants. I clench my thighs. The sweats hide more of his movement in the downstairs department, but it’s still hot. He nods at us as he makes his way to his usual corner before stilling and turning back to us.
His widened gaze trails down my body, and my nipples harden at the intense stare. I try not to fidget as he blinks and walks back to the desk.
“See you later, girlie,” Malissa whispers before hurrying away. I want to cry out for her to stay; I’m not ready to trial this new side of me alone.
Callum’s eyebrows rise slightly as he gets closer, and I swallow.
“Good morning…” I squeak out, insecurity about my outfit making it hard to force the words out.
He blinks, his mouth slanting open before he clears his throat. “Morning, Acacia. Are you… you look different.”
I brush down my shirt, straightening it along my stomach. “Just trying something new. Do you like it?”
Uncertain about his response, I bite down on my lip and try to flutter my eyes seductively. The book said this move can be a powerful one. I hadn’t realized that my mascara didn’t completely dry because of how many coats I slathered on. My lashes stick to each other before pulling apart slowly. Instead of a quick flutter, it looks like I’m giving him a wonky, lizard-like blink with both eyes.
I try to wipe away the flakes of black goo that have fallen onto my cheek and scratch my eye with my newly pressed-on manicure.
“Shit,” I hiss out in pain, cupping my entire socket now as tears gather in the throbbing orb.
“You okay?” Callum asks, moving to step around the desk.
I throw up my hand to stop him and knock over the cup of pens next to me. Flustered and embarrassed, I bend to pick them up, immediately forgetting about the tight skirt I donned today. The loud rip of fabric and sudden breeze up my crack has me yelping and standing up quickly. The skirt was so tight I went without panties to avoid lines. I drop my hands to my exposed butt cheeks, which results in my shoulders being thrust back in a quick jerk and the rest of the buttons on my blouse snapping open.
“Holy shit,” Callum says on a breath. I can feel his gaze burning into the plain nude bra I have underneath.
Nervous laughter bubbles out of my throat, and I know my face is as red as a stop light. “I meant to ask you to dinner before showing you my lady bits.”
His adam’s apple bobs as he swallows, and then he shakes his head. “Let’s get to my office. I have some extra joggers from last year that should fit you.”
He keeps his gaze turned as he walks past me to the stairwell, his head tilted down as he walks up to the door. We make our way quietly, humiliation still burning in my cheeks.
Callum opens his office door, leaving it wide as he immediately moves to the small closet on the side. I try to pull my blouse closed around my front as I wait, leaving my bare rump facing away from him. He hands me a pair of small sweatpants and a t-shirt.
I take them sheepishly. “Second day in a row changing on the premises. I promise it won’t become a habit.”
Callum crosses his arms, the muscles along his forearms flexing as he tucks his hands into his elbows. “You had to change yesterday? Another wardrobe malfunction?”
I chuckle. “No, I got all wet.”
“Oh.”
My eyes widen, and I snap my attention to him. “I mean I s-spilled water all over myself. Not like the other thing.”
The corner of his lips quirks. “The other thing?”
My breathing shallows. “You know what I mean.”
Callum blinks, a fake innocence twinkling in his eyes. “I don’t.”
I glance at the clock, not wanting to even attempt to explain my way out of that one. “I should get dressed before members start to arrive. And you don’t want to miss your workout.”
He shrugs, but moves to leave me alone in his office before pausing at the door. “You could probably still see if you stand behind the desk. I tend to work harder when I know I have an audience.”
My heart drops in my stomach as he seals me in the room without another word. He knows I watch him, and he doesn't care. He wants me to watch him. A pleasant thrill has me grinning as I quickly change and scurry over to his desk and face the large windows overlooking the gym. Heat gathers between my legs as he drags out the jump rope, swinging it over his shoulders repeatedly to work out any kinks. Callum glances up to the windows of his office. He won’t be able to see me through the dark tint, but my body is still electrified at his gaze.
Peeling the nails off, I’m glad I opted to use the stick-on tabs instead of glue. I wiggle my fingers and smile at how much better they feel free from those claws. Leaning over the sink, I scrub my face as well as I can without my wash. Once I’m done and I dry off, I use some toilet paper to wipe under my eyes and get the last remnants of mascara.
I scowl when I take in my freshly clean face and plain clothes. They make me seem even younger than I am. With a sigh, I decide to put off Operation: Seduce Callum for another day and consider this first mission a failure.
