Page 20 of Twisted Truth

He points out a woman on an elliptical and another over in the weights section with the subtlety of a rhino. I roll my eyes. God, no matter how many times Matthew and I have remindedhim to tone things down, he doesn’t do it. No wonder the women won’t talk to him. He’s like a bull in a China shop.

“I’ll talk to the one on the elliptical,” I say, and I can’t fully hide the annoyance in my tone. “And send Matthew over to talk to the other one.”

Thank god there are other people on this team, I think as I make my way over to the ellipticals. If this project was all left up to Craig, it would fail in a heartbeat.

I let my annoyance with Craig go as I step onto the elliptical next to the woman he pointed out. It’s time to focus on the task at hand.But how do I even go about this?I’ve never tried to pick up a woman for someone before. This is so awkward.

“I love your top,” I say, loudly, so she can hear me over her ear buds.

“What?” she asks, giving me a weird look and taking one ear bud out.

Kill me now; I’m as bad at this as a man. “I like your top,” I repeat. “Where did you get it?”

“Oh, thanks. On Amazon, I think.”

“I’m Ella. I’m new in the area. Do you work out here a lot? I’m on the week trial for the gym, so I’m trying to decide if I like it.”

“I’m Aspen. Yeah, I usually come here every day. It’s a nice gym, but it’s hella expensive and gets super crowded. But,” she leans a little closer to me and lowers her voice, “there are some pretty hot and well-off men that come here since it’s close to some big company buildings, so that’s a perk.”

“Ooh, I’d love to land me a hot, well-off businessman,” I joke.

“I know, right?” she says with a sly smile. “But I have a boyfriend, so I don’t look too hard. I just enjoy the sights.”

Damn.

“At least that makes for a funner workout.”

I stay on the elliptical for a few more minutes so I don’t looklike an idiot, then I step off and hurry over to the classroom as it fills up. There are several cute girls, but it’s hard to find a way to talk to them, and once the class starts, it’s impossible.

An hour later, I meet Matthew and Craig at the water fountain. I’m a sweaty mess from the dance funk class, and my spirits should be high after a fun workout like that, but they’re not. None of us has had any luck. Craig couldn’t get women to speak more than a couple of sentences to him, no surprise there. Matthew had much more success talking to women since he’s a delight, but like me, none of the women he talked to were available. We give the gym one last look over to see if any other women are an option, but quickly give up. The gym is a bust.

Hopefully the clubs will be more fruitful.

“I can getbehind you wearing my too short, too tight clothes in this case,” Zahra says, over video chat.

I’m back at her apartment, putting the final touches on getting ready to go out. She’s on a break, so she’s giving me her thoughts as I finish up. I don’t go clubbing often, and I’ve never gone with my coworkers, so I’m trying to find the balance between sexy enough to blend in while clubbing, but not too provocative since it’s a work field trip.

I glue natural-looking false lashes into place and take one last look at my hair and makeup. I think I got it right. My hair is still down and curled, but I added texturizing spray to give it a sexy, beachy feel. For my makeup, I did smoky eyes, but not too dramatic, and nude lipstick with gloss.

I hurry to Zahra’s closet. She has an amazing little black dress that I’m going to wear tonight. On her, it hangs just above her knees and hugs in all the right places. I cross my fingers that it looks as good on me as it does on her.

I slip into it and am immediately glad the fabric has somegive. If the fabric was stiff, it wouldn’t fit. The dress is tight, definitely clinging to my curves, and short. But I don’t really have any other options, so I’ve got to make this work. I stand in front of her floor-length mirror and hold up the phone so she can see.

“Oh my god,” she squeals. “That is so hot on you!”

“It’s a little short,” I say.

“Mid-thigh is not too short for clubbing.”

“I’m clubbing for work.”

“Even still. And your boobs! Girl, your boobs look like they should have a monument built and named after them. If I was there, I would bow to them.”

I laugh. The chest of the strapless dress is definitely tighter on me than on her, so it’s pushing my breasts up, up, up and out.

“But is it too much?” I ask, slipping on a pair of heels I got with Matthew yesterday. “I don’t want to be too risqué around my coworkers.”

“No! Turn around, let me see the back.” I do, and she squeals again. “Oh, my gosh. Your ass looks amazing, too. And your legs. Be thankful for your dancer’s legs.”