Testing The Boss (Billionaires In The City, #5) Read online

  “Well, I appreciate you looking out for me.” She smirked.

  He smiled back at her and for a moment, they stood there, motionless. The pad of his thumb rubbed against the sensitive skin right beneath her palm, and Evelyn’s breath caught in her throat.

  But just as quickly as the strange moment started, it was over. The man who’d been in line behind them gave Evelyn the stink eye for holding up the toppings area and she stepped aside so he could get in as Luke piled topping after topping on his own brat.

  As soon as his was about twice the size of hers, Luke tilted his head to an empty bench across the sidewalk. She managed to keep her shoulder bag perched in place as they maneuvered through the pedestrians without spilling any of the toppings. Evelyn did a quick once-over of the bench to make sure that none of the pigeons had used it as a completely different type of seat before she sat and handed Luke his brat.

  He set her bottle of water between them as he took a massive bite out of his brat. At that rate, it wouldn’t last more than thirty seconds. But he paused to savor the food, closing his eyes as he finished chewing.

  “I didn’t realize food poisoning tasted so good,” she muttered.

  He took one last swallow and motioned toward her own untouched brat. “Just quit your bitching and eat the damn thing. You won’t die.”

  “Probably won’t die,” she clarified. “There’s a difference.” He glared at her and she decided it was time to bite the bullet. Or brat, in this case. The thing was massive and it didn’t make matters any easier that Luke stared intently at her.

  She sighed before she opened wide. She made sure she got a bit of bun, brat, and mustard in the bite, but the second she bit down, juice squirted on her face. She quickly dabbed at her cheek with the napkin, wondering whether the whole experience could be any more undignified, but then the taste hit her.

  Good Lord. It was moist and perfectly seasoned, and the bun was warm and scrumptious.

  She moaned as she finished the bite and Luke laughed. Evelyn rolled her eyes, but she didn’t even try to hold off before she took another bite. “Why does everything so bad for me have to taste so good?” she asked when she was about halfway through.

  Luke took one last bite of his own brat. “That’s just the way of things.” He leaned back on the bench.

  He looked so at home here in the middle of the city, eating the gross (if fantastic tasting) cart food. She felt as if she had a giant spotlight shining on her, saying, “Outsider! Outsider! She isn’t welcome!”

  “I’m surprised you like it here so much.” She leaned back, forcing herself to go slower and savor the rest of her meal.

  He appeared surprised. “Why’s that?”

  “Your family is from Georgia. You were raised there. That’s a far cry away from the busiest city in the country.”

  Luke’s gaze scanned the busy street. “I don’t know. I think this pace is better suited for me. Michael might end up moving back home at some point. If Lori agrees to it. That whole scene fits him better.”

  “And you’re a lifer?”

  He turned those blue eyes back to her without answering. “What about you? You going back to Texas first chance you get?”

  “You know it.” Evelyn took a deep swig of her water. “I was making a difference down there.”

  “Until you were shot.”

  Tension crept through her muscles. “Why bother asking questions if you already know the answers?” she snapped at him.

  “Because sometimes reactions say more than words ever could.”

  She tightened her lips. “So did you get the reaction you wanted then?”

  “More of one than I was expecting. I kind of thought you were a robot. It’s nice to see that you’re more normal than I thought.”

  She snorted. “Normal because I don’t like being shot?”

  “Normal because you’re pissed off you were shot. I imagine I’d feel the same.”

  “You have no idea.” She doubted Luke had ever felt as powerless as she had those terrifying few moments after the bullet ripped through her thigh. Knowing she was trapped and that if she moaned in any way or breathed too deeply, the next bullet would be going through her head.

  She ate the rest of her meal in silence as she tried to push the painful memories away. There was no point living in the past. She chose to live for the present. Or rather, the future. The future without Luke Devereaux in it.

  “So do you work out a lot?” Luke downed the last of his water bottle.

