Brawl (3 page)

Steve’s office door opens and he walks out chatting to a tall, dark haired man. I glance up at the new guy, knowing he must be pretty spectacular to catch Amy’s discerning eye.  My heart skips a beat when he lifts his head and I am left staring into the gorgeous green eyes of the guy who ran me over in the supermarket.

“Gabbi,” Steve smiles when he sees me, “I was just telling Nathan here all about you. You two will be working very closely together. I need you to show him the ropes.”

“Nathan,” Steve says, gesturing towards me. “This is Gabbi.”

“Call me Nate. I’ve told you a million times.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Steve laughs when Nate corrects him. “You have mentioned it a time or two.”

My heart’s beating a million miles an hour in my chest as I watch them together and it dawns exactly what the hell’s going on. My wild side is colliding with my normal life.

Fuck.
I keep my two lives
extremely
separate—excluding Amy because she has as much to lose as I do—so this goddamned meeting of chance is a screw up of epic proportions.

“Gabbi’s your new second-in-charge,” Steve continues, oblivious to my emerging panic.

“Nice to meet you again,
Gabbi
.” Nate smiles the same, sexy smile that he used on me in the supermarket and I feel my face heat. His eyes are dancing, and it’s clear he’s not going to make this easy for me. “I hope your ankle isn’t giving you too much trouble?”

“No, it’s fine thanks,” I smile nervously at him before Steve’s words sink in. I look away from Nate, stand up and stare at Steve. “What do you mean second-in-charge?”

“Oh, it’s just a little promotion that I cooked up for you to celebrate finishing high school.” He laughs, his blue eyes sparkling with mirth. Steve has been really good to me since I started working here, and if I hadn’t made a gigantic fuck-up with Nate earlier today, I’d be over the moon with this news. Instead, my hands are clammy and I’m filled with worry. “I was going to tell you that you’d been promoted when I saw you tonight but here you are.”

Watching Nate flinch at the mention of high school eases my fears a little. He must’ve thought I’m older than I am. Maybe now he knows, he’ll take mercy on me, and not mention in front of my ultra-conservative boss that I basically promised him a no-strings-attached fuck later tonight.

My clit twitches unhappily, letting me know about her disappointment that fucking Nate is off the bloody cards now. My grandpa had a saying, “you don’t shit where you eat”, and since it makes infinite sense to me, I live by it. It’s just a pity that his own son couldn’t grasp the logic.

As far as my colleagues are concerned, I’m
the
ice-queen. Apart from Steve and Amy, I make it my mission to keep my work relationships cordial and nothing more. If the other PT’s try it on, they get a curt refusal. If they try it again, I give them a tongue lashing. Word’s spread so I don’t get propositioned often. I hope Nate isn’t going to pursue our planned hook up now that he knows he’s my boss.

“Well, I have a proposal for you so I thought I’d drop in.” I say, nodding towards Zali who’s still sitting down waiting for me to introduce her. Motioning her to stand up, I grab her hand and pull her next to me. “Steve, this is my little sister Zali. Zali, this is Steve. Zali’s looking for a traineeship and she’s pretty interested in personal training.

I squeeze Zali’s hand when I see her mouth open to correct me. Lying is the only way I’m going to get her the job so she needs to keep her mouth shut. “She’s on the school’s cheer squad and she’s looking to try-out for the Castle Hill squad soon.”

Chancing a look at my sister to gauge whether she’s going to follow through with my bullshit story, I catch a sidelong gaze between her and Nate. Anger tinged with annoyance creeps in, and I scowl at him when he directs his attention to me next. He winks, unapologetically, a satisfied grin crossing his lower face.

Dumbass must think I’m annoyed because I’m jealous. That’s not the case at all. I’m used to male attention turning to my gorgeous little sister when they see us together. She’s classically beautiful. Taller than me by a good four inches, blonde, and with legs to die for, I’m sure she’s starred in more wet dreams than she’ll ever be able to comprehend. The only things we share are a decent sized set of tits and amber eyes—apart from that we’re like night and day, looks wise. I’m the alternative-looking, scary sister and she’s the shiny, bright jewel that everyone covets. No, I didn’t scowl at him because I’m jealous. It’s because she’s sixteen and ill-equipped at dealing with male attention.

