Brendon Marks ran a hand down his face and then rubbed his weary eyes. He was beyond tired. He’d been up since five this morning, getting in a run and quick workout before starting his work day.
His gyms, Marks Fitness, were now in five surrounding states. He’d been in negotiations with a representative from a major sports line to sell and market his special protein shakes, and that meeting had taken up most of his morning. Immediately after he hung up with the representative, he’d had to hightail it across town to have a business luncheon with his marketing team for the gyms’ upcoming promotions. Usually they met at his office, but today he’d wanted to treat them to lunch as a thank you for all of their hard work, so he’d rented out a space at Chez Vous restaurant and held his meeting there.
Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes and immediately saw green-gold eyes like that of a tiger. Those striking orbs were framed by thick, long lashes against honey-toned skin. Brown spiral curls with gold highlights surrounded a heart-shaped face. Crystal.
Groaning, Brendon popped his eyes open and sat up. Crystal Jasmine Harris was his best friend in the whole world. She was, literally, the only person he trusted, full stop. They’d been best friends since he began tutoring her in high school, but lately… Lately, he’d begun to think about her in more than a friendly way.
He glanced at the silver clock on his desk, a gift from Crystal that had a picture of the two of them on the day he was drafted into the NFL.
“She should be here by now,” he murmured. Crystal had enlisted his help with keeping her in shape after she noticed how tight her dress fit at his last gym opening.
He stood and walked over to the huge window that looked out over the gym. The window was really a two-way mirror that allowed him to see out onto the main gym floor but prevented others from seeing him. Crystal had convinced him to install it.
“It lets you see what’s going on while letting you have your privacy. Don’t be one of those bosses who doesn’t know what’s going on in his own company, B.”
Those had been her exact words when he was building this gym, the original location, and his company’s headquarters. The top floor was dedicated office space. Originally, it had been personal fitness rooms for clients who booked private workouts. Once he recognized the growth of his gyms and realized he’d need office staff, he bought the land next to him and expanded, making the new space workout rooms. He restructured the old rooms into office space for him, his vice president of operations, his CFO, assistant, and managers.
He cast his gaze over weight machines, rowing machines, the indoor track, and the front desk. Growing impatient, he opened the door just as his gaze found Crystal. She was talking to Everett, the manager on duty.
Brendon’s face tightened when he saw Everett glance at the cleavage displayed by Crystal’s neon green sports bra and lick his lips. Clenching his fists, he slowly counted to ten, then moved towards the stairs, his office door automatically shutting behind him.
Coming up behind Crystal, he narrowed his eyes at Everett, whose face paled and he backed up a couple steps.
“From the look of horror on your face, your boss must be behind me,” Crystal teased, then turned around to face him.
“Everett, I don’t see anyone manning the front desk. Perhaps you should check that out,” Brendon told him. Turning to Crystal, he cupped her elbow and steered her away from his employee and towards his personal workout room.
As Crystal walked through the door, she said, “Well, hello to you too, Brendon. What’s that? Oh, I’m doing just fine, thank you for asking. Such lovely manners you have.”
He pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry, that was rude. It’s been a long day, but that’s no excuse.” Pulling back, he smiled at her and tugged on a stray curl that had escaped from her messy bun. “How are you doing?”
Her smile lit up her whole face and sent a jolt of desire down his spine.
“My day was okay. I had lunch with my sisters. Oh! Jade is in town, so you know Amethyst and I had to run interference between her and Ruby,” Crystal said.
Brendon shook his head. “Those two are always butting heads. Remember when you decided to quit college? I thought they were going to come to blows with the way they went at each other.”
Crystal groaned and looked up at the ceiling. “Yeah, don’t remind me, Ruby reminds me every time we meet up about my ‘poor life choices.’”
Brendon rested one hand on her shoulder, and the other he used to cup her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Ruby still giving you a hard time? Does she realize how much your brand is worth and how much time you put into your business?”
Crystal shook her head, dislodging his hand. “Nope. She thinks I’m broke with no future plans or savings.”
“Why don’t you show her your financial portfolio? That would shut her up real quick if she realized that you’re a millionaire.”
Crystal had quit college after her sophomore year. Ever since high school, she’d maintained social media accounts dedicated to lifestyle. Her accounts ranged from fashion to home decor, to store hauls and product reviews. By the time she was a freshman in college, she’d amassed a following of over half a million. Today, she had over a million followers, her social media accounts were monetized, and she was the spokesperson for several companies.
