Tainted

20 - Colt: All You

I grit my teeth together, watching as Dan scratched his stubble in boredom.

"Look, whether you sign it now or not, I'm not giving you anymore than the original offer," I sighed.

He grunted, standing to his feet. "I'm aware. However, my uncertainty lies in the fact that I'm not sure if you're ready to take it over, McGregor. What else do you have to offer besides the standard fitness accommodations?"

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I stood up from my desk in bitter response, marching towards the door. It was almost as if we were playing poker. He knew I concealed the ace in my pack of cards, but he simply wouldn't accept defeat unless he saw it for himself.

"Follow me," I muttered, leading the way back outside my office.

As we walked, my eyes quickly scanned the room for her presence. It was basically empty expect for a few trainees that dwelled the weight room, but I still didn't spot her. I didn't see Jaxon either...

Where the hell did he take her, now?

"This is kind of a personal touch I've added to my facility, but it's something that I know for a fact will bring in a lot more trainees, and for sure a lot more customers on the whole."

I led him over to the furthest room in the back of the gym, passing the pool and the weight room. I proceeded to ignore his displeased expression, his thick wrinkles creasing deeper into his forehead, directly above his eyebrows.

No one could overlook the fact that Dan was an older man. He was simply outdated and stuck in a frame of mind that he still had a youthful jubilance. Rather, it was quite the opposite.

Dan had a wife, four kids, five grandchildren and a knack for rubbing his almost completely grey beard.

He was a good man back in the day, when Firm Fitness had been on top in London. But he couldn't keep up, and his kids refused to join the fitness business like he had, because apparently entrepreneurship just wasn't their fortes.

I slipped out my bunch of keys from my jeans to unlock the door, about to slip it in the keyhole when I found it that was already unlocked.

Confusedly, I pushed the handle to see the lights on, illuminating the entire room.

Inside, Marcus stood with Charlie right in front of the boxing ring, their expressions grim. Jaxon stood close beside Vee, their backs to us as they faced the other two.

I felt my jaw tense; Jaxon just had to bring Vee in here. Did he really think I wasn't going to find out?

"That's no excuse!" Charlie proclaimed suddenly, speaking to Vee. "How the hell could Colt not tell us? That wanker."

"Colt's a real arse - as if we weren't going to find out anyhow," Marcus grumbled as he crossed his arms, shaking his head. "We're all mates here."

"Tell you what?" I asked, watching their expressions transform to shock, fear and then discomfort.

Vee and Jaxon spun around, their eyes meeting one another's in alarm. They'd just been caught and I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about that.

"Oh, hey, Boss," Charlie greeted me tentatively. "We were just -"

"Get back to what you were doing, don't let me stop you," I said through my teeth. "Mister Rochester just wanted to see the boxing ring."

They all looked around at each other and him and Marcus departed, sending polite nods to us before leaving the room in mere moments.

Vee and Jaxon stood immobile, surveying the situation before making a move. Vee strode over to us, leaving Jaxon to pick up a few empty water bottles to look like he was doing something productive.