Interesting...
“I have aquestion.”
Two sets of eyes half-glared atme.
“It's not a fucking sex question again, chill. I'll only ask if you're okay with it,M.”
She reclined into her seat and hooked a shoulder. “Ask away, it's not like Dimitri can hearyou.”
“What does he do for aliving?”
“Well,” she started, running a hand through her dark tresses. “His cover up is the Diamanté Hotels. In all fairness, hedoesmake a lot just from that, but I know there's something else. What that something is, I don't know because he never shared with me. Something about my virtue and blah, blah,blah.”
“Dirty money, I bet,” Reyna quipped, and Maya nodded withouthesitation.
“Definitely dirty. I wanna say it has to do with Russia since he travels there so often, but what do I know. I'm just his little wife,” she said with a fake Russian accent, tying her napkin around herhead.
“Not for much longer, you won't be,” I pointed out with asmile.
“Thank fuck for that. It'll out where I am, but I told Karley to send the papers. I'm done hiding. He hasn't come chasing me, not that I wanted him to, but his silence speaksvolumes.”
“Will you keep Petrova after the fact?” Reynaasked.
“Hell to the no. I want nothing tying me to him, once all this shit is said and done. I will happily take Gutierrezagain.”
Just the sound of that last name swelled my heart. “Your dad would be proud, yaknow?”
“That's the point.” She smiled softly, looking a hell of a lot like Bernie in thatmoment.
Yeah, he would most definitely beproud.
“Remindme to seriously thank Evelyn for recommending you,” Amari said, heavily panting as we wandered the parking lot to our cars after a five-mile run around Echo ParkLake.
Chuckling, I wiped the sweat off my face and guzzled down half a bottle of water. “I’m taking it you approve of today’sroutine?”
“Absolutely, man. You threw in cardio at different times, and that's exactly what I need. My last trainer didn't seem to understand that. He was so focused on keeping me bulked, stamina and speed took abackseat.”
“Noted. We’ll change it up every week or so, but cardio stays a priority, unless specifiedotherwise.”
We fist bumped as Amari tipped his dark head and took a long sip from hisbottle.
“So, I’ll see you Wednesday?” he asked, unlocking hiscar.
“Without a doubt. Same time, same place,” Iagreed.
“Sounds like a plan. See ya around,bro.”
“Later.”
With a click on the fob, I slid into the driver's seat of my 4 Series and turned her on, the engine roaring to life under my heavy foot. Amari honked and I waved before he drove off, feeling more than just accomplished after our first session together. Aside from training Hazel, I usually felt like the end of a workday was just another day, another dollar. Sure, there were clients I actually had a good time with, but there was always that handful that made this a job rather than something I loved doing. Given how today went, I was pretty sure Amari was going to be one of my best clients, and I’m not saying that because of how much he was paying me. For a public figure, an NFL player no less, Dorsette was laidback and a lot more chill than you’d think. I’d been nervous I was somehow going to fall short with what he was looking for in a trainer, but it turns out I’d brought my A-game without even knowing it. Felt damn good knowing I could do this and my already fan-fucking-tastic mood lifted all the more, my blood still rushing through my veins from pushing myself to the limit during thatrun.
Turning up the volume on the radio, “Wild Thoughts” bumped through the speakers as I drove out of the parking lot and made a right onto Echo Park toward US-101. The road seemed endless, limitless, even with light evening traffic, and soon, I was rolling through the palm tree-lined streets of L.A. in a daze I couldn't control. I’d planned to go straight home and regale Hazel with the details of my day over dinner, but somehow, I found myself driving toward Beverly Grove, and on a whim, with no attached explanation, I pulled up in front ofTiffany &Co.
Yes,thatTiffany’s.
Flinging myself back against the seat, I stared at the building in befuddlement and let out a flusteredsigh.
What the hell am I really doinghere?