by K. C. Crowne
I held up a hand to stop her. “Well, he’s been badmouthing my business and leaving negative reviews, trying to lure my clients to his.”
“That bastard,” Elle said, her face falling. “I wrote a nice little story about him in my paper last month. You sure it was him? Not that I’m doubting you, but man, what a disappointment for a man that’s so pretty on the outside to be so ugly on the inside.”
“Most of the good-looking ones are.”
“You can say that again,” she chuckled.
I grabbed a towel and wiped my face, thinking back to the little run-in with Cyrus. He had completely denied it, and he seemed almost as surprised as I was. When reading the reviews, he read them like he’d never seen them before.
“What is it, Jo-Jo?”
I cringed. “Please don’t call me that. We’re not in high school anymore.”
“Sorry, it slips out sometimes.”
I sighed, grabbing my sports bottle and downing some water before I confided to her. “Well, to be fair, Cyrus denied writing the reviews, and I almost believe him based on his reactions.”
“Oh?” Elle put her hands on her hips. “So you confronted him about this?”
“Yeah, yesterday. I stormed into his office, interrupted a meeting he had with potential clients and everything.” It had sounded funny the day before, when I was living it and still enraged at him. But now, looking back, if he hadn’t written those reviews, it was kind of a dick move. “We had some words, but he never admitted to doing it.”
“You know, it’s possible he didn’t.”
“But who else? I mean, come on, these were written with his business name in the actual reviews and everything. No one else could have—”
Before I could finish my sentence, the front door opened. I heard the little bell chiming. I told Elle I’d be right back and was just about to tell the person entering that the first class didn’t start for another half an hour when I stopped in my tracks.
With my hands on my hips, I asked, “What the hell are you doing here?”
The receptionist from Cyrus’ business was standing in my lobby, yoga mat in hand and a sheepish look on his face.
“I’m here to take a class,” he muttered without meeting my gaze.
“You’re here to take a class?” I scoffed, my disbelief clear in my tone. “Did Cyrus put you up to this?” My anger from the day before was back and stronger than ever.
“Yes, I mean— Can I just take a class? It’s part of my internship experience.”
Elle was standing beside me, and when I glanced at her, she shrugged. “Let the guy take a class,” she said. “What harm could he do?”
My gaze narrowed as I thought about that question. “Who the hell knows when it comes to Cyrus, but sure. First class of the day starts in half an hour.” The guy walked toward the classroom, but I stopped him, standing in front of him with a finger pointed in his face. “If you cause any trouble at all—”
The guy stopped me, and thankfully so. I had no idea what my next words were going to be. What could I threaten him with? I had no freaking clue.
“I’m not going to cause trouble. Cyrus just thinks I need to check out a class.”
“Mmmhmm, and why would Cyrus care about my classes? He’s not planning to include yoga in his business now, is he?”
“Hell no,” the guy laughed. “Trust me. No way. Cyrus will never include yoga in any of his courses, you’re safe there.”
I looked at Elle again. “Let the kid go. Maybe he’ll discover a love for yoga, and you’ve got a new customer.”
I let the guy pass but watched him closely. Once Elle and I were alone again, she burst out laughing.
“What?”
“Oh, just that you scared that kid a bit much, don’t you think?”
“He works for Cyrus.”
“Yeah, and what if Cyrus was checking out your classes because, I dunno, he wants to send clients your way? Wouldn’t be a half bad idea, would it?”
“No way,” I said, shaking my head. “There’s no way the two of us could work together.”
“And why not?”
“Because we offer two totally different experiences. Our philosophies are different. We’re—we’re complete opposites!” Truthfully, I had trouble finding enough reasons we couldn’t work together.
Elle continued chuckling. “Fine, but what if he could send people your way? And you do the same for him?”
“And why would we do that?”
“Because the people interested in his offerings aren’t the same as people interested in yours? If someone comes into his business looking for relaxation and to commune with nature, he could send them here. And if someone comes into your place wanting a hardcore, muscle shredding workout, you could send them to him. Sounds like the perfect plan to me.”
“Sounds like something he’d never agree to.”
“You’ll never know until you ask.”
I rolled my eyes. “I have enough to deal with right now. I don’t need the extra stress of putting up with Cyrus fucking Whitaker.”
Elle’s eyebrow quirked. Maybe it was the tone of my voice or her journalistic instinct, but she knew something was more was going on. “What’s going on?”
I let out a deep sigh. “Teddy contacted me, told me that Wade has a court date in a few weeks. Says he may even get out.”
Elle’s face turned as white as a sheet. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“Nope. I mean, it’s unlikely, right? The dude is a psychopath.”
“But a rich one,” she muttered. Elle had done her time as a journalist in New York City; she knew the upper class elite better than anyone in Liberty. “I mean, he could technically buy his way out, I suppose. But I didn’t think he was that powerful.”
“Maybe you could look into it for me, pretty please?”
Elle nodded. “Of course. Already on it. I mean, as soon as I get back to the office.”
