by Holly Hall
Noting the conflict no doubt playing across my features, Leigh’s expression softened. But only just. She rubbed her eyes and dragged her hands down her face. I noticed what I hadn’t when I first walked in—she was exhausted, frustrated. And maybe this had nothing to do with me. I was just the easiest target.
“I’m sorry, Leigh,” I found myself saying. “I know it looks terrible, but this was never my aim. I’m not that calculative. What happened with Theo was . . . unexpected. I would never purposefully do anything to jeopardize my integrity. For what it’s worth, I can reimburse you for my membership fees.” Where I’d get the money, I had no clue. But I damn sure needed to figure it out.
“What’s done is done. I don’t believe you began this relationship with the intention of screwing me over, but next time maybe wait a few weeks before jumping into bed with the person your boss is paying.”
“I understand. I’m sor—”
Leigh cut me off with a dismissive wave, massaging her forehead while I walked out the door. I felt eyes on me while I made my way back to my chair, but when I glanced up, everyone seemed to be focused on their tasks. Maybe it’d been the person who’d sold me out.
Eddie?
I looked over to see him nodding his head in time to the music from his earbuds while he worked, and automatically felt guilty. Eddie might’ve been a gossip queen, but he’d never sell me out to Leigh. He was more loyal than that. And it didn’t matter who’d done the talking, because as Leigh had said, what was done was done.
I’d dodged one bullet, but I couldn’t help but feel like I was tiptoeing past the firing squad.
Chapter 22
Theo
I stood beneath the spray of water, letting it pound the tension from my shoulders. I’d done some rearranging at the gym to make room for new equipment, and the toll it’d taken on my body was evident. Groaning, I massaged my neck and flexed my back. Damn. I made a mental note to bring a couple more guys in before doing that again.
A flicker of motion from the corner of my eye caught my attention. The reflection of the door opening in the fogged mirror. “You found it,” I said, wiping the condensation off the shower glass so I could see Ava. I’d made a copy of my apartment key and slid it under her door earlier, hoping she’d find it.
“Yeah.”
Yeah. Nothing else. It was better than her returning it, but I guess I expected some kind of acknowledgment. That was still a big deal, right? Giving someone a key to your place?
I noticed something was wrong by the unceremonious way she peeled off her work clothes and tossed them on the floor. Like she was shedding the day she’d had. Her bra and panties followed soon after, then she took the band from her hair and shook it out, before stepping in to join me.
Without a word, she wrapped her arms around my waist and laid her head on my chest. She made no move to wipe away the mascara that pooled on her cheeks.
I pressed a kiss to her head and pulled wet tendrils of hair from her face. “What’s going on, what’s wrong?”
“They found out about us at work.” Her voice was husky; had she been crying? I cupped her face and drew back so I could look at her. “So, what? What’s the problem?”
“So it looks like I planned this all along—to scam my boss into paying my boyfriend to date me.”
“Whoa. First of all, nobody’s paying me to date you. Let’s get that straight right now.” It sounded unheard of, and yet, I knew some people in this world would do just that. “Did you explain what happened?”
Her lips wobbled. “Of course I did. But all I have is my word. It doesn’t matter what I said about the timeline, it looks like I chose your workout program because I liked you and then used my company to cover your fees.”
“You did choose my workout program because you liked me,” I said lightly, grasping at humor. She stared, deadpan, long enough for me to notice the redness of her eyes. “Sorry, I was trying to make you feel better. How did they react?”
“Just as you’d expect. The way Leigh left things, my job is on the line and she doesn’t trust me.”
I reached for the soap and squeezed a dollop into my palm, then massaged my hands up and down her slick back, my focus delegated solely to her. She closed her eyes and sighed. “How did they find out in the first place?”
“She said a coworker told her.”
“She didn’t mention a name?”
“No, just that they were ‘concerned about my relationship with my trainer.’”
“That seems a little convenient, doesn’t it? Your boss suddenly finds this out from an unnamed coworker, and now she acts like she doesn’t trust you? From what you’ve said, you’ve done nothing but work yourself to the bone for that lady, and she’s never given you an ounce of recognition. Now they’re having trouble with the blog and she’s coming down on you?”
“I don’t think that’s what’s going on.”
“Of course you don’t. You see the best in people, give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe you should be more suspicious.” She saw the best in me, after all, when I’d done next to nothing to deserve it. I ran my fingers to the front of her shoulders and started on her arms.
“I think you should try to feel less guilty and, in the meantime, think harder about who that coworker was. I know you, and I know you weren’t blabbing about us all over the office.”
“I wasn’t. I only told Eddie, and even then, it just slipped out.”
“And there’s zero chance this dude would tell your boss? Is there nothing in it for him?”
“No, I trust Eddie. And there’s nothing he’d want from Leigh. He fusses about her more than anyone else.”
“This is good news, then,” I said, my fingers sliding from beneath her arms to her hips. Her eyes cracked open, and she raised her brows just a smidge. “No way is this a legit concern brought up by someone you’re close to. If Leigh really does have it out for you, there’s probably nothing you can do about it. So there’s no use worrying.”
