She looks at me, but I only stare.
“Well, let me show you around,” she says. She cocks her head toward a door next the desk, waves her key card over the door’s reader and then motions me forward.
Just as I’m about to walk through, a dark shadow fills the space, exposing the security guard I’d almost had an altercation with the night before.
Great.
“We need a cleaner in the gym.”
His icy tone startles the woman leading me in. She turns and power walks down the hall without uttering another word, leaving me stuck with him.
Maybe I should try being a little more accommodating this time.
“Can I offer a hand?” I force a smile on my face, dialing it back slightly to make it more natural.See? I can be nice.
“I need you to stay right there,” he says, a hand stretched out to stop me.
A rush of adrenaline goes through me, and I snap back into the snarky tone I’d used last night without thinking.
“Where do you get off telling people what they need to do?” I cross my arms. “Last time I checked, the King hadn’t died and anointed you the new king of England. So, if you don’t mind, I’m going to get on with my workout.”
“I do mind.” He moves a step forward, blocking my path. His eyes widen as they stare down at me.
I quickly evaluate my options. Duck under his arm? Knee him in the groin? Before I get a chance to either act or respond, a cleaner appears with a mop and bucket to clean up whatever mess he’s made.
Now that the mountain’s focus is off me, I’m free to follow them into the gym, where I’m greeted by an overwhelming odor of vomit.
“Bing, bang, bong. Clean up on aisle three. Clean up on aisle three.” The words escape my mouth before I think twice about it.
The cleaner and security guard both look over their shoulders back at me. I shrug and wave my hand at the window and treadmill with spew all over them.
It’s only when I hear a slight chuckle that I notice Alexander emerging from behind the pillar in the middle of the room. All the color has drained from his face. A hand towel is thrown overhis shoulder, and his bare torso reveals abs so defined it’s like DaVinci carved him out of marble.
The plastic bag in his hand, holding what must be his gym top, hovers close to the shortest shorts I’ve ever seen. They accentuate his thick thighs and a bulging crotch that looks even bigger in person. He must have caught me gazing a little too long, because he coughs, bringing my attention back up to his face.
“God, you’re a sight for Stevie Wonder’s eyes,” I say.
“You’re quite the comedian, aren’t you?” He arches his left eyebrow, and the right side of his lips move in a slight uptick.
I go to take a bow, but he quickly turns his attention to his security guard.
“Could you run this up to the room and bring me down another top?” He holds the bag out.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” The security guard nods at me.
Alexander hesitates. I see the flicker of doubt appear on his face.
“You heard the man,” I say, injecting myself into the conversation.
“I don’t take orders from you,” he says back. The frown line deepens in his forehead. It’s so deep that I momentarily wonder whether Botox would be enough to fix it, or if Polyfilla would do a better job.
“Can you two just fuck and get this sexual tension over with already?” Alexander says, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.
“He’s not my type,” I say to Alexander, with anooo-kayundertone. “No offense,” I say to the security guard, shrugging my shoulders.
“Some taken,” he responds, stifling a laugh, and for a moment, I see him softening.
“I’ll be alright, Rob, I promise. I just need to finish thisworkout. And anyway, I’m feeling a lot better now that I’ve been sick.” Some of the color is returning to Alex’s cheeks.