“Thank you.”
Elle leaned close and hugged me, whispering in my ear, “I wouldn’t let it worry you too much. I mean, you’ll have a restraining order, and he doesn’t know about Milo. He’d already moved on to harassing other women when he got arrested. Surely he’s over you by now.”
“God, I hope so,” I whispered.
She gave my shoulder a quick squeeze as other people entered, carrying yoga mats and ready to do their morning stretches before work. We said our goodbyes, and I started my day.
Chapter 4
Cyrus
“So how was it?” I asked when Ben came in later that morning. I was standing at the front desk, waiting for him to come in.
He rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“And did you get enough material to write a real, positive review?”
Ben sighed. “Yeah, I suppose I did.”
“And there will be no mention of her ass as a selling point for her classes?”
“But her ass is—” He stopped when he caught me glaring at him. “Fine, I’ll leave out any mention of her ass.”
“Or any other body part.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” he said, waving me off. “Does this mean you’re not going to fire me?”
I thought about it for a second or two, mostly to make him sweat. Maybe I could shape him into someone somewhat decent by the end of the internship. If I fired him, he’d just go back to being the spoiled little rich shit who could find another internship and get away with whatever he wanted most likely.
“Get that review written, show it to me, and we’ll talk. But yeah, I'll most likely keep you on. But this is your only warning, kid. You do something like that again, and that’s it. No more warnings.”
Ben nodded, and he looked relieved. “Thanks, Cyrus. I appreciate it.”
I wasn’t sure if he genuinely did or not, but a little yoga never hurt anyone.
My phone vibrated in my pocket,
and I checked it. It was my mom. I stared at it, a little concerned since she never called me during the day at work.
“Hey, Ben, watch the front, will ya? I have to take this.”
I answered as quickly as I could, heading for my office and shutting the door behind me. “Hey, Mom. Everything okay?”
“Hi sweetie.” Her voice didn’t sound right. Something was definitely off. “There’s something we need to talk about. Mind coming over when you get off work?”
“I can come over right now if you need me.”
“No, no, I don’t want to mess up your workday. It’s fine,” she assured me, but I could tell she was lying.
“You’re not messing anything up,” I said, turning toward my laptop and checking the schedule for the day. I had one consultation scheduled for later that morning, but I had at least an hour before I needed to get ready for that. All my workouts were later in the day for once. “I’ll be right over.”
“No, seriously, it’s fine.”
“No, I can tell it’s not. What’s going on?”
She let out a deep sigh, and her voice cracked. “Your father…”
“What? Did he threaten you? Because if so, I’ll—”
“No, Cyrus. Your dad didn’t threaten anyone. He passed away this morning; a heart attack.”
I leaned back in my chair and stared off into space. It felt like a hundred bricks had fallen on top of me. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think.
“Cyrus?”
I couldn’t even talk.
“I knew I should have waited to tell you in person. I’m so sorry.”
“No, it’s okay,” I said slowly. “It’s not like he was a good man or someone worth mourning, right?”
“Cyrus, honey, I know he wasn’t the best person, but he was still your dad. You’re allowed to grieve.”
“After watching what he put you through? After what he put me through? Nah, I’m good.” I spoke with confidence, but on the inside, I wasn’t sure how I felt. My father was the most evil man I’d ever met. He raised me for half my life because he had money and had won custody in court after doing everything he could to ruin my mother’s reputation. He’d bought out the right people, and it worked. He moved me to Kentucky when I was ten years old, and the next eight years of my life were absolute hell. I went into the Army the first chance I got at eighteen just to get away from that bastard.
And now he was dead.
“Cyrus, sweetie. I know you don’t like to talk about your feelings, but I think it would be a good idea if you came over this evening for dinner.”
“No offense, Mom, but unless you need me, I’d rather be alone.”
“No, I’m fine. You know me. That man was dead to me a long time ago. But I know he was your dad and he raised you for many years, so I’m here if you need to talk to me.”
I didn’t want to talk to her. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, but especially not her. She’d been through enough with my dad, she didn’t need to hear her son grieving him. Not that I was. I wasn’t sure what I was feeling, but it wasn’t grief.
“His, um, lawyer wants to set up a time to meet with you to go over your dad’s will.”
I cringed. My father was very well-off, which was why he got custody of me in the first place. After he’d beat me, he’d try to use his money to win me over again. There were many trips to Disneyworld, a new car when I was sixteen, the offer to pay for any college I wanted to attend. He thought money could fix everything he’d done.
Well, he was wrong.
“I’m not interested in a dime of his money.”
“I know, honey, but you’re his son and set to inherit everything. Think of all the good you could do with it. You could invest it into your business, buy yourself a house, save for when you have a family.”
I cringed. I knew how much she wanted grandkids, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever give them to her. I was too fucked up to have a family, thanks to my dad and my time overseas. I’d never really been around kids to know if I’d turn into an asshole like he did or not, but I didn’t want to risk it.
“You sure you’re okay, Mom?”
