The Lotus And The Billionaire

Chapter 74: Finding Trainer

“Alvarez—”

“I hear you pretty well, Diaz.”

“You don’t!” I yelled at his face, annoyed.

He chuckled and pinched my cheek. “I can hear you. Almost a little too loudly.”

“Are you saying I’m loud?”

He chuckled. “I didn’t say anything like that.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at him while he started the engine, looking pissed. Alvarez just doesn’t know when to stop messing around because, at this exact moment, I wanted to get back at him so badly.

A sigh escaped from my lips as I tried to think of a way to make sure that I would be able to convince him to give me permission. Alvarez is weak to my charms, so I am certain that he will soon yield to me.

I used to frequent gyms before, but when I began to work in our company, I only went a couple of times each month. After the problems within the company began to arise, I didn’t have ample time left for gyms. Now, all I have ever done is bum around all day.

Time has passed by, and I have completely forgotten what it is like to spar with someone. Heck, I doubt I would last if I tried my old routine. Still, it is surely worth trying.

“Diaz, I already know what you’re thinking,” he told me as he tried to sit comfortably inside the car.

“Yes, you do. And I want you to give me a chance to do it properly.”

He sighed and looked at me. “Learning how to fight will only cause more trouble. Diaz, there will be consequences.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You will learn how to use yourself as a sacrifice in that way, like what you’ve always done for other people your entire life.”

I looked at Alvarez with a mortified expression, unable to refute what he said. To be honest, I’m afraid to go back to how I was before. But as things stand, I will continue to be a damned weight for Alvarez.

The moment I return to how I was before, I will be able to protect myself or run on my own when the time calls for it. But if I continued to simply rely on him and Vin, I’d end up slowing them down.

I am not a damsel, and I will continue to repeat that until I stop being such a wuss. This wasn’t who I was, and I despise that fact. I wasn’t called the Black Lotus of the Diaz clan for nothing.

“I’m simply giving you a warning,” Alvarez told me as he heaved a sigh. “I know that I can’t keep you within a cage. That wasn’t what I was doing earlier.”

“Then, what do you call that?”

“I was convincing you not to do it. I can do it for you if you just trust me…” he trailed off, his voice strained. And then he cracked a smile. “Surely, I can. But you’re not supposed to be cuffed more than you already are.”

I beamed at him when I realized he was actually giving me permission to go for it. Alvarez has always been supportive. Even when he complains about it at first, he always lets me do what I want as long as I remain safe. Or perhaps I don’t remember instances where he didn’t let me do as I desired to?

Oh, well. None of those matters now.

Now, all I have to do is sign up for a membership in a gym and then find an instructor. The only problem is how Alvarez would be dealing with it.

“Are you okay with me going to a public gym, though?” I asked as I got out of the car.

He nodded. “It doesn’t bother me, but your safety does. Being out in public is…going to be difficult from this point onwards.”

“Oh, right…” I trailed off as I let out a sigh.

“I think we’re close to putting a stop on Zenon Leviste’s tracks, but the problem lies within the aspect of hows. I can’t simply rely on my gut feeling now that we’re facing this kind of problem.”

I nodded as I stared at him. “Why don’t you assign Vin to be my personal trainer?”

“No,” he replied firmly, almost as if he was already prepared to say so.

“Why?” I complained as I subconsciously linked my arms around his.

“If you really don’t know why, then that’s on you.”

I stared at him with a dead expression, trying to make something more innocent out of what he said. But then, I just failed miserably.

Vin crossed my mind as we went up the elevator. He would most definitely be a good trainer, but he is occupied with the security team and almost everything that includes the investigation. Alvarez mostly handles that, but Vin would always volunteer to help out.

And now, he can’t always stay beside me. And here I was thinking of doing the sessions inside the penthouse because Alvarez has a gym up there.

Oh.

“Hey,” I called Alvarez, grinning.

He simply looked at me with a bored expression. “Hmm?”

I just know he will laugh at me or mock me for what I am about to say, but I want to try anyway. There’s only a slim chance that he will agree, but I can’t just sit still.

For some reason, I felt like I shouldn’t talk until we had reached our unit. That was why I waited until we were already inside before I pulled him to the couch for a talk.

“What is it?” he asked as soon as he sat down.

I took a deep breath as I looked him in the eye. “Be my personal trainer.”

There was a moment of silence between the two of us. Surprisingly, Alvarez didn’t laugh at all. In fact, he seemed quite unamused by what I had just said.

