Page 14 of Bewitch

I tilt my head to the side. “Is that how you sleep at night? Pretending that being a fucking asshole is helping to push your clients? Would you tell that girl to wear a brown bag over her head?”

To his credit, Lucas doesn’t look away from me. “I would find a way to get under her skin, don’t you worry.”

“Or just under her?”

His smirk grows. “It’s a compliment that I mentioned the bag because it suggest that I do think people might be willing to sleep with you.”

“I have fucking standards.”

“Maybe you should get yourself a bar of soap.”

I glance away. I don’t normally curse so much, but he really has been needling me, and it’s upsetting me far more than nearly anyone else has ever before, and that’s saying something considering I’ve been teased and harassed most of my life.

“Are you ready to work out now?” he asks.

I nod curtly.

“Okay. Over here…” He walks me over to a bench.

I just eye the bar with trepidation.

“Don’t worry. You won’t be holding that. Lie down on the bench. A bit lower. Good. Make a fist, a tight one. Both hands. There. Now, move the fists up. Straighten your arms. Keep the fists tight. Now, lower the fists. Lower. Lower. Good. Now, slow and control. Bring your fists all the way back up. Repeat as many times as you can.”

Honestly, it feels ridiculous to take up a bench when the others are used by people who have heavy weights or the bars with so many plates on both sides.

“Don’t look at anyone else,” Lucas scolds even as he’s looking around at everyone else but me.

I scowl. “Why don’t you practice what you preach?”

“It’s not as if I have to spot you when you aren’t using any weights.”

“Did you order the smaller weights?”

“I will.”

I roll my eyes. “Of course you didn’t. You’re just hoping and praying I quit already. Why? Because you’re afraid no one else will want to hire you if your client is as large as I am?”

“Not everything is about you.”

“The world doesn’t revolve around you either.”

He glares at me. “Go slower. Not so fast. The point isn’t to do a ton of reps. It’s more important for you to be slow and controlled.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I’m serious. Listen to me.”

“Right. Because you answer my questions.”

“You want to know about diet? We’ll go over your diet after the workout. Not before. Now isn’t the time to be thinking about food.”

“Can I have the five-pound weights please?”

“No.”

“I feel like a fool,” I blurt out.

“Everyone has to start somewhere.”