Page 382 of Tormented Billionaire Romance Series

He gave a strange little laugh and replied, “I was going to stop down there again, yes, but something else came up, so I never made it.”

With an odd, but not unpleasant little frown, Leo said to him, “You mean that other meeting we had? Because you said you were taking a quick trip down to the Call Center before that meeting.”

“Well, I changed my mind and just went straight to the meeting instead, that’s all,” said Elijah, sounding strangely defensive.

“Oh. Okay, whatever,” said Leo, and that seemed to be the end of it, because they went from there to other subjects.

I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but there was a peculiar vibe at that moment, and it seemed to be coming from Elijah.What could it be — and should I be concerned about it?I wondered.

_______________

After work, another trip to buy groceries made me wonder at what a small world Cincinnati seemed to be, for a big city.

I was rolling my cart out from the cereal aisle and approaching the meat aisle, and once again found a surprise there. Inspecting the beef this time was not Ben the fitness trainer, but his favorite client.

He looked up from the humongous chuck steak he was tossing into his cart, which no doubt cost only pocket change to someone like him, and caught sight of me. He flashed me a surprised smile and called, “Hello, Corinne!”

A lot of the time, small talk is awkward and something a lot of people prefer to avoid. It was a feeling I understood, but I didn’t seem to mind it with Elijah. I wheeled my cart over to join him, basking in his smile as I approached.

“Are you surprised to see your boss doing a mundane thing like buying his own groceries?” he asked playfully.

“Not really,” I said. “Everyone has to eat.”

“True enough,” he said. We started to go down the meat aisle together as he explained, “I have people who come in and clean my apartment, and I have a service where I send all my laundry. And, my dry cleaning, of course. But, I’m very particular about my food and my clothes. I’m very hands-on in those two areas. Which is what brings me here. My fitness trainer recommended this store.”

My attention perked up. “Oh,” I said, “you mean Ben.”

He was facing front until I said that. He whipped his head around at me and said with wide eyes, “You know Ben?”

Chuckling, I said, “Believe it or not, he was the first person I met in Cincinnati. Ben and I seem to be neighbors; I see him here sometimes. I think he lives in the nicer apartment complex on my block.”

“Huh! How about that?” Elijah said. “Does it seem sometimes like the universe draws circles around us and all the people in our lives, you know, kind of like a Venn diagram where all the people we know are in intersecting circles?”

“I never thought of it that way,” I said, intrigued at the idea.

“Can’t help it,” he said. “A habit I picked up in business, thinking about things in graphs and charts. I’m only surprised that all my acquaintances aren’t on some big spreadsheet in my head.”

That made me laugh. He was actually even more interesting out of the office. I was starting to see Elijah as a whole person — not that seeing him as a gorgeous guy was that bad.

“Ben is a hell of a great guy,” Elijah went on. “Not only a great trainer, but the best friend I’ve ever had. He’s not only helped me stay in shape, he’s been great for helping me with my focus and keeping my head in the right place. If I’m really honest, part of my success in business is Ben’s doing.”

“Ben and Leo,” I guessed.

“Yes, Ben and Leo,” he agreed. “Speaking of the people in our lives, do you know anyone else in Cincinnati besides Ben? Do you have any family here?”

“No, it’s just me,” I said. “My father and my sister live back in Youngstown, where it was just us after we lost my mother.”

“I’m sorry,” said Elijah.

“It was hard, going on without her,” I said. “And then…well, after a loss like that, your whole world looks and feels different. I thought maybe it was time for something different in my life. So I kind of screwed up my courage and came here.”

“Well, I’m very glad you screwed up your courage,” he said, looking over at me sincerely. “If I can get away with saying this within our relationship of boss and employee, courage is a good look on you.”

I was surprised I could walk at that moment, since my toes were curling to match the smile curling my lips. To hear a thing like that from the person I worked for, who looked likethatand was so…nice…

We reached the end of the meat aisle and arrived at the produce section. That was when my next surprise came in a day that seemed to be made for them.

“Listen,” he said, “tomorrow after work, I’m going over to Ben’s gym. It’s arms and chest day. Would you like to join me?”

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