Page 13 of Between Takes
Grumbling, I picked up my handbag from where I’d unceremoniously dropped it on my bedroom floor. My phone pinged with a text. An address that was definitely not Shaun’s.
Shaun: Drop them off here.
I stared at the screen, narrowing my gaze. Where is he sending me?
“Bloody dickhead actors and their ridiculous unreasonable needs. I’m an idiot, Mona. Mona, I can’t remember where I left my shit. Be a dear, Mona, find this thing I put down two days ago. I don’t know what it was or where I had it last, but it’s important.”
I was still grumbling and swearing at Shaun when I pulled into the studio car park.
As I searched his spotless trailer, it occurred to me I hadn’t asked the most important question: why did he have boxing gloves in his trailer? No bag hung in the front space, and there definitely wasn’t one in his bedroom. The frame couldn’t have handled the weight, anyway. If he had a space set up on site, I’d have heard about it by now.
Well, somebody had better give me a heads up before they install one. I do not need to walk in on Shaun topless and sweaty.Oh my god. Where the hell did that thought come from?
Way to torture myself. I froze on my hands and knees in what made up the bedroom section of his trailer. Why did he need a bed anyway? It wasn’t like he slept. I’d seen his schedule. He couldn’t blame his alcohol consumption if he dropped dead. The man needed to slow down.
I found the gloves stashed at the bottom of his wardrobe with an assortment of sporting goods that boggled my mind. There was even a hockey stick buried in there!
With the gloves in hand, I locked up and got out of there before I lost my mind trying to make sense of Shaun’s actions. I needed to sleep tonight. Fixating on the things he chose to store in his trailer and why was not going to help achieve that. Besides, there was no earthly reason I should care!
The address turned out to belong to one of those stripped-back gyms plopped in the middle of industrial sites. In this case, the gym sat wedged between a tyre garage and a windows supplier. Metal bars crisscrossed the windows and a red steel door that could sustain a ram raid led inside. The car park was packed, but the sight didn’t sit right with me.
This wasn’t where A-list celebrities worked out, surely. It was too bare and purpose-focused. No one would hand him fancy water bottles or fluff his towels. Did they do that? I’d never set foot in one of those super-expensive gyms, so I didn’t know.
The outside matched the inside – bare concrete floors, mats scattered about with patches duct-taped and giant weight machines lining the walls. A huge boxing ring took up the bulk of the room.
I wrinkled my nose at the stench of stale sweat. While scanning the space for Shaun’s familiar presence, I resisted the urge to plug my nose.
Someone flew into the ropes surrounding the boxing ring. He bounced back and continued sparring his partner at the other end.
I narrowed my eyes at the figure. He was topless and the way he moved fascinated me. He was graceful, dodging almost all of his sparring partner’s blows. The muscles in his back danced in a mesmerising rhythm, making the tree of life on his upper back pulse and flutter. Sweat made his tanned skin gleam, and I lost myself for a moment, tracing every dip.
Was it getting hot in here, or was I just losing my mind over a ripped stranger?
Then I paused. He was the right height and build. Tufts of familiar brown hair stuck out around his head guard. But it couldn’t be Shaun. This guy had gloves. Surely Shaun wouldn’t have sent me back to the studio if it wasn’t, in fact, an emergency.
I winced as a punch caught him beneath the chin and he barrelled backwards into the ropes. They caught him, holding him up until his feverish green gaze clashed with mine.
Oh my god.
I was lusting after my boss.
Mortification raced through me, and my face heated.
Shaun straightened, his eyes never leaving mine. “Let’s take five,” he said, his voice perfectly normal and not intrigued. Nope, that was all in my imagination.
Before he could climb over the ropes and join me on the ground, I shook the gloves at him. I averted my eyes and placed them on the boxing ring floor.
Without a word, I rushed towards the exit, my eyes fixed on the doors and the cool air waiting for me outside. Distantly, I heard Shaun swear and the muffled slap of his feet hitting the mats surrounding the ring.
“Mona, wait up,” he called, catching up to me far too quickly.
I couldn’t look at him yet. My skin was still overheated, and my body ached in all the right places. He’d take one look at my face and see it all.
He grasped my arm, spinning me around.
“What, Shaun?” I snapped, my eyes carefully fixed on his sternum. His glistening, very muscular sternum. I swallowed hard and forced the snark to take over. “Do you have another pointless errand for me to run?”
“It wasn’t pointless when I called. Lewis had a spare set.”
“So, you couldn’t call me and tell me that?”
“I meant to.”
My hard gaze flicked up to meet his. He was frowning down at me, his eyes scanning my face and his bare chest a little too close for my over-stimulated mind. I pulled free from his grip, taking a step back towards the door, and crossed my arms.
“Next time, make the call.”
I slammed out of the gym before he could respond. I needed distance, a cold shower, and a reminder that he was my prickly asshole of a boss. He was most definitely off limits. I’d dealt with enough self-entitled pricks to know better.
