Devastated (Anger Management, #1)(17)

“Get back to work, brat,” Hunter said, as he reached over and snatched the list out of her hand.

“Of course, Mr. O’Mallery,” Kylie said with a nod and a triumphant glimmer in her eye that had him giving this round to her as she stood up, gathering her things, and left his office to finish today’s list of bullshit.

He’d get her next time, Hunter decided, as he shifted his attention to the emails that she’d flagged for him, wishing that he could call it a night, only to dismiss the idea because he could only take so much television before he lost his fucking mind. Before he’d been sentenced to house arrest, and he really wished that he’d kept walking that night instead of letting some drunk asshole take a swing at him, he’d never watched television, never had time for it. But now, that’s all that he seemed to do. He needed to find something else to do before he lost his fucking mind.

Then again, he thought as a chime alerted him to the fact that the email that he’d been waiting for was finally here, maybe he already had.

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She was dying, Kylie realized later that night with a small groan as she lay there, waiting for the hot water to do what five ice packs, four Advil, and a heating pad hadn’t been able to accomplish. Everything hurt from the top of her head all the way down to the tips of her toes and she had no idea how to make it stop. The only thing that she knew was that she was expected to do it all over again tomorrow.

Oh, God…

She couldn’t do it.

She just couldn’t.

But even knowing that it was most likely going to be physically impossible to move, she knew that she didn’t have a choice. She was going to have to do whatever it took to drag her ass down the hallway and back onto that treadmill because she refused to give up. Not now. So, for that alone, she would suck it up, get her ass back on that treadmill and handle everything Hunter threw at her with a smile.

No matter how much it hurt she could do this, she told herself with a firm nod, hoping the positive affirmation would help, but unfortunately, it only reminded her that she was only a few hours away from having to jump back on that treadmill. She really didn’t want to get back on that treadmill or do another pushup, Kylie thought as she reluctantly forced herself to sit up so that she could drain the tub and call it a night. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed hold of the side of the tub and pulled herself up, biting back a gasp of pain as every muscle in her body screamed in agony.

It took a few minutes, but she eventually managed to get a towel wrapped around herself. Once that was done, she headed for the bathroom door, wondering as she went if she should get another ice pack only to immediately dismiss the idea since it meant stairs, something that she really wasn’t sure that she was going to be able to manage at the moment.

Telling herself that she’d be fine in the morning, she headed for her bureau and grabbed a tee shirt and a pair of panties. It took a few minutes, and a lot of squirming, but she finally managed to get dressed. Deciding that sleep was the answer, she glanced at her closed bedroom door before she managed to fall face-first on her bed. It took a few wiggles, groans, and hysterical sobs, but she finally succeeded in pulling the covers up.

With that done, she closed her eyes with a sigh only to snap them open again out of habit to make sure that the lights were still on and that there was no one standing by the side of her bed. Once she assured herself that everything was as it should be, she pulled her blankets up to her chin and reluctantly closed her eyes, doing her best not to think about all those things that she’d really rather not think about.





Chapter 10

“Good morning, Mr. O’Mallery,” the woman who he couldn’t figure out said with one of those forced smiles that he really fucking hated as she slowly, ever so fucking slowly, walked into the room and headed for the second treadmill.

As he watched Kylie try to climb onto the treadmill, he couldn’t help but think about everything that he’d learned about her last night after he’d taken a quick look into her background. At least now he knew why she’d taken this job. She was beyond fucking desperate. He also knew that she was twenty-seven, had been divorced for five years, separated for a year before that, had great references, had a decent bank account, and didn’t have a single emergency contact on file. It was more than he knew about any of his employees and should have been enough to satisfy his curiosity. But, as he stood there watching her while she struggled to raise her foot so that she could climb onto the treadmill, he realized something important.

He was beyond fucking intrigued.

“What are you doing?” Hunter asked when she gave up trying to raise her right foot, shifted awkwardly, closed her eyes and bit her lip with a wince, and he was guessing a silent prayer, as she tried to raise the left one.

“Nothing,” Kylie said weakly, as she opened her eyes and gave him another forced smile as she threw the treadmill a nervous look that clearly said it all.

“What did you eat after we worked out yesterday?” Hunter asked, already heading to the small refrigerator in the corner.

“Advil,” Kylie said, making his lips twitch as he grabbed a protein shake from the fridge and handed it to her.

“You need protein after a workout if you want to be able to move the next day,” Hunter explained only to sigh heavily and take the bottle back from her when it became obvious that she wasn’t going to be able to open it.