When he was first drafted to the Chicago Vipers, Brendon wasted no time getting a financial planner to help him navigate his newly rich status. On the first meeting, he’d brought Crystal along with him so that she could learn how to balance and manage the money she was making.
Crystal shrugged and looked away. “Sure, it would get her off my back temporarily, but Ruby’s main problem with me is that I don’t have that oh-so-necessary status piece of paper called a degree.”
He turned her face back towards him and searched her eyes. “Do you regret not finishing college?”
She closed her eyes and moved away from his touch, shaking her head. “Not really.”
Brendon’s shoulders slumped slightly at her rejection. “Not really is not the same as a firm no. If you want to go back, you can. I’ll—”
Crystal’s eyes flew open. “You better not volunteer to pay for my schooling, Brendon,” she said, glaring at him.
He took a step back and held his hands up. “I’m just saying, I’m here to support your dreams, Crys. And yes, I’ll pay for you to go back, if you want me to.”
She sighed and walked up to him, cupping his cheeks in her palms. He fought like hell not to outwardly react to her touch, but inside his heart pounded.
“As you just pointed out, I’m a millionaire. No, I don’t have nearly as many zeroes behind my net worth as you do, but I don’t think paying for college will bankrupt me. Besides, you have done more than enough for me. I don’t like feeling as if I’m taking advantage of you.”
Brendon grasped her wrists and bent to touch his forehead to hers. “You’re my best friend, and I’d do anything for you. When I lost my mom right before the draft, you were there for me. You took a whole semester off from school to come stay with me, traveling to all of my games—”
“You paid for transportation and I stayed with you rent free,” she interrupted.
He shook his head against hers. “Nah, baby girl. I mean yeah, I did that, but that was nothing. You being there, helping me plan the funeral, holding my hand through it, insisting that I go to grief counseling, and making sure I ate, slept, and got to practice on time on the days when I found it hard to get out of bed, saved me from self-destruction. I look back on that time, and I know that I wouldn’t have made it without you.”
Just thinking about how lost he’d felt when his mother suddenly passed away from a brain aneurysm made his gut clench and his heart ache. His mom never got a chance to see him drafted or watch him play professionally. All of their talks about how he’d make sure she lived in the same city as him and travel to all of his games never came to fruition. He’d sat in the auditorium two weeks after her death, numb. The only part of his body that felt anything was the hand that was encased in Crystal’s as she sat beside him, often picking up his slack in conversations because his mind was not on the draft, but on his mother.
Crystal turned her head and kissed his hair-roughened cheek. His thumbs caressed her wrists, and he enjoyed the feel of her pulse leaping beneath his fingers.
“I didn’t do anything. You would have made it because your mother raised you to be tough.”
“Don’t diminish your actions or downplay your worth to me. You know I don’t like that shit.” Brendon moved his hands to grasp her upper arms and lightly shake her.
“I’m not, I promise. I’m just saying, you’re a strong individual. You lost your mom, and no one would have faulted you for grieving,” she said, staring into his eyes.
He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing their body into close contact. When she wrapped her arms around his neck and moved closer, he leaned down and buried his face in her neck, inhaling the scent of strawberries and shea butter. He willed his body not to react to her closeness, but as usual, his dick had a mind of its own.
Quickly separating their bodies, he cleared his throat. “Let’s get started with your workout.”
Crystal eyed him but thankfully didn’t say anything. Together, they gathered the ropes, free weights, medicine ball, and exercise mats they needed for her workout.
“Let’s start with our stretches,” he told her, leading the way.
She arched an eyebrow. “You’re working out with me? You only stretch when you plan on joining me.”
“Yeah,” he said. He seriously needed to work off some of his erotic thoughts about his best friend, lest he act on them.
She eyed him warily but didn’t say anything, just began to stretch alongside him. He was grateful she didn’t push, and that she didn’t stretch in front of him. With her in front of him and the wall of mirrors behind her, he had a perfect view of her plump ass. He would have never been able to hide the erection that he would have sprung the moment she bent over in those spandex leggings.
As they stretched, his mind whirled. He either needed to get a handle on his feelings for Crystal or he needed to tell her how he felt. Pulling away from her wasn’t an option.