“I guess it comes with the territory,” Samantha says, thanking the waitress as she brings her drink.
“It seems to,” I agree. “So, what’s going on that’s so stressful?”
“I don’t know if we should talk about business things like that,” Samantha says, frowning. “It seems like a bad idea.”
“Actually,” I say, taking the opening into discussing business and going for it, “talking about business is exactly what I think we should do.”
“You do?” Samantha asks, looking puzzled and doubtful.
“I do,” I say. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”
“About our businesses?” Samantha asks, taking a sip of her juice.
I nod. “About our businesses, and about us,” I say. “I really enjoy spending time with you.”
“I like spending time with you, too,” Samantha says. Her eyes look suspicious, so I press on.
“And I would like to keep seeing you,” I say, reaching out to take her hand.
“Me too,” Samantha says, squeezing my hand back, but she’s still looking at me like she has no idea where I’m possibly going with this.
“I don’t want the business thing to come between us, so I’ve been thinking about ways we could avoid that,” I say. Samantha tilts her head at me, clearly puzzled.
“How can we avoid it?” she asks slowly, like she’s bracing herself.
“By working together,” I say, “We could join forces. I thought that with your concept and my gym—”
“Are you trying to buy me out?” Samantha asks, pulling her hand back and looking offended.
I shake my head. “No, I want us to join,” I say.
Samantha crosses her arms over chest. “Under your name,” she says, sounding like she’s on her way to getting angry.
I shake my head. I don’t think I’m explaining this well. “Look, give me a chance to lay it out for you,” I say.
Samantha stands up. “Why, so you can try to sweet talk me into closing willingly? Into folding into you? Are you going to offer me money? Try to get me to work for you?” Samantha asks. She sounds hurt now, hurt and furious, and she continues before I can finish laying out my thoughts. “I can’t believe you, Lucas.”
“That’s not what I’m doing,” I say.
Samantha shakes her head and throws the money on the table for her order. “I should have known,” she says bitterly, shaking her head. “I should’ve known this wouldn’t work. Honestly, I should say how dare you, but it’s myself I should be angry with for giving you a second chance.”
“Samantha, listen,” I say, standing up to talk to her.
“No,” Samantha says firmly. “I don’t think I want to hear anything you have to say ever again, honestly.” She turns to walk away so fast that I’m left stunned and reeling.
“If I wanted to buy you out, I would have done so weeks ago,” I call after her. “I could have bought your building with one phone call.”
“Am I supposed to be grateful for that?” Samantha asks, stopping to glare at me again. “You’re an ass, Lucas.”
She shoves back out the door after that, walking so fast it’s almost a run. Like she’s literally running from me.
I’m hurt she’d been so quick to jump to conclusions and more than a little angry. Maybe I should have just bought her building out weeks ago and put an end to all of this.
Chapter Twenty-Two - Samantha
I haven’t spoken to Lucas in two days, and I’m still reeling from our lunch. I can’t believe Lucas suggested what he did. That he tried to buy me out. I had thought the worst that might happen was that we might hook up only for it to mutually fall apart when our businesses got in the way or that he might still be scoping out the competition, which I figured he could do whether we were seeing each other or not. There’s no way I could’ve kept him or his employees away from the center, after all. I can’t believe I hadn’t seen this coming, but now I feel like an idiot for not suspecting it from the start.
I really thought we had something. I really thought he was a good man. Now, I’m realizing that this was probably always his plan. To get me to fall for him so he could take my business without a fight. He probably thought I’d be so lovestruck that I’d happily agree. What a jerk. I should’ve stuck with my first impressions of him after all.
I hate that I was right about him all along. It hurts, and I can’t stand how much it does. I hate feeling this bad about something like a relationship, and a manipulative one, at that. I hate how much I feel angry and raw and brokenhearted over someone who never cared about me at all. I miss him, and that somehow feels like the worst part. I miss talking to him, I miss our jogs, and I miss the way he made me feel. I miss spending time with him and the way that, for the first time in a long time, I felt like I was building something real in my personal life.
It’s all shattered now, and I feel a little shattered myself, honestly. It’s hard to make it through the workday without thinking about it, and I hate that he’s had such an effect on me. I’ve always prided myself on being independent and strong, and now I’m tearing up in my office at ten in the morning just thinking about Lucas. I can’t believe I let that happen to myself.
Lucas calls and he texts, but I never answer. He hasn’t been by the center, and I’m glad. I don’t know what I’d do if I saw him in person right now. I know I’ll have to see him eventually, but right now, I’d rather block him out entirely.
On top of it all, our campaign isn’t going as well as I had hoped. Long-time clients are responding that they’d love to participate in extra activities, but that their budgets are limited, too. Right now, it’s looking like we’ll be able to book a few parties a year, and maybe an extra private class or so a month. It might help a little, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be enough.
I keep telling myself not to give up on it yet. That we might get more of a response from the broader community. That it’s only been a week. That more answers will pull in and change things. It’s hard to feel optimistic about anything right now, though.
