I was proving to myself that I still had self-control. Today, I’d taken it a step further by keeping my eyes off the cameras.
But now I found my mouse cursor drifting toward the camera tab in my browser window. One click and I could see what she was doing today–what she was wearing. The woman had an arsenal of outfits designed specifically to distract and irritate me. Tight skirts that hugged her perky ass and flowy blouses that barely concealed a pair of…
I cursed under my breath and rubbed my temples. My already shitty sleep was getting shittier, and it felt like I’d been nursing the same headache for over a week now.
It was nearly time for my employees to head out for the night and I knew the company fitness center was always dead this time of night. I decided to go up to my room on the top floor, change into workout clothes, and hopefully lift heavy shit until I was tired enough to find some sleep.
Half an hour later, I let myself into the fitness center. The girl at the front desk was packing up her things to leave but went bolt upright when she saw me. “Mr. Stone, sorry, I was–”
I waved my hand, cutting her off. “Is anyone in there?”
“N-no, sir. The facility is empty.”
“Good. I want you to stay at the desk another hour tonight. If anyone tries to come in, tell them the fitness center is closed.”
She looked like she was about to protest but seemed to think better of it. She lowered her eyes and nodded. “Yes, Mr. Stone.”
I was thirty minutes into a run and sweating through my shirt when I heard voices in the direction of the front desk. Two frosted glass doors kept me from seeing anything except a vague, blurry shape gesturing as the sound of voices continued.
I lowered the speed on my treadmill to try to hear what was going on. At first, the tone of the conversation seemed clipped and short, but then I heard laughter and the two feminine voices seemed to get lighter.
I stared toward the door as something tugged at me–some sense that I knew exactly who was on the other side.
I grabbed my towel and wiped my face, stepping off the treadmill and heading straight for the exit. I found Lola Fucking Thorn standing at the other side of the counter with a huge smile on her face. She was also wearing a teal sports bra and bike short leggings, along with a pair of sporty shoes and headphones draped around her neck.
Her big smile evaporated when she saw me.
“Stones…” she mumbled.
“What are you doing?” I demanded.
The girl behind the counter thought I was talking to her, and she spun to answer before Lola could. “Mr. Stone. I’m sorry, I was just telling her that you asked to have the fitness center closed for the night.”
“Closed for everyone but you?” Lola asked.
Sweat was already beading on my forehead and dripping down my neck. I swiped at it with my towel, glaring at Lola and trying not to notice the shape of her hardening nipples through the thin fabric of her sports bra. She was even more fit than I’d imagined. Her midsection was bare, tanned, and toned. I cleared my throat and shifted my stance, hoping it wasn’t obvious that I was trying to make my hardening cock less obvious.
“That’s correct,” I said after collecting myself.
“I haven’t had a chance to join any of the local gyms and I’m going on two weeks without any exercise, Mr. Stone. This is the only time I can fit in a workout. Can I please just come in if I promise not to bother you?”
I stared. For once in her life, Lola wasn’t being contrary with me. It was hard not to look into those big, innocent eyes and say “no.” Hard, but not impossible.
“No,” I said, turning and walking back through the doors.
I felt a guilty stab followed by a rush of satisfaction when I left her behind at the counter. Let her learn that she can’t just bat her eyelashes and get whatever the fuck she wants with me. I wasn’t like the rest of the–
The doors opened and I heard the woman at the counter give a half-assed attempt to stop Lola.
“This is ridiculous,” Lola said. “This gym is big enough for like a hundred people to work out at the same time. And,” she said, coming closer and lowering her voice. “I think I’ve put up with enough shit from you that this is the least you can do.”
She was close enough that I could smell the faint feminine scent of her perfume, or maybe it was her deodorant. It took all I had not to lean a little closer and sniff deeply to breathe in the intoxicating scent. It had been way too fucking long since I’d been laid. That much was painfully clear.