Page 6 of Hidden Obsession

“That’s what I thought.” Jonas chuckled. “You know we get you’re the oldest and shit, but that doesn’t mean you have to be locked up tighter than Fort Knox, right?”

“There isn’t anything to talk about,” I responded, my eyes still fixed on her sitting there.

“Really?” I tore my gaze from my screen to look at him. “Because from where I’m sitting, I have to say, my man, I think there might be,” he said with a shit-eating grin, pointing at my phone.

“Not really. At the end of the day, she’s too young for me. She’s too… sweet. Kind. Too innocent for the shit I’m into.”

“I don’t know. People have a way of surprising you.” He shrugged, but the tone in his voice made me look up at him.

“What do you think I should do? Offer her a job where I pay for her to do shit she likes, like you did?”

“Hey! I don’t know if you’ve noticed, man, but I got it going on. The business is making money hand over fist, and I have a great woman by my side I’m going to marry.”

“When? Because you keep saying that, but I haven’t heard you guys setting a date or anything.” I was being a defensive asshole and I knew it.

“Fuck you, you know what I mean. Anyhow, what if you did?”

“What?”

“What if you did offer her a job? A different one.”

“Me?”

“You have a business of your own, dumbass. From what I heard from Kitty and Jade the other day⁠—“

“Offer her a job? At the gym?”

“Why not? Kitty and Jade said she was great at teaching them some stuff. You could start her as a greeter or something. Doesn’t that girl you have right now gotta go back to school?”

“Cheryl. Yeah. She’s leaving at the end of next week.”

“See… opportunity.” He shrugged. “All I’m saying is, maybe having her around would give you a chance to see her a little more. Get to know her and find out if she’s someone you really think you could see yourself with.”

There was no doubt about that in my mind.

The problem was, I couldn’t see myself without her.

“But she’s working here. How the hell would that even come up or⁠—“

“Leave it to me.” Jonas winked like he was a goddamn matchmaker.

THREE

MARYANNE

“Hey, Maryanne?” Blu, one of the newer dancers, called as I finished putting on my lipstick in the dressing room. I turned around to see the beautiful tall blonde wearing a satin robe wrapped around her.

“Boss is looking for you,” she shared.

“He is?” Shit! Shit! Shit! He hadn’t sounded upset when I’d called to switch my shifts, but maybe he’d changed his mind?

“Said if you can go to his office,” Blu continued.

“Oh, okay.” I smiled tightly, trying not to show my panic at being called in. What could this mean? Am I being fired?

I stood, and since I hadn’t changed into the outfit I would wear on stage and was still in jeans and a shirt, I tried to calm my thundering heart down before I headed toward the offices. If this meeting went okay, I would need about fifteen minutes to get dressed and put on my shoes to hit the stage.

If I was getting fired, all I would need to do would be to grab my stuff and a makeup remover.