“Keep dreaming”, I mouth, and he coughs to cover up the burst of laughter that breaks free from him. Narrowing my eyes at him, I wait until he meets my gaze again before I let the full force of the rage that constantly simmers just below my surface show in my expression. He blanches as he takes it in, his laughter stopping as suddenly as it started.

“Is everything okay here?” Steve asks, looking between the pair of us.

“I’m good,” I reply. Closing the distance between Steve and I, and deliberately angling my back so that I cut Nate out of the conversation, I hit him with as close to a pleading gaze as anyone will ever elicit from me. “So, what do you think? She’ll be perfect for you.”

Steve smiles and asks, “How old are you, Zali?”

He’s obviously noted Zali’s school uniform.

“I’m sixteen,” Zali replies.

Steve’s smile drops and he looks at me, confusion in his eyes. “You know I’m looking for someone to work full time, Gabbi.”

“I know that, but Zali can work full time hours and still complete school. She can do at least two hours before school and more hours after school. They’re your peak times anyway. And if you sign her to a school based traineeship in Sports Science, she can receive credits towards her studies. And since the traineeship is a formal part of her education, she can spend at least two study sessions a day at the gym.”

I’m talking fast so I can pre-empt all of Steve’s issues with hiring Zali.

This has to happen.
I need this to happen.

“I think it is a good idea, Steve,” Nate interrupts. He moves past me, coming to a stop too close to me. Our arms brush, and the smirk he directs my way before he speaks again, lets me know that it’s deliberate. “It’d be better to have someone in Zali’s situation working for you rather than have someone doing a traineeship during nine to five. You can structure her hours around busy times and avoid paying overtime. I completed a school based apprenticeship at my uncle’s gym, so I’d love to give someone else the leg up I got.”

Steve’s starting to look convinced so I throw in my final incentive. “You’ll also receive a payment from the government for taking on a school based trainee...”

Steve laughs at me. It’s unusual for me to show this type of enthusiasm for anything. “Well, if my manager and his second think it’s a good idea, who am I to argue? What do you say, you wanna join this team?”

“Definitely.” Zali squeals, with her typical cheerleader perkiness. I watch both of the men melt as they take her in. “I can start today if you want.”

“I like your style.” Steve chuckles. “But Monday will be soon enough. Come into my office and we’ll work out the details.”

Zali follows Steve into his office and I almost burst with satisfaction. We’re one step closer to independence.

“Thanks for backing me.” I tell Nate, taking a deliberate step away from him. Looking him straight in the eye, I continue, “We’re not going to have any issues, are we? It’s not like we actually fucked.”

Straightforward is my middle name so I hit him with my question without preamble. He mustn’t have been expecting it because his eyes widen with surprise and he stutters his answer. “F-fucked?”

“Yeah, you know? Meeting at Nitro’s tonight? Fucking afterward?”

Biting down on my bottom lip so I don’t crack a smile while I watch him work hard to regain his cockiness from earlier today, I can’t help the small giggle that escapes when he leans against the top of the receptionist counter and winks at me. Amy shoots me a shocked look when the sounds escapes. I’m not a giggler, but seeing Nate thrown off his game is fucking hilarious.

“I don’t see how working together impacts fucking tonight?”

And he’s back.

My slight giggle turns into a full blown attack. Amy finally figures out what we’re alluding to and she bursts into laughter as well. Her gorgeous oval eyes, courtesy of her Asian heritage, crinkle with mirth as we both laugh at him.

“What’s so fucking funny?” he asks. Irritation covers his attractive features and he straightens to stand with his hands on both his hips.

“She doesn’t shit where she eats,” Amy answers him, between bouts of laughter.

Confusion mingles with his irritation and he narrows his eyes at me. “Huh?”

“In other words, I don’t fraternize with my colleagues.”

Understanding dawns, and he puts his game face back on. “We’ll see. I’m pretty bloody irresistible.”

Amy can’t contain herself anymore. She flops back in her chair and howls great big wails of snorting glee. “This. Is. Going. To. Be...fucking fun,” she pauses after each word in an attempt to drag in enough oxygen to say the next as she continues laughing. “I’m. Gonna. Start. A. Betting pool.”

Rolling my eyes at her, I ignore Nate as he waits for an answer to his self-assured declaration. Rounding her desk, I grab both of her hands and haul her to her feet.

