Thorn

by Savina Joyce

  Chapter Four

  Gabriella

  Gabriella was fuming as she strode back to her office. How dare Thorn say that soccer wasn’t a real sport. Just who the hell did he think he was? She couldn't believe that she thought Thorn would be a good fit for this position. A strong team needed a strong doctor. On paper, he was great. In actuality, he was everything that she despised. He wasn't driven. Based on his messy man bun, he didn't appear to care about his appearance. Thorn didn't seem to even care about his job. If he did, he wouldn’t be drinking at work.

  He used to be so ambitious. In college, Thorn had a game plan, and he stuck to it. He worked hard and accomplished his goals. Now, he was just sitting in a room, drinking on the job. Thorn had been as smart as he was talented. He committed to athletics above everything, which is why she had chosen him for the job. Now she wasn't sure if that was the right move.

  Gabriella wasn't sure what she expected to find when she walked into that office. The last thing she thought she would see was Thorn sitting around, drinking beer, on the phone, and talking trash about soccer of all things. Now she was stuck with him.

  The team had received a lot of good press both locally and nationally when they brought Thorn onboard. Gabriella wasn’t a fool. Managing the team’s image was practically a full-time job. Public optics were an important part of that. Dropping him now would hurt his reputation, as well as the teams. It would hurt Gabriella too because she was the one who had chosen to pursue hiring him.

  Thorn seemed like he was holding his own during the interview process with Human Resources. He hadn’t offered much personal information, but he had answered any questions that were posed to him competently. He seemed like a perfect fit at the time.

  Now that he was here, Gabriella was also distracted by his physical presence. It didn't help that even after letting his body go, and clearly ditching his gym routine, he still had one of the hottest bodies she had ever seen. It had evolved into more of a dad bod, but he was still sexy. He wasn’t the lean NFL player he used to be, but he was still tall broad shouldered and on the slim side even if he did have a bit of a belly. Gabriella didn’t mind the belly one bit. If he stopped drinking, he would probably have his six pack back in no time.

  Even the way he stood belied the strength under his steely exterior. He seemed like a caged lion, it seemed as if he could burst out of his confines at any moment. She didn’t feel like he was dangerous, but he was intriguing. Gabriella didn’t have time for intriguing. She had a job to do.

  Gabriella had to cling to the hope that it might turn out okay. Thorn’s current attitude adjustment might be temporary. Being around athletes might be the kick he needed to get back to his old self. She prayed that she wouldn't be distracted by his looks and charm. He might not seem like it right now, but he could be very charming when he applied himself. Charming Thorn was someone she was really afraid of. He hadn’t set his sights on Gabriella in college, but she had seen how the women he laid the charm ended up.

  Broken hearted. Every last one of them.

  If Thorn didn't get his act together, it wouldn’t be just his job on the line. It would be Gabriella’s too. She said a silent prayer that he would actually be good at the job she hired him for. Despite the drinking and disparagement, he should still be an adequate physical therapist. They didn’t hand out degrees for no reason.

  The team could not afford injuries or scandal. A drunk physical therapist could cause both. Gabriella believed that if anyone could set him on the straight and narrow, she could. All she needed was a game plan. The “Wright” plan.

  Chapter Five

  Thorn

  The minute the door clicked shut behind Gabriella, Thorn was back on the phone with Lucas. He heard laughter as soon as Lucas picked up the phone. Thorn didn't say a word, he just waited for the laughing to subside.

  “Dude. You messed up,” Lucas finally said.

  Thorn was sure that Logan had tears streaming down his face from all that laughing. “I messed up big time. What do I do, man? I don't know how to fix this.”

  “You have no game. She's a woman. You can't get her a gift because she's your boss. What you can do is apologize to her and kiss her ass. You don’t want to be fired. Not that it would be the end of the world, but it would look bad. I mean if you get too hard up for a job you can always come on the road with me. I can always use more security.”

