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  “Well?” Claire asks. “How was it? Did you have a good first day? What was your favorite part? Least favorite? Give me all the deets!”

  “It was great,” I reply, “for the most part.”

  “For the most part? What does that mean?”

  “I ran into someone that I knew in high school.”

  “Oh? Who is it?”

  “His name's Chad Taylor. He's a personal trainer at Fit World. And I guess he's like a famous internet fitness model now. Anyway, he was the biggest jerk in my high school and now I have to deal with him everyday.”

  “I'm sorry, sweetie. Can't you just ignore him?”

  “Yeah, that was the plan until he came up out of nowhere and started talking to me.”

  “He remembered you?”

  “No. That's the thing. He didn't remember me at all. Not at first. When he did finally remember me, he referred to me as being 'fat as fuck.'”

  “Wow. What a prick. What did he want? Why did he start talking to you?”

  “See, that's just it: I have no idea.”

  “Maybe he's attracted to you.”

  “Me? No way. Chad only goes after the type of girls that could be on TV or magazine covers. I'm way too average for him.”

  “I think you're selling yourself short, Emma. I've seen you when you get dressed up. You clean up real nice. Real nice. Your day-to-day look is a bit ordinary, yes. But that's not a bad thing. You don't try too hard to look good. I mean, you do look good. What I'm trying to say is that you're hotter than you give yourself credit for.”

  “Well, even if that is all true, there's no way that Chad's interested in me like that. No way.”

  “Alright, then. Fuck Chad. Tell me about the rest of your day. How do you like your new job – aside from seeing that asshole you knew from high school.”

  “Overall, it was great. I loved it. I got to meet a bunch of the clients I'll be working with. They're all really nice. There was one girl, Megan, who reminded me a lot of myself. She was my very first client, actually. I really think I'm gonna be able to make a difference in these people's lives.”

  “I love it when you're optimistic like this, Emma. You are gonna make a difference. You've probably already started to make a difference in their lives. Are you hungry?”

  “A little bit. Yeah.”

  “Let's go out to dinner. You can tell me all about Megan, your other clients, and everything else.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  For the rest of the night, no matter what I'm doing, I can't seem to get Chad out of the back of my mind. Is it possible that Claire's right? Did he come up to me because he's interested in me? I can't think of any other reason but that doesn't make it true. And even if he does like me, I don't like him. I mean, he's probably the most handsome man I've ever laid eyes on in my entire life. And when I was talking to him, looking into his sapphire blue eyes, I did feel a little spark – if only for a second. But Chad's such a jerk. I could never go out with someone like him. Could I?

  It doesn't matter. There's no way he's into me. Chad can – and probably does – have any woman that he wants. If anything, he's probably just trying to fuck and chuck me. Hump and dump. Well, I'm not that kinda girl. Not even for someone so goddamn handsome.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Chad

  “What's with you today?” Jake asks.

  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “That girl just basically told you that she's down to fuck and you just blew her off. She was a ten by any guy's standards.”

  “I just wasn't feeling it, okay? Jeez. Get off my dick.”

  “It's that girl, isn't it?”

  “What? What girl? The fuck are you talking about?”

  “It's that girl from yesterday. The new dietitian. I can see it in your fucking face, bro. Ever since you talked to her yesterday, you've been a bit off.”

  “I don't know what you're talking about.”

  “Uh huh. Sure you don't. Are you gonna ask her out or what?”

  Jake knows me well enough to know what's up. There's no point in trying to hide it. He's right. I can't stop thinking about Emma. She's different than all the other broads I've been fucking around with. And she didn't even know that I'm a famous fitness model with millions of followers. Every girl I've talked to over the past few years looks at me like I'm the fucking man – because I am. But Emma didn't have that look. She looked at me like I'm just some ordinary guy. I don't know why, but that drives me fucking wild.

  I like a challenge. Most women would kill to spend five minutes with me. Now that I think of it, I've never really been challenged by a woman. Not really. I've done a lot of things with a lot of women and it's always come easy - too easy. This girl is different, though. I mean, she excused herself from me. That's my move. I'm always the one to end a conversation. It was like she couldn't get away from me fast enough. That's not something I'm used to. Women come from all over to try and get close to me. They rarely try to get away.

  “Well?” Jake asks. “Are you just gonna stand there with your dick in your hand or are you gonna ask the dietitian out?”

  “I'm on it, bro. Shit. I'm just waiting for the right time.”

  “The right time is right after your next client. If you wait any longer than that, she'll be gone for the day. She gets here at like eight in the morning. I'm pretty sure her day is over in like an hour.”

  “I'm starting to think you want me to ask you out, you fucking cock smoker. You've been all up in my shit all day.”

  “Just trying to help you out, bro. That's all.”

