A Twist of Date (4 page)

Chapter Four

Erica and I had spent arrived to the janitor’s closet at three-thirty, so I’d filled her in on my lunch with Patti, along with the ins and outs of The Boyfriend Bylaws. Erica knew Patti so she wasn’t surprised, but she couldn’t believe that I’d risked Betty. Neither could I, really. Just went to show how desperate I was to stop dating the wrong guys.

At promptly 3:55 p.m., Steve opened the janitor’s closet door, and joined us in the dark, dusty room. “Anything yet?”

“Still waiting,” Erica said, using a hushed tone. “Matt won’t desert the desk until they arrive, and Ginger’s going to cover the front desk for him. She got off work early today to get her hair done.”

We’d met Ginger a few weeks ago when she’d started coming to the gym with Kaitlin. Shockingly, my lovely stepsister’s life had fallen from perfection (for about a minute) when she’d gotten laid off at her last job. Living the charmed life that she does, though, Kaitlin had been offered an even better job within a week. Now, she had a higher salary, and a new best friend (Ginger) to boot. I’d even overheard Kaitlin whispering to Ginger about some guy she was seeing—not that Kaitlin had bothered to say anything to me, her actual relative.

I pursed my lips. “What did Ginger do to her hair?”

“Nothing drastic.” Erica whispered. “Trim, and highlights. Although she’s considering a permanent shine to—”

“Zzzzzz.” Steve made snoring noises. “I beg of you. Can we change the subject before my masculinity dries up?” 

Suddenly, I felt a hard poke in my thigh. “Ouch! That hurts.”

“Sorry.” Steve chuckled. “My elbow thought you were a shelf.”

“Shhh!” Erica’s voice was low but stern. “You guys want us to get caught?”

I stuck my ear against the wall, and listened to the silence in Rudy’s office. “I don’t hear a thing.”

“They still aren’t in there yet.” I could hear the “duh” in Erica’s tone. “If they were then Matt would’ve joined us already. Remember?”

The thought of being in the dark with Matt made my heart rate kick up a notch. Then, I remembered his lunch date, and wanted to kick myself for having that kind of reaction. Suddenly, something sharp dug into my hip.

“Sorry,” Steve said. “My bad. Again.”

“You’re a trainer, Steve.” I straightened from my crouched position, and shook off all thoughts of Matt and his new girl. “Shouldn’t you at least be able to hold yourself up without help?”

“Shhh!” Erica scolded again. “You guys will never be invited back if you don’t shut up.”

“Don’t tell me to shut up.” I glared toward Erica in the darkness. Not like she could see me, but I got some satisfaction out of narrowing my eyes in her general direction. Normally, I could deal with Erica’s bossy attitude, but the stress of the last twenty-four hours had been enough.

Erica grabbed for my shoulder and put an arm around me. “You don’t want us to get caught, do you? How yumzy would that be?”

“Yumzy was yesterday’s word,” Steve informed her with a sigh. “Keep up with the times, Conner.”

“Well, excuse me.” Erica sounded indignant. “But in case you don’t remember, I was late this morning, thanks to Mario, and I didn’t hear the new word.”

“So that’s where you were.” Steve’s tone sounded like he’d cracked an unsolved mystery. 

“Congrats to Mario.” I cheered as quietly as I could. At least someone’s love life was doing well, since my own had taken a plunging nosedive, and all future prospects were now subject to The Boyfriend Bylaws. “What’s he like? Any chance he’s The One?”

“Absolutely not.” Erica snorted. “On a scale of one to ten, I’d give him a seven. That’s a thanks for playing, but it won’t get him invited back.”

“That’s harsh, Conner.” Steve paused. “Do all girls rate guys? Wait, never mind. I don’t want to know.”

I sighed. Brad would’ve been a nine. Get rid of the yellow car, minty hair gel, and his opposition to commitment, then he’d upgrade to a ten, hands down.

The closet door creaked open then and a dark figure with a fabulous physique stood in the hallway holding the handle with one hand. Oh, no. We’d been caught by a hot bod! I knew I should’ve waited, and gotten the information second-hand.

