Page 1 of Ashley & the A-Listers

1. WELCOME TO…

ASHLEY

Things will be a little different this week,Nic said.

A special guest is going to be using the gym,he said.

Make sure to be extra diligent with opening chores,he told her.

Well, Nic hadnotmentioned that the special guest would betheCameron Thomas, AKA Axel Stevens–star ofHeated,the biggest action movie franchise of the last few years. Hollywood’s newest darling “it boy.”

And here he is on the other side of my standing desk.

“H-hi,” she managed, starstruck as the omega—yes, an omega! An action star!—waited on the other side of the desk. “Welcome to All Jacked Up.”

That’s right, I’m a professional.

“Hey,” he said, smiling that red carpet smile. “I’m doing training sessions for the next few weeks with a trainer. Do I need a pass or anything to get in each day?”

Ashley nodded, snapped her mouth closed, and flushed. “Yes, let me get one assigned to you,” she said. Then she tried to remember how to do just that.

His five o’clock shadow was the perfect length, dusting his slim but square jaw. His hair was effortlessly messy, short around his temples and longer on the top, strands in every which direction.

He looked better in person than in the pictures they showed during those silly talk shows.

“And up next, is Hollywood’s new action star really as tall as he says? Stay tuned for?—”

Behind the cover of her monitor, Ashley grabbed the remote and switchedO! Newsoff the television to her left, shutting off one of those very talk shows.

Betrayed by my own gym.

“Sorry,” she said with a sheepish grin. “They’re automated.”

His breezy smile didn’t even falter as he shrugged it off. “No worries.”

If she could, she would’ve sighed aloud with relief.

And now that they mentioned it… he was about the same height as her, which made Cameron around five-ten, not the six-one she’d read online.

She tried very hard not to glance at him as she clicked around the screen, trying to think about anything other than Cameron fucking Thomas staring at her with big pretty hazel eyes, and a megawatt smile.

And Ashley was supposed to act like everything was normal?

Right. A pass. She could do that.

Ashley added him into the system by name only, because she was certain every other person manning the desk would know just who he was with a glimpse.First and last name,she imagined asking, and almost chuckled aloud before remembering there were indeed witnesses.

A witness.

She pulled free a plastic card and scanned it, pairing it with his profile before handing it to him.

As he accepted it, their fingers brushed, and his touch… lingered? Ashley’s hand trembled like she’d been shocked.

Actual sparks. Just like in the movies!

Ashley offered him a smile that she tried to shape as casual as possible.

His gaze dipped to her name tag. “Thanks, Ashley,” he said.

---