When I looked at him, he looked like he had been waiting for that question all day! If anything, this was a question he was really prepared to say yes to.

But why wasn’t he saying anything?

The two of us remained silent while I waited for his answer, feeling anxious. Tension began to build up between the two of us because he wouldn’t say anything!

“You can just say no if you don’t want to!” I snapped when I couldn’t take the silence anymore.

“I would, but unfortunately, I want to.”

My mouth hung open as I stared at him. “To be honest, I want to smack your head right now. You could have just agreed instead of stalling like that!”

I was trying to be mad because the situation had suddenly turned awkward. But all of a sudden, I yawned and almost laid my head on his shoulder.

That was close…

“I wasn’t stalling, Diaz,” he told me as he stood up, probably to brew some tea or coffee. “I was contemplating my decisions.”

“Why? It’s not a big deal!”

“It will be. At least to me,” he replied as he went quiet again.

He can just disagree because I know there will be more available people to help me out with this if I try to look. Vin knows a lot of people we can trust, so I can just casually hand over the task of finding someone who can teach me to him.

But with Alvarez stalling me like this, I can’t go call someone. Damn, I really want to start right away! The gym is just upstairs and the thought of getting to enter it made me feel somewhat giddy.

Oh, right!

Alvarez goes to the gym frequently, but I never get to see him work out because I wake up a bit too late to witness anything. Well, it’s not like I want to watch him or anything, anyway.

“Are you sure you want me to be your personal trainer? Darling, I’m not even a professional…” he told me as he placed two mugs on the table. “You said you wanted coffee earlier, so here’s what you asked for.”

I took the mug that he often gives me and began to drink as I thought about him being my trainer. “I think it would be nice if you were to train me. I’d love to spar with you.”

He chuckled as he leaned his head on my shoulder. “Alright, alright.”

“I know this is against your will or something, but I need you to help me out.”

He nodded and gave a pat on the head. “Right. To be honest, I’m feeling a bit too lazy for this, but if you want, I can propose a different type of workout—”

“No!” I yelled immediately when I realized what he was talking about.

He let out a low chuckle before continuing to sip his coffee. “I’m just saying I can accept that kind of payment. In fact, it would be the best kind of payment you can give me.”

I shook my head and flicked his forehead. “No.”

“But you’ll still do it with me, right?” he kidded, trying to lighten the mood.

“I will if you’re nice.”

He raised a brow. “But I am nice. Look, I made you coffee. I think that earned me something.”

I could only giggle as I listened to him try to convince me into doing it with him. To be honest, I wanted to, but I don’t think I’d be able to do it properly. If there is one thing I hate, that’s got to be leaving him unsatisfied.

Even so, I surprisingly didn’t get annoyed when he kept on talking right beside me. Normally, I would have smacked him with my hand or kissed him to make him shut up. But I guess I really am getting used to the noise.

A smile threatened to escape my lips, but I didn’t let it. That would just give him more reason to tease me, after all!

“Sapphire.”

That…shocked me, to be honest.

“What?” I asked after a long stretch of silence. Damn, that scared the living s**t out of me.

“Nothing. It’s just that your name has a different ring to it. I like your name.”

“I don’t like yours,” I joked and closed my eyes.

Alvarez chuckled, then I heard him place his mug down on the table. He leaned his head on my shoulder and went silent, which got me wondering what was going on in his mind.

I felt like he was thinking about what happened earlier like I am. It’s just that things happened so fast that it all felt like a dream at this point.

“Diaz, do you think I’ll disappoint you in the situation we are in?” he asked as he played with my fingers.

Shit.

We look so domestic right now that I feel like…this is how real couples are with each other. But I am still convincing myself that we are not one of those, and we never will be.

I pursed my lips and looked up to think about Alvarez’s question, trying to ignore the position we were in. I refuse to believe that we’re acting like…those people.

“You know what? After everything that has happened so far, I guess I learned to trust you.”

That was a lie.

“I like relying on you.”

Another lie.

“I know that I can count on you if things get dicey.”

That was the only true thing I’d ever said to him.

I can definitely count on him, but I won’t. Even if things turn out differently, I won’t run to him for help. That’s the last thing I want to do right now.

Alvarez obviously knew I was lying, so he stopped talking. He didn’t want to hear it anymore.

Instead, he began to plant kisses all over my neck. Slowly and sweetly, he worshiped my body just like how he has always done. And that was how I almost forgot everything that happened back in the office.