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Mikayla
I sighed,sadness settling deep within my chest as I stared up at the gym I now owned. This was supposed to be a happy time for me. Everything was set up. I was ready to open now.
Excitement should have been thrumming through my veins.
Instead, I felt like shit. I’d rather have them back than have this gym.
I had my parents to thank for this moment in my life—being able to open my own business—but I wish they’d been alive to give me the loan rather than me using the inheritance I’d gotten from their death.
They’d been taken from me so unexpectedly. I’d even been on the phone with my mom when it happened. She’d been so excited about the date Dad had planned for the two of them and was gushing to me about it while Dad drove them to the restaurant.
Even now, ten months later, I could still hear the crunching of metal and their screams as if it were happening all over again.
Blinking back tears, I drew in a deep, calming breath before making my way across the lane to the gym to open the doors for its very first day. I already had people with memberships from the deals I’d hosted and advertised the past couple of months while I worked my ass off to get this place going in a very short amount of time. So, I wasn’t opening without a steady income flowing in.
“Mikayla!” Lennox called, waving at me as she rushed across the parking lot. She was the first employee I hired, and she hadn’t even cared that it would be a while before we opened for business. While I hired other employees over time to begin work the first week, Lennox was the only one I began paying immediately due to her enthusiasm for my gym. She’d been here with me every single day, seven days a week, helping me set up and prepare. And she hadn’t complained once.
Making her my assistant manager had been a no-brainer.
“Hey!” I waved at her, a smile tilting my lips. “Ready for our first day?”
“Hell yes, I am!” she gushed. “I’ve been dying for a decent gym to get opened in this tiny ass town. You’re a fuckin’ genius for doing it, girl! I had three people ask me if we were finally opening today while I was grabbing breakfast for us.” She handed me a paper bag that smelled so good, my stomach rumbled. “It’s not healthy, but eh. We deserve an unhealthy breakfast after the hard work we’ve been putting in.”
I laughed and headed into my office, setting the breakfast she’d gotten me on my desk. “You’ve definitely got that right. And since you treated me to breakfast, I’ll treat you to lunch.”
She made a moaning sound as she bit into her breakfast sandwich. “Oooh, yes, girl. Please. Thank you. I don’t even care what you get.”
I snickered. If there was anything in the world Lennox loved, it was food. She could put away a good bit of it and still look like a million fucking dollars.
I settled into my desk chair so I could quickly eat my breakfast while Lennox stuffed the rest of her food in her mouth. After, she quickly dipped out of my office and began working. I knew Lennox would handle anyone that came in while I scarfed down the delicious-smelling food she’d gotten—
“Lennox, you’re the fucking best!” I yelled as I unwrapped the chicken biscuit. She’d even had egg and cheese added to it. Fuck, this was heavenly. Nothing better than my favorite breakfast food to celebrate my opening day.
“I know!” she yelled back, making me laugh.
I smiled and shook my head. If my day continued like this, it would be a really good day, and I couldn’t wait to experience it. I neededsomethingto pick me up after the sadness that had been cloaking me for the past few days.
* * *
“Lennox, I’m going to get lunch!” I called. She was teaching an older woman how to operate the treadmill, but she glanced up at me for a moment before smiling and waving me off.
The sky was overcast with dark, ominous clouds when I stepped outside. I huffed, glaring up at the sky. My mood had been lightening by the hour, but the dark clouds overhead were practically mocking me.
I sighed. If there was anything living in this town had taught me, it was that the weather was extremely unpredictable and could turn on someone in a mere second.
Hell, they hadn’t even predicted rain today! But those clouds told me it was going to pour.
Grumbling, I made my way to my car and slid into the driver’s seat before heading to the Chinese take-out restaurant next to Tractor Supply. By the time I made it the few miles down the road to the restaurant, it was already beginning to rain, so I quickly rushed out of my car and ran under the awning.
And proceeded to slam into a warm, brick wall.
“Ugnh.” Warm hands grasped my upper arms to steady me, and I snapped my head up, any apology I’d been about to give dying in my throat.
Holy fucking shit balls.I didn’t even know men this gorgeous existed anymore.
The guy standing in front of me had messy brown hair with a trimmed beard covering his jawline. Gorgeous blue eyes stared back down at me, roving over my face and drinking me in the same way I was drinking him in. His fingers were warm and calloused, and his biceps were thick. He had the body of a hard worker instead of a bodybuilder, and fuck, could I appreciate the hell out of that.
