Page 32 of Life

“Then why?”

“If I put myself in the man’s shoes, there’s no way in hell I’d leave you alone for long. I’ll be at your place in five minutes.”

“I’ll be gone,” I say as I hang up and grab my rehearsal bag that’s already preloaded with music, protein bars, towelettes, and bottles of water. “Peace out, sucker!” I say to the empty apartment as I fly to the elevator.

Note to self—when someone calling you is directly across the street from the same building you need to be at, you can’t exactly escape them. When I arrive at Davis Industries a few minutes later, Eli is leaning next to the elevator, arms crossed, head cocked, and a dirty smirk worth a thousand words. I want nothing more than to smack that face, or worse… Kiss it. I’m still not sure what to do when I get right up in his personal space.

“Admit it. You’re stalking me.”

He grins that deadly sexy one where his lip curls up enticingly. I glance away and press the up button, oh, about a hundred times. Eli follows me onto the elevator, and the door closes us in alone.

“Why can’t you leave me alone? I don’t get it. I honestly do not get it.”

Eli smirks and shakes his head.

“Seriously. Do you like to go after women who are not interested in you? Am I some kind of a challenge you feel the need to break?”

“Oh, you’re a challenge all right.”

I clench my jaw and grind my teeth. The heat of irritation rushes up my chest and neck and inflames my cheeks. Great, now I’m going to look like a pissed-off tomato. Perfect.

The elevator dings, and he follows me down the hall past the Davis gym Chase put in for the yogis and the building employees. Gillian and all her girls have full access to it, too. Again, free of charge. It’s super awesome to have friends in high places.

I open the door for I Am Yoga and wave at the receptionist. Bree is moving up in the world. The second she opened the new office, all her old clientele were happy to move to the new location, and now she has all the Davis Industry employees taking advantage of the new studio at a serious employee discount. All enough for her to hire some staff. Win-win.

“Hey, Ceej, how’s it going,chica?”

The petite woman with the wicked cool name runs around the desk and throws her arms around me. “Oh my goodness! It’s so good to see you, Maria!” During my time as BFFs with Bree, I’ve come to find out the average yogi is very touchy-feely. Something I’m not altogether used to but accept as part of the package when I’m surrounded by a bunch of tree-hugging hippies. Bree encourages me to roll with it, so I do. For her.

“Gracias. I’m glad to be seen.” I wink, knowing that she means since the accident and funeral, but see no reason to bring that up. “You guys been busy?”

Ceej nods, and her long, curly black hair bounces with her. I love that Bree found such a genuinely happy soul to come work for her. “You teaching any classes yet?”

The woman smiles so wide, I’m pretty sure the room brightens with her presence. Her light brown skin positively glows from her Chamorro heritage. She holds up her fingers, showing about an inch of space. “I’m this close to getting my Registered Yoga Instructor credentials, so I’ve been assisting Bree during the harder classes to get my practical hours. But when she goes on maternity leave…” Ceej points a thumb to her chest, showing off her forearm covered in eclectic tattoos. “I’m her girl. I can’t wait!”

I tap Ceej on the shoulder. “That’s awesome,chica. Keep up the good work. Make Bree proud.”

“I will. I promise I will,” she says eagerly.

“Cool.”

Ceej looks behind me and up, way up from her five-foot-two stature. “Um, hi. Welcome to I Am Yoga. Is this your first time taking yoga?”

It takes everything in my power not to fall to the floor and roll around while kicking my feet with insane laughter. The image of Elijah doing yoga is enough to have me snort-laughing and holding my gut.

Eli, who’s too damned cool for school, cants his head to the side and says in the manliest tone possible, “Sweetheart, do I look like the type of guy that does yoga?”

Ceej blinks her long lashes prettily, not at all deterred. I think I like her more for not being affected by the extreme manliness and sex personified oozing from his every pore. I wish I could say the same for myself.

“Yoga is for everybody, Mister…” She uses the formal pronoun, giving him an opportunity to say his name.

“Just call me Red. Everybody does.”

“Okay, Mr. Red. Can I interest you in a schedule and services offered pamphlet?”

He grins and licks his lips, and I positively swoon at the glistening moisture sitting on his plump bottom lip. Again, Ceej waits for his reply like the consummate professional she is, completely unaffected. I’m going to tell Bree to give her a raise. Even a small bump for having to deal with people like Eli is worth another dollar an hour. Never mind, I’ll tell Chase. That man loves to play with his money.

“No. I’m with T and A over there.” He nods to me.

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