by Hazel Kelly
I furrowed my brow.
“Ya know? Cause what you had before was strong and you wouldn’t mess with it, but now what you have is even more intense and way hotter?”
I laughed. “I like that.”
“It beats your death analogy anyway.”
“Or my fairground one.”
“What’s that one?”
“Ya know that theme park ride where the little room spins so fast that you stick to the wall when the floor drops out from under you?”
“The Rotor Ride.”
“It has a name?”
“Yeah.”
“Anyway, I always thought that was great as a kid and then one day they said I couldn’t go on it anymore.”
“Okay.”
“That’s what this thing with Aiden feels like. Like we were having lots of fun on a ride we were both comfortable with and now I can never get back on it again.”
Fiona rolled her eyes. “Some things are meant to be outgrown. The fragile adult stomach isn’t meant to be spun around like that.”
“What if that’s just what they want you to think?”
“It’s not about being manipulated by a mystery they. It’s about moving on to bigger and better things when the time comes.”
I pursed my lips.
“Like sleeping with Aiden Briggs.”
I smiled.
“Which has got to be better than just feeling queasy for two long minutes.”
“Yeah,” I said. “It is. But it makes your legs feel about the same.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“I doubt you have to. From the look of you, I’d say you went for a few spins last night yourself.”
She smiled. “I may or may not have surprised Peter at work.”
My mouth fell open. “By surprised Peter at work, you don’t mean-”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
“Shit. At the Children’s Hospital?”
“Yeah, at three in the morning.”
I shook my head. “Well well, Dr. Grey. I’m very impressed.”
“I was worried you would judge me.”
“Only if you did it in front of the kids.”
“No,” she said. “No children were blinded in the process of my seduction.”
“Wow.”
“Of course, now I’m all paranoid that the guy I’m seeing works in a building where there are literally beds all over the place.”
“Yeah.”
“How can I possibly keep tabs on a guy who is under that much stress and has access to such a surplus of horizontal space?”
“If anyone can I’m sure you can.”
“Thanks,” she said. “Feel free to say that as often as you remember.”
“I will,” I said, sliding the cake box in front of me and popping it open. “In the meantime, would a slice of twenty dollar a piece wedding cake make you feel better?”
A smile spread across her face. “There’s only one way to find out.”
Chapter 10: Aiden
It was decision time.
The summer training season would come to a close soon, and I wanted my new place of business to be up and running in time for fall which meant I couldn’t waste any more time waffling between the two locations.
Regardless of which place I chose, it was going to need work. And not just work but equipment and licensing and staff. Of course, I already had a few people in mind. Plus, I only really needed a receptionist, a masseuse who could work part time, and maybe one other physio so I’d have someone else on hand to help me execute my client’s recovery and fitness plans.
But as nervous as I was, I was excited, too. As soon as I picked a place, I was on my way to building a career I could be proud of which was something I longed for deeply. I craved that sense of pride I had when I was on the field. I missed being in a position where I could cheer people on and where people had to count on me.
Nothing made me happier. Well, until recently, but dating Lucy couldn’t keep milk and eggs on the table.
“Do you want to come with me or follow me in your car?” Nick said when we reached the parking lot.
“I’ll follow you there,” I said.
“Any final gut feelings about this first place before we go?” he asked, turning to look at the outside of what could be the new home of my business.
“I can’t fault it really,” I said. “If the other place weren’t niggling at me, I’d sign the papers for this one right now.”
“It is nice with all the natural light,” he said. “And the location is great.”
“Not to mention the price.”
“Yeah, I’m afraid I’ve negotiated both of them to death, though, so I can’t get either of them down anymore.”
“So the other one is still an extra few grand a month?”
“Yeah,” Nick said, swinging his keys around his fingers. “Three and a half.”
“Right,” I said, eyeing location number one and trying to picture it without cardboard in the windows.
“But it does come out to less per square foot.”
I’d done the math. I knew it was something like a fraction of a penny less. “Don’t bullshit me, Nick. Let’s go.”
“As you wish,” he said.
I started my car and waited for Nick to reverse his Lexus into the aisle in front of me before taking off, considering the first place as I drove. I tried to imagine what it would feel like to have Nick hand me the keys to the door, to walk in and know it was my blank slate to do what I wanted with.
I could imagine myself there. He was right about the natural light, and there was plenty of room for the equipment I would need to accommodate a variety of clients. And while there wasn’t tons of room to grow, I didn’t mind a more intimate setting for what I was trying to do.
Besides, I knew in the beginning the key was the quality of my clients, not the quantity. As long as I stuck to my values and my vision, the business would grow, peaking around year five and then plateauing according to my calculations. Unless I moved to a bigger place or added locations, but there was no need to get ahead of myself.
