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"This isn't any of your business," she says, crossing her arms over her chest. "And I doubt Russell needs a bouncer."
She feints left, but I anticipate and move into her space.
"Damn it." She goes still, raises one eyebrow like she's daring me and smirks.
Then she reaches out and twists my damn nipple.
"Ow, Weston. What the hell? That's my sensitive nipple."
But she's already taking advantage of my pain to rush past me and bang on Russell's door.
Russell must invite her in, because before I can get to her, she's opening the door and stepping inside.
I get there just in time to have Russell's door slammed in my face. She nearly took off my nose.
With a couple of curse words and a growl, I pull open the door and step inside.
"I want to talk to you about the gym." Clover smiles at Russell, all rainbows and sunflowers, and I can see the cantankerous old man is getting pulled right under her spell.
"If she's talking about the gym, I should be here, too." I step up next to her in front of Russell's desk.
"This has nothing to do with Mr. Aldridge," Clover says, hip checking me. Not that she's able to make me move. "I would like to speak to you in private, sir."
"If she's talking about the gym, I should definitely be here." I turn to face Clover as I speak. "Though I doubt there's anything you can tell Russ that will make him change his mind about selling me the gym."
Clover continues to face my boss, who's leaning back in his chair and watching us with an unreadable expression.
She sucks in a breath like she's psyching herself up. "I'd like to lay out for you why I'll be the better gym owner." She lifts her chin and crosses her arms over her chest, which pushes up her breasts to display her lovely cleavage. I force myself to look away. "That's what I meant to lead with, but Mr. Aldridge barging in here threw me off my game."
"Wow," I say. "I'd love to hear all the reasons a woman who allows goats to eat her clients' hair would be a better gym owner."
She spins to face me, so close I can count the freckles on her nose and notice how her dark blue eyes fade to green at the edges. "How do you even know that?"
"Unlike you, Ms. Weston. I'm in touch with the town and know what people are talking about."
She narrows her eyes. "That was my first goat yoga class, and it was an unfortunate accident, but it's a hell of a lot better than nearly burning down the whole town." She gasps and claps a hand over her mouth, eyes going wide, like she didn't mean to say that.
This is what she's got on me? If Russell wasn't a volunteer firefighter who already knew about my youthful indiscretions, I might actually be pissed. Instead, I can't help noticing that she smells like freshly mowed grass and her lips look damp, like she just licked them. I blink and focus. "I only burned down a few acres of forest. No one was hurt. At least I don't let anyone poop on our clients here."
She scowls and stomps on foot. "It was a goat who did the pooping. Don't make it sound like I let a human poop on my clients." She pokes a finger in my chest. "At least I don't have a criminal record. How can you be trusted not to steal from your clients?" She winces like even she realizes how bad that sounded.
I grab her finger and remove it from my chest, shaking off the zing that shoots up my arm when I touch her. I also ignore the small intake of air that lets me know she felt it too. I will not be distracted from what's important.
I step back and openly gloat. Russell is also an ex-con and fully aware of my history. No way he's going to want to sell his gym to such a high-maintenance, judgmental woman.
Russell clears his throat. "You two done?"
Clover's cheeks flush red and I smirk, sure I've won. Slowly, she turns back to my boss. "I'm sorry about that, Mr. Hinton. I allowed my emotions to get the best of me, but I promise I'mcalm and patient with clients. I really didn't mean to say any of that about Mr. Aldridge, but he… He's… He's inciting."
"I know you're a good trainer," Russell says. "I've looked into you, Ms. Weston, made a few phone calls, and heard nothing but wonderful things. Asher is also good with the clients and would run my gym well. So, I'm at an impasse. We need another way to decide this thing that will keep the two of you out of my damned office."
He's not smiling when he says it, but his tone is light. Even so, it's clear he's annoyed when he asks, "Any ideas for how we could solve this problem?"
Clover doesn't even hesitate. "Slide show presentation? I can have something for you by the end of the week."
I laugh, because it's better than admitting I have no idea how to put together a poster board presentation, much less a slide show. "How about we bench press for it?"
"Yes." Russell points at me, grinning. "A physical competition will demonstrate not just your commitment to this gym, but also your ability as a trainer. If you can train yourself, you can train anyone."
