Page 31 of Hate It with You

“You’re friends with her, no?” Leo’s only response is a shrug in agreement.

Resting my elbow on the bar-height counter, I look at Roman, waiting for his inevitable questioning.

“Are you having financial troubles that I should know about? It does seem more dead here than usual.” He looks around the gym, noting that it’s only the three of us and Beth left. In months past, I was still kicking people out an hour after closing.

“It’s a slow night.” I shrug, grateful for the music that’s still blasting through the gym, hiding our conversation from Beth.

“I noticed some new cameras too. Anything we should know about?” His line of questioning continues, but this one in particular piques Leo’s interest.

Sighing, I know this is one thing I can’t keep from my brothers. “Beth has had a few interesting…deliveries. I did what I needed to protect what’s mine.”

“What’s yours?” Leo asks, eyebrows furrowed.

“The building,” I clarify, as he nods, the look on his face still unconvinced.

Roman’s voice is laced with concern once again when he asks, “Have you seen these deliveries?”

“Not all of them. Only the one she threw in the trash.”

Leo’s eyes widen, shock overtaking his voice as he says, “You’re going through her trash?”

I shoot him a look, my blood pressure rising at his constant assumption that I’m violating boundaries. “If you saw the fear in her eyes, you would’ve too.”

“Sorry. You know you can get obsessive sometimes,” Leo says in response.

“I don’t get obsessive. The fuck are you⁠—”

“Cut it out,” Roman asserts.

Though Leo isn’t wrong. I have been known to get obsessive over things in the past. A strong history of overworking myself in the gym and reading books well into the night supports my brother’s claims. But this is different.

Taking another sip of my water, I continue, keeping my voice hushed, “Look, I don’t know what’s going on. She can barely stand me as it is. I doubt she’s going to tell me who the notes are from if I ask her about it. So when I saw the note for myself, I ordered cameras.” I look pointedly at Leo. “She has access to the feeds too. It’s for security, that’s it.”

Both of my brothers nod their understanding, Roman taking another drink of his water.

“You know to call if you need backup,” Roman says.

“I won’t need backup. I haven’t seen another note in a while. I think he might’ve backed off after the cameras.”

Roman puts a hand on my shoulder, making a point to look me in the eyes when he says, “Call.”

A curt nod is my only response before my brothers and I exchange goodbyes, and they head out for the night.

Locking the doors behind them, I turn off the Open sign. Heading back to the front desk, I take a glance at Beth to see her pushing two twenty-five-pound dumbbells on the bench. My cock dares to spring to life at the sight, but I shake off the feeling as I take a seat, getting to work on closing paperwork for the night.

When the sun is fully set, I look up from my place at the front desk to find Beth stretching in the far corner of the gym. Even here it seems as though she’s trying to put as much space between us as possible.

Her body language this morning, on the other hand, was signaling that she wanted to be as close to me as she physically could.

Having finished up my closing paperwork half an hour ago, I grab a cold water bottle from the mini fridge under the desk and make my way over to Beth.

She looks up at me, taking a headphone out, a silent question written on her face.

“Thought you might be thirsty,” I say, handing her the water bottle, ignoring the reusable one she brought with her.

To my surprise, she takes my offering, unscrewing the cap and taking a sip. I’m thinking of a way to tell her I was impressed by the weight she was pushing without sounding condescending when she gets up and grabs her gym bag from the floor.

“It’s late. I should probably head out for the night.” The words leave her lips, but her feet don’t move. Instead, her eyes keep darting to the punching bags hanging behind me next to the ring.