Page 18 of Charm and Conquer

I open the passenger door of his truck and hop in before he or Daisy can insist.

He gets in behind the steering wheel and starts the engine. "Want to talk about it?"

"Nope." I glance over my shoulder as he pulls away from the house. Daisy is still standing in the spot I left her, watching us go, Barley squirming in her arms. She's too far away for me to make out her expression and I don't care. She never cared about my feelings.

"Want to talk about why you outed Asher to his boss for his criminal past?"

Surprised, I look over at Grant, but his focus is on the road, his expression neutral. "I apologized for that. I only said anything to Russell because Asher was butting into my very important conversation. Has he told the whole town what a big meanie I am for mentioning actual facts from his past?"

"No. He just mentioned it to me, because he wants to know how dirty you'll go to get the gym."

"And what did you tell him?"

"I told him you're one of the most driven, focused people I know, and I have no idea what you might do to get what you want."

I stare at the side of his face for a long moment. Grant's a nice enough guy, easy to talk to, but I don't talk to him about my business. I wonder if he'd say the same thing about me if he knew what a failure I am as a fitness influencer. "Hurting your friend isn't my goal, but I'm the perfect fit to make that gym into something truly great."

Grant clears his throat and glances over at me, his expression amused and disbelieving. "You had to have gone to some trouble and expense to get that information about Asher. You expect me to believe you didn't intend to use it?"

I sigh. I'm not a sharer or a talker. I'm a doer, and I really don't feel like having this conversation at all. "A friend of mine has a connection to a private investigator and owed me a favor. I asked her not to look into Asher, but she did it anyway and sent me the report." Everything the private investigator dug up indicated that after Asher spent some time in prison, he turned his life around. Every employer had glowing reviews for him, as did past clients. The man even volunteered at a community center helping troubled youths.

All indications are that Asher is a genuinely nice guy, which is incredibly annoying.

"Ah," Grant says. "And a past arrest was the best dirt she could dig up."

"Yes," I say on a heavy sigh. "Your best friend is apparently a great guy, but I need this gym so I can stay in Catalpa Creek with my sisters and not have to give up a career I love."

He parks in a small dirt lot, already nearly full, and shifts in his seat to look at me. "I thought you had income from your online presence and a good client list here. Do you really need the gym?"

"I do have those income streams," I lie, because I haven't told my sisters the truth about my business, and I'm sure as hell not telling this man. "But I want something more solid and reliable.I want to create a place everyone in town feels comfortable working out. A place that can run without me blasting personal pictures on social media." That's some of the truth, anyway.

My heart sinks into my toes when Asher Aldridge knocks on Grant's window. Like me, Asher looks shocked and angry.

"What the hell, Grant?" I ask. "I thought you were only training me?"

Grant has the audacity to smile. "I have a limited amount of time to train anyone, and Asher is my oldest friend. Can't you just put away your differences one day a week so you can receive my trail running wisdom?"

I huff out a breath and fake my most charming smile. "I'll just have a little chat with him. I'm sure we can work it out."

CHAPTER EIGHT

Asher

Clover shoots out of Grant's truck like there's a crocodile in her seat. She's wearing loose-fitting workout sweats and a sports bra, and all that smooth, toned visible skin makes it hard for me to focus on the irritation she's aiming straight at me.

"You need to leave." Clover stomps over until we're toe to toe. She's a foot shorter than me, but that doesn't give her a moment's pause as she pokes me right over my heart. "Grant agreed to train me first and I don't care how long you've been friends because the sister of a man's girlfriend always takes precedence over an old friend."

I glance at Grant to see if he has an opinion on the matter, but he's leaning against his truck, holding his phone out like he's filming us. Of course he is.

"If you don't want me here, you have my permission to forcibly remove me." My lips twitch at the thought and she lets out a low growl of frustration.

Then, in a move I could never have anticipated, she reaches out with one hand and tries to grab my crotch. I jump back just in time, because I have cat-like reflexes, but her hand still grazes my dick and balls.

And my dick and balls very much like the non-consensual contact and try to reach out and grab her back. "She was going to hurt you," I mutter at them as I cover them with both hands and glare at Clover. "You don't want to play dirty with me."

Her eyes light and she licks her lips like she heard the innuendo I didn't intend but which is now saturating the air between us. Why the hell am I so attracted to this she-devil? "You have no idea who you're up against, Aldridge. I'll shove your face in the mud and make you like it."

I already like it and I take a step toward her without meaning to. "Grant, tell Ms. Weston to stop yelling at me so we can start training."