Page 27 of Calculated Chaos

“Maybe nothing’s wrong.” I wipe my forehead, smiling at the pretty redhead obviously trying to get my attention as she walks past, but I can’t be distracted right now. Holl needs me. “Have you considered that there might be a different part of you in there dying to get out?”

“No. I’m forty. How could there be another part of me I haven’t met yet?”

The pretty redhead is now on the shoulder press machine across from me, holding my gaze as she pumps her arms in and out, her tits practically bursting from her sports bra.

“Well, obviously something is going on. Hear me out, Holl. Is it possible that this weekend’s experiment, I don’t know, worked?”

He scoffs a laugh. “Gah, Ax. I don’t know what to do with myself. I just feel so… new. I want to…” His words trail off as he huffs out a breath.

“Use the journal I gave you. That’s what it’s for. Maybe this discomfort, these feelings, are exactly what you need.”

“Right. Yeah. Okay, I can do that.”

“Good. So let’s start with today. Are you gonna hustle to get the report done, or…?”

Hollister is quiet for several seconds, but I can practically hear him thinking. The redhead across from me is bending over in her leggings, showing off a sculpted ass you could bounce a quarter off of, and while I can appreciate her effort, I’m not feeling inclined to close the deal.

“I think I’m gonna do it,” Holl says softly. “I mean, not do it. It’s a dumb report anyway. He already knows these numbers. He just makes us do it to stress us out. I’m gonna miss the deadline.” He laughs softly, the confidence in his voice growing. “Yeah. I’m going to turn my report in late.”

“Holy shit, Holl. I’m proud of you. How late?”

“Thursday morning? Oof. No. I won’t sleep. I know. Tomorrow at four fifty-nine. I’ll press enter and then leave.”

“Okay wait. You’re gonna leave at five?”

“I am. Today too.” The pride in his voice is amazing. “What’s he gonna do about it? Fire me? Maybe that would be fine. Maybe I’d… I don’t know, do something else. I’m smart.”

“Wicked smart.”

“There’s a lot of other stuff I could do. I could even be my own boss. I could open my own accounting firm.”

“You definitely could, Holl.”

“I could start over.” His voice is soft again. “Forty isn’t old.”

“Not at all. If it makes you feel any better, the weekend got to me too. In a good way.”

“Yeah? I’m not the only one who feels like an alien today?”

Chuckling, I stand and turn away from the redhead. Might as well put her out of her misery now. “I think your shift was a little more dramatic than mine, but yeah, I have some stuff on my mind.”

“I’ll take that.”

“Well, since you’ll be home early tonight, want to grab dinner?”

He laughs again. “Yeah. Anything to keep me from obsessing about my dad’s reaction all night, huh?”

“That’s my job.”

“What would I do without you, Ax?”

“You’ll never know. See you tonight.”

“Thanks for talking.”

“Of course.”

When I end the call, I head over to the cardio station for my last thirty-minute sprint, but a soft touch on my arm catches my attention. I turn to see the pretty redhead smiling behind me.

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