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“You’re late.”
I spin around to see Cyrus standing in the doorway. He’s still in his suit pants, his shirt partly undone, his tie missing as he unbuttons his cuff links. My eyes fall to the small patch of dark hair on his chest that’s usually not visible.
I love a hairy chest on a man; hell, I love hair everywhere on a man. It’s so different than the two guys I’ve been with in college. They were practically waxed clean. I used to joke with Serenity that it was like hooking up with a seal.
“Didn’t trust me to make it here on my own?” I smirk.
“Not in the slightest.” He smirks back. “I apologize I’m also running late. Let me show you to the gym before I go change.” He holds out his hand. “Your coat?”
“Oh.” I pull it off my shoulders and hand it to him. He holds on to it while he starts walking down a different hallway. We wind our way through the house a little until he opens a door and reaches inside to turn on a light.
This isn’t just a room with a treadmill and some weights. This is like a full-on gym complete with so many pieces of machinery I’ve never even seen.
“This is—” I turn around but he’s already gone. “Okay.” I wander around the room, looking at some of the machines. I sit on one and try it, then another. I pick up a weight and do a curl, realizing just how noodly my arms have become. I glance into another room off to the side that has a sauna in it.
“We can use that after.”
“Would you stop doing that.” I clutch at my chest, my heart racing. I’d say him startling me is to blame, but that’s not the only thing that has my pulse elevated. He’s changed into a slim pair of shorts that showcase his muscular thighs and a t-shirt that’s had the sleeves ripped off, leaving two very large openings that dip down his sides. His arms look like pythons, a visible vein running down the front. They’re tan with dark hair covering them.
“You’re staring.”
“Just never seen you in anything but a suit. Was beginning to think you slept in one.” I turn my back toward him to hide the embarrassment I can feel staining my cheeks.
“Time to show me your running skill, Miss James.” He walks me toward a set of treadmills.
I step onto it, pressing the start button.
“Are you going to be too hot in that?” He motions toward my oversized hoodie that I’ve kept on.
“No,” I say, knowing full well I will be, but I’m way too self-conscious to be this close to him in spandex. I’ve seen some of the curvy women he’s been photographed with. Nikki Frisk looks like Jessica Rabbit with blond hair. I’m not about to embarrass my skinny ass.
“Suit yourself. We can warm up with a five-minute walk first.”
“Are you a work out seven days a week kind of guy?”
“Five or six.” He keeps his answer short, his gaze forward.
“What do you do for fun?” I figure if I’m stuck awkwardly walking on a treadmill with him without music, I might as well make small talk so I’m not so focused on how nervous I am.
“Fun? I’ve had enough fun for three lifetimes. Now I only work, work out, and?—”
“And?” I ask when he doesn’t finish the sentence.
He looks at me out of the corner of his eye. “And nothing.”
“Oh, Forrest got approval for the interview so I reached out to your admin Abigail today to get it scheduled.” I smile, hoping to see some excitement on his face but he just looks annoyed.
“Okay.”
“Get this. He’s actually going to be at the charity gala next week. I guess his parents are some big shot pe?—”
“I know who they are,” he snaps, cutting me off.
What the hell did I do now?
He punches the buttons on his treadmill, increasing the speed till he’s running.
“Turn yours up,” he barks.
