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“As for why I’m up so early, I’m also heading to the gym and breakfast. Although, I planned on having breakfast delivered to my room so that I don’t run into my boss again today,” Shelby said.
“Want to work out together?” he asked. He was pretty sure that spending one on one time with Shelby would be considered breaking the rules that he and Tanner had always lived by. If they were both interested in a woman, they agreed that neither of them would spend alone time with her. It just got too complicated and hurt feelings were usually deal-breakers in their dating the same women. He would never do anything to hurt his best friend—ever.
“I’d love to,” Shelby agreed.
“Give me just one second. I like to try to get Tanner to work out with me, although, he usually grumbles something about it being too early and tells me to fuck off.” He pounded on Tanner’s hotel room door and heard a bunch of cussing coming from the other side of the door.
“He’s even less of a morning person than I am,” Shelby said.
“You have no idea. He’s like a bear in the morning. I have to schedule our meetings for later so that I actually have a chance of him showing up on time,” Declan said.
Tanner pulled the door open just as Declan held up his fist to pound on it again. “What?” Tanner barked. He looked like he was about ready to kill Declan until he saw Shelby standing next to him. “What the hell is going on?” Tanner asked.
Declan could tell that his friend had the same ideas that he had when he first saw Shelby in the hallway this morning. He held up his hands as if in defense. “Not that,” Declan insisted. “I was on my way to the gym when I ran into Shelby. She’s heading there too, and you know that I always try to get you to tag along. Want to come to the gym with us, man?” Declan asked. It was a total lie. Declan knew better than to ever ask Tanner to get up early and go to the gym with him. Tanner didn’t do anything physical early in the morning—well, except fuck. His friend usually worked out late at night when everyone else was sleeping. He said that he liked burning off all of his excess energy before going to bed. Declan did too, but his way of burning off energy before bed usually involved a hot, willing woman shouting out his name.
Tanner looked him over as if he had lost his mind and Shelby giggled. “He doesn’t look like he’s very enthusiastic about working out, Declan,” she assessed.
“I like to work out, just not at the butt crack of dawn,” Tanner said. “You two go on ahead and I’ll try to wake up enough to catch up. If I don’t come down, it’s because I’ve fallen back to sleep.”
Tanner started to shut his door and Shelby called into him. “Don’t forget about us meeting out here at nine,” she reminded.
“I won’t,” Tanner said. Declan had already set reminders on Tanner’s phone to wake him every five minutes starting at eight. That way, he’d have time to wake up, eat something, drink a shit ton of coffee, and be ready to head out at nine, just like they had promised Shelby.
“He’ll be ready,” Declan assured her as the door shut in their faces.
“How can you be sure?” she asked.
“I hijacked his phone during our meetings yesterday and set alarms to start waking him at eight. He’ll be ready on time, I’m sure of it.”
“You’re sneaky,” she accused. “I like that in a person.” Declan hoped that she’d like him for more than him being sneaky, but they’d get to that. He followed her down to the gym and was pleasantly surprised that the place was not only well equipped but was also empty. He hated waiting for a machine or dealing with other people. It was one of the reasons why he’d built a state-of-the-art gym in his home.
“This place is nice,” he said.
“Yeah, but I stand the chance of being hunted down in here,” she said, nodding to the cameras. “Claude has eyes everywhere. If he knows that I’m in here working out, he might try to get me to work today. I just don’t feel right starting my day without working out, you know?” she asked. He did understand how she felt. He felt the same way about starting his day with a workout. It gave him energy and he was much more productive.
“I get it,” he said. “And if Claude comes looking for you, tell him you have plans for the day. I’ll back you up.” He knew exactly who this Claude guy was. Once the slimy bastard realized who he and Tanner were and why they were there, he changed his bad attitude and rolled out the red carpet to them. They might only own a few hotels back in the states, but their names were growing in acclaim in the industry. A man like Claude was always looking for a leg up. He’d want to manage the next, big venture in the hotel world, and he and Tanner planned on opening that themselves. What Claude didn’t realize was that men like him were a dime a dozen and there was no way that he’d hire a sleazeball like Claude.
“Thanks, Declan,” Shelby said. “No one has had my back for a while now, it feels good.”
