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“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.
