Page 25 of Charm and Conquer


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"Oh," he says. "Chest hugs."

I stare at him for a long moment. "How'd you learn to do it if you don't know what it's called?"

"I saw other guys at the gym do it and made up my own name for it. I usually use thirties."

"Uh-huh. I'm starting you with fifteens to make sure you learned proper form from the random guys you watched at the gym."

"Hold up," Russell says. "Sorry to interrupt your workout, Cody, but I think you'll get a kick out of this too."

Cody and I join Russell as he holds his phone out and hits play on a video. It takes less than a second for me to recognize Clover's ass. My hand is covering half of it, but I still recognize her ass in those black yoga pants first.

Someone got a video of me and Clover on the side of the trail, making out.

I grab the phone from Russell and toss it behind the check-in desk. The floor there is covered in thick mats, so it probably didn't break. Russell doubles over, laughing his ass off.

"Was that you and Clover Weston?" Cody asks. "Doesn't she hate you? Didn't she try to get Russell to fire you?"

And I remember why I was so desperate to get out of this small town when I was a teenager.

Russell makes a rude gesture. "Don't have to like someone to want to fu—"

"Alright. That's enough. What happened between me and Clover is between us. No one else should talk about it or watch videos or anything else."

"Not only is that video on the town social page, it's also on FlimFlam and it's gone viral," Russell says. "People especially love the look on your face when you realize Clover is talking about an actual snake and not your—"

"Enough," I say. "Cody, do you know how to get a video taken down?"

Cody crosses his arms over his chest and rocks back on his heels like he's considering. "Not even a little."

I sigh and run a hand through my hair. I'm a young millennial, practically Gen Z, but I didn't grow up with money and access to bucket-loads of technology. My later years haven't given me a ton of reasons to get better at it.

"Don't stress," Cody says. "I've got a fifteen-year-old son who can help you. He'll charge you, but he can help."

"What's the point?" Russell wipes away his tears of laughter. "The whole town, hell the entire world's, already seen it."

"Because people don't need to be watching it on repeat and…" I gesture at crotch level. "Thinking things."

Cody snorts. "Is that what people are calling it these days?"

"You know what I mean. When can your kid help me?"

Cody slaps my back. "He's at school right now. I'll talk to him tonight and get back to you."

I nod, but I want to pull my hair out. It's bad enough for me, but Clover hates me. If she's seen this video, how will she not feel violated? "Can I have a minute, Cody? I need to make a call."

"I'll take over his training," Russell says. "I'll get him on a bag."

"No." I point at Russell for emphasis, but he's already heading toward the nearest punching bag. "Russ, I've got a plan for Cody that doesn't involve busting up his knuckles on the bag."

"It's all good. A man's knuckles are meant to be busted up."

"I'll punch softly," Cody says in a low voice.

I ignore them both because making sure Clover is okay is more important right now.

I slip into Russell's office and take a seat behind his desk while I hold my phone to my ear and wait for it to ring through.

"Hey, Buddy," Grant says. "How's it feel to be a celebrity?"

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