“Why is it dark in here?” The lights flashed on, illuminating Matt, who slammed the door shut behind him.

“Don’t slam the door.” Erica waved her arms too little too late.

“Turn the switch back off.” I somehow managed to shriek quietly. Heat crept up my neck. Had I really thought of Matt as a hot bod? It must be nerves. This spying stuff was so not up my alley.

“The lights can stay on.” Matt sauntered toward us. “It’s not like they have x-ray vision and can see through the wall.”

“Good point.” Steve squatted on one knee, and pressed his ear against the wall. “Rudy’s not
Clarko Kento
.” 

Matt bobbled his head and raised his brows. “Nice
italian-o accent-o
,
Steve-o
.”

“Hush it.” Erica stomped her foot repeatedly. “Next time, you’re all banned from the closet. Apparently, I’m the only one who knows how to be stealthy.”

“The suits in there yet?” Steve spoke in a low voice, then winked at Erica. “See how yumzy I can be?”

She glared at him. “You said that was yesterday’s word. Not that anyone has bothered to clue me in on today’s word.”

Matt jerked his thumb toward Rudy’s office. “To answer your question, Steve, yes. They’re starting the meeting now.” Then, he turned to Erica. “And to respond to your concern, Conner, today’s word is
lifesucks
.”

Erica’s chin dropped to her chest, and she crinkled her nose. “That’s two words.”

“Not if you say it quickly.” Steve raised a finger. “Lifesucks. Lifesucks. See?”

Erica shook her head. “It’s still two words.”

“After the night I just had, it’s one word.” My mind flew back to last night’s events, then jumped to my lunch with Patti, which inevitably left me wondering about Matt’s date.

Erica sighed. “I can’t believe you let that hottie get away, Mel.”

Matt rubbed my shoulders. “He wasn’t nearly good enough for our girl.”

I groaned, mostly for liking the feel of Matt’s hands on me. Surprisingly, I hadn’t thought about Brad at all today. “I don’t want to talk about it because
lifesucks
.”

“Fine, it’s one word.” Erica rolled her eyes in that ‘whatever’ way of hers. “Anyway, lifesucks when we’re loud, so let’s keep it down, people.” 

“Fine.” I pressed my ear against the unpainted sheetrock wall. I had the strong urge to ask Matt about his date, but my stomach felt nauseated just thinking about her. “What were the suits like, Matt? Did you get a look at them? Did they look eager to fire any of us?”

Matt squeezed between Erica and me, then put an ear to the wall, too. His shoulder brushed against mine, sending a rush of tingles up my neck. I breathed in his spicy cologne, which made me want to buy a bottle of whatever it was and drench my pillow with it.

“Introductions weren’t made,” Matt said, clearly unaware of the physical effect he was having on me. “But I gather one guy is Rudy’s brother. His last name was Zambini and he could’ve passed for his twin.”

I knew Matt had said something, but it was impossible to concentrate with that one nagging thought hanging on my mind. I had to get it over with. “How was your lunch?”

“Great.” His head rested against the wall, and his gaze met mine. “I wanted to introduce you, but you guys left so fast I didn’t get a chance.”

Our faces were inches apart, and I felt woozy being this close to him. “First, the girl from the dance club. Now, the girl from Cherie’s Café . . .”

He chuckled, his eyes crinkling in an adorable way. “You make it sound like I have a stream of women in my life.”

“Don’t you?” I bit my lip, waiting for the answer, but not sure I wanted to hear it. Then, I shrugged, trying to cover how interested I was. “Not that it’s my business.”

His expression grew serious. “I’m single, but I certainly don’t have a stream of girls.”

“Oh.” My stomach warmed, and I felt the heat rush to my cheeks. Our shoulders were still touching, but I couldn’t bring myself to move away. Then, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.

Erica knelt down on the floor next to an air vent, and held a finger to her lips. “They’ve started the meeting. Want me to relay what they’re saying?”