“When’s your break, Ames? I think Zali’ll be with Steve for at least half an hour.”

“Right now, chicky.” Amy’s panting in an effort to catch her breath. Curiosity is as clear as day in her expression when she looks between me and Nate. She wants to know the full story about my ankle and where we’ve met before.

Phoning one of the other staff to cover for her, she locks her computer screen, and grabs her handbag. I watch Nate take her in with eyes that grow wide when she glides from behind her desk and he gets an eyeful of her short denim skirt, tight white T-shirt with the gym’s logo on it, and massive wedges. She’s the perfect mix of Asian and Caucasian; she could be a supermodel and the bitch knows it. Shaking my head when his mouth drops open, I dismiss his earlier declaration about seeing if I can resist him. He’s found someone much yummier to take his mind off me.

Poor guy doesn’t need to know just yet that she’s even harder to crack than I am.

Smile firmly on my face, I watch Amy toss her long, black hair over her shoulder and fix her big brown eyes on Nate. “If Steve comes out of his office before I get back, can you let him know that I’m having my lunch break. I’ll be back in forty-five.”

She purrs her request at Nate, and he nods like a lovesick puppy-dog.

Linking arms with me, we grin at each other and leave him to it. His gaze is hot on both of our backs as we make our way to the exit.

I imagine he’s trying to work out what he’s got himself into.

Gabbi

“S
o spill the deets.” Amy gets straight to the point the second we’re out of Nate’s ear shot. I groan inwardly; the walk to our usual café is going to be long with this gossip hound.  When I don’t answer her fast enough, she pinches the inside of my arm.

“Okay, okay. This goes no further than you, though.” I fix a don’t-fuck-with-me glare on her and she nods with perceptible reluctance. Making her keep a secret is akin to torture—gossip is her vice. “We met at the supermarket. He ran his shopping cart into me and made my ankle bleed. I cussed him out and we left it at that.”

I screw my nose up at her. “Happy now?”

“I would be if I thought that was the whole story.” Her big brown eyes are pleading for the juicy details.

“All right then, you nosy bitch.” I bump her with my shoulder so she knows I’m only joking. “He hit on me. And I might have agreed to meet up with him at Nitro’s tonight.”

Amy giggles when she sees my face. “So now you’re packing it that he’s going to let the cat out the bag at work and they’ll all work out that you’re not the angry little ice queen you pretend you are?”

“Nah, I’m still angry, I just like to fuck my frustrations down to a manageable level.”

Her shoulders bounce as she silently laughs and I smirk at her.

“Amen to that sister,” Amy quips as we reach our destination and make our way through the entrance. “Although, I’m tempted to take the little hottie out for a spin myself if you’re not interested.”

“Spin away, Ms. Cougar. If he’s occupied with you, then he won’t be eyeing Zali.” Pulling out my chair once we’ve reached our favorite table, I lift my eyebrows at her and shrug, a devious smirk curling my lips. “You can use your pussy to sweet talk him into helping me maintain my ice queen rep.”

“Looks like I’m taking one for the team,” she drawls. “And that’s enough of the cougar talk. I’m not
that
much older than him.”

***

T
aking a deep breath, I pull open the door to the gym. I just want to grab Zali and get the fuck out of here. Cooper needs to be picked up from school and I still need to find a way to butter up Zali enough so she’ll agree to watch him tonight. It’s my only night off this week and my body needs to release its pent up hostilities before I end up in a fist fight with someone—namely our mom.

Leaving Amy to chat at the front reception desk, I walk through the gym to the back office area, saying hello to the staff and regulars who call my name. The gym is state of the art, modern and new. We offer personal training sessions from four in the morning until midnight because there’s a lot of shift workers in our area who need those hours. Steve’s poured his heart and soul into this place and I love it. I feel more at home here than I do at my own house. During the two years I’ve worked here, I think Cooper’s spent more time in the crèche, watching me hold training sessions, and sleeping on the sofa bed in the staff room than he’s spent at home.

I used to leave him at home until it became clear that Mom wouldn’t hesitate to sneak out once he was asleep. After the last frantic phone call from him asking me to come pick him up because he was home alone, I decided it was easier to bring him everywhere with me. It’s not a perfect situation for an eight-year-old but it’s the best I can manage.