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My insides still stung when I woke up the next morning. Unable to stay around and wait for another confrontation with her, I left our bedroom ninja style, got dressed, grabbed my gym stuff and made my way to APEX 2, our second branch, and one of the hottest gyms in all of Kirkmuir. Sad and I had opened it a year and a half before, and we had splurged on the latest equipment on the market.
As usual, I cringed slightly when I entered and saw my own face smirking back at me.
Has Kat seen these?
I had no idea which of our gyms she frequented.
One quick look into the system and you’ll know.
But no, I didn’t stalk our customers, no matter how hot or lovely they were. The idea that she walked past the half-dressed blown up versions of myself felt…weirdly good.
I’d noticed her looking at Lewis at the shoot, but her eyes had definitely also lingered on me. Grinning stupidly, I checked the front desk. Colleen, one of our staff members, was talking to someone in full protective gear.
“Declan?” I called as I approached them.
My personal assistant started, turning his head at me so quickly he appeared to crick his neck. “Hey boss.” Clearing his throat, he returned the grin, but it looked more like an act of submission—if he had a tail I was sure it would have been tucked between his legs.
What on earth?Avoiding the urge to clap my hand to his shoulder, I resorted to nodding at him in what I hoped was an encouraging manner.
“Good to see you. What are you doing here?”
Judging by his outfit, he was taking his first ever kickboxing lesson. I wasn’t sure that was the kind of exercise his doctor had in mind for his funky back, but it was Declan’s decision. And maybe, I thought to myself, it had been influenced by Emilio’s staff picture on our website.
Before Dec could answer, a voice from right behind us greeted me. “Jefe, good morning,” Emilio purred silkily. He wore a pair of short APEX shorts and a black tank that exposed his sick muscles and the large laurel tattoo on his left shoulder blade. Declan’s eyes briefly hung on Mio’s broad shoulders, then travelled down the jaguar’s body, before he blushed beautifully.
Gotcha.
Emilio Garcia Lopez, more famously known as El Animal, had been a pro MMA fighter for a few years before retiring in his mid-twenties—‘while I still had some brain cells left’, as he’d told me during his job interview. I hired him on the spot, and hadn’t regretted it one single day.
“El Animal. Hola, qué tal?” I grinned, grabbing his paw in the stupid-ass gym bro grip we always did.
He smirked back, showing off his blinding white canines.
“Good, jefe. How are you?”
I shrugged noncommittally. Mio’s eyes left me to heavily settle on Dec again.
“You must be Declan. It is your first kickboxing lesson today, no?”
“Yeah,” my PA breathed, running a hand over his head to ruffle his curls, but forgetting about the padded helmet. He blushed again, causing Emilio to smirk at him.
“I’ll leave you to it.” Trying to hide my grin, I quickly made my way to the changing rooms.
***
I had just arrived in the weights room after finishing my cardio warm-up, and was stacking the barbell with weights, when a familiar voice behind me asked if I needed help lifting that.
“No thanks, old man,” I snorted, turning around at my business partner. “Glad to assist you, though.”
Sad chuckled as he walked over. We both knew that as a Leonid, he was no match for me strength-wise. I had six inches in height and thirty or forty pounds in muscle on him.
“How are you, mate? I haven’t seen you in ages.” He tried to keep his voice light, but I heard the concern nonetheless.
“I’m okay. I just have a lot to do with the launch, photo shoots, meetings, you know the drill.”
Sadeeq surveyed me with a regality only a lion could muster.
“Promise me you’ll take care of yourself, Raja. APEX needs you. Heck, I need you. I can’t do this shit without my best friend, yeh?”
