Training Maisy

by Samantha Morgan

  Training Maisy

  Samantha Morgan

  Edited by Natasha Larry

  Edited by Candy Royer

  Illustrated by Cover Me Darling

  Copyright

  Training Maisy © 2019 Samantha Morgan

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  Also by Samantha Morgan

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Maisy couldn’t believe she was doing it. At long last, she was buying a place of her own.

  With a small, nervous smile at Jesse, her realtor, she signed the final agreement that would make her the new owner of a three-bedroom, detached house and the soul-crushing mortgage that came with it. Don’t think about that, Maisy chided herself while collecting the key Jesse was handing to her.

  “Um, anything else?” Maisy asked with a smile she hoped didn’t betray how nervous and scared she was.

  “Nothing really. That’s the major contract right there. Just a few other things to do, and then you’re through. But, as of now, you’re the new official owner of this house. How about we take one more look around?”

  As Maisy walked around the house, she had to admit it looked great. Some of its features looked even better in person than in the pictures Jesse had sent. She still couldn’t help questioning her somewhat sudden decision, though. She wasn’t an impulsive person.

  In her head, she recalled a pep talk from her best friend, Brittany.

  “Hey, just because you wasted almost three years with that asshole doesn’t mean you have to pay for it with the rest of your life. Get up, go out, and discover the Maisy I used to know before Eric came into your life,” Brittany said in her no-nonsense voice.

  “You mean the one who dyed her hair green on a whim,” Maisy asked with a somewhat-self-deprecating chuckle.

  “Yes, honey, that one. I miss that Maisy,” Brittany replied with a sort-of sad and nostalgic look crossing her face. On a brighter note, she added, “At least that Maisy made me laugh for almost one week with all the different hats you wore to cover your hair up.” Even Maisy laughed when she remembered all the hats, ball caps, and hoods which became her wardrobe in the time it took her hair to return to its light caramel color.

  Normally, she would have smiled at that memory, but thinking about Eric, her ex-boyfriend, made Maisy extremely depressed. Even now, months after their nasty breakup, Maisy still asked herself what had gone wrong. They’d first met at the restaurant where she worked as the pastry chef. One of the waiters had informed her a customer was requesting to see her. Afraid the customer had somehow found fault with the food, although doubting that much, she’d made her way into the dining area. Eric had been eating alone, and she had approached him with a charming smile, then asked if there had been any problem with his order. After one look at her, and without mincing words, he’d asked her out for the next day.

  “I called you out here to tell you what a wonderful job you did with the sea bass, but looking at you now, I would love for you to accompany me tomorrow to critique another chef’s work.”

  Along with that admiration had come a sudden feeling of shyness. Maisy had never been asked out so abruptly before. She certainly didn’t consider herself beautiful or sexy enough to warrant such admiration. Face heating up in embarrassment while saying a silent prayer that the low lighting in the restaurant would be enough to hide her blush, she answered, “No, thank you. I’m quite busy tomorrow actually. Thanks for the compliment on the food. Means a lot to me, professionally."

  Eric began to show up at the restaurant every day after that, always finding charming ways to compliment her and ask her out. Things like sending roses and notes to the kitchen so often that Maisy became the joke of the kitchen staff. Then, one night after work, she’d found him waiting for her outside the restaurant. He was in his car holding a dozen yellow roses and dressed like he was going to an awards show. Bringing out a picnic basket and a checked blanket, which he spread out on the ground, Eric invited her to join him for an impromptu date right there in the parking lot. Maybe it was because she was tired from a long day at work, or perhaps because she’d found his gesture really romantic, something which had been rare in her life, Maisy finally agreed to eat with him “just this once.” She’d ended up enjoying herself so much she agreed to go out with him the next weekend.

  Eric was charming and extremely nice, and Maisy loved how confident he always sounded and acted. She also loved how he seemed to know her — what to do to make her smile and how accurate his guesses were with what she wanted. It was clear from the onset he was a take-charge kind of guy, and Maisy hadn’t minded leaving most of the decisions up to him.

  That one date led to almost two years of a somewhat great relationship with Eric, and even though Maisy had to admit he had his faults, she was sure he loved her. After a flurry of dates over the first six months, each one more romantic than the previous, Maisy had moved in with him.

  Soon after, at the insistence of Brittany, Maisy finally self-published the cookbook she had been writing for years. It was an almost-instant hit. The cookbook, which taught how to turn every day, simple foods into fancy meals, had been written with romance in mind. Eric had played a significant role in her writing the book, helping her do most of the tasting and encouraging her “little personal project,” as he called it. So, it came as a shock to Maisy when, about three months after the book got to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list, she started noticing a change in Eric’s attitude toward her.

  A lot of it stemmed from the recognition, fame, and money the book brought, she guessed. People came to meet her in public to tell her how much they liked the book and how the book had helped them. However, the more people who came, the meaner Eric got with her. It started with little things, like snide comments or walking off and abandoning her when she was approached in public for those rare moments when someone wanted her to sign a copy of the cookbook.