  She’d always enjoyed exercise, but she’d taken that love to a whole new level during her recovery process. The faster she was back to one hundred percent, the better chance she had of being transferred out of the white-collar division. “Every day,” she told Luke.

  “Well, we’re done with dinner and there’s still no call. Do I have your permission to go home or are we going to work out together?”

  Evelyn stiffened. Seeing as how her workout equipment was all at her apartment, she’d rather avoid that scenario. But if she backed down now and let him take that call alone, she’d be admitting that she didn’t need to be here full-time. That she could let things keep playing out like they had been.

  But she wasn’t about to do that. She was here to make sure this investigation got wrapped up. To make sure the Thirteen Stars were completely disbanded and held accountable, so she could get back to where she belonged. So she wasn’t about to admit defeat here and now on her first day with Luke.

  “You don’t want to work out with me,” she warned.

  He leaned forward and she realized that she’d made a horrible mistake. “Oh really? Think I can’t handle it?”

  Great. Now she’d activated his competitive side. “Oh, I think you can handle it. Far away from me, though.”

  “So I’m free for the night?”

  “No! I’m going to be there for the damn phone call, Luke.”

  “So we are working out together?” She opened her mouth to say no again, but he cut her off. “Because you normally work out right now and we’ve got nothing better to do. Unless you have any bright ideas?”

  She had at least fifty reasons why she didn’t want to work out with Luke, and every single one had to do with not wanting him in her space. But she wasn’t about to admit it. “You don’t even have workout clothes with you,” she settled on.

  He held up his duffel. “I always have workout clothes with me. I have a treadmill in my office.”

  “We’re not working out,” she repeated.

  He cocked his head and considered her for a moment. “Do I make you uncomfortable, Agent Price?”

  Those blue eyes were on her like a spotlight and she racked her brain for a good lie. Because he did make her uncomfortable. Incredibly, intensely uncomfortable in the worst way. “Of course not.”

  “Then give me the address and we’ll go.”

  “You’re not a member of my gym.”

  “I’m a member of whatever gym I want to be. You just give me three minutes alone with the manager and I’ll be in.”

  She snorted. “I doubt that. I’m the manager. I have a home gym.”

  “The exclusive club Evelyn? Well, now I really want to go.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  So maybe her competitive streak was starting to be a problem. Evelyn twisted the key in the door to her building. Luke was eerily quiet behind her as she stepped into the old walk-up complex, but she figured there was nothing to say. He was taking too much joy in getting this personal look into her life.

  She didn’t break the silence as they made their way up the three flights of stairs to her studio. Not that there was anything too shocking about her living conditions, but it was still hard to have one of the richest men in the city seeing the small space she was able to afford. If she’d been willing to room with one of the other agents, she could’ve been in a nicer neighborhood or had the kind of apartment that guaranteed at least five minutes of warm water in the morning, but she liked her privacy.
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br />   She also liked her space, but that bridge had already been crossed.

  Evelyn paused as she reached her door and glanced over her shoulder to Luke. “No rude comments, okay?”

  He actually looked insulted. “I’m a lot of things, but I’m not a dick. Do you expect me to laugh in the face of a tiny apartment?”

  “I give you some credit,” she admitted. “I didn’t expect you to laugh out loud.”

  She unlocked the door and held it open, twisting around to carefully study Luke’s reaction. She knew her space wasn’t about to get its own photo spread in Good Housekeeping, but it was hers and served its purpose well.

  The studio apartment was seven hundred square feet and every inch was put to use. Except for the bed in the far corner and the kitchen area, the entire floor had been converted into a gym with a treadmill, punching bag, and a weight set with an Olympic bar and plates going up to forty-five pounds.

  Luke let out a small whistle. “I feel like I understand you so much better now.”

  Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Big talk, pretty boy. You won’t have as much of a sense of humor after you have me for a trainer.”