  “If you wanna help me out, tell me who my next client is.”

  Jake goes on his phone and looks up my schedule. I've got him wrapped around my finger just like all the chicks around here. Listening to him talk about Emma is annoying the shit out of me today. It's bothering me because it's true – I do have a thing for her. If it wasn't true, I wouldn't give a shit. Jake said that she's done for the day shortly after I'm done with my next client. I'll make my move then.

  “Oh, shit!” Jake says. “Your next client is that little shorty with the fake tits from two weeks ago. You know, the one you said looks like a midget Barbie. That girl was smokin' hot! If anyone can take your mind off the dietitian, it's this chick.”

  “Yeah. We'll see.”

  “I gotta go up front to get my next client. He's no midget Barbie, though – just a straight up midget. The guy looks like he could be a sewer troll. You want me to send your sexy client back to you if I see her?”

  “Yeah. Send her back.”

  Jake's right once again. If anyone can take my mind off Emma, it's this next client. She is smokin' hot. I go into my office and after flexing in front of the mirror for a minute, I have a seat at my desk. Shit, what's her name? Ah, here it is: Miranda. I pull up my client's info and refamiliarize myself with her. Damn, she is cute. Look at that picture. A minute later, she appears at my door.

  “Come in,” I say.

  “Hi, Chad! How are you?”

  “Are you kidding me? I'm amazing as always. Have a seat. How's everything been going for the past couple weeks, Miranda? Have you been sticking to the workout plan I came up with for you?”

  “I have. I've followed it to the letter.”

  “Good. Any questions? Concerns?”

  “None. I'm just eager to get out there so you can show me some new exercises to add to my routine.”

  “Let's get to it, then.”

  My eyes lock onto Miranda's ass as she walks out of my office. Nothing. Watching her perfect ass sway side to side does absolutely nothing for me. I can certainly appreciate it – a blind man could appreciate that magnificent ass – but it isn't turning me on like it should. Strange. We get out on the floor and I lead Miranda over to one of the cable machines.

  “Okay. I'm gonna show you an exercise called cable kickbacks. These are great for your butt and, to a lesser extent
, your legs and core.”

  “Oh, good. I was hoping you'd show me more butt exercises. I get complimented on mine all the time, but I'd still like to get it a little bigger. What do you think, Chad?” Miranda asks and bends over right in front of me, sticking out her ass.

  Again: nothing. This is where I'd usually give her backside a nice slap or maybe a quick pinch. At the very least, I'd make some kind of inappropriate comment. Right now, I've got nothing.

  “Cable kickbacks will help you grow your ass,” I answer, bluntly. “Let's keep this training session moving. I've got something to take care of after we're done.”

  “Oh,” Miranda replies, her voice filled with disappointment. “Okay.”

  I go through the motions with Miranda, showing her a few new exercises, but my heart's not in it. Neither is my mind or my cock for that matter. All I can think about is what I'm gonna say to Emma and it's bugging me. I never worry about what I'm gonna say to a chick. The right words just flow out at the right time. Miranda's time comes to an end and I walk her to the front desk. Normally, I let my clients walk themselves to and from the front desk on their own. They're adults, after all. They don't need me to hold their hands like they're a fucking child. But I volunteer to walk Miranda up front so I can peek into Emma's office to see if she's in there.

  “You seemed really distant today, Chad,” Miranda says as we get to the front desk. “Is everything alright? Anything I can do to make you feel better?”

  “Just do the exercises that I told you to and come back in two weeks. The girl at the counter will schedule it for you.”

  “Um... okay. Well, it was nice to see you, Chad. I'll see you in two weeks!”

  “Yeah. Bye.”

  I turn and start walking directly toward Emma's office. When I walked Miranda up front, I could see Emma sitting at her desk with no one else in the room. The blinds were up, the door was open and she was sitting at her desk, doing something on the computer. I need to ask this girl out, now. I'm not gonna be able to think about anything else until I do.

  As I approach Emma's door, I actually feel a little bit nervous. Me, nervous? What the fuck? I never get nervous. Not when it comes to talking to girls. Not ever, really. “Get it together, you pussy,” I mumble to myself, under my breath. “You're the fucking man. Act like it.” I glance at my reflection in the window as I walk up to her door. Everything looks good, as always. Let's do this.

  “Got a minute?” I ask, walking right into Emma's office.

  “No one ever taught you how to knock?” she asks, only looking up from her computer for a second.

  “Yeah, when the door's shut. Yours was wide open, practically begging me to come in.”

  “What do you want, Chad? I'm busy.”

  “How busy could you be? Isn't your work day over?”

