CHAPTER SIX

I glance out of my glass office window.  A few of the trainers are on the gym floor walking around aimlessly. There are so few members working out the trainers have no one to help. Kelly is giving several people a tour of the facility. I hope they will join, but lately, almost no one is signing up. Kelly and Jeff have lost a ton of their clients. Veronica is holding on to most of hers, but some have quit. Even Noah, who has always been our most popular trainer, is losing clients.

Noah—I sigh as I look at him. He’s so nice and cute. At first, I had really thought he could be the one for me. But the night we’d met for drinks, I’d realized he had no interest in me. He had Clara on his brain, and to my surprise, I realized it didn’t really bother me.

I finish printing a letter and grab it from the tray. Taking a deep breath, I walk around the corner to Duke’s office, my hand clutching the piece of paper—my resignation letter. I’ve been offered another job working at a sporting goods store in town and plan to call them later in the day to accept the position. Though it isn’t exactly what I want to do, ‘7 Days’ feels like a sinking ship. With so many clients dropping their memberships and so few new people joining, things are not looking good. And, I know working for Duke just isn’t going to work out. I will miss this place, but at the rate things are going, it isn’t long before it goes out of business.

When I reach Duke’s office, I glance through the glass window. He’s seated at his desk, his head in his hands, looking like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. For a moment I feel bad, but I steel my shoulders and rap lightly on the glass anyway.

“Hey, come in Allie,” Duke’s deep voice booms. “How is Ms. Gorgeous today?” He grins broadly, acting as if he doesn’t have a care in the world.

“I wanted to give you this.” I hold up the sheet of paper I am carrying.

“What’s that, another list of resolutions?”

I shake my head. “No. I, um…came to…give you my letter of resignation.”

“What?” Duke furrows his forehead. “What are you talking about?”

“I just think it’s time I move on—to a different company.”

“Why? I thought you loved working for ‘7 Days’—at least, that’s what you told me when we dated in Vegas?”

I roll my eyes. Somehow Duke had turned our one date into ‘we dated’.

“I do love it here, Duke. But to be honest, the clients have been dropping like flies. Our memberships are down…I have bills to pay. I don’t want to wake up one day to find myself out of a job.”

“Oh?” He arched his brow. “You think we’re going to go out of business, eh?”

I don’t say anything.

“Where’s your faith, girl?” he smiles broadly. “Everything’s going to be just fine.”

“Duke, look. I see that members are quitting, not showing up for training sessions, our new enrollees are down…even some of our long-time members have quit; Anne Simons, Carrie Foster, Tim Cobb, even Ed Beasley…a lot of them.”

He lets out a deep breath. “God, Allie, I know. It sucks. I’m not sure what more I can do. I came in here with the biggest dreams of managing a facility like this. And…and it’s just not going the way I wanted it to.”

I bite my lip. He looks so down. I want to reassure him that everything is going to be fine, but I just don’t know what to say.

“I thought hard about your suggestions, and I really eased up on the training. I’m going out of my way to train our clients without being so…so…tough on them. I’ve extended gym hours, but nothing seems to be working.”

It’s true that Duke has changed his approach, but like he says, it hasn’t seemed to make a difference. “Yes,” I agree, “you have tried to change things up. I have definitely noticed you have eased up on the clients for sure.”

“But it doesn’t seem to matter,” he grimaces, “I know our clientele has been dropping like flies. I just can’t seem to put my finger on why.”

I shake my head. “It really doesn’t make a lot of sense. I mean, when Peter was the manager this location wasn’t doing great, but it was doing ok. But now it’s just…” I wince, “…sucking.”

“I know,” he said flatly. “You don’t have to tell me.”

“Even the most popular trainers, Noah and Veronica, have lost clients,” I purse my lips. “I can understand that we will lose clients—people stop coming to the gym, that’s normal. But we’ve lost so many members, it’s just been crazy.”

“I know…” he growls, “it fucking sucks.”

“And it’s happened pretty fast, like, just within the last couple of weeks,” I shake my head. I really just don’t get it.

“It’s my fault. I came in too rough and scared everybody off,” Duke groans. “I guess I better call headquarters and let them know I screwed up big time.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I say softly. “Well, I better get going.” I start to hand him my resignation letter, but stop as his emerald eyes meet mine. For some reason, I feel so sorry for Duke. He looks so lost. I see a flash of that little boy who had no one to care for him—no one to love him. I have to fight the urge to pull him towards me, hold him and comfort him.

“I, uh…ok, Allie, is there anything I can do to change your mind?”

“No, I…”

“But Allie you’re my ma—”

I know what he is going to say. I raise my brows and hold up my hand before he can complete the word ‘mate’. “Please don’t start that again.”

“It’s true.”

I roll my eyes.

“Alright, forget that for now…we can talk about that later. But think about how you are helping people get healthy. Your job organizing everything, helping the members…the clients love you, the trainers love you. You get along with everybody. Don’t you want to continue to help people?”

“Well, I do, but…”

“Allie, we need your help here,” he runs his hand through his hair, shaking his head. “I need your help here.”

I’m a sucker when someone asks me for help. Stay strong, Allie, I tell myself.

“You can help me turn things around. We need to get this place back on track for the client’s sake, for the trainers, for everyone. I know you can help me do that.”

“And what if I did try to help? I mean, what can I do?”

“You can talk to people to see what they want…what classes they are interested in…find out why they are dropping memberships. We can grow this gym together, and of course, I will give you a raise for your time and effort.”

“Really? I would get a raise if I help you?”

He nods. “Corporate gave me the ok to do what I see fit here to improve the business, and that includes hiring, firing, pay raises...”

“Well…” I hesitate. A raise doing something I love sure sounds good. The job at the sporting goods store is a sure bet, and if I turn it down and the gym goes under…ugh. But on the other hand, I love working at the gym. The prospect of turning it around sounds much more interesting than working in the back office of a place that sells overpriced men’s board shorts and bicycles. But why am I even considering this? I would still be working with Duke.

“Allie?” He looks at me hopefully.

“I don’t know…it’s not just the clients leaving…it’s um…you and me working together.”

“Is it really that bad, Allie?”

I purse my lips.

“Will you at least give it a chance?”

“Um, well, I…” Maybe, just maybe Duke and I could work in peace together.

“Please?” he cocks his head, his eyes pleading with mine.

“Alright! But no more ‘you’re my mate’ talk, understood?”

He grins at me. “Understood…for now.”