Your Green is Showing

Jordan

This week of the challenge consisted of me requiring my staff to go through a mandatory sexual harassment seminar online and finding time in my busy schedule to work out.

Hannah was clearly mad at me, so I wasn't going to create tension for her when she was trying to concentrate.

She had told me that it wouldn't bother her to be in Mal's class together, but I couldn't bear to see her if she was going to give me the cold shoulder.

I had noticed how beautiful she was in line at the gym before she even dropped her flyer on the floor.

She was so fiery when she stood up to Mal and said she wanted to take my training course. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing.

“Are you going to tell me why you've been avoiding the studio every evening this week?” Mollie asked as she smirked at me. She never hesitated to call me out on my bullshit.

“Did your sister tell you that I had been skipping classes?”

“She might have.” She shrugged.

“You two need to mind your own damn business.”

She started laughing and rolled her eyes at me. “You know that’s never going to happen.”

“Yeah, I’m aware,” I responded sarcastically.

Mollie rode into the studio with me this morning.

She graciously coached some personal training sessions for me on Saturdays. It was a huge favor because the challenge usually brought in an influx of new members.

She was probably overqualified with a PhD in physical therapy and kinesiology, but I wasn’t going to argue with the help.

“Mal said she thinks you’ve got a soft spot for that new girl,” she teased, a wry smile on her face.

I wasn’t entirely sure she was wrong. This was the first time that I’d found myself drawn to a client who didn’t try to actively pursue me.

“Not going to respond?” She smiled.

“I’m not sure what you want me to say here.”

“I tried to friend request her,” she said casually.

My hands clenched on the steering wheel. I was over all of these meddling women in my life.

“And?” I asked, half afraid of them becoming friends. I need to remain detached.

“She never responded to my request.” She shrugged.

“Good.”

“That’s mean,” she teased as she smiled over at me.

“You don’t even know her. Leave the poor girl alone,” I urged. I felt weirdly protective of Hannah. She was definitely a strong woman, but I could tell she’d been hurt by people’s perception of her in the past.

“I wasn’t going to bother her; I was just curious. Her profile is pretty private. She only has like two public pictures.”

“Do you realize how creepy you sound right now?”

She laughed and opened the Facebook app on her phone.

“She must have deleted it,” she mused. “Should I request it again?”

“No! For the love of God... leave her alone,” I practically shouted. “First Mallory and her permanent PMS and now you being an internet stalker. Hannah’s gonna file a restraining order against all of us.”

“But probably not Ty,” she teased.

She laughed even harder when I growled at her. I was never so glad to pull into my parking space in front of the gym. I needed to get away from her and her sister.

“Don’t encourage him,” I warned. “He’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.”

“Mal said he flirts with most of the ladies. Even if it’s just a little, I don’t think he can turn it off.” She laughed.

“Well, hopefully, after his training this week, he’ll understand what’s appropriate behavior in a professional environment.” I knew it was a long shot, but I was tired of fielding complaints about his personality quirks.

“I’m beginning to think that Mal was right,” Mollie said as she stared over at me.

“About what?”

“Your green is showing, J.” Her laughter picked back up at the confused look on my face. She was getting way too much entertainment from tormenting me this morning.

“I’m not even wearing green.”

My compression shirt was the usual coach black, and my shorts were dark gray.

I shook my head and locked up my car before I followed her into the studio.

When I walked into the reception area, Mollie was sitting behind the desk and Tatum was leaning against the counter.

The two of them plotting was nothing new, but with the look Tate shot over her shoulder, I knew it was at my expense.

Freaking gossipy women.

“Let’s go, Tate.” I nodded toward the door to the studio.

“Someone is grumpy today,” she laughed.

“I don’t need shit from you too,” I grumbled. “Get your ass into that studio.”

“I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly,” she sang as she sashayed toward the studio.

“You better be ready to work,” I called after her. “I can always add extra burpees to your circuit.”

“Dude, that’s just a low blow,” she scoffed. “Who peed in your protein shake this morning?”

I glared at her and held the door open as she walked through to the weight floor. My mind cycled through rough workouts to put her through.

My mind knew it was petty, but my ego was still a little bruised from my blowout with Hannah. Tatum poking at me was just making it worse.

Although I might just have an extra hour to hide in the office today if my next appointment doesn't show up.

Hannah hadn't seemed all that appreciative that I'd come in early and moved Tatum's sessions up an hour to fit her in.

