~ Paige ~
The head housekeeper vaguely nods at me in greeting. Shrugging out of my jacket, I let Marie intercept it. I’ve no clue where she dumps such things. Her stoic gaze rakes over me from the top of my head to my new shoes. She takes my jacket without indication she cares for my new getup as I hover in the grand foyer. Weather not being too bad outside, the penthouse is nice and toasty. Besides, when Eli is done with me, I’m sure I’ll be drowning in my own perspiration.
Thanks to Serena and Abb, I’m a little more fashionable than the last time I saw Eli. Creepy Ausfort stopped by my apartment soon after I got home from picking up my new prescription, for the first time not having to worry about the cost. I nearly slammed the door on his cold, vacant eyes. Mr. Colin expects you to wear them, he recited as he dumped garment bags full of exquisite designer clothes. As a result, I’m in formfitting but truly flexible black yoga pants, gravity-defying sports bra, pink tank top, and a cute hoodie sweatshirt.
I’m on my way to the gym when every inch of my skin suddenly prickles with awareness. The corner of my eye catches an imposing male form appearing at the top of the stairs, and I don’t have to glance up to know who it is. Instantly our uninhibited, late-night talk floods my senses.
Last night, I stayed up long past bedtime, hoping he’d call or text. He never did.
The form descends. I look then, at the lithe way he dominates the wide staircase, not with his gorgeous physique but with his quiet strength, at the long legs slipping down, owning the air and the space stirring around him. His hair is damp from a recent shower, casually styled back. The classic black suit with white shirt is almost as stunning as the man. When he halts on the landing a mere foot from me, the exhaustion in his bloodshot eyes and stern lips becomes apparent.
Not a word leaves those lips. He’s committed to staring at me.
“Good morning, Colin.”
Nothing.
What’s he thinking? What’s he seeing on my face that’s got him so riveted?
A powerplay? To prove he doesn’t have to respond to me if he doesn’t want to? It’s too late for that. Too late for both of us.
It’s not just his aloof expression that’s stiff. The rest of him isn’t exactly perched on excited toes ready to do a happy dance at the sight of me.
Then, as I watch, his unsmiling mouth carefully moves to form one word. “Paige.”
My name, as if that says it all. Something is off. “You’re not staying?” I ask, indicating his professional attire.
“No.” His expression reminds me of frosted concrete in the dead of winter. Stony gaze drops to my mouth only to immediately return. “I do have a company to run.”
Derision. The offhanded statement was laced with it.
He had a company to run last week. That didn’t stop him from hanging around, getting his sweat on and sharing protein shakes with me.
“You’re a busy man.” I’ve heard that before. A hundred times. Maybe a thousand. My father was the president of being busy, certainly too busy for me and Rome. “I won’t keep you. Have a good day.” I can do remote as well as him.
“Paige—”
But I’m already in motion, deliberately turning from him with or without his approval. Fingers skid down the back of my sleeve but slide right off without effort.
He lets me go. I don’t expect any less. Shoulders back, chin up, my spine is impossibly upright. Mr. Morrison would piss on himself with glee at the sight of me.
At the gym, Eli is propped on his palms and toes on the mat, strong arms pumping vigorously. In a white T-shirt, his sculpted muscles bulge and contract with strict force.
Nice.
Colin’s private gym is ginormous, dotted with sophisticated machines and equipment I’ve never seen and have no clue what they do. The fortune he unloaded to outfit the place was probably more than a year’s worth of my rent. Any health nut would drool over the extraordinary offering, yet a part of me can’t help feeling like I’m some pet for Colin, and this stunning gym with all its fine gear is used for my obedience training. I can’t decide whether to be offended, angry, or reluctantly accepting. After all, I agreed to this.
I clear my throat. “Good morning, Eli.”
In a swift upright shove so smooth, so natural, I wonder if he practiced the impressive move the way Rome rehearses his lines until they become a part of him.
“Hey, Paige. Glad you made it.” The grin softens his features. The guy isn’t even out of breath. “I was afraid yesterday’s cancelation was the beginning of the end.”
Despite grim musings, I can’t help but return his smile. “The thought might have occurred to me, but I’m not one to give up easily.”
“I’m happy to hear that. Did you hydrate yesterday?”
“For sure. I’m peeing mountain spring.” I bite my lip at the crude counter, my cheeks heating at the slip. Maybe Mr. Morrison wouldn’t be so proud after all.
Eli only laughs. “Good. Let’s get started.”
“Sounds good.” Unzipping the sweatshirt, I toss it on the padded bench near the door.
Eli’s admiring gaze slews down over my snug tank to the stretchy leggings, lingering on my incredibly comfortable shoes before bouncing back up, but there’s nothing sexual about his perusal, more clinical.
“Very nice,” he comments, clearly approving my new outfit.
I strike a teasing pose. “You like?” Another minute and I’ll be flexing my guns.
A soft chuckle. “Definitely. It’s one of the best.”
I jerk a shoulder. “Sure.” It wasn’t like I inspected the label. Who cares? “I guess. It’s great. It keeps me from being naked.”
“That it does. My partner and I are trying to start a line of athletic wear, so I pay attention to these things,” he comments and gestures at the mat. “Let’s start with some stretches. We’re going to work with the balance ball today.”
The wall of mirror greets me, not unkindly. The outfit isn’t only fashionable and practical, it flatters my shape very suitably. “You’re starting a business?” Feet apart, hips tilted slightly forward, my arms strain over my head the way he showed me as Eli retrieves an oversized rubber orb. “That’s exciting.”