  “You know that I'm not going to do security. The last thing I want to do is risk hurting myself to protect you.”

  “Ouch. That hurts man.”

  “You shouldn't be surprised.”

  “I'm not,” Logan said with a chuckle. “But seriously this is big for you, so if you want to make sure that it counts for something go-ahead and do what you gotta do.”

  “I don’t think I should have to bow down to this woman just because she cuts my checks. She was eavesdropping on my private conversation.”

  “A conversation you were having on work time. Face it man, you have to do the work to make this right.”

  Thorn sighed and ended the call. Lucas was right, but Thorn didn’t have to admit to it.

  Back at his place, Thorn knew that he couldn’t make a complete personality change overnight. But maybe he could fake it. Women always did have a thing for him. It shouldn’t be too hard.

  He had been growing his hair out for a while now that he didn’t have to worry about anyone pulling it on the football field. He didn’t bother styling it. A man bun was fast and easy. It wasn’t the best looking, but it got the job done. Thorn never thought he would be the man-bun type. Yet, here he was. He could try a simple ponytail. It might look more professional. Maybe the facial hair had been too much. He had a homeless cult leader vibe going on that wasn’t exactly flattering.

  Thorn took a swig of his latest beer, then headed to the bathroom in his new condo to get a closer look at himself. Peering in the mirror, Thorn had to admit that he had seen better days. He was shaggy and unkempt. The caveman look had to go.

  While Thorn prepped his face and began shaving, he thought about his other career options. One of his former teammates had gone into the infomercial industry. While the guy was very successful and made quite a bit of money, Tom thought it was cringe worthy. Now that he wasn't a football sensation anymore, he wanted to live his life in privacy. That meant he had to keep a regular job.

  Sooner or later the paparazzi always came around to find out what the celebrity machine was up to. If he could keep his head down working a job day in and day out, they wouldn't have anything to report and eventually they would get tired and leave him alone. Thorn was definitely counting on that.

  When he was younger, Thorn loved the limelight and the attention. He would go out of his way to court media attention. Dating starlets and attending holiday parties were all on the menu. Then he grew up. He wanted better for himself now.

  He finished shaving his face, wiped off the left over shaving cream, rinsed his hands and ran them through his hair. Looking at himself in the mirror, he almost looked like a new man. It might not be a total personality change, but it was a vast improvement.

  Now he just had to figure out a way to get back on Gabriella's good side. Thorn wanted to do it in a way that made her think that his turn around with all her idea. If she thought it was her doing, she might cut him a little slack.

  He briefly considered bringing her flowers, but he thought that might be too obvious. Plus, Lucas said no gifts. Maybe he should just try to befriend her. No. That would never work. Besides, he had plenty of friends. Male friends. Men and women could never really be friends as far as Thorn was concerned, and he didn’t plan on changing his opinion about that now.

  Hopefully his new look would be enough to sway her. She might think that cleaning up his look symbolizes cleaning up his act. Keeping his head down might be enough to keep him off her radar.

  Chapter Six

  Gabriella

  If it wasn't one thing, it was another.

&n
bsp; Gabriella wasn't sure what had gotten into Thorn over the weekend, but when she arrived at work on Monday, he had a whole new look. Gone was his scruffy mountain man beard. In its place was a clean shaven, well sculpted bare face. His formerly shaggy long brown hair was pulled back into a low ponytail. It even looked shiny and full of body. He cleaned up nicely. She wondered how it would look if she pulled it free. Before she could stop herself, she found herself imagining him shaking it out like some kind of male model. Gabriella instantly chided herself. She had no business thinking about how Thorn would look with his hair flowing freely. He was an employee after all.

  As soon as Thorn saw her looking at him, he strolled over and greeted her politely.

  Gabriella didn't detect a hint of alcohol on his breath, so she doubted that he'd been drinking. That was a good start. Deciding that she couldn't ignore him forever, Gabriella decided to entertain his attempts to engage her.