“I’m fine, Cyrus. No need to worry about me. Just take care of yourself, you hear?”
“I will.”
I got off the phone with her and just sat there in my office. The weight of the last nineteen years of my life, ever since my father got custody of me and ripped me away from my mom, slammed into my brain. My anger toward my dad was reignited. I had hated him for living, and now I hated him for dying. I hated his very existence.
There was a knock on my door, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Yes?” I muttered.
Ben poked his head in the room. “There’s a guy on the phone interested in a father-son excursion. He wants to set up something special. Mind if I patch him through to you?”
“Sure, go right ahead.” A father-son excursion, huh? Was the universe fucking with me or what? I chuckled to myself and shook my head, picking up the phone and pushing all my thoughts away for now. I needed to focus on my business, not the past.
Ooo000ooo
The worst part about running a business is the time spent on the things you don’t love. All day, I was itching to get out of the office and on the trail. I needed people to schedule more hikes, but spring was upon us and people were just now preparing for outdoor adventures.
As soon as my last training session was done for the day – a couple of guys who wanted to get in shape to do one of my hardcore, multi-day trips to the mountains – I decided I needed to get the hell out of there.
I left Ben the spare keys and told him to lock up and to forward all my calls to voicemail. He didn’t ask questions; he just seemed happy I trusted him. The kid was dumb as shit at times, but I knew he could lock the place up. He’d done it once or twice before and hadn’t fucked it up.
I drove out to the trailhead of my favorite hike, which went pretty much straight up the mountain. It wasn’t for the weak, that was for sure. I needed to hurt and sweat, and besides, the view from the top was well worth the pain of getting there.
I grabbed my backpack and my water bottle, noticing one other car in the parking lot. It was still early in the season for tourists, and there was a faded bumper sticker that said Liberty High School, so I knew they had to be a local.
I paid them no mind as I set off up the first hill. For newbies, the first hill was killer on the calves. It was almost straight up with switchback curves. The trail itself was a bit overgrown and sometimes hard to see. It was easy to get lost if you didn’t know where you were going, and I was used to being one of the only people on it.
I hoofed it up the hill, and as I turned one of the sharp corners, I caught sight of the other person who’d decided to try their luck.
First thing I noticed was her ass as she was bent over tying her shoe. When she stood up, tendrils of her dark blonde hair fell loose, and she reached back to fix her bun, letting her long hair fall loose before twisting it back into place and securing it with a rubber band.
And just like that, I had an erection pressing against my pants, aching for release.
Josie must have heard my footsteps as I got closer to her, and she turned around with a surprised look on her pretty little face. She really was one of the most beautiful women I’d ever laid eyes on. Not just because she had a perfect body, but because she had the face of a girl-next-door. Big blue eyes. Perfect pink lips. She never needed makeup; her skin was flawless and her eyes surrounded by thick, black lashes.
“Oh, it’s you,” she said, rolling her eyes as she continued walking.
“Don’t get too excited to see me now.”
I sped up to catch her, and she tried to walk faster - but I kept pace with her. She was in good shape, but I had longer legs and could take bigger strides.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“Just to enjoy the trail like you do.”
“Yeah, but can’t you enjoy the trail from back ther
e?”
I shrugged. “I guess I could, but let’s face it, I can’t possibly walk that slow. I’d catch up to you regardless.”
She scowled at me but didn’t deny it was true. We walked for a long time, side-by-side, in silence.
“What was Ben doing in my class this morning?” she asked, breaking the silence with her melodic voice. “Did you send him to spy on me? Trying to steal my business or something?”
I snorted, and she scowled at me. “No, nothing like that. Just the opposite, in fact. I found out he was the one writing the reviews. He thought I’d appreciate it. I told him I didn’t and said if he wanted to keep his job, he needed to go to one of your classes.”
“So you used my class as punishment? You think it’s that bad?”
“No, that’s not—” I paused to try and say what I needed to clearly. “I mean, I can see why you’d think that. But truthfully, I did it because he’s going to write a new review, a positive one based on his experience in your class and remove the rest.”
She stopped walking, and I had to turn around to face her.
“You’re making him write a positive review?”
I shrugged. “Based on his actual experiences, yes, so it’s not fake. Believe it or not, I do have some integrity.”
She looked stunned, then muttered, “Thank you, I think? I mean, the damage might already be done, I don’t know.”
Tears welled in her eyes, and I felt like an asshole even though I didn’t really do anything. Still, she was crying and I had no fucking clue how to handle it. I reached out and placed a hand on her arm, but she pulled away.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea Ben did that. I didn’t condone his behavior and have tried to fix it. But I can only do so much,”
She wiped at her eyes. “No, it’s not that. I believe you, it’s just—” She waved away my concern. “Never mind.”
She pushed past me and tried to walk as fast as possible. I should have let her go. I wasn’t sure what pushed me forward, but I couldn’t let her continue crying like that. My employee fucked things up for her, and I couldn’t help but feel responsible for her difficulties.