“Trying to start a business, but it is exciting. It’d be more exciting if we had investors beating down our door.” Setting down the ball, he gently maneuvers my arms closer to my ears and winks at my reflection. “I don’t suppose you have a few mil you’d like to invest?”
“If only you hit me up last week before I bought that island.”
“That’s what Colin said, except I think he was serious about the island. Is your back starting to loosen?”
Colin owns an island?
“I think so.” At his urging, I settle on the mat with my legs extended, then reach with all my might for my toes to no avail while priming a schism. Curious to find out more, I manage with a nonchalant tone, “Colin turned you down?”
“Not his thing, I guess,” he replies, unsuccessfully hiding the disappointment. “He has every wannabe entrepreneur in the country soliciting. His default answer is no.”
“But you’re his personal trainer,” I argue. “From what I saw last week, you’re also a friend, not just some wannabe entrepreneur.”
“You sound just like Scott. That’s my partner. Business and life,” he expounds. “Colin isn’t one to confuse business with personal. With him, one doesn’t influence the other.”
When you and I happen, it will not in any way interfere with our arrangement. That, I will guarantee.
His cool promise echoes in my head. Our arrangement isn’t really business, though, is it? I don’t like to think of it as that, a cold, textbook deal, but there’s money exchanged for services. What else can it be?
The tap on my shoulder has me straightening back until I’m parallel with the floor. Eli is there, kneeling to fold my leg up and over as he lightly rotates my hip to the opposite side. His hand stays on the outside of my knee as the muscles gradually release. It’s an intimate gesture, but Eli doesn’t appear to notice, his watchful gaze gauging my face for hints of discomfort or pain.
Unyielding muscles pull, loosen, inch by slow inch. “How long have you been doing this?”
“Officially? About ten years.”
“Is there an unofficial version?”
“Isn’t there always?” After another half minute, he adjusts me so that I’m assuming the same pose on my other side. “I used to do this with my friends when I was in high school. I’ve always been obsessed with pushing the body’s limit.”
“How long have you known Colin?”
“I started out as his brother’s trainer early on in my career. He and I dated the same girl. Not at the same time. That didn’t work out, as you might’ve guessed. I was in denial then,” he answers the question I was working up to ask. “That didn’t work out either. The way Colin was acting last week, I thought he was in retro-denial for me.”
“Last week?”
A chuckle. “What? Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.”
“Notice what?”
“The man was all but beating his chest with his fists, marking his territory. A pretty lady showed up, and he forgot the other man in the room was gay.”
There’s nothing for me to do but laugh at the ridiculous insinuation. “Come on.” Easing back to the original position, I flash him a get real look. “Are you trying to tell me Colin was jealous?”
“Honey, jealousy isn’t for the likes of Colin Kutter. It was more of an assertive statement, one I got loud and clear, as unnecessary as it was. I have to admit, I couldn’t pass up the chance to mess with his head.”
I don’t believe a word of it, but I go along with it anyway. “Weren’t you afraid he’d fire you?”
“Nah. He’s all bark and no bite when it comes to family and friends. It’d take a lot to send me packing. Besides, he’s part owner of I.So.Metrics. The studios are expanding, and he’s an integral part of it.”
“What’s that?”
The gleam of pride in his eyes cannot be mistaken. “In short? Gyms. In length? A whole slew of workout options. It’s a couple of miles from here.” A shrug. “Colin believes in getting your sweat on, so he helped me and Scott build the brand from the ground up. Clothing? Not so much.”
Thoroughly impressed, my gaze falls around Colin’s private workout suite. It’s well-equipped, spacious, the decorative lighting mood enhancing rather than strictly serviceable, and private, but I’ve never been to an exclusive place where membership is required. “Why are we here then? We should be at I.So.Metrics.”
Surprise, pleasure, and wariness battle for dominance. “I don’t know if Colin would be okay with that. I’m sure there’s a reason he wants us to meet here.”
“He’s not here, is he? If he felt so strongly about it, he would’ve told us.” Deciding for us, I grab my discarded sweatshirt and jam each arm into the sleeves. “Let’s go. We can warmup with a walk over.”
Eli shakes his head, but he grabs his pullover left on the stool at the protein station. “Are you sure about this?”
“Hey, he wanted me to workout. That’s exactly what I’m going to do,” I tell him as we navigate through the crazy space that’s one person’s residence. “Colin isn’t going to care.” No, he has a business to run, barely acknowledging me this morning on his way out. Why would he give our outing two thoughts?
“Mr. Kent?” Marie is rushing over from seemingly out of nowhere, her face pulled into confusion. “Is something wrong?”
“We’re going to I.So.Metrics,” I respond without turning her way, though she hadn’t asked me. “I’ll be back in time for Mr. Morrison this afternoon.”
“Mr. Colin’s instructions were—”
“Mr. Colin isn’t here,” I cut her off with a snap. I’m so sick of her recordings of his instructions, of her wordless yet judgmental assessments. “And we’re leaving.”
“Paige, maybe we should do this another time.”
A sturdy, normally confident man should not be wearing a mask of uncertainty, but Eli is donning one now.
“Why is everyone so afraid of Colin?” I don’t know why I’m pushing this, suddenly fighting the nagging need to get away for a bit. I blame it on the new meds. “I thought you said he was all bark and no bite? What’s he going to do? Fire us?”