Mac was staring at him. “Oh…sorry. You look good, Gavin. A little frazzled, as usual, but not like you used to be.”
Gavin shook his head.
Mac frowned. “What?”
“Mac, I hate to tell you this, but I’m not interested. I have a girl, and I’m pretty sure Maggie loves you. If you left her for me, it would break her heart. Plus, I hear Elliot already called dibs.”
“You are such an asshole.” Mac scowled.
Gavin laughed. “That’s what they say.”
“Follow me, shithead.” Mac hustled away from the main gym down the corridor toward his office.
Gavin followed, hoping he hadn’t done anything to piss Mac off, yet not really caring, his mind too full of Zoe and how to make things right with her.
“Sit down.”
“You don’t outrank me, Top.” Top—what Marines called master sergeants in the Marine Corps.
“Funny. Sit your ass down,please.”
“Okay. But I’m kind of sweaty. But maybe you like that, some Gavin left in your office after I’m gone, so you won’t miss me as much. Kinky, but okay.”
Mac threw up his hands. “Fine, stand.” He started laughing. “You aresucha pain in my ass.”
“I live to serve.” He saluted, then started stretching so he wouldn’t tighten up.
Mac rounded the desk and leaned against the wall, watching him. “Maggie thinks I should fire you.”
Gavin froze. “What?” What had he done to annoy Mac’s cute little wife? He couldn’t think of a thing.
“I know, right? She’s insane. But don’t tell her I said that. She’s pregnant, and her hormones are all over the place.”
Gavin sat on the floor, his legs outstretched though he no long reached for his feet. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No, no. Shit. I’m not saying this right.” Mac pulled a chair close and sat, and they both pretended it was because he wanted to, and not because the guy’s knee ached. “Gavin, you’re the best trainer in the place. You work harder than everyone else. Everyone loves you, and the only reason you don’t have as many clients as Pete is because Pete has the schooling behind him that some of these folks want.”
“The science behind the training. I get that.” Which was why he wanted to talk to Mark Swanson again about the guy’s thoughts on exercise science.
“You’re smart. You could have that if you wanted. What I’m trying to say is, are you happy here? Maggie thinks it’s too easy for you, and that if I fired you, you’d go back to school or get a better job that would truly suit you.”
“But I love my job here.” Surprisingly, he did. He’d finally found a place where he fit in.
“Good.” Mac smiled. “But be honest. It’s easy, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. But sometimes easy is good. You know I was in a bad way when I started working here. I couldn’t handle anything too taxing.Exercisingmy demons away, helping others do the same, it was just what I needed.”
“You’re not the only guy who came back with issues, you know. We all have them. Even my man Shane.”
“Really?”
“Well, maybe not. He’s a real Boy Scout. But he also isn’t as good at taking orders as he needs to be sometimes. And come on, he was an officer. He and Landon didn’t really work that hard in the Corps.”
“True.” They smiled, bonding as only hardworking enlisted men could.
“I really appreciate you taking me on, Mac. I know Landon put you up to it.”
“Landon? Nah.” Mac leaned back. “I was—”