  He set his briefcase on the corner table barely big enough for one person to eat at while she shut and locked the door, throwing the deadbolt and chain in place.

  “I can change in the bathroom.” She headed past him. It was the only area in the apartment that had a door. Her workout clothes were already laying out for her on the bed. She spread them out every morning so she had no excuse to skip a day. Evelyn snatched the sports bra and shorts from the bed and paused. There wasn’t a shirt out. Shit. She knew exactly where all her oversized t-shirts were. In the laundry bin she’d dropped off at the cleaners that morning. Pickup was scheduled for after six, but she’d completely forgotten.

  “Everything okay over there?” asked Luke.

  Evelyn sighed. Looked as if she was working out in her sports bra today. Sure. Why not? Really, what else could go wrong? “Everything’s fine,” she muttered as she escaped to the bathroom. Grabbing a hair tie, she pulled her curls into a tight ponytail and stripped off her business suit.

  The skintight shorts stopped just under the curve of her ass and the bra covered more than most bathing suits, but it was still more (or was it less?) than she was comfortable with. Damn it. Back in Texas, she had a washer and dryer right in the basement of the house she rented. The house that was over three times the size of this place and cheaper.

  So what if her outfit was revealing? When she was lifting, she wanted to see her body to make sure she was working the right muscles. And what was the harm in Luke seeing her? It wasn’t as though she didn’t have the body to pull off the tight clothes. Thanks to her borderline obsession with getting back to her old position, she was in the best shape of her life. Actually, she could even see some abs emerging, which was funny because she’d tried to get abs her entire life.

  At least there was some silver lining to having a bullet tearing through her thigh and throwing her career on its axis. She’d go out there knowing she looked good, kick Luke’s ass in training and then have a damn good night’s sleep. Easy.

  As soon as she opened her bathroom door, all her plans crashed down around her. Luke didn’t look like a billionaire CEO anymore. He’d changed out of his suit and into a black t-shirt that hugged the muscles in his shoulders and chest in exactly the right way and his loose sweatpants fell perfectly against his toned ass.

  And then he turned around and his eyes raked over her body. For a brief second, neither of them said anything. Luke looked like less of a corporate man and more like a...man. A man who was just as silent as she was.

  Which meant she wasn’t the only one who was affected by this. She was half about to turn tail and run, ordering Luke out of her apartment, when he broke the silence.

  “So how do you want to do this?” he asked, his voice low and husky.

  “Um, do what?” Were they still talking about exercise? She was just going to imagine they were and go with it. “I usually do a warm-up on the treadmill for five minutes and then go into heavy lifting. I alternate what muscle groups I hit. Today is compound lifts like squats, bench presses, and deadlifts.”

  Luke shook his head. “Come on. Screw that. Let’s do some real training.”

  He approached her and she was fascinated by the ripple of his muscles as he moved. “Real training?” she murmured.

  “Like you wouldn’t want a chance to kick my ass?” He stopped just a foot away.

  Her eyes widened as she finally got a hold of her libido and realized what he was saying. “You want to fight me?” she asked incredulously.

  “No. I want you to teach me how you fight. I’ve had a bit of training and would like to see how I stack up next to a trained cop.”

  “Agent,” she corrected. “And you know I can wipe the floor with you, right?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe. But I am bigger. And probably stronger.”

  “But not smarter.” She smirked. Seriously, if he thought he could take her, he was out of his mind. Even with a leg that wasn’t up to par, she had been training to take down guys bigger and stronger than her from before she even entered the academy.

  “I’ve gotten into one or two brawls, Evelyn. And I played football in the South. That shit gets intense.”

  She let out a laugh. “High school football! I’ve taken down cartel leaders, murderers, and gangsters. Not exactly the same thing. I can take you in a heartbeat.”

  He raised a brow. “Then prove it.”

  A surge of adrenaline shot through Evelyn as she stared down Luke. “Fine. Move the weight bench and try not to break your head open when I knock you on your ass.”

