Consumed (9 page)

I hang up and run to my room throwing on underwear, a pair of skinny jeans, a white silk blouse and a light blue cardigan. My hair is a bird’s nest because I slept with it wet and the brush rips through my knots. I pretty much cry as it causes my scalp to burn. I put on base foundation and some eye make-up. In my bag I throw in some tights and a tank top so I can go to the gym after work. Hopefully, Seth spends this morning in the gym and we can avoid an awkward run in later on.

I run from the house and practically dive into my car. I’m in such a rush I don’t even bother putting a seat belt on and when I arrive at work my cheeks are slightly flushed from having to park ages down the street and sprint the rest of the way.

“Olivia, you made it.” Mason smiles at me as I step through the front door. He rises from the reception desk and straightens his navy blue suit. “Can I speak with you in my office for a moment?”

Dread slivers through my stomach.
Crap... maybe I am getting fired.
I follow him into his room and he closes the door behind me, gesturing to the seat in front of his desk. I sit down and open my mouth to speak, but he raises a finger to silence me. He sits on the edge of his desk in front of me. He’s so close his knee almost touches mine.

“Relax, I’m not firing you.” I almost sag in relief. “I wanted to see how you’re doing...”

“I’m fine.” I reply, smiling widely.

“Define fine?”

“I don’t know... I’m fine. Happy. Free.”

His arms cross in front of him. “Are you fine enough to go out to dinner with me?”

I feel my smile fade. “Mason... we’ve spoken about this before.”

“I know, but you had a boyfriend then.”

“I only broke up with him two days ago.” I point out. Thank God he doesn’t know I almost slept with someone last night. “Besides, I’m still your employee.”

He leans toward me. “Olly—”

“Olivia.” I warn him maybe a little too harshly. I can’t stand Olly.

“Sorry, Olivia, it’s one dinner. I’m not asking you to marry me.”

“I know, but I feel like dating you would be crossing a line. You’re my boss and I don’t want to mix business with pleasure.” I also want to add that he is too old for me, but I decided not to, to spare his feelings.

His brows knit together and his blue eyes look pleading. “One dinner. That’s all I’m asking for.”

“I’m sorry.” I say, finalizing our discussion. I push my chair back and stand up. “I’m going to start work now, if I still have a job.”

He nods, running his hands through his hair and I leave the room. When I step out of his office I can breathe better, but I don’t feel better because I know this will happen again and again until I give in. I hate breaking Mason’s heart, but the thought of dating him really puts me out of my comfort zone regardless of how handsome he is.

Work is awkward, to say the least. Mason comes out every hour and collects a new patient without batting an eyelid in my direction. If past rejections are anything to go off he’ll be back to talking to me in two days. I sigh and tap my thumb on the keyboard. Work is slow today which is uncharacteristic for a Wednesday and because I have nothing to occupy myself I can’t stop thinking about Seth. Pictures of his lips on mine flash through my mind and I swear I can feel them. A familiar ache pulses between my thighs and I squeeze my knees together, leaning back in my chair. The erotic feelings I have for Seth this morning disappoint me because I’m humiliated and frustrated. I want to hit the treadmill or punch things—anything that will help me wind down.

In my pocket my phone vibrates and it jolts me out of my less-than-wholesome and less-than-peaceful thoughts. I pull it out and check it. Selena is calling me.

“Hello?” I answer.

“There you are! Jesus. I’ve been trying to call you since I got home last night. I was starting to think that maybe you had ended up in a ditch just like you feared. Anyway, speaking of last night, how’d it go?” Her ‘
you have to tell me everything
’ tone doesn’t go by unnoticed.

“It didn’t go. Seth dropped me off and that was it.” I choose to leave out the part about us making out and letting him touch me between the thighs. I’m embarrassed to tell Selena what happened because I know something like that has never happened to her.

“You’re such a liar!” She squeals, cackling like a crazy woman.

“I’m not. I swear I didn’t have sex with him.”

Her laugh stops abruptly. “Do you swear on our friendship?”

Whatever the hell that means. “Yes, I swear.”

“Oh.” The excitement from her tone disappears. “Is he gay?” Her question draws a snort from me. “Because you looked sexy in that dress...”

“He’s not gay, Sel. It might be hard for you to believe, but some people that don’t know each other well don’t have sex at the drop of the hat.”

She laughs wildly again and I can imagine her doing it—head tilted back, mouth wide, exposing her perfect teeth. “There were a lot of people talking at the club after you left. Seth seems pretty well known for a guy that just moved here and the consensus is that
he
has sex at the drop of
anything
. I was almost certain you’d get some.”

I frown. If he loves sex so much why couldn’t he have sex with me? Maybe his excuse was a cop-out... maybe I am plain, boring and not appealing to majority of the opposite sex. As quick as the thought entered my head, I squash it down. He was all over me in the beginning. “Yeah, well, I didn’t.”

She sighs. “Me either. Hey, you had fun last night, right?”

“Yes...”

“Do you want to go out again tonight?”

I slump into my seat. “I don’t know, Selena. Last night with Blade—”

“Blade’s a wanker. We’ll go somewhere else, somewhere low key. O, c’mon. We didn’t get enough time to hang out last night.”

I pause for a few seconds, weighing my options. If I do go out who knows what time I’ll get back or if I’ll even get out of bed for work tomorrow morning. If I don’t go out I’ll be stuck at home thinking about Seth and eventually resort to self-pleasure. But if I do...I’ll have enough to keep my mind occupied.

“I’m feeling too indecisive right now, call me back later.”

“Okay, but you have to promise you’ll think about it?”

“I promise.” I reply, remembering to cross my toes.

“Awesome! Love you, bitch.”

She hangs up and I slide my phone back into my pocket. I’m in such a crappy mood to think about anything right now.

