Page 98 of Boss of Me

He laughs harder.

I don’t let him gloat for long. Winning the next rally with ease, I smirk at him and crow, “Match point.”

His scowl returns with a vengeance. “Serve, asshole.”

I bounce the ball and take a swing, smashing a low shot into the back corner that he doesn’t reach in time.

“Game, motherfucker!”

Maverick hurls his racquet at a wall in disgust.

Ripping off my soaked shirt, I throw back my head and let out a victory roar that reverberates around the court.

Maverick scowls at me. “I don’t know why you’re acting like you just won Olympic gold.”

I laugh, slinging my shirt over my shoulder. “Don’t be mad ’cause I wiped the floor with your sorry ass.”

“Whatever,” he grumbles. “You caught me on an off day.”

“Uh-huh. Sure,” I taunt, following him off the court.

After toweling off our faces and necks, we stuff our racquets into our bags and chug from our water bottles.

Pantheon’s fitness center boasts eight racquetball courts, a basketball court, an Olympic-sized pool, sauna and steam rooms, and a state-of-the-art gym. Our employees are encouraged to utilize the facilities, and most of them do.

Maverick jabs a finger at me. “I want a rematch.”

“No shit.” After an hour of hard play, I could still go a few more rounds. But I’ve got meetings to attend and a company to run, so Mav will have to exact his revenge another day.

I slap his sweaty back. “Playtime’s over. Back to work.”

“Aye, aye, boss.”

We grab our gym bags and head for the nearby elevators. After our matches, we prefer to shower and change in our private bathrooms so we can dive right back into work.

On the way to the elevators, we pass the glass-fronted gym full of people diligently sweating their way through lunchtimeworkouts. It’s hard to miss the hot black girl in thong leggings doing squats on a Smith machine.

She spots us walking by and smiles flirtatiously. Maverick winks at her.

When he seems inclined to linger, I give him a hard shoulder check to keep him moving.

He lets out a low wolf whistle. “Holy shit. Did you see the ass on that babe?”

“Jesus,” I mutter in disgust. “You’re the COO and joint owner of this building. Show some decorum.”

He laughs unabashedly. “I know you’re spoken for, bro, but don’t expect me to believe you didn’t peep that big ass booty.”

Arriving at the bank of elevators, I swipe my keycard to access the restricted top floor. “I saw it.”

Maverick grins. “And?”

My lips twitch. “What do you want me to say? It was a nice ass.”

Maverick chuckles fiendishly and bumps his shoulder against mine.

During the elevator ride up to our floor, we pull out our phones to check for missed calls or messages. My screen is filled with notifications, but I zero in on three texts from Marlowe.

The first one reads:Hope you’re having a wonderful day.