  The snide comments evolved into verbal abuse. He delivered derogatory comments without any effort to hide his disdain for her and her newfound spotlight. Eric even accused her of putting her “amateurish writing career above our relationship.” Nothing Maisy did to remedy the situation seemed to work. Stubborn, she refused to break things off with Eric, even at Brittany’s insistence. Had it been out of guilt or obligation? She wasn’t sure which now. In the end, that decision was taken away from her when she came home and found most
of her things already packed and waiting for her along with Eric in the living room. There, he told her he couldn’t do it anymore, and he was breaking up with her, being sure to take the opportunity to point out everything he now hated about her.

  “One damn cookbook, and you suddenly think you’re bigger than everyone, as if I weren’t the one who made sure you wrote the damn thing,” he’d berated her. If he’d been bothered by the look of hurt in her eyes, he hadn’t shown it.

  While his comments about her writing and cooking, which he’d called mediocre at best, had pained Maisy a lot, they were small jabs compared to his attack on her greatest source of insecurity. Her weight.

  Maisy knew she wasn’t even close to model thin, which was something she’d been self-conscious about most of her life. Never enough to make her hate herself, but enough so there was always guilt if she had that last slice of pie for dessert or made a stop at the local doughnut shop not far from the house. She’d tried giving exercise a go, mostly at the request of Eric — who it now seemed had an issue with her weight — but after a few days, she’d decided it wasn’t for her. Of course, there were the times it seemed he was less than impressed by her efforts, but hearing Eric call her out as “the big, fat slob” he had to “put up with for the last two years” crushed whatever fragile wall of self-assurance she thought she had. She could only stare in shock as he recounted tale after tale relating to her weight . . . talking about how she ate, and her love for pies and cakes, and even the “inordinate amount of time” it took her to put on jeans in the morning. He hadn’t held back any punches. By the time Maisy finally managed to get her remaining things together and get out of there, having called Brittany to come pick her up, the damage had been done.

  For almost a week after the sordid experience, Maisy barely ate anything. Initially out of heartbreak, but mostly because every time she tried to put something in her mouth, she could still hear Eric’s voice in her head. It took Brittany, and a lot of tissues, to finally get her to go out again. However, everywhere Maisy went, she was reminded of her time with Eric. The whole city served as a reminder of how long and deep her relationship with Eric had been.

  Now that she was moved and had taken the first big step in settling down — buying this house — Maisy was beginning to doubt herself. Wondering if she could really do it, she was unsure if she could settle down and start a new life all on her own. Already, she missed Brittany and her old job back in Chicago. Knowing she was allowing herself to get depressed again, Maisy returned her attention to Jesse who, it seemed, had left her alone to brood.

  “Sorry, I seemed to have checked out just then,” Maisy said with a small smile.

  “No problem. Buying a house is a really big step for anyone. It’s understandable if you feel a little overwhelmed. Just take a look around. Try to picture yourself in each of the rooms in the house and see how you feel. You may start getting ideas on how you want to refurnish the place,” he replied with a warm smile that suddenly made Maisy realize how cute he was.

  Cute or not, Maisy wasn’t getting into a relationship anytime soon, or maybe even ever again. The wounds from her breakup with Eric were too fresh in her mind.

  “Can I see the kitchen?” she finally asked him.

  Following him as he led her back downstairs and into the kitchen, Maisy was reminded of the real reason she’d fallen in love with this particular house. The kitchen would suit any chef’s dream. It had a spacious island, and she adored the marble countertops. Distracted with planning where all her pots and knives were going to go, Maisy almost forgot about Jesse.

  He cleared his throat to draw her attention back. “So, as you can see, it has everything which was advertised in the brochure. Unfortunately, there is somewhere I need to be right now, so I’ll leave you to have a proper look around. Call me if you have any questions or problems settling in, okay?” he said, and Maisy nodded her head. “I mean that. Anything at all that you need, and not just about the house, please call. I grew up here, so I can show you around if you want,” he offered with a smile Maisy thought looked a bit flirtatious.

  “No, thank you. I’m still feeling a little tired from the trip,” she replied, then walked over to check out the oven.

  “Well, offer’s open anytime,” Jesse replied without seemingly any hint of resentment at being turned down.

  Maisy decided Jesse was trying to be a nice guy. Taking him up on his offer to help her settle in, she asked, “Um, do you know if there are any gyms around here?” She was a bit worried he would take one look at her and decide it was comical someone as big as she would be asking for directions to a gym. Far from finding her question funny, Jesse looked excited by her request.

  “A gym? Well, I’m best friends with the owner of the best gym in town, Carter’s Gym and Fitness Club. Wacky name, I know, but it’s a great place. It’s also right around the block, so you could walk down there. Just ask for Carter. Tell him Jesse sent you.” Jesse handed over a business card with the gym’s address and phone number on it.