Nick drove like a grandma so I had plenty of time to consider my lease before I let my mind wander to where I might take Lucy for our next date. She was fun to treat. I knew she was low maintenance and would’ve been happy anywhere, but that attitude was precisely why it was so much fun to surprise her.
There was a fondue place I was dying to take her to, but it wasn’t a good pick for summer so I’d have to wait until cooler weather set in. What about sushi? Sushi was light and perfect for when it was warm out, and I knew she had an irrational appreciation for edamame.
Plus, if I took her to the restaurant by my apartment, we could get silly on sake and stumble back to my place. I was about to grab my phone and text her, but Nick turned in at the other office plaza, and I decided it was time to focus on the longer term decision that lied before me.
I thought it might be funny to pull up hilariously close to Nick’s car and watch him have a mini heart attack as I opened my door to get out, but I decided such games weren’t appropriate when so much money was at stake.
“Moment of truth,” he said when I closed my car door.
“I guess so.”
“You starting to lean one way or the other or-”
“I know what I’m looking for if that answers your question.”
Nick smiled and slipped what might soon be my key in the lock before pushing the glass door open.
I stepped inside and inhaled the smell of new carpets and fresh dry wall.
“It is nice that it’s new,” he said.
“Smells it anyway,” I said, looking around. It was a much bigger space than the other one which was good and bad. I found limitation was often good when decisions needed to be made, but the additional floor space gave me more flexibility in terms of growth and layout. Plus, if I went with this spot, I probably wouldn’t have to move for a good ten years.
�
�So I was thinking-” Nick said, crossing in front of me.
“Yeah.”
“About the space on the other side of this wall,” he said, putting his hand on the wall by the door.
“I’m listening.”
“Well, I know we were initially thinking it would be ideal for storage until you were ready to expand.”
“Go on.”
“But it does have its own front door to the plaza.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, rather than have it look like there’s no one home next door, you might consider sub leasing the place to someone else temporarily.”
I stuck out my bottom lip and nodded.
“Cause this location is in high demand. I’m sure it would get snapped right up.”
“And I could use the money to help me pay off this place.”
“Exactly.”
“What do you think I could get for it?”
“Enough to make this place comparably priced with the other one.”
“I like your thinking Nick.”
“And then when you’re ready to expand, you just kick your neighbor out.”
“Or politely ask them to leave.”
“That’s up to you.”
I smiled. “I think that’s a great idea.” I walked across the room and opened the door beside Nick and through it. The smaller section of the property was tiled from wall to wall, and while it was much narrower than the other room, it was still nice and bright.
“Does this place have its own plumbing?”
Nick looked around and then down at his notes. “It does. It’s not hooked up to anything at the minute, but for a price you can fill the place with water if you want.”
I nodded. “I think I’m ready to make my decision.”
“I was going to let you sleep on it.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“Does that mean this is the one you want?”
I nodded. “This is the one I want.”
Nick stuck out his hand.
I gave it a firm squeeze.
“Congratulations, Aiden.
“Thanks.”
“I’ll let you know as soon as I have the paperwork ready.”
“Looking forward to it.”
I did one more lap of the perimeter, taking notes in my head about what I would need right away and what I could afford to get later. Then I followed Nick outside and watched him lock the door.
“Next time we stop by,” he said, “these keys will be yours.”
“I can’t wait.”
I went back to my car and waved at Nick as he drove away. Then I turned back to look at the property I’d just bought, the vision I’d bought into.
I knew I’d made the right decision, and I was absolutely buzzing. I couldn’t wait to start fitting the place out and bringing my first clients in.
But there was one person in particular I couldn’t wait to show it to.
Chapter 11: Lucy
“You’re home early,” Fiona said as I slammed the door.
“I’m home permanently.”
“What?”
“Not early. Permanently.”
“I heard you,” she said, setting her laptop down on the coffee table.
“Well, maybe permanently isn’t the right word because I need to start looking for a job apparently.” I pushed my palm against my forehead. “Like yesterday I guess.”
“What happened?” she asked. “Did he fire you, too? For going to the cops?”
“No,” I said, walking towards the couch. “I get the sense that this wasn’t Chuck’s idea at all.”
“Sit down.” She scooted to the edge of her chair, her oversized shirt falling over one shoulder.
I pulled my purse strap over my head and slumped on the couch beside it.
“I’m not a mind reader.”
“Sorry,” I said. “I’m still kind of in shock.”
“So were you sent home or-”
“Yeah, by a letter on the door.”
“What did it say?”
“Premises closed until further notice.”
“What?”
“That’s literally all it said. There wasn’t even a phone number to call or anything.”
