The Runaway Girl and The Billionaire

Chapter 13: Perfect

Circling the ring, Xyrus kept creating combinations for Lana to follow. She was a quick learner, and she had great form. Careful not to be obvious, he caught a few glimpses of her amazing body as they continued their workout.

"Good job," he commended her after she landed a left hook.

She had a bit of fire behind her punches, and he was impressed. Most women liked less aggressive workouts, so the fact that Lana enjoyed boxing was intriguing. It was one of his favorite pastimes, and knowing they could have that in common felt like a good sign.

It didn't matter though, because Xy had promised he would not ask Lana out again. They had made things right after his failed attempt at hitting on her, and now he just wanted to let things go, confident in the knowledge there wasn't a woman in the city who could say she had been harassed or bothered by Xy Ashington. He had really been sick about pushing her.

Now he just wanted to focus on helping her with her exercise, but from the way she was hitting, he doubted she needed any help at all. Lana moved like she had something to prove. Most people train with boxing in a routine choreographed dance, but the way Lana moved was different. It was like she was actually in a fight, or at least preparing for one. It was intense, and Xy liked it.

"Two here!" he barked, holding up his left hand. Instantly, Lana threw two fast jabs. "Good job!"
"Have you done this before?" she asked, between strained breaths.

"Oh yeah, but I'm usually on your side of the training," he admitted with a smile. Xy was recalling all the things his personal trainer did with him in the ring, trying to replicate them for Lana

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"I don't think I'll ever lift a weight or run on a treadmill again. This is my favorite workout by far," she smiled, her face red from the adrenaline rushing through her small body.

It was remarkable to Xy how gorgeous Lana was, even covered in sweat at the gym. She had the kind of effortless beauty that needed no dressing up. Even her determination was attractive, the way she continued to follow him, throwing each punch harder than the last.

"Man, you're stronger than I expected," Xy remarked after Lana threw a hard right hook.

 
The compliment seemed to give her more energy, her face brightening with pride. Xy liked being able to make her feel good about herself, and secretly wished he could do it more often.

"So, what do you do?" she asked.

"I sell pet accessories," Xy answered, half honestly.

 
It was true, his company did sell pet accessories, and so he indirectly did as well. While success had never gone to his head in a negative way, he often tried to hide or downplay his wealth when it came to women. There was a misconception that all women loved wealthy men and threw themselves at them, but his experience had been much different.

The types of women who were interested in men because of their net worth weren't typically the type of women Xy wanted to spend time with. And the women Xy did find interesting usually couldn't care less how much money he made. In fact, they would often decline taking things further with him, doubting his ability to take the relationship seriously with so many options available to him.

"Pet accessories? That sounds fun. Do you get to work with animals?" As she spoke, she was still following his lead around the boxing ring.

"Not as often as I'd like. I've been thinking about getting a dog," Xy saiid, sharing a desire he'd had for the past few months.

Knowing how much he neglected his home, he thought he would bring the dog to work and let him hang around, much like Winfair did at the market. It would be a fantastic way for the employees to get to know him a little better and he could have someone at home with him whenever he was there.