“I wish I could do that—just brush things off my shoulders.”
“You can.” I traced her hip bones with my thumbs. “But you might need a distraction first.”
“I don’t have time for a distr—”
I eased myself down to one knee, dragging my hands to her thighs. Her eyes tracked my every movement, and when my lips met the smooth skin below her belly button, she sucked an inhale through her teeth. I focused on those breaths, the next sharp inhale as I parted her, and the sigh as I put one of her legs over my shoulder and ran a tongue up her center.
The ragged breaths as I drove her wild.
We lay on the couch later, the TV providing a hum in the background, playing a show neither of us were paying attention to. I’d supplied her with a fluffy robe a college buddy had stolen from a hotel years ago and convinced her to relax, although her laptop was like a beacon on the coffee table. When I nudged the towel-hive on her head, Ava looked up at me from where she was resting against my chest.
“What’s the point of this contraption?” I said, poking the towel.
She sighed. “It’s so I can pretend I don’t have wet hair and therefore don’t have to dry it. But I guess there’s no use putting it off.” She started to stand, and I caught her by the wrist.
“What? No. Don’t go put on regular clothes.”
She feigned confusion. “Why not?”
“Because that means you might leave for the night and get back to work, and you’re not done with spa-de-Theo yet.”
“Spa-de-Theo?”
“The in-shower massage and hotel robe are the best I can do. I don’t have any of those freaky mask things, unfortunately.”
“Unfortunately.” She settled back on me and let out a sigh. “You take care of me so well.”
“Thanks. Or, you’re welcome?” I didn’t know what the right response to that was, but it was satisfying to know I could do that for her. That she was content just being with me. “Either way, I like doing it. So who’s
taking care of whom?”
She gave me a small smile, but her teeth dug into her lower lip. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do for your birthday?”
I furrowed my brows and nodded. There was nothing I wanted less than to make a fuss over another trip around the sun. What was the big deal about birthdays, anyway? I’m pretty sure I put zero effort into the whole ordeal of being born. “Positive. Seriously. You accepting my key is enough.”
She bit her lip and rested her chin on my chest. “I meant to ask you about that.”
“About what?”
“The key.” She said it in the same tone she’d say duh.
“What’s there to ask about?”
“You’re not afraid I’m going to, I don’t know, abuse the privilege?”
“You can abuse the privilege all you want,” I said, sitting more upright. “In fact, feel free to let yourself in and abuse it every night, if you’d like.” I pulled her into my lap, and she let out a giggle.
One advantage to the robe was the access I had to her fantastic backside. I ran my hands around her hips so I could press her against me.
She ran her nose across mine. “You’re so charming.”
“Is it working?”
“Only if you charm me some more.” She pulled open the tie on her robe and kissed me.
Ava
I creeped through the front doors of the gym, hoping Theo hadn’t spotted me. If I couldn’t throw him a birthday party, surprising him with lunch and dessert from his favorite restaurants would have to suffice. I wanted to show him just a sliver of what he meant to me, even if I had to bind and gag my inner party-planner queen.
The employee I’d come to know as Ralph was sitting behind the reception desk, scrolling through his phone. “Hey, welcome to—” He looked up and noticed me. “Oh, Ava! Hey! What can I do for you?”
“Just dropping off lunch for Theo.” I held up the takeout bags.
“I think he’s with a client out on the floor. You want me to take you out there?” He started to stand, but I shook my head.
“I’ll just drop it in his office. It’s his birthday, and I want it to be a surprise.”
Ralph waved over his shoulder. “Sure. Go on back.”
I walked down the hallway with a bounce in my step. Theo had no idea I was coming, and by the looks of things, he hadn’t seen me.
I dropped the bags on his desk and let myself out, ducking below the window that offered a view into the gym. I paused on the other side and glanced out to see if I could get a peek at him. The gym was full for a weekday afternoon.
It took me several seconds of searching to pick out Theo, wearing a sleeveless hoodie I recognized. I’d seen it on my bedroom floor enough times. He was standing behind a guy at the bench, spotting him as he lifted weights. The man sat up after his set and rotated, making a comment to Theo. They tossed their heads back in laughter. A familiar kind of exchange.
Then the guy ran his fingers through his disheveled hair, and for a moment—just a fraction of a second—I got a glimpse of what it’d look like if it were styled. I recognized it. But, no. It couldn’t be.
I stopped at the reception desk on my way out. “That guy with Theo, what’s his name?”
Ralph rose from his chair, a befuddled look on his face, and glanced out the window. “Oh, uhh, I think it starts with a P? Pearson, maybe?”
“Pierce Pressinger?” I asked.
He snapped his fingers. “Pierce. That’s it. Been his client for, like, four months? Maybe longer.”
Maybe longer? As in, six months? I shook my head. It was a wild coincidence that out of the entire population of Chicago, this was one of Theo’s clients.
“You said it was Theo’s birthday?” Ralph said.