  “I'm done seeing clients for the day, yes. But I still have to put in their notes, billing info, and everything else. Now, I'll ask you again: Is there something that you want or did you just come in here to question what I'm doing?”

  “I don't know why you're being so cold, Emma. You've only known me for a day. There's no way I could've done anything to piss you off already.”

  “You've only known me for a day, Chad. I've known you for a decade. You haven't changed. You're still the same guy that you were in high school. And that guy wouldn't even acknowledge my existence. I don't know why you're paying attention to me now. Is there something you need?”

  Damn, talk about playing hard-to-get. This girl is as cold as ice. That's alright, though. I'll win her over. I welcome the challenge. What she doesn't realize is that by being dismissive - another one of my signature moves - she's actually making me want her more. Like, a lot more.

  “Something I need? No. No, I have everything that I need and then some. I came in here to ask you if you wanna go out tonight. Your workday is just about over. Let me take you out. You'll have a great time. Promise.”

  “Thanks, but no thanks. I'll pass,” Emma says, barely making eye contact. “Besides, don't you have like three more clients before your workday is over?”

  “I'm Chad Taylor: My workday ends when I say it ends. My clients love me. I could cancel on them every other week and they'd still keep coming to see me. Come on. I'll tell them I'm sick or something. It's all good. Don't worry about them. Worry about you and me going out, having an awesome fucking time. Come on. What do you say? You won't regret it. I promise.”

  “You're right: I won't regret it because I'm not going. I have plans after work, anyway.”

  “Bullshit. It's Friday afternoon. If you had plans, you'd be rushing to get out of here just like everyone else. What plans do you have?”

  “My plans are none of your business.”

  “Uh huh. Your imaginary plans. I ain't gonna beg. Chad Taylor doesn't beg anyone for anything. Have a good weekend. I'll see you next week.”

  “Giving up that easy?” Emma says with a smug look on her face. It wouldn't bother me as much if her face wasn't so fucking cute. “You're smarter than I thought.”

  “Giving up? Do I look like the type of guy that gives up easily? I never said I was giving up. I said I wasn't gonna beg. Big fucking difference. I always get what I want, one way or another.”

  Emma starts saying something but I'm out the door before I hear what it is. Who the fuck is she to turn me down. Me! I have to admit, though: her indifference turns me way-the-fuck on. I'm not used to being treated this way by women. I actually kinda like it. Most guys would be hurt and move on. Not me, though. I see it as a challenge. And right about now, I could use a new challenge.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Emma

  “I can't believe he just walked,” Claire says, pausing to take a bite of her salad, then immediately continues, “into your office and asked you out. Just like that, huh?”

  “Yup. Just like that. First, Chad walks in without knocking or even saying hello. I tell him I'm busy and ask what he wants. Then, just like that, he asks me if I'd go out with him tonight.”

  “And you obviously said no, otherwise you...” Again, Claire stuffs a fork full of dressing-drenched lettuce into her face, finishing the sentence with her mouth full: “...wouldn't be having dinner here with me right now.”

  “That's right.”

  “Why'd you say no?”

  “Because Chad was a total asshole in high school and it doesn't seem like he's changed one bit. He sat next to me in several classes and pretended that I didn't exist. I would've preferred it if Chad was rude to me. He just ignored me. Even when I tried to talk to him, he'd pretend like I was invisible. I guess I got off easy, though. Chad used to really make fun of some of the other overweight girls in our classes. And the way he treated some of the poor, overweight, and unpopular guys in school was atrocious. Chad was a real jerk.”

  “Ah, I see. He sounds like a real asshole. Didn't you say he's like super handsome, though?”

  As much as I wish he wasn't, Chad is incredibly attractive - physically, that is. Emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually, he leaves a lot to be desired. Actually, I take that back. Chad's quite intelligent, now that I think of it. He was in many of the same classes as me in high school and I took mostly advanced placement courses. In spite of acting and often talking like an idiot, Chad's quite smart. There's no denying, though, the man looks like a statue of a Spartan warrior. Muscular body, handsome face, great hair, perfect skin... I could go on and on thinking about how good looking Chad is, but I won't: I need to answer the question.

  “Yeah. Super handsome. Chad's certifiably, unquestionably pulchritudinous.”

  “Say what...” Chomp, chomp, chomp. “...now? What's that mean?”

  “It's means he's fucking flawless – physically.”

  “You got a picture of him you can show me?”

  “No, but it shouldn't be too hard to find one. He said he's a well-known fitness model online.”

  With her fork in one hand, s
till shoveling salad into her face like she's in an eating contest, Claire takes out her cell phone with the other.

  “What's his name?” Claire asks. “Chad what?”

  “Taylor.”

  “Wow! Is that him?” she asks, holding up her phone after a quick Google search.

  “Yeah. That's him alright.”