I know she didn't ask me, but I'd seen some corrections she needed to make in her form on the weight floor.

If she was working smarter and not harder, she’d be able to maximize her results during her weight intervals. The more lean muscle she built, the faster she’d bring down her body fat percentage.

“You gonna actually instruct me today, or are you gonna stand around with your dick out?”

My head whipped around the empty studio. I didn’t need people hearing Tatum’s big mouth yell out inappropriate shit.

“Quit that,” I scolded. “I’m beginning to think you all have it out for me.”

“Not completely. Just maybe a little. It’s fun to tease dumb people,” she laughed.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” she shot back.

What was with the attitude? I was being forced to deal with this morning.

“All right. Get your ass on the TRX.” I pointed toward the back wall, a frown firmly on my face. “Maybe if I tire you out, you’ll shut it.”

“Probably not. I’ll just save it up for the cool down.”

I felt like a dick as I pushed Tatum through slightly more intense workouts than we usually did on Saturdays, but she seemed to be loving it. The masochist just pushed herself harder and laughed when I barked orders at her.

“Did you get it out of your system?” She panted after we were done, drinking heavily from her water bottle.

“Get what out?”

“All that frustration that’s been building up since you jammed your foot in your mouth with Hannah last week,” she said with a little bit of humor.

“Fuck...” I sighed as I ran my hand over the top of my head.

“Oh, come on.” She rolled her eyes and pushed against my shoulder. “Don’t be such a drama queen about it.”

“What did they tell you?” I narrowed my eyes before I looked back over my shoulder toward Mollie sitting at the desk.

“Who? Mal and Mol?” She arched an eyebrow at my nod. “They didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. I got my intel straight from the source.”

My head snapped up, and she laughed at the eager look on my face. I couldn’t hide it.

“I’m not telling you what she said,” she replied, “but if you looked at her stats this week, you’d see she was working off the same frustration.”

She did have a pretty fantastic week. Her calorie burn for each of her classes was over six hundred. That meant she was consistently pushing herself past her base.

“Why don’t you just tell her that you like her?” Tatum asked in a gentle voice.

I averted my eyes and looked back at the front desk. Dickhead was sitting there, entering new workouts on the server.

“You know she doesn’t like him, right?” she assured me.

I wasn’t sure that I believed her. Hannah hadn’t seemed like she was opposed to his advances. I knew why it bothered me, but I wasn’t prepared to fully admit it to myself.

“She said that she liked how he called her gorgeous and beautiful.”

“Well, of course, she did, dumbass,” she laughed. “Every girl likes to be complimented.”

“But doesn’t she like him back?” I thought Hannah was mad because I interfered in something that was happening between them.

“I don’t think so. I think she kind of had some developing feelings for someone else before he shit the bed.”

Oh. So I was already screwed because she liked someone else.

“You, you idiot,” she chuckled. “I think she liked you before you pissed her off and told her you weren’t allowed to be her friend. Then you ghosted her all week.”

“I didn’t…”

She threw up her hand. “Yes, you did. You found every hole in your schedule to work out besides Mal’s classes. She told me you didn’t show up.”

“It’s not like it matters. I can’t pursue her anyways,” I sighed. “Even if she were interested.”

“Why not?”

“Because she’s a client.”

Tatum narrowed her eyes at me and shook her head. “That’s bullshit, and you know it. If she’s equally interested, you’re fine.”

“I can’t while I’m her coach,” I insisted, and she rolled her eyes at me.

“Well, that’s your own fault.”

I looked down at my watch and noticed that my next session was starting in five minutes.

“Checking the clock to see if she’s late?” Tatum teased.

“No…” I lied, and she knew it.

“Liar,” she called me out.

“I’m just gonna go do some paperwork in the office,” I told her as I moved toward the studio door and pulled it open. “Nice hustle today.”

“You know I don’t mind being pushed.” She smiled as she walked through the door. I followed her out into the hallway and paused at the office door.

“Don’t hide in there too long.” She nodded to the open office door.

“I’m not hiding.”

“You just don’t want to seem like an overeager lovesick puppy if she does show.” She laughed.

“Whatever, Tate. Go home.”

She was right, though. If Hannah showed up, I didn’t want to seem too eager. That would be sending her the wrong message.

But if she didn’t show, I knew I’d be disappointed, and I didn’t need to give Mol any more ammo to tease me.

Two minutes left to wait…