“Yeah. I better get out of here. He didn’t want me to make a thing of it.” I waved and pushed outside, staying out of view of the roll-up doors. I doubted Pierce would recognize me in normal clothing, but I didn’t want Theo to catch on and confront me before realizing the holy grail of cannolis—the holy cannoli—was on his desk.
I was halfway to the L when I heard my name; loud and clear, characteristically Theo. Ralph must’ve ratted me out. I turned and put on a guilty smile.
“You caught me,” I said as he closed the last few yards between us at a jog, but a frown took the place of the chastising smirk I’d expected. I guess he was more serious about the no-gift thing than I’d thought.
“It wasn’t what it looked like,” he said, parting his hands. I took in his rigid shoulders, the defensive expression. I was utterly confused.
“I just wanted to do something nice for your birthday,” I started slowly, not sure what I was treading into. Why was he being so weird?
“And I’m sure you weren’t expecting to walk into that. Before you jump to any conclusions, let me explain.”
“Explain what?”
“I’ve known Pierce a while. And when he eventually brought you up, I didn’t know what I was getting into. I didn’t know you.”
A few pedestrians went around us on the sidewalk, but I hardly noticed. I didn’t think we were simply talking about lunch anymore. Theo’s grave tone told me there was some underlying meaning I wasn’t translating. “What do you mean, ‘when he brought me up’?”
“You mean, you have no idea? Even after. . .” He looked over his shoulder, toward the gym. “Maybe we should go somewhere more private to talk.”
He stepped closer and I took a step back. Somehow, that elicited a look of sorrow from him. The facts were assembling a picture in my mind, but it was still blurry. Pierce being his client was one thing, but them discussing me was quite another. “I think you should explain the point of all this.”
Theo gripped the back of his neck. “You really don’t know what’s going on?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Shit. I don’t know where to start.”
“How about from the beginning?” I couldn’t keep my voice from shaking.
“Pierce was a client of mine. Well, still is, obviously. God, I’m fucking this up.” Theo ran a hand over his mouth. “Being the owner of a new business, as you know, I don’t get a lot of chances to make friends. We became buddies soon after he started training here. I guess we bonded over our relationships falling apart. We’d both been dealt shitty hands in that department.” He paused, watching me. As if waiting to see how these facts would affect me.
I simply swallowed, my throat knotting.
“He told me he’d been fooled, made to believe his fiancée was someone else entirely, and it would’ve cost him half of everything, if he’d married her before finding out. He mentioned how it all started with some relationship coaching his fiancée had gotten, unbeknownst to him. Then he said the fiancée hadn’t had the decency to break things off to his face. She sent someone else to do it. And he wanted . . . I don’t know, closure?”
It was hard to tell if I was more mortified or regretful or angry. They all twisted inside me, a confused mess of emotions. “I’m guessing I had something to do with that closure?” I said slowly. Heat was rising from my chest to my cheeks. I blazed on the inside and it showed on the outside.
He scrubbed another hand over his face, as if trying to erase the scene that was unfolding. “He found out I lived in your building and then he wouldn’t shut up about it.”
I stared at the ground. I couldn’t look at him anymore, for fear he’d see my doubt growing. I was always painted as the weak one, the easy target. I was sick of it. “About what?”
“I never meant to hurt—”
“Tell me,” I interrupted.
“He wanted me to lead you on. To sell you on something that wasn’t entirely the truth.”
“That’s not you,” I said weakly. Despite all my efforts to hold it together, I felt part of my heart fracture. “What did it take? What did it take for you to sell out and use me?”
“It took five minutes of me knowing you to know I couldn’t do it.”
&nbs
p; I flattened my lips to keep them from trembling. So that’s why he wouldn’t leave me alone at first. I’d always wondered about that, in the beginning, but he’d quieted those insecurities. So how could someone who’d succeeded in getting past my cynicism, someone I’d fallen in love with, do something like this?
Then a memory surfaced. “The night everything happened with Pierce was the night I met you.”
Theo nodded. “Yes, but—”
“You knew me already, and yet when he brought me up, you entertained this . . . plot?”
“A lot of things seem like good ideas while you’re drinking and bullshitting at the bar.”
“When does playing with peoples’ feelings ever seem like a good idea?”
“It was only a convers—”
I held up a hand. His admission made me question everything that came after that “conversation” he’d had with Pierce; everything having to do with us. I couldn’t hear any more.
“I was told you were someone else,” he began again. “A fraud. Someone teaching other people how to fake their way into relationships.”
“So I deserve this?” Tears crested my lashes.
“No, goddammit. Please let me finish.”
“No,” I said, then repeated it firmly. I’d heard enough. I turned away and focused on the sidewalk through a mist of tears. I needed to get to the L stop. I couldn’t fall apart in front of him. I couldn’t trust him to pick up the pieces.
Not only had my skepticism around relationships been validated, but my professional doubts had, too. He thought I was a fraud.
“At least let me walk you to the stop,” he said, appearing beside me. I felt his hand on my arm, and that ignited the slow leak of anger into a full-fledged fireball.
“Don’t,” I spat, with more venom than I’d ever possessed. “Remember what you promised me? That you wouldn’t say anything you didn’t mean?”