I don’t see Malissa for the first few hours after we open, but I know she has to set up one of the rooms for a new yoga class starting this weekend. It usually requires her to rearrange the entire room so there’s a larger open space.
After stepping out to grab a quick sandwich during my lunch break, I stop short at her lounging at my desk with the book she had given me in her hands.
“Hey! It’s not nice to go through people’s things,” I scold, pushing her crossed feet off from where they’re resting next to my keyboard.
She huffs, jumping to stand and moving out of my chair. “Your purse was open wide enough. I didn’t have to go through anything, it was just sitting there for anyone to grab.”
I give her an annoyed glance and settle down, unwrapping my food. “See how you said my purse. It would imply it’s not yours.”
She snickers, pulling the other chair over to sit next to me. Then she pauses. “What happened to your stripper clothes?”
My cheeks flash. “Oh my god they were not stripper clothes. All my goodies were covered.”
“A bikini covers everything as well, but I don’t think you would walk around the gym in that,” she says, amusement softening her jest.
I look up at her and take a large bite of my sandwich as my reply.
She snorts and then waves at the book between us. “I think we should go through this together. So there’s no misunderstanding of what it says and we can avoid a repeat of this morning.”
My eyebrows scrunch as I chew quickly, confused about what she’s talking about. Reaching over for my soda, I take a sip to wash it all down and turn back to her. “What misunderstanding?”
Malissa sighs and pushes her frizzy, curled auburn hair out of her face. “Embracing one’s sexuality. I don’t think it meant dressing sexier exactly, but becoming more comfortable with the things you may want.”
“I don’t know what I want sexually,” I tell her honestly.
“And that’s fine. Embrace that, don’t be embarrassed that you don’t know. I’m just saying you looked really uncomfortable this morning, and now you’ve changed.”
I don’t want to explain to her exactly why I had to change. It was a nightmare that I’ll relive over and over, but it reminds me of what Callum said before he left me in his office, and I lean closer to her.
“He knows I watch him. Like he’s aware of it,” I whisper.
Her mouth falls open. “How?”
“He said as much. That he works harder with an audience,” I tell her.
“Okay. Okay,” she says quickly, flipping through the book and handing it to me. “Then we move onto the next step. You gotta take charge, but embrace your innocence.”
I take the book from her, and shut it quickly when I see she’s moved to the section of pick-up line examples. “I’m not hitting on him,” I say, incredulously.
“I think you need to. Like it says you gotta take charge, grab Callum by his large hammer and ask him to nail you.”
A laugh escapes my throat. “You did not just say that.”
“I would say cock, but you physically jerk at the word every time you hear it. Remember when you read that text from the firefighter,” she says, grabbing a sip of my soda with her eyebrows raised in a told you so stance.
I glare at her as a flush works up the back of my neck. “He was very vivid when describing what he was going to do to you.”
Malissa grins. “God, those were some of the best nights of my life. You want a man like that, unafraid to tell you what he thinks, but like, not in a creepy way.”
“How do you know the difference?”
She tilts her head to the side. “I guess if you’re into them or not. You’ll feel it.”
I go back to my sandwich with a roll of my eyes as a member walks in and she takes over the check-in process for me. She has a steady stream of people as I finish up my lunch, preventing us from continuing our conversation. I hadn't noticed someone walking up to my side of the desk until their knuckles tapped on the wood. I only meet his glance for a second before I look back down at the last few bites of food.
Callum clears his throat. “You feeling better?”
“Yeah, we determined she’s lacking some vitamin D. We’re trying to get it all sorted out,” Malissa says sweetly.
My head snaps to her, eyes wide, and I have to refrain from pushing her out of her chair. Her lips are pressed tight, and I know she’s trying to contain her laughter as she stares up at Callum.
He looks at her, a small v forming between his eyes, then looks back at me. My heart skips a beat at his undivided attention as he asks, “Vitamin D?”
“Yeah,” I breathe out, my chest constricting with nerves. “I’ve never taken any.”
He blinks, a slack-jawed expression appearing on his face before he shakes his head gently and walks off to the stairwell to his office without another word.
I exhale loudly and turn to Malissa. “Great, he probably thinks there’s something wrong with me.”
She shrugs, a smirk curling at her lips as she lounges back into her chair. “Or he was thinking about giving you some of his D.”