  “Good morning, Thorn. I see you seriously considered our last talk. Your face looks great, but I hope you don't think you had to shave to meet any kind of dress code policy. We’re pretty lax with that here.”

  Thorn smiled. He still had the looks, at least. “No ma'am. I thought it was time for a change.”

  The fact that a former pro athlete and big man on campus was calling her ma'am made Gabriella laugh. Thorn’s eyebrows shot up.

  “Sorry I'm not laughing at you. Just the fact you called me ma'am is surprising. I know for a fact we’re the same age.”

  With a wry smile he said, “I didn’t call you ma'am because of age, it was more out of respect. But I'm quite sure we can't be the same age. You can’t be much older than twenty-seven?”

  This made Gabriella laugh even harder. Lately, she had been feeling every bit of her thirty-five years. If Thorn thought flattering her was the best way to get on her good side, he was absolutely right. She tried to suppress a girlish giggle. What came out was more of an evil cackle. Thorn raised an eyebrow but wisely didn't comment on it.

  “That's sweet of you to say. I'll let you keep believing that for now. I guess all the time at the team gym has paid off.”

  “Team gym? I wasn’t aware there was such a thing.”

  Gabriella silently cursed herself for mentioning it. The team gym was her oasis. It was where she went to get off the stress of the daily grind of her job. She didn't want to have to worry about running into Thorn there. But, it was one of the perks of the job and it wouldn't be ethical to keep it from him.

  “I know you have a pretty sweet set up in your office here, but as the team physical therapist how are you unaware that there is a gym? The workout facility here is pretty sweet too. State-of-the-art. Nothing but the best for our team.”

  “I haven't been to the gym in ages. Do you think that you could show me some time?”

  Gabriella was surprised when her heart skipped a beat. It almost sounded like Thorn was asking her on a date. She had to remind herself that she was his boss, and he was just asking about something work-related. That was definitely not a date.

  As a matter of fact, to show him how much of a date it wasn't she replied, “Of course. I'm sorry that I neglected to take you on the full tour when you started here. I can take you over there right now if you’re free.”

  “Great. After you,” Thorn said, stepping back out of her path.

  They walked in silence. Neither of them bothered with the usual small talk. Gabriella wasn’t sure why she was feeling so tongue tied. She had given this tour many times before. As Gabriella led him down the hall and through the stadium to the gym, she couldn't help but feel like his eyes were on her. She felt them sliding over her body without even turning around to confirm. She wished they had an easy camaraderie so they could walk beside each other just to take some pressure off her.

  When they reached the gym, Gabriella gave Thorn a cursory tour, pointing out the various machines and workout zones. She tried not to dwell on the parts that she loved the most. Like the pool that she swam laps in and the treadmill with the TV.

  The gym was her respite. She couldn’t help but want to keep it all to herself.

  “Since you haven't been working out much lately, you may not even want to take part. Just know that it's here if you need it,” she said.

  Gabriella thought she was being generous, but she didn't see the dark look that passed over Thorn’s face. She concluded the tour and headed back to her desk with thoughts of Thorn sweating in the gym creeping into her thoughts.

  Chapter Seven

  Thorn

  Thorn was a bit bristly after Gabriella made that little dig about the gym. She didn’t seem like the type of woman who said things she didn't mean. Thorn had mentioned he hadn't been to the gym in the while, but the way Gabrielle said it made him think that she felt like he was out of shape.

  Now that he thought about it, he hadn't really paid much attention to his physical fitness for the last few years. Once his career started to fall apart, so had his self-care routine. But he couldn't believe that Gabriella noticed. He was even more surprised that she commented on it.

  Women had always gone for him, and now this woman thought he was a slob. She might not have come out and said it, but Thorn knew she was thinking it. Back in his office, he glanced down at the space where his rock-hard abs used. He had grown a sizeable belly. He hoped they were still in there somewhere. Muscle memory was a thing, at least he hoped it was.