Today sucks.

***

I pull on the big gym door but it doesn’t open. Strange. Dad never closes early—ever. I use the spare key hanging from my car keys. Dad said I can come and use the gym whenever I want even if it’s closed. I guess it’s one of those times. I step inside and lock the door behind me. When I turn around I jump, seeing at least eight pairs of eyes on me. They’re surrounding the boxing ring and my dad is amongst them. My eyes immediately lock with Seth’s. He’s inside the ring, sweating and panting. It’s such an amazing sight and my knees shake a little.

I want to slap myself.

I feel my cheeks heat up in embarrassment under his gaze.
He rejected me last night
. I swallow down the bitter taste.

“Sorry,” I announce, making eye contact with Dad. “I didn’t know anyone was here. I can go...”

“Don’t be silly, Olly.” Dad calls, walking over to me. Great, now Seth knows my nickname. “This is as much your gym as it is mine.”

I regard him curiously. He’s upbeat which is strange for him and there’s a huge smile spread over his face. He pulls me into a hug and the fatherly smell has been replaced with sweat.

“You smell.” I chuckle as he pulls away.

He ignores me. “Honey, I’ve got some good news”

I glance at Seth who’s now leaning on his forearms on the top rope watching us—watching me—to be more exact. The other people surrounding the ring are people I’ve never seen before—two of them are wearing headgear and boxing gloves—obviously Seth’s sparring partners. Another is wearing sporty clothes and a white cap that is pulled down on his forehead complimenting his dark complexion. Around his neck is a stop watch and in his hands is a clipboard. The others wore suits. I look at dad and I’m officially confused.

“You’re not selling the gym are you?” I whisper.

Dad laughs loudly. “Never in a million years.”

He tucks me under his arm and guides me over to the people. I fight the urge to dig my feet in. I don’t want to go anywhere near Seth. “Seth has hired me as a tactics advisor.”

“And what’s that?” I ask, turning to face Dad and preventing him for pushing me any closer. I’ve never seen him so happy. His cheeks are practically bursting with happiness.

“Your father has a keen eye when it comes to MMA.” The guy with the stop watch says. “A tactics advisor will help Seth identify certain moves before a takedown or a submission. The tactics advisor will also identify weak points in a hold or submission so that Seth is able to exploit them.”

I feel like he has memorized a passage from a textbook and repeated it to me. Yep, still just as boring.

“Dad, you have no training in anything like that.” Concern is thick in my voice. I know he doesn’t need any more stress in his life and I can foresee this getting very stressful for him... or maybe I’m just being bitter because Seth is involved.

“How many Mixed Martial Arts DVD’s do I own? How many fights have I recorded and downloaded? All of them. I’ve watched them back to front and I know everything there is to know. This sport is my passion and I’ve always wanted to work on a team behind a fighter and I have the best one right here in my gym.” He gestures to Seth and I roll my eyes. The last thing he needs is his ego boosted higher. “This is what I’m meant to be doing with my life.”

“And what does Mom have to say about all of this?”

Dad rubs the back of his neck. “That’s the thing... I haven’t told her yet.”

“Dad—”

“I will tonight. I’m taking her to that fancy place she likes, uh—” He clicks his fingers trying to remember the name.

“Phillip’s Gourmet.” I answer for him.

“Right.”

His big brown eyes stare at me, waiting for me to say something else.

“Well,” I begin. “If it makes you happy, then I’m happy.” I kiss his warm cheek and head to the shower room to change into my gym clothes. I’m not going to let Seth’s presence deter me from working out.

When I’ve changed into a pair of tights and a tank top, I step out from a little cubicle and Seth with all of his glorious sweatiness is leaning against the wall by the mirrors. His presence forces a mass of butterflies in my stomach, making me feel nauseous. I stop in my tracks and pull my bag a little tighter against me. I let my gaze drag to meet his and I try not to gape at the unadulterated perfection of his appearance. His black hair is messy and wet against his forehead. His skin is coated in a thin layer of sweat and not to mention the muscles that ripple underneath his flawless skin. It’s unfair that someone can be so good-looking and desirable when all I want to do is forget about them. I swallow over and over again, trying to get rid of the sudden dryness in the back of my throat as I watch him carefully.

“Are you okay with me hiring your dad?” His voice is low and coarse, sending a tidal wave of shivers down my spine.

“You’re asking me that now? After you’ve already hired him?”

“I had no idea he was your dad until you walked in and called him Dad.”

“Yeah, alright. That’s a bit too much of a coincidence, don’t you think?”

He doesn’t reply to me, only watches and I continue. “Fighting is his passion and it makes him happy so... thank you.”

He nods. “I was worried you’d think I’m using him to get to you.”

I laugh once. “No, it’s pretty clear that you’re not hiring my dad to get into my pants considering I threw my pants at you last night and you refused.”

He’s smiling at me now, but there’s something raw and hungry in his eyes. It’s confusing me and I hate it. I storm past him, but his hand grabs my arm, spinning me back to him. I gasp as my back is pressed against the wall and his face is inches from mine. His full lips are parted, like he’s seconds away from devouring me with them and I hate that I want him to. The look in his eyes darkens and he presses his lips into a thin line. “You’re mad because I didn’t sleep with you?”

“No, I’m mad because you humiliated me. I let you touch me...” I cringe. “and then you left.” Hot-faced and reluctant, I slide out from his grasp. “I’m glad we didn’t have sex. You can use my dad for your training as long as you keep your hard chest and thick arms... and your...”
Keep it together woman!
I clear my throat and the corner of his lips twitch. “Just stay away from me.”

He grabs me again, pulling me back against the wall. His strong arms lean against the concrete either side of my head and his knee nudges between my legs, completely dominating me. “Let me make it up to you. Come to dinner with me tonight.”