Page 8 of The Love of Secrets

I grab the pot once it’s done and pour myself a cup. I need to come up with a plan to get Cecilia to see that I want her. Hopefully she’ll keep coming to the gym and I can use the classes to get closer to her. If not, at least I know where she works. Yesterday, I told Dexter he would take over the class but now I’m thinking I’ll teach it a little bit longer first. A small smirk spreads across my face that feels a little unnatural, but I’ve noticed myself doing this more lately, ever since a pretty girl came into my life.

I glance at the clock and let out a sigh. Time for me to get to work.

Sitting in my office, I run my hand through my brown hair. Today has been a fucking shit show. Everything that could go wrong today did. One of the treadmills broke, which isn’t a huge deal, but does put that section down from three to two. I have to call someone to come out and fix it, which I hate having to do. Then it’s inevitable that some stupid ass doesn’t pay attention and tries to use it, and when it doesn’t work, wants to complain.

I rub my temples as I look at the timesheets in front of me. And if the treadmills weren’t enough, two of my employees called in sick, leaving me to instruct a few of the classes they run. Classes are something I hate doing. I usually leave those to Dex and our other employees. I do better with just training the fighters and the paperwork side of the gym and why I hired the staff. So, I could avoid times like this.

To top it all off, Cecilia didn’t show up for the next class after seeing her at the bar last night. I bet she’s avoiding me, but she won’t be able to for long.

A vibration in my pocket pulls me from my pity party and I see my dad’s name flash across the screen. Damn, I’m not sure I have the energy to deal with him, but I know if I ignore him, he’ll just keep calling me. “Hey, Dad.”

“Mateo. I have a few more fighters for you to train.”

My body relaxes a little when he starts talking about training fighters. I was worried he was going to try to get me to launder money for him again. I don’t want any part in that. Dexter cut him off recently, which actually has forced our dad to take a break from pushing us into the illegal crap that he is involved with.

Dexter told me that when he went to confront him that Dad’s bosses, Zeev and his wife, were there. They weren’t impressed by what Dad was doing, which is probably why he’s backed off some, needing to get back into their good graces.

“Have them come tomorrow around six, so I can assess where they need to train.”

“I’ll tell them.” He lets out an exasperated breath, forcing me to brace for what he might say next. “Mateo, I need you to talk to Dexter for me.”

My whole body stiffens at his request. I’m not sure I want to do that. What he did was unforgiveable. If I was Dexter, I would’ve done the same.

“I don’t want to get involved.”

“I just need you to convince him to fight again. He’s the best.”

He’s not wrong. Dexter is amazing, but his heart has never been in it. I don’t want to be a part of anything that makes him miserable. And even though this is something our father should be thinking of, it’s always been my responsibility to make sure he was taken care of.

I let out another shaky breath. “No, I’m not going to convince him. If he wants to fight, he knows he just has to say something. He’s happy now. Leave him be.”

“But Mateo…”

It’s one thing for him to bother me with shit, but I draw the line at my brothers and he knows it. My voice drops when I forcefully cut him off. “No. Listen to me. If I find out that you’re bothering him about this shit, I’ll stop training your fighters. Do you hear me?”

He doesn’t answer for a little while, but I can hear his heavy breathing on the other end. “Fine.” The word comes out roughly before the line clicks dead.

I don’t give a shit if he’s happy or not. I have more important things to take care of instead of worrying about him. I glance back over at all the paperwork I still need to finish, though that’s the last thing I want to do. I grab my keys. It’s time for me to see my Pretty Girl.

Chapter seven

Mateo

Pulling up in front of Gary’s Place, a feeling of peace settles over me knowing that I’m so close to my girl. Every part of my body craves her but it’s not just that. After watching her last night, I can tell that she’s a hard worker. The hurt in her eyes has me wanting to scoop her up in my arms, never letting anything bad happen to her again. I’m going to do everything I can to prove to her that we belong together. I slam shut the door to my truck and head into the bar, settling myself down at my favorite table. I pull my phone out to busy myself, hoping to help with the nerves.

“Can I get you something?” Her melodic voice breaks through my scrolling and my heart starts to race.

I keep myself focused on my phone as I answer, just to keep myself from falling over her. It’s already proving to be hard keeping myself from taking her home with me. She’s too skittish for that. If I’m going to win her over, I need to keep my head on straight.

“I’ll just take whatever beer you have on tap.”

“I’ll be right back with that.” There’s a hesitance in her tone, causing her to hover for a second before returning to the bar. I watch as she sashays away. Her hips flare out, leading to her voluptuous ass. I can’t help but stare. I want to get my hands on it. Want to wake up every morning to her in my bed, my marks all over her and branding her as mine.

Though I don’t want to, I need to look away. I need a distraction, a bigger one than my phone. I text the one person I know will come to the bar without any questions asked. Pulling up my messages, I send one to Alex.

Me: Come to the bar.

Alex: I’ll be there in ten.

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