  Thorn wasn't sure why he cared that Gabriella thought of his appearance. If he really cared, he would want his boss to think highly of him. He wasn’t sure if he did. But a pretty woman finding him unattractive was almost too much to bear.

  It was rare to see a woman managing a professional sports team, even if it was just soccer. Thorn was so used to dealing with men. It was a nice change to be working with the woman, and to be honest the woman in charge thing was kind of a turn-on.

  If he got in better shape and went to this gym more often, she might even pay him a little more attention. Right now, her eyes seemed to slide past him in a way that let him know just how much of nonfactor he was.

  No woman had ever disregarded him so clearly before. If he wanted to gain the upper hand in this situation, he had to use all the weapons in his arsenal. He couldn’t use the speed or brute force that he had used on the football field, so his effect on women was his most important tool right now. It was time to get it back in shape.

  Thorn decided to get an early start the next day. He figured he could always shower at the gym when his workout was over and get right to work. He was pleased to see Gabriella when he walked into the gym. Maybe he had her figured out all wrong. Maybe she wasn't trying to call him sloppy. She might have been telling him about the gym as a come on. Not judging him, but inviting him. Challenging him.

  It couldn't be a coincidence that she had given him a tour of the gym the night before and now they were here together. It must be fate. Or maybe he had a stronger effect on her than he thought. If he still had his effect on women, he wasn’t in as bad of shape as he perceived.

  He watched from the door for a few minutes. He tried to convince himself that it was just professional curiosity and not attraction. The longer he watched her, more he felt his body responding. He shook it off and hit the stair machine. He needed to wear himself out to be too tired to pay much attention to her. She had on one of the trendy workout outfits with the matching leggings and tank top. Based on the way it held every curve of her body, she was a regular at the gym. But he couldn't concentrate on her curves because then it would be all he would think about.

  He touched the dial and turned the speed on the stair climber up faster. He didn't slow down until he was dripping sweat onto the machine. Anything to take his mind off Gabriella doing squats nearby.

  Thorn wished that there was anyone else working out at the gym that day. It would take some of the pressure off him and make it easier to ignore Gabriella. He decided it would be best to cut his workout short. If anything, he could always s
ay that he was too out of shape and tired.

  He headed to the showers. The showers were clearly a mistake. The last thing he wanted was to be thinking about Gabriella's frame while hot water sluiced over his body and he soaped himself up. He turned the water to icy cold to drown out the images that were crowding his head. There was only one way to get Gabriella Wright out of his head. He would have to talk to her.

  Asking her out was the only option. He was obviously attracted to her. He had no choice. The worst answer she could give him was no. But maybe talking to her and realizing what a pain she was would help get her out of his system.

  Chapter Eight

  Gabriella

  Gabriella nearly collided with Thorn when she came out of the locker room. She was surprised to find him waiting for her in the hall. When she saw him rush out of the gym after a quick workout, she assumed he had somewhere important to go. Or, he couldn’t hack it. Thorn said he hadn’t worked out in a while. So, she figured he wasn't into it.

  “I thought you were done for the night,” she said.

  “So did I. But I was hungry after my workout and I thought that you might be too.”

  “I don’t usually eat big meals after a workout.”

  “How about a smoothie? My treat.”

  “I could go for a smoothie.”

  Gabriella almost went into shock when she heard herself agreeing to grab a smoothie with Thorn. She felt like a hypocrite. She had just been judging him for cutting his workout short. It would have been counterproductive to grab a big meal after working out so hard. She wasn't sure if it was the smell of his freshly washed skin or the subtle appeal of his muscles straining at his tight shirt, but she couldn't say no to him. Suddenly she felt nervous. He walked her to her car so she could stow her gear. Gabriella couldn't even meet his gaze. The butterflies in her stomach made her feel like she was heading to her first date.