“So what have you been doing the last few hours?”
“Well, Katie and Di were freaking out.”
“Yeah.”
“And saying all this stuff like we shouldn’t have gone to the police and this was all our fault.”
“Uh-huh.”
“So I had to tell them it probably had nothing to do with what we did, reminding them as best I could that it was the right thing to do.”
“Agreed.”
“And I had to tell them what I knew because they wouldn’t have believed me otherwise.”
“Understandable.”
“So hopefully I don’t get in trouble for that because the cops told me to keep my mouth shut.”
“I’m sure it will be fine.”
“So you calmed them down?”
“Eventually. Then I left Nathan a message, but he hasn’t gotten back to me.”
“What about the clients?”
“Well, we stayed for a while and turned some of them away.”
“That sounds awful.”
“It was, especially because we had no idea what to tell them,” I said, letting my head fall back against the couch. “And then we called as many of the people we had numbers for as we could, but we didn’t have contact details for everyone.”
“Cause they’re in the front desk.”
I nodded. “It’s a fucking mess.”
“Jesus, Lucy. I’m so sorry.”
“And I know this place is no castle, but it’s more than we can afford without either of us working.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t found anything yet. I-”
“It’s not your fault. I know you’ve been trying.”
“What are we going to do?”
“Get any job we can as fast as possible.”
She nodded.
“And if that doesn’t work, sell our eggs.”
“Okay. I thought you were going to say organs in which case I’d rather not, but my eggs I can part with.”
I laughed. “I’m glad you have standards.”
“Well, I’m kind of attached to my organs.”
“Understandable.”
“But my unborn kids are probably brats anyway.”
I shook my head.
“The farther I can get ‘em from me the better.”
“Seriously though, any leads?”
“There were two new job listings today.”
“Where?”
“One’s a salon at the end of the pink line.”
“Ugh.”
“And the other’s at the end of the green line.”
“Which end?”
“South.”
“Well that one’s out.”
“Why?”
“Cause there’s no money in the world that could get me excited about doing weaves and braids all day. I’ll have arthritis before I’m thirty.”
“I know, but beggars can’t be-”
“Choosers, I know. But we don’t have to beg yet,” I said. “We can make the rent for a few months before it comes to that.”
“Remember the good old days when a single night of babysitting set you up for a good week?”
“Maybe that’s what we should do.”
“Babysit?”
“Yeah, get all the girls from the salon and start out own Babysitter’s Club.”
Fiona smiled. “Can I be Claudia?”
“Sure,” I said. “I’ll be Dawn.”
“You can’t be Dawn. She’s blond.”
“I’ll change it. Whatever.”
“I was thinking you’d be Kristy,” she said.
“I’m not nearly bossy enough to be Kristy.”
“Whatever you say, Kristy.”
“Ha Ha. Very funny.”
“I thought so
anyway.”
“I suppose now would be a good time to call Aiden and see if he can get me some wedding gigs.”
“Wouldn’t hurt.”
I blew some air out from between my cheeks.
“It’ll be okay, Luce.”
“I know,” I said. “I’m just so sick of things being okay. I want things to be amazing all the time. Is that so much to ask?”
“It’s cause your love life is going so well. Something else had to give to make up for all that goodness.”
“Yeah, life’s a bitch.”
“So you don’t think the salon is going to open back up?”
“The sign didn’t exactly give off a be back soon vibe.”
“But they can’t just fuck over all the girls that work there like that. I mean, Di’s a single mom.”
“I know. Trust me. She went on about it all morning.”
“Couldn’t someone else run it? Even if Chuck’s not there?”
“That’s what I said in my message to Nathan, that it’s not just our jobs. We could lose all our clients as well.”
Fiona nodded.
The sound of my ringing phone spilled out of my purse, and I rooted around until I found it.
“Nathan!” I said, making eyes at Fiona. “Thanks so much for returning my call.”
“No problem,” he said in my ear. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get back to you earlier.”
“What can you tell me about this notice?”
“Well, I just got off the phone with one of the officers you met this weekend.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And they couldn’t tell me much.”
“No surprise there.”
“But it seems like Chuck’s been taken into custody.”
“Do you know if they’re going to release him or-”
“No, but I think it’s safe to assume he won’t be opening the door back up if they do.”
“Could I open the doors?” I asked. “So we’re not all out of our jobs? I mean, we have months and months worth of appointments already on the books.”
“I know, and I’m not sure what to tell you about that. There might be a settlement that comes out to compensate you and the other employees for what’s happened, but I wouldn’t plan on it because nothing’s guaranteed.”
“So no one can run the business in the meantime?”
“Between you and me Lucy, I don’t think it’s a good idea to get wrapped up in that.”