“Is it wise to speak that close to the vent?” I stared down at Erica, who was sprawled  across the floor with her ear smashed against the grate. “I mean, if you can hear them, can’t they hear you, too?”

Erica frowned, probably mentally shushing herself. “This is another reason I work alone.” Making several twisty motions with her hand, she zipped her lips then waved us down toward the vent that was two inches above the linoleum floor.

In the name of duty, I dropped onto my stomach between Matt and Steve, and tried not to sneeze from the dust that coated the vent.

Matt put his arm around me. “Cozy enough for you?”

I definitely felt cozy against him, but no way would I let him know. “Shouldn’t we focus on our jobs?”

Matt winked at me. “Not my first choice, but whatever you say.”

“
Rodolfo, dai
.” A man’s voice, with a thick Italian accent, echoed from the vent and I pictured him gesturing with his hands as he talked the way Rudy did. “The business, it is going under. You want that we help you
o no
?”

My breath caught in my throat. Going under? We’d suspected it, yes, but having it confirmed gave me a horrible sinking feeling. Poor Rudy. And poor me, too. Where would I find another job in this economy?

“You know I try to do business with you.” Rudy’s accented words clipped out. “But the amount you offer is
niente
.
Pietro
, you are my cousin, my blood. You offer me fair price, I sell to you now.”

Matt leaned away from the vent, and whispered. “Told you that Zambini guy was family.”

“You said brother,” I reminded him.

“Never claimed to be clairvoyant.” Matt held his palms in the air. “Don’t start with that ‘my word is my word’ thing again. I admit freely that I was incorrect, okay?”

“Wow.” Erica clasped her hand around Matt’s elbow. “A guy admitting he’s wrong? That’s positively yumzy.”

“Can we get back to the issue at hand, people?” Steve tapped his index finger on the wall. 

We all turned back to the choppy conversation.

“
Guarda, cugino mio. Nicollò
and I here to help you,
no
?” The thickly accented Pietro took on a companionable tone and I pictured him putting an arm around poor Rudy. “We keep price same
ma
we keep you on to manage, yes? You will receive a fine salary.”

Rudy sighed. “
Va bene
. Totally Fit, it is yours.”

“
Bravo
, my cousin. You never regret this.” It sounded like they were slapping each other on the back. “
Allora
, we make some changes.
Nicollò
?”

“
Sì
.” There was a rustling of papers. “Our goal is to increase revenue, and cut costs. I’ve gone through the books and found some places to trim spending.” This Nicollò guy had a deep, sexy voice and must’ve grown up in the States because he spoke without a trace of accent. “First, your trainer, Steve Burns?”

I turned toward Steve, whose eyes widened.

“The guy charges eighty bucks an hour for his services and you only keep twenty-five percent? No wonder your gym’s isn’t making profit.”

“Steve is excellent trainer.” Rudy’s voice was shaky. “He brings a lot of business and the clients, they like him.”

“We’re going to raise his services to ninety an hour and he can keep half of that. If he doesn’t like it, we’ll get a replacement.”

Steve’s face paled.

I put my hand on his forearm, knowing I barely scraped by on my Totally Fit paycheck. What if they decided to cut my salary, too?

“
Sì
.” Pietro was speaking again. “Like the one at the front desk. This guy Steve want to walk? We replace with the front desk guy. He in good shape.”

Reflexively, I turned toward Matt out, remembering his muscular silhouette at the door. Staring at his biceps, I blinked. Had he been working out more often?

Matt nudged me. “You can rest easy. I’m not interested in Steve’s job. Actually, I won’t be working here much longer, anyway. I’ve finished my thesis.”

My stomach sank. I couldn’t imagine Totally Fit without Matt. It just wouldn’t be the same. Out of nowhere, tears sprang into my eyes.

“Don’t be sad.” He gave me a squeeze. “I’ll still be working out here.”

What was wrong with me? Matt would have the PhD he’d worked so hard for. I should be happy for him. “Congratulations, Matt. That’s great.”

The sound of breaking glass broke my thoughts, and my eyes darted to the dusty air vent.