  He smiled in a way that told her that he wasn’t going to go down easy, and she held her ground while he moved the bench. Probably the first time he actually did what she told him to. Once it was moved, they at least had a little room to move around. The ground wasn’t padded like she was used to while training, but a few bruises would do Luke some good. But she would give him one consolation. Holding onto her weight rack for support, she flipped off her tennis shoes and he followed suit.

  The tension swirled in the air and she could tell Luke was probably just as excited about this as she was.

  Once everything was moved out of the way, Luke stood a few feet away from her and she stood with her feet shoulder width apart as they eyed each other cautiously. “How do we do this?” He shifted his weight.

  She smiled confidently at him. “Come at me.”

  A flash of uncertainty crossed his face. “What if I hurt you?”

  She snorted. “You’re not going to hurt me.”

  “You sound pretty sure of that.”

  “I’m one hundred percent sure of that,” she warned. “If anyone is in danger, it’s you. Now, are you going to come at me or are you going to get on the treadmill to do a normal workout?”

  He growled low in his throat at her threat and she knew that she’d pushed him enough. She tensed and narrowed her eyes as she looked for any sign that he was about to come at her.

  And it wasn’t long before he lunged. If he thought she stood a chance, he probably would’ve gone straight for a punch, but she could tell he didn’t think she could take him, so he grabbed for her arm instead. Evelyn dodged his stretched arm and rammed her foot into his lower shin in exactly the right angle so he fell to his knee.

  She stepped back and eyed the oversized man kneeling in front of her; a self-satisfied grin covered her face. “Want to try that again?” she asked cheerfully.

  Luke didn’t seem nearly as amused. He pushed himself up and faced her again. “Playing dirty?”

  “That was an honest takedown. No dirt required,” she assured. “Now are we going to—”

  He rushed her again. This time he caught her off guard and managed to snag her arm before he twisted her around until her back was to his front.

  Her free elbow jammed back with all her force into his sid
e and as he grunted in pain, she angled her head back to slam into his, but he released her before she made contact.

  She twisted around to glare at him for rushing her when she was unprepared. “Now who’s playing dirty?”

  He held his hand over his ribs were she’d jabbed him. “You were going to head butt me!”

  What a baby. “You wanted to see what I’m capable of? This is it. I’m not like all your family members and your employees who treat you like some special fucking snowflake, Luke. I’m giving you all I’ve got and I expect you to do the same.”

  “What if I hurt you?” he asked again, and she realized he was still holding back.

  “If you hurt me, I’ll get better. Now grow a pair and hit me like a man, Luke.”

  Just like that, he rushed her again. This time she had enough time to see what angle he was coming at and managed to duck aside and landed a kick to his ankle, sending him sprawling on the floor.

  Without missing a beat, he leaped up and came at her again. Except this time, he didn’t rush her, but approached calmly. She retreated until the table pressed into the backs of her thighs and this time he did go for a punch.

  Evelyn leaned back just enough to avoid his swing, but she didn’t have enough room to get a solid kick in, so instead she tried to slip under his arm as he regained his balance to swing again. She was just too slow. He caught her as she was mid-crouch, just managing to snatch her arm. From the awkward angle, she didn’t have a lot of room to maneuver, so she pushed her leg back as hard as she could from her position and connected with his ankle.

  She heard him grunt right before he toppled over. But he didn’t let go, and as he landed solidly on his back, he pulled her down with him.

  Evelyn sprawled on top of Luke, landing on her back. She tried to get up, but he wouldn’t let her go. “What the hell is wrong with you?” she muttered as she tried to jerk out of his grasp, but his fingers were unrelenting.

  “I’m winning,” he muttered right before he jerked her to the side until her back was planted on the floor and he twisted over until he straddled her, one knee on either side of her stomach. She immediately went in for a punch, but this time he was ready for her and caught her wrists before he pinned them above her head.