Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Jax
My body aches after a good workout, but it’s a feeling I relish. No pain, no gain. The old mantra has a lot of truth to it. High on adrenaline, it’s the first time in more than six months that I feel like I’m going the right direction. Hell, it’s the first time, in a very long time, I feel like I have
any
direction. And damn if Lily isn’t the icing on the cake to a deal I was already thinking was going to work out perfectly for me.
If I had any doubts I was making the right choice buying these gyms, getting a look at her little body and the way her nipples perked up when we touched just sealed the deal. You just never know what might throw a buyer over the edge when they’re teetering on a multi-million dollar purchase. I smile to myself wondering how many deals may actually have been sealed by a sexy woman.
Joe was adamant that the only type of investor he was looking for was a silent partner. I’d prefer a hand in managing the business right from the beginning, but the deal was too good for me to pass up, even without the opportunity to operate the company. But I figured once I formed a relationship with my new partner, I could open the door to taking on a less silent role. Now my mind is stuck thinking of a different type of role I’d like to take with Lily.
Women have been on the back burner in my private life lately. Desire sort of goes out the window when your life implodes all around you. The one bright spot I’ve been looking forward to has been closing the deal on Ralley’s Gyms. The fact that my prospective partner is smokin hot is a total damn bonus.
Still unable to shake the energy as night falls, I go for a run. Weaving in and out of pedestrians isn’t something I’m a stranger to, being from D.C., but the volume is vastly different in New York. Throngs of people still clutter the streets even though it’s after nine. Oddly, I don’t find it annoying. Instead I make it a challenge to maneuver through the chaos without breaking a stride.
Back in my ridiculously oversized hotel suite, I shower and slip into bed feeling good – something I haven’t felt in a long time. Lily’s smile keeps me company as I drift off to sleep, a perfect combination of exhilarated and exhausted.
Opening the door to the gym, I’m greeted with a smile by Lily. Now that’s a face I could get used to seeing every day. “Morning,” I smile back.
“Good morning, Jax.” Jax, not Jackson or Mr. Knight. I told her my friends call me Jax, yet I can’t help but think how much I’d like to hear Mr. Knight roll off her tongue. Perhaps in a breathless throaty voice between pants.
Stepping up to the desk she sits behind, I peer over at what she’s working on. She has her sketchpad and a narrow charcoal pencil, working on the start of something with fluid curved lines, but I can’t tell what the subject is yet.
“So when do you want to do it?”
Lily’s face pinks up. I hadn’t thought about the multiple ways my question could be taken, but I like the way she’s thinking.
She coughs to clear her throat and takes a sip from a bottle of water before speaking. “Do what?”
“Draw me.”
“Oh.”
“What did you think I was talking about?” I arch an eyebrow suggestively and the pink in her face darkens to a crimson shade of red.
“Oh…I…it’s okay, you don’t have to. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“I don’t mind.” I won’t tell her I’ve spent half my life posing for pictures. The fewer people that know the details of my life here, the better.
“Well…I…”
The door behind me opens, interrupting us. I know who it is without turning, just from the look on Lily’s face.
“Can I help you with something?” Shoulders back, Caden steps between me and where Lily’s sitting, looking like he’s ten seconds away from exploding. This guy must have radar, he seems to show every time I come within ten feet of Lily.
“Nope. All good.” I stand my position, completely aware he is trying to intimidate me and is not so subtly telling me to get lost.
“Lily’s busy. She’s trying to work here.” Caden folds his arms over his chest.
“Caden,” Lily warns. “I’m fine here. Why don’t you go do whatever it is you came in to do.”
“This guy doesn’t seem to understand you’re trying to work.”
“Then why don’t you let her work. We were just scheduling something.” Jackson suggests sternly, but Caden ignores what both of us are telling him.
“Whatever you need, you can schedule it with me.” Caden walks around the counter.
“I need a sparring partner for tomorrow,” I lie. Well, I do need a partner, but that’s not what I was trying to schedule.
A twisted smile on his face, I know what the asshole’s answer is going to be before he opens his mouth. “It would be my pleasure.”