My staff knows something is up, but I haven’t told any of them anything about it. They know Lucas hasn’t been around, and they can tell something is going on with me, but I can’t bring myself to tell them. I don’t want anyone to know how foolish I’ve been. I don’t want to talk about it right now to anyone.
I just keep thinking about Lucas and about how perfect our night together had seemed at the time. I’d felt so happy, so filled with hope. Now that it’s all come crashing down, it hurts even worse because it had been so good. At least I had thought it was good.
The idea that he’d been faking it all just for a business scheme doesn’t seem like it can be real. I suppose it’s possible he wasn’t faking all of it. It’s possible that he was interested in and attracted to me but that my business had just been an inconvenience to him. I can’t tell if that would be worse. I’d almost rather think he was a complete jerk, that nothing was real, that maybe all those stories he told were lies to get rid of the fitness center by getting me into bed. It’s easier to hate him that way. It’s easier to stay angry.
If I start thinking that some or most of it was real, that he meant it, then I have to think that even after we really did fall for each other, he decided he didn’t respect my business at all. That means he didn't respect me, either. I can’t stand the thought of that.
“Hey,” Julia says, popping her head into my office and interrupting the spiral of my thoughts. “Can I ask you a favor?”
“Sure,” I say, trying to pull myself together.
“I have a doctor’s appointment later. Can you cover my two o’clock free dance? Marc and Heather are already booked then, and Chloe hates leading the free dance,” Julia says.
“Yeah, of course. Is everything alright?” I ask. Julia grins and sits down in a chair, taking a long sip of the water in her hand.
“It’s great, actually, or at least I hope so,” Julia says. She looks really happy
, glowing, even.
“What do you mean?” I ask, confused. Julia is a really open person. It’s not like her to beat around the bush about anything. In the four years she’s worked for me, I’ve never known her to keep a secret for longer than a day.
“Nathan and are trying to get pregnant!” Julia says, beaming. Julia married her husband Nathan last spring. They’re very sweet together. He’s a really nice guy, always picking her up after work. They’re the kind of couple who kiss each other hello on the street and hold hands when they’re in a group.
“Oh! That’s wonderful. Congratulations!” I say. I’m not really surprised they want to start having kids. I can’t help but feel even sadder hearing her news, though. I want nothing but happiness for Julia and Nathan, for all my friends and staff, but it makes me feel incredibly lonely. The best chance at that kind of happiness I’ve met in years turned out to be a bigger jerk than I could have imagined. It’s hard not feel even lower hearing Julia’s news, and on top of it all, that means I have to think about scheduling classes around one less employee while Julia’s on maternity leave. I might have to think about hiring someone to take her place, at least temporarily. And depending on how long it takes for her to get pregnant, I’m not sure if the center will even be around long enough to merit a new hire.
“Thanks! I mean, there is nothing to congratulate yet, but I’m going to the doctor so I can get off birth control and we can get started on trying,” Julia says.
“I’m really happy for you,” I say. I mean it, even if it hurts.
I only half listen as Julia tells me more about her doctor’s appointment and their plans. It’s ridiculous to think about Lucas as she talks. We weren’t even really together. I didn’t lose something real and lasting, something like Julia and Nathan have. I know I didn’t.
But it feels like I did.
Chapter Twenty-Three - Lucas
Samantha won’t take my calls, and she’s not responding to any of my text messages. I can’t get through to her at all. I’ve thought about just going over to the center, but I don’t think she’ll let me explain in person if she won’t even pick up the phone.
I don’t think taking a yoga class is going to fix this one.
I miss her. I miss her and I can’t let it end like this. I can’t let her leave my life over a misunderstanding. I still think we could make it work. I still think what we have is worth saving. I want Samantha back in my life. It’s only been two days, but my whole world feels emptier without her. It feels hollow, like I’ve lost something important.
I have to do something to make her see I wasn’t trying to buy her out. I know why she thought I was. We really are similar, and I think about back to when I’d only had one gym. Before we’d even expanded it, when I’d just been a small operation, people were always trying to pay me off or get me to close down.
I get it. I should have led with the plan itself, not vague things about us coming together. She’d jumped to conclusions, but honestly, sitting in her place, I might have done the same. I also shouldn’t have thrown that I could always use my money to make her center go away in her face. Not the best move if I want her to think I’m less of an asshole than when we’d first met. We are both defensive about our businesses. I’m a huge reason her business is getting into trouble. I know that. I know that coming from me, any idea about combining our businesses sounds like a plan to ruin hers. So, I need to reframe my proposal.
My proposal hadn’t been completed, so I’ve spent the past few days completing it. I’ve been going over plans in my office, looking at numbers and budgets. I’ve been researching everything I can find about the benefits of classes like hers. I’ve been focusing on looking for information or studies on how it can work in conjunction with weight training and intense cardio.
