Mr. CEO(86)

“You'll just have to content yourself with your previous playmates,” Andrea says. I ignore her, though, doing my next set at 280 before moving up in five-pound increments, finishing with 315 by the time I've hit my target for today. I set the bar back down, and I see that Andrea's still grinding away on the StairMaster, her head down, sweat dripping from her chin to drop to the moving beltway stairs.

“How long you going for today?” I ask, figuring she can't last much longer. I'm surprised when she looks up, and she doesn't look tired at all.

“Still got another half hour on here. Today's all endurance. Besides, this thing gives me some killer calves and a nice ass, too. At least as much as us Japanese girls get,” she says self-deprecatingly.

At the mention of calves, I think of Kat, the way her legs looked yesterday in those martial arts pants, and my cock twitches again. I grumble, turning away from Andrea quickly before she gets any ideas. I go to my next exercise, weighted dips alternated with bodyweight pullups, ten and ten before I rest, six sets. I finish up, then climb onto the StairMaster next to Andrea for a quick fifteen minutes.

Andrea finishes soon after I climb on, and pats at her face with her t-shirt. “So did you go see her?”

I blink and glance over, but there's no deception or slyness in Andrea's face. I've suspected for a long time she hates Pops nearly as much as Kat does. I can understand, when her entire presence in the house has been to basically serve as a giant 'Fuck You' to Mom. That's not the sort of thing anyone wants growing up.

“Yeah,” I say after a moment. “She's... motivated.”

“Seems to have rubbed off on you,” Andrea says as she steps off the machine and gets to the floor. “You sure it's safe?”

“No... but then again, when do I ever do the safe thing?” I ask, to which Andrea doesn't smile, doesn't smirk, nothing. “What?”

“Someday, Jackson... someday I hope you really learn what not doing the safe thing means,” Andrea says mysteriously after a moment, then pulls her t-shirt back on. “In any case, have a good rest of your workout, I've got class.”

Andrea leaves, and I finish up the rest of my quick cardio, just letting my mind drift. I figure I'll get a swim in later, but maybe today instead of a swim I'll pull out my old gloves and throw down a few rounds with the heavy bag in the corner. It's not quite the same as actual training, but it'll help in starting to get me back in fight mode. I won't be caught by surprise again.

I go inside and drop off my shaker cup of post-workout protein mix in the sink for the maid to wash and run upstairs to take a lengthy shower. I even make sure to condition my hair. I've been lazy with it since I've been cooped up around the house, but it's time to get back to normal.

I dry off and put on my first set of clothes for the day, some Burberry pants and a button-down Ralph Lauren shirt. I grab my Steve Madden loafers, and I'm all set for the morning.

As I walk down the hall toward the stairs, Andrea's door opens and she comes out, also dressed for success in her typical power suit look, although I see she's skipping the heels for something a little more comfortable. I guess doing close to an hour on the StairMaster does have side effects after all. “Well, you are dressed today. Back to your regular duds, I see.”

“Not totally regular,” I note, showing her the Maddens. I normally reserve these for when I go out and go around the house in training shoes instead. “What do you think?”

“I think you need to keep them polished better,” Andrea replies. “But they're fine. What's the occasion?”

“Like I said, I was thinking of going out today,” I reply. I stop at the top of the stairs. “Andrea... would you mind if I borrowed some of your business books? I mean... oh f*ck it, never mind.”

“Whoa, whoa, niichan, stop,” Andrea says, putting her hand on my shoulder. “Slow down, what's all this?”

“Just... I had a dream last night, and with what you said... I was thinking that maybe I can start learning about more than bodybuilding and partying,” I say. “And I was thinking that maybe I could learn a little bit about investing and stocks, or real estate, or something like that.” I shake my head, and shrug before giving her a grin. “You know, something actually useful in real life.”

Andrea studies my face for a minute, then nods. “Hold on... I've got something in my room you can start with.”

She jogs back to her room and comes out with a book. “Here. He's become a bit of a hack, and I don't want you running off like a madman with it, but take a read, and if you want... I'll be around to answer questions and talk with you.”

I look down at the title. “Rich Dad, Poor Dad? Okay... looks easy enough.”

“It is. Not trying to say you're an idiot, Jackson... but you've been f*cking off for the four years since high school finished for you. It's a decent refresher. In the meantime though, let's get some breakfast. I thought you were all about protein loading after lifting or whatever it is you call it, and if you don't mind, I'll share an egg or two with you.”

I keep the book with me while we eat, then Andrea goes off to class. I've got a while before my afternoon swim, and I was planning on getting out during the evening, so I find a comfortable chair in the downstairs den and start reading. I'm caught up pretty quickly, and I find that I'm in chapter four when Mom comes in, pretty much ignoring me. Not that unexpected, really. “Hey Mom, is Pops around?”