  “Well, thanks. Everything else, too. You’ve been such a wonderful help to me,” Maisy said, feeling really grateful for how obliging he was being.

  “No problem. Okay, really got to go now,” he said, moving outside the house toward his truck. “Just remember, call me if you need anything.”

  Waving bye, Maisy waited for a while in front of the house, looking around her at her neighbors and admiring how nice the neighborhood looked. It was different from her place back in the city. After a while, she went back inside the house.

  Chapter 2

  Carter watched Jesse walk into the gym and had to work to hide his smile.

  “You know this isn’t your office, right?” he said as he kept an eye on the aerobics class he was leading.

  “Sure, but the view from my office doesn’t compare to the one I always find here,” Jesse said with a wink as he smiled appreciatively at the class, taking special note of the women in their tight gym outfits and jiggling parts. Carter smiled at his statement, and with a wave of his hand indicated that the class was over, happy to see everyone struggling for breath and even a few of them falling to the floor.

  “Okay, that’s it for today. See you tomorrow,” he told them as he joined Jesse, and the two of them walked to his office.

  “You know, most of the ladies in there just come so they can stare at you lifting weights and flexing your muscles,” Jesse said.

  “Now, why would you say that?” Carter asked jokingly, knowing Jesse was right. He couldn’t begin to count the number of times women, and men, had asked for one-on-one coaching, hoping to start something with him.

  “Well, they can look all they want,” he said as he sat down behind the desk. “So, how did your meeting with the buyer go?” he asked Jesse, aware he had gone to meet Maisy.

  “Great, actually sold the place. Can you believe that?” he asked as he brought out his laptop to start working.

  “One of these days, I am going to start billing you for my Wi-Fi.”

  “Sure, as soon as you settle my bill for all the referrals I bring to your gym.”

  “What referrals? You mean Tiffany?” Carter asked.

  “Yeah, but not only her. I also brought other people,” Jesse said defensively.

  “Really, like who?” Carter crossed his hands behind his head as he watched Jesse with a smile on his face.

  “I brought Susan.”

  “You mean the blonde you were trying to hook up with last year?”

  “Yes, Carter, the blonde I was trying to hook up with last year; at least until she fell in love with you.”

  “Hey, you can’t blame that one on me, and don’t try to change the subject. We were comparing the cost of bringing two people to my gym with the cost of you using my Wi-Fi every day for almost three years.”

  “Make that three people. I gave Maisy your card today,” Jesse said triumphantly.

  “Maisy? Who’s Maisy?”

  “The girl I sold th
e house to. She’s just moving into town, and she asked if there was a gym nearby she could join, and I gave her your card.”

  “Come on, Jesse, don’t tell me you’re trying to make a move on a new client again.”

  “No, I wasn’t, but thanks for the vote of confidence,” Jesse said, feigning hurt.

  “Yeah, right; why don’t I believe you?”

  “Okay, so I thought about it, and actually asked her to Sal’s. But she said no, was actually gracious about it. I get the feeling she’s recovering from something, a bad breakup maybe.”

  “Well, it would seem like it, going by how quickly she bought and moved into that place,” Carter said, thinking about when he himself moved back to town. He and Jesse had grown up in Ashborne as best of friends, a relationship formed right from the day Carter had defended Jesse against some bullies at the playground. From then on, they were close friends, sharing everything. But while Jesse was content with life in their town, blending in seamlessly and even going to the local college, Carter felt stifled by it, and two weeks after their high school graduation, he left for the city. But he soon found out that life in the city wasn’t as glamorous as he thought it would be; the people were harsher and more cynical than he was used to. Still, he was determined to make a way for himself and got a job working as a valet at a restaurant. Then one day when he was coming back from work, he was accosted by two would-be muggers who asked him to hand over his wallet.

  Knowing that if they went away with his money he would be flat-broke till the next payday, which was still about three weeks away, he struggled with them. He was easily overpowered and was soon trying to defend himself from their blows. But just when he was losing all hope, he felt someone grab a hold of the guy on top of him and fling him away. From the ground, he watched as his Good Samaritan easily beat up the two assailants and then chased them off. After checking to make sure Carter was okay, he invited him into the gym he owned. That’s how Carter met Jesse. Soon, he was spending most of the time he wasn’t at work in the gym, working out and helping Jesse run the place. Then, when he needed an assistant to help him in the gym, Carter asked if he could do it. Carter loved working at the gym, loved the challenge of helping people set a goal for their bodies and making sure they reached that goal. Jesse also encouraged him to go back to school, and Carter soon enrolled at the community college, earning a degree in kinesiology. But six years after he came to the city, he realized he missed his hometown, and while life in the city was great, he was tired of the everyday hustle he had to go through. With the blessing of Jesse, he finally moved back to Ashborne. He opened his gym, and with the wealth of experience he got from working with Jesse, he turned it into a success. Sometimes he still missed the city, but overall, he was happy to be back in the peace and quiet of Ashborne.