Paul’s been working with me on it, too. He’s got the front desk staff asking our clients as they leave if they currently take any classes as part of their fitness plan and if they’d be interested in taking them if they don’t. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and we’ve only been asking for three days. I know we can make this work if I can get Samantha to just talk to me.
“I’ve got more numbers for you,” Paul says, sticking his head in my office.
“Great, thanks,” I say. Paul’s been bringing me numbers at the end of every shift so I can update the information I’m putting together.
“It’s still looking like something people are really interested in,” Paul says.
“I had a feeling it would be,” I say, nodding and calculating the new percentages.
“You know, you can tell me if this is more than just a good business plan now,” Paul says, studying me. I’ve told him as much as I can without going into detail about my relationship with Samantha or my feelings for her.
“It is good business,” I say.
“Oh, I agree. I’ve just known you since we were eighteen, man. So, this is mostly about that Samantha woman, right?” Paul asks.
I look up from my numbers and sigh. If everything works out, it will be obvious to Paul he was right anyway, so I guess there’s no point in hiding it.
“I’ve been seeing her,” I admit. Paul doesn’t look at all surprised. “And I don’t want a business rivalry to ruin it. I’m afraid it already has.”
“Is it serious?” Paul asks, sitting down across from me.
“I think it could be,” I say.
Paul claps a hand on my shoulder. “Then I’m happy for you,” he says. “It would do you good to have someone in your life. You don’t need to be alone with your money all the time. It’s going to turn you into an old weirdo.”
“You can be happy for me when I get her back,” I say. I don’t want to talk about Samantha, at least not about any future with her, until she’s speaking to me again.
Paul shakes his head. “I will be. Do I get to finally meet her then, too?” he asks.
“I hope so,” I say.
Paul leans back and watches me. “You know Molly is going to want to double date all the time,” he says with a laugh. I’m sure he’s right. Molly is going to want to be Samantha’s friend if this all works out. I actually think they’ll probably like each other very much. But I can’t think about that yet.
“That’s several steps beyond where I am right now,” I say, looking back down at my numbers and data.
“How else can I help?” Paul asks.
For the rest of the afternoon, Paul and I pore over the numbers together, putting together a precise plan of just how the fitness center and my third gym location could work perfectly together. I’m glad to have him on board with the plan, and I’m even more glad to have his support behind my feelings for Samantha. Paul has had such success in his own life, and his marriage to Molly makes them both so genuinely happy. His support makes me feel like, in spite of everything, continuing to pursue Samantha is the right choice.
I put it all together in a package with a note for Samantha on top. It’s the complete plans for Invigoration Club Blue. I’ve decided to go with the color names, and blue seems fitting for the new location, with the water and all. The inside of the studios at Samantha’s center also has blue walls. I’m hoping that can also be part of why the new location is Club Blue. My original is going to be Invigoration Club Green since it was the starting point. My second location is going to be Invigoration Club Yellow since it’s off the highway in a dryer location that gets a lot of sun.
I ask Paul to drop it off for me. I don’t think I should go to the center myself right now. I do call Cheryl, though, and let her know a friend of mine is dropping off some information for Samantha.
I hope Samantha reads it. I hope she sees my real intentions. I hope we can get back on track when she does.
Chapter Twenty-Four - Samantha
There’s a large manila envelope on my desk when I get back to the center after dropping off some flyers at a few neighboring establishments. My name is written across it in handwriting I don’t quite recogniz
e.
My first thought is that it’s paperwork from the landlord, or that it’s information from the health clinic about our upcoming flu shot day, but both of those things would have been brought in with the regular mail. Cheryl had not mentioned it when I walked in, but I’d been on a phone call, so maybe she just didn’t want to interrupt. I frown and sit down to open it. It’s heavy and seems stuffed with papers.
I pull the papers out and gasp a little to myself. It’s from Lucas. It’s filled with what looks like plans and numbers. The header of the plans has “Invigoration Club Blue” typed in a bold and large font. There is a note stuck on top of the stack, handwritten, that reads:
Samantha,
I don’t think I explained myself very well the other day. I’m sorry for that. I’m not trying to buy you out or undermine the fitness center. Not anymore. I don’t want your center to shut down, I promise. I want you to expand what you do to help more people than ever before. I want us to help each other. Please read over the plans and research I’ve drawn up and let me know what you think.
I miss you.
Lucas
With shaking hands, I put the note on my desk and start to read the rest of the information. My eyes widen as I read it.
Lucas wants us to work together. He wants to tell his clients that adding classes to their fitness plans would help them. He wants me to tell my clients that weight training and running would help their fitness goals. He wants us to have a reciprocal relationship, offering deals and promotions to each other’s clients. He’s got numbers and breakdowns of how many clients he thinks he could send my way based on a poll he did at his two current gym locations. He wants us to host coordinated wellness events together.
He wants us to make the lakefront area a fitness destination. Together.
Hot CEO: An Enemies to Lovers Romance Page 8
