Page 62 of Falling With You

“I’m ready, Miss Knight. Just tell me where you want me.” Jefferson winked, flirting again, and I just shook my head, waving him off. He was having a good day, and he never went too far with his flirting, so I planned to just ignore it. For now.

Jefferson and I got to work, and even though I knew we were both getting tired, we only had a few more minutes together before we could move to the cooldown and he could go home, thankfully with his mother coming to pick him up.

He hadn’t missed an appointment in the past month, and I counted that as another win.

I just hated the fact that this was his normal now. And even though we were helping his physical strength in order for him to actually be able to walk without as much pain as he had been in before, some things would never get better.

But there was nothing I could do about that, so I just did my job, something I was actually good at.

We were just finishing up when the door opened, and Aiden strolled in, a smile on his face, and a bag in his hand.

Other than when he had come in for his hand, I didn’t think he’d actually ever been to where I worked. He hadn’t told me he was coming, and I wasn’t really excited that he was here.

Sure I loved looking at him, loved the way he looked at me, but this was work.

And I had no idea how to handle this. I really wasn’t good at this.

I made sure the smile on my face wasn’t too bright, considering that I was at work, and not only were my coworkers here, but my clients were, as well.

“Hey, short stack,” Aiden said as he walked up and kissed me on the cheek. I straightened, taking a step back. I didn’t miss the hurt in his eyes or the confusion, but it wasn’t like I could tell him to just go away for a minute.

This was where I worked, where I did my best to act professionally in a world where mostly men got the promotions and the respect. I had to work twice as hard, and I knew I even had my own privileges.

I just didn’t know how to say that to Aiden just then. I hoped he would understand.

But from the way he looked at me, I didn’t think he did.

Because I hadn’t told him.

But he should have understood it anyway.

“Hi, Aiden, I didn’t know you were coming in.”

Jefferson stood behind me, towering over us all, and I held back a wince. This was not something I needed. This wasn’t somethinganyof us needed.

“Who’s this?” Jefferson asked, his voice a growl.

I cleared my throat. “Jefferson, this is my friend Aiden. Why don’t you get back to that cooldown, and then we’ll work on what we need to do for the next session.”

Jefferson just folded his arms over his massive chest. “Not leaving you alone with someone I don’t know.”

“Excuse me?” Aiden asked, rolling his shoulders back so he looked slightly bigger.

This was definitely not what I needed. Not in the slightest. Now people were looking, and I was the center of attention. Again.

“Aiden, why don’t I meet you up front? Jefferson? Go do that cooldown. We’re almost done.”

I looked at Jefferson. “Please,” I pleaded.

“Fine. But I’m watching you.” He narrowed his eyes at Aiden and then stomped off to do his cooldown.

“What the hell was that?” Aiden asked, staring after where Jefferson had gone to the mat.

“No, we’re not doing this here. Go up to the front, Aiden. I will talk to you later.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m working, Aiden.”