Page 24 of Dirty Empire

A flash of dark hair has me looking away from the barbell above my head.

“Like what you see?” I joke before placing the barbell back on the rack and sitting up. Hazel stands on the other side of the glass wall.

“Eh, I’ve seen better.” I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. I’m glad she’s able to joke again. Walking to the doorway, she leans against the frame. “How is your chest? Are you fully healed?”

“It’s healed. I’m a fighter, nothing to worry about.”

“You might be a fighter, but no one is invincible.”

“I appreciate your concern, Pumpkin. I do. But I’m good. I’ve dealt with worse if you ask me,” I expect her to push more information, but she doesn’t.

“So, what’s on the agenda today?” She walks the rest of the way into the gym. Still dressed in her pajamas, she looks so innocent. I’m surprised she’s awake so early. Maybe she’s making progress.

I used a white towel to wipe my sweaty face. “My real estate agent called me last night. She’s sending over the closing documents for the energy company.”

“That’s awesome, Maverick. I’m happy for you.” The distant strain in her voice strikes a chord with me. She takes a seat on the pull-up machine across from me and crosses her slender legs.

“Listen. I thought maybe we could do this together. I can run the operations, and you can manage the legal side of things.”

Hazel paused for a minute before responding. “Are you telling me, or are you asking me?”

“I’m asking you. I can always hire someone to come in and do all the contracts, but my first thought was you.”

She takes a deep breath, looking like a deer in headlights. “I don’t know.”

Well, that’s not the response I was expecting.

“What’s making you hesitate?” I speak to her as if making a business deal.

She pulls her bottom lip into her mouth. “I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for me so far, Maverick.”

“Then let me do one more thing for you. I’d rather work beside you than some stranger.”

“It's just… I don’t want my life to be so entangled in yours that I feel stuck.”

Her words hit me like a ton of bricks. Of course, she’d want to leave at some point. We don't exactly have a relationship. We’d only slept together once, and soon she’d be having a lot of money coming in from Miles’s estate.

“I just want to have my own thing going on that’s separate from you,” she rushes out. Her refusal of the position shouldn’t be so shocking. She’d just come out of a relationship where she was completely shut off from the outside world. Logically, she’d want to start rebuilding her life and relationships in her own way.

“I get it. You don’t have to explain yourself.”

She gives me a small smile. “Thank you.”

“So, what do you want to do?” I ask. Did she already have a plan in place to leave? Her presence in the house has made everything feel a lot lighter. It made me stop dragging my feet and move forward with my new business. It’s as if I’d been living in darkness, and she came bursting in with the sun in her back pocket.

“I need to figure out how much money I have first and get someone to sell Miles’s property. After that, I want to go back to practicing law, but I’m not sure in what way. I used to be a corporate lawyer before, and I enjoyed it.”

Her plans don't include moving out, and that gives me some hope. “I’m always here if you need help with any of that,” I offer.

She nods. “Thank you.”

“I’m going to shower, and I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

“Sounds good.” She unfolds herself from the machine and walks out the door.

My eyes are glued to her ass with every step she takes. My dick hardens against my sweatpants. I’ll have to finish myself off in the shower before I join her for breakfast. Since she had come back to the house, I’ve masturbated more than I did when I was a teenager. It’s embarrassing.

I can go out at any point, pick up a beautiful woman, and get my needs taken care of. It would be easy, but none of them would hold a candle to Hazel. She’s a different level of beauty that I’ve never seen before. I shake my head, walk back to my bedroom, and get in the shower. I place my hand on the shower wall and jerk my dick as images of Hazel flash through my mind. Her perfect tits that had shaken as I fucked her in my bed last time. Her pussy was like a siren, I’ve had one taste, and now it has been calling to me ever since. My breathing became heavier as I imagined wrapping my hands around her long dark strands.

Every part of her is so soft, so innocent, even with everything she’s been through in her life. She’s the complete opposite of me, and something about that calmed me. My spine tingles before I bust my load all over the shower wall. I feel eyes on me, and I turn to see Hazel standing in the doorway of the bathroom, looking shocked and embarrassed. A small smile creeps across my face, and she quickly turns and walks away.

---