Chapter 9

The next morning, after a restless night, Mandy got up an hour early and dug through one of her boxes for some workout clothes. “I’m not doing this for Claudia, or my mother, or Carl Salvo,” she told herself. “I’m just doing it because I want to see what the gym looks like. I’ll just peek around and spend twenty minutes on a treadmill.”

She yawned, feeling like a zombie that hadn’t started rotting yet. There’s no way I got enough sleep last night. Didn’t lack of sleep also affect weight loss? It definitely wasn’t healthy. Shouldn’t she be losing weight in a healthy way? “Doesn’t matter, not right now. Exercise will wake me up.”

She set a skirt and blouse on her bed and dug through the laundry hamper she had filled with shoes for a pair of sneakers. She slipped out the door, wondering if she should lock it as she stared out into what should overlook the pool. The sun did not rise at four, it wanted to sleep.

The cool morning air did little to wake her up. She checked her messages on the short walk to the gym door. There were five more calls from Claudia and three from her mother. Even one call from Stephen and a text message from her father. Apparently she had one day of work and the entire world fell apart. She opened the text message from her dad as she stood outside the gym door.

"Mandy, honey, I think you need to come home. Your mother and sister are freaking out. Maybe this new job of yours should wait until after the wedding"

Mandy blinked back tears. He had been the only one excited for her. Even if it was for just a few seconds, he had been, and now he was telling her to quit like everyone else. He’s just saying that because he can’t handle mom when she’s hysterical. Nevertheless, it still hurt.

She sent him a simple reply. "I’m doing great. All is well and I’ll call Mom and Claudia later today".

She shoved her phone into her gym bag that held a water bottle and towel. She made a mental note to make sure she stopped at the grocery store on the way to and from work today.

Luckily the gym was unlocked. Mandy went in and lights flickered automatically on. The place was nearly as big as the gym at the office, with more mirrors than a ballet studio. If she’d been half asleep before, she was fully awake now.

She looked around and dropped her bag to the floor. She might as well do something. Half the equipment looked like machines built to traumatize or kill people. She settled for the treadmill. Safe and not a killing machine. She was so tired she almost tripped getting on. Luckily she was alone.

Mandy turned on the treadmill, thinking about how she was going to have to call her sister back and wondering what she was going to say. By this point her mother and Claudia had no doubt gotten together and had a huge discussion on how Mandy was a terrible sister. She could just imagine the words; let down, unreliable, selfish, and so forth. Stephen would join in, and twist it to make himself look like the generous brother-in-law who had been coerced into helping her find a job.

As she was envisioning the conversation she pressed the up button on the treadmill to get it started and adjust the speed. She rubbed her eyes, yawned, and stepped on. She wasn’t prepared for the speed on the machine, though, and as soon as she put her left leg on, it swung back and she tried to run with her right foot and grab the handrails to stop herself.

No. Such. Luck.

Her weight shifted but could not keep up with the moving path. She whipped her head back just as her body was flung backwards, across the gym. Arms and legs flailing everywhere until her back rammed into something hard.

The wall.

Right at Carl Salvo’s feet.

Fucking. Hell.

“Good morning, Ms. Connors,” Carl said, frowning at her. “Are you all right?”

Mandy scrambled to her feet, ignoring his outstretched hand ready to help her up. “Good morning, Mr. Salvo,” she said, her face burning from embarrassment and exertion. “I didn’t expect to see you here.” Not at four thirty in the morning.

“I’ve heard exercise reduces stress. Sometimes I need all the help I can get.”

“Oh. Of course.” Mandy made herself look at his face instead of at his gray t-shirt that showed off his muscles and made him look like a Greek god and a normal human all at once. “Well, I just finished. Enjoy your workout,” she said, nodding and then walking with as much dignity as possible after what happened and grabbed her bag before scurrying out of the gym. She didn’t bother turning off the treadmill.

Maybe next time she’d try after work and just stick to the basics. The treadmills were dangerous killing machines, they’d just tried to fool her by appearing simple and easy to use.

“There’s a call for you on line two, Mandy,” Gina called as she passed by her office door.

Mandy never took her eyes off the press release she was writing as she grabbed the phone. “Hello, Salvo Enterprises.”

“Mandy!” Claudia’s shrill voice pierced through the receiver. “I need you right now! You need to come over here right this instant!”

“I can’t, Claudia,” Mandy said. “I told you, you can’t call me when I’m working.”

Claudia sobbed over the phone. “I need help,” she cried. “The wedding dress just came in and it makes me look like a prostitute.”

“I’m sure it’s fine. Talk it over with the seamstress.” Mandy slipped a pen in her mouth as she marked off what she’d needed in the release. “I’m sure you look beautiful. Look, I’ll call you after I get out of work.”

“But—”

Mandy hung up and covered her face with her hands, sighing. She wasn’t sure if losing twenty pounds was worth being the maid of honor when it was already a bitch of a job as it was. Damn, I want pie, right now.

“Is everything all right, Ms. Connors?” Carl stood near her desk.

Mandy jumped slightly. She hadn’t even heard him leave his office. “Yes.” She pressed her lips into a thin line. “I’m afraid my sister found the number to here. I don’t suppose there’s a persona non grata list or something we can put her on? Otherwise, I have a feeling she’ll be tying up the phone lines trying to reach me.” Thankfully he hadn’t mentioned anything about literally bumping into him at the gym this morning. Her lower back couldn’t forget it though.

Carl looked at her thoughtfully. “I’m sure something can be set up.” He checked his phone, which ironically buzzed the same time as Mandy’s new work phone. “Isn’t there anyone else who can help her with her wedding?”

“I believe so,” Mandy said and then shook her head. “It’s my fault. I told her I would be her maid of honor.”

“Most maids of honor I’ve met have jobs and lives of their own,” he said dryly.

Mandy shrugged. “I’m sorry.” If she lost this job because of Claudia, she wouldn’t need a maid of honor, Claudia would be needing a pall bearer. “I’ll talk to her. I’ll try and keep her from calling me so often.”

“I’m not sure you can get her to see reason.” Carl laughed. “If she’s anything like your mother.”

Mandy’s head shot up to look at Carl. “You know my mother?”

“She’s called

me three times today to tell me to fire you.” Carl’s face gave nothing away.