Page 78 of The Boss and the Wedding Mess
"What?" This can't be true! Yeah, okay, I'm a sore loser. I grab Alex's rope, who's standing there with a grin. "You couldn't do that for ten minutes!" I want a rematch.
"No problem."
Alex takes a sip, and I do the same. Carlos resets our ropes to zero. We get into position. The second round begins. Ten minutes. No problem! And if my cheeks burn like fire, I don't care. I will beat him!
Alex and I are standing directly across from each other as the second round begins. I stare at him while he seems focused. Maybe that's his secret. I need to focus on myself, not on him.
"Nine minutes," Carlos calls out.
Phew, I'm pretty out of breath, I have to admit.
"Five!" My lungs are burning.
"Two minutes!"
When will this end? This is what I get for rarely exercising. My only advantage is that I walk so much in high heels, which has trained my calf muscles a bit more. But that's about it.
"Ten seconds!"
It's almost over.
"Three. Two. One. And stop!"
Alex and I stop, breathless, though I take considerably longer than he does to catch my breath.
"1,809 for you, little one, and 2,178 for Alex."
Carlos high-fives Alex, who reaches out his hand with a broad smile. I get a well-meant pat on the shoulder before I raise my fist to Alex, who bumps it with his.
"Not bad," Alex compliments me.
"I'll beat you! I just need to come here more often," I pant.
"That's exactly what I've been saying all along." Carlos laughs and then points to his office. "I'll go take care of paperwork. What else are Mondays good for, huh?" He leaves us and I'm alone with Alex.
"You didn't make it easy for me," he admits and pulls off his shirt.
"Do I get the PIN now?" I ask as I pace around Alex, drink something and wipe the sweat off with my towel.
"No. First, we train."
What is he planning? Does he just want to make me sweat?
Alex takes two paddedboxing padsand nods at me. "Show me how hard you can hit."
"Kicks too?" I ask him, setting my water bottle aside.
"Can you get that high?" he goads me and holds his hands at chest level.
"Of course." No problem. I wrap the bandages around my hands, then slip on the gloves. "But I won't go easy on you, just so we're clear. If I hurt you, that's your problem."
I want to seem threatening and show him that I know what I'm doing.
"If you give me a few scratches, I'll gladly take them."
"I meant broken bones," I deadpan, not even smiling anymore.
"With those skinny little arms? Hardly." He's teasing me, grinning, only spurring me on more.
