CHAPTER THREE
Emma
“Thank you so much,” my last client of the day says with a smile. “I'm gonna follow all the excellent nutritional advice you've given me. When should I come see you again?”
“Why don't you come back in a few weeks – say, four – and we can assess your progress and figure out where to go from there. They'll set it up for you at the front desk.”
“Great. Thanks again. I'll see you in a month. And hopefully, you'll see a little bit less of me!”
“I'm sure of it. You're gonna do great. Take care.”
I walk my last client to the door, shutting it behind her. As soon as it's closed, I take a deep breath and sigh. I did it. I made it through the first day of my new career. Nothing bad happened. Well, nothing too bad. Finding out that Chad Taylor works here - of all the gyms in all the world - doesn't exactly make me happy. But, hopefully I won't have to interact with him very much. If he just ignores me like he did in high school, I'll be fine.
After finishing up my notes for the day on the computer, I get to ready to leave. There's a part of me that doesn't want to. It took an entire day of seeing clients, but I finally feel comfortable here in my office. My office. I take one last look around my office, making sure I haven't forgotten anything. Hmmm, should I leave the blinds down or open them until I come in tomorrow morning? I'll open them. That way, people can see my degree hanging on the wall. And by people, I mean me when I get to my office in the morning. It'll be cool to see into my office before I even open the door.
With the blinds up, I lock up my office - I can't get over how cool it is that I have my own office - and head for the main entrance. My day is done and it's time to go home. I can't wait to tell Claire all about my first day at work.
“Emma Robinson, registered dietitian,” I hear someone yell from behind me.
I stop and turn around to see who's calling my name. Of course, it's the one person in the whole building that I hope it's not. I can't believe that Chad remembers me from high school. Or does he? Either way, I'm about to find out.
Chad catches up to me with a few quick steps. As much as I don't like him, I have to admit: he is a good-looking guy. Like, really good looking. This is the first time I've seen him up close in about four years. His body is even more muscular than it was in high school. And Chad's still got the same handsome face that melted the hearts of more than a few girls back then. Too bad he's an asshole that also broke as many hearts as he melted.
But that was in high school. Maybe Chad's changed over the past four years. I know I have. I'm gonna give him the benefit of the doubt. Clean slate. No preconceived notions. I'll pretend like I'm meeting him for the first time.
“Chad Taylor. Hi,” I reply.
“How was your first day at Fit World?” he asks.
“It was really good, actually.”
“You sound like you're surprised. Were you expecting it to suck?”
“No, not exactly. I guess I didn't know what to expect. How do you like working here?”
“Are you kidding me? I fucking love it! I love this place and this place loves me. I set my own schedule, come and go as I please. I basically do whatever the fuck I want. It's great.”
Well, that explains why Chad came strolling in at the crack of noon. I get that he's a fit, good-looking guy, but I don't understand why this place would let him get away with so much. Maybe he's a really good trainer or something. He's certainly charismatic. I remember girls in high school saying they could get lost in Chad's sapphire blue eyes forever. Now that they're only a couple feet away from me, looking directly into mine, I can certainly see the appeal. They're the most beautiful shade of blue I've ever seen in someone's eyes before. And Chad's lips, his perfect teeth... Okay, I gotta stop. He's handsome. I know this. I've always known this. But I can't forget what a dick he used to be.
“How did you know my name?” I ask.
“We work at the same place. It wasn't exactly hard to find out.”
“Ahhh,” I reply. Looks like Chad doesn't remember me from high school. “Do you wanna know how I knew your name?”
“There's no mystery there. With over a million followers on Instagram and a popular YouTube channel, everyone knows my name. Especially around here. I'm like a fucking legend. That's why I can get away with whatever the fuck I want.”
“Actually, I didn't know about your Instagram and YouTube followers. I knew your name because we went to high school together. We even sat next to each other in a few of our classes.”
Chad looks me up and down. I can sense the wheels turning in his head. He's trying to remember me, but I don't think he does.
“Emma Robinson,” he says, looking me up and down again. “Wait a minute...”
“Yes?”
“Weren't you fat as fuck? For some reason, when I think 'Emma Robinson from Massasoit High,' all I can picture is a girl with more rolls than a bakery. Am I thinking of the right person? Did you drop a shitload of weight or am I thinking of someone else?”
So much for giving Chad the benefit of the doubt. It looks like he's still a raging asshole. I can't believe he just called me “fat as fuck.” What a jerk. I do my best to not get angry and just answer the question.
“I was overweight in high school, yes. But I started seeing a dietitian the summer after graduation. Two years later, I was over a hundred pounds lighter.”
“Damn. Good for you. You look... well, let's just say you don't look anything like the whale I remember from high school. You look good. Really good.”
“Thank you, Chad. If you'd please excuse me, I have to be going now. Have a good night.”
“I always do. See you around, Emma.”
So close. I was so close to ending a great first day at my new job in a good mood before Chad Taylor came up to me. I continue walking out of Fit World and get into the Uber that I ordered. My emotions are all over the place right now. More than anything, I'm pissed. How dare he call me “fat as fuck.” You're an asshole as fuck, Chad Taylor. Ugh, that doesn't have the same ring to it. And what's making me even madder is the fact that I can't get over how damn good looking he is. He's so fucking charming that it kills me. It would be one thing if he was an ugly asshole that didn't know how to talk to women. But Chad looks like a Greek God and speaks with such confidence that his voice is almost hypnotic.
The who ride home, all I can think about is Chad. Not the amazing first day I had at my new job. Not the wonderful clients that I got to meet for the first time. Chad Fucking Taylor. I never thought I'd see him again. Now he's gonna be a daily part of my life. Ugh. I get home and am immediately assaulted by a barrage of questions.
“Well?” Claire asks. “How was it? Did you have a good first day? What was your favorite part? Least favorite? Give me all the deets!”
“It was great,” I reply, “for the most part.”
“For the most part? What does that mean?”
“I ran into someone that I knew in high school.”
“Oh? Who is it?”
“His name's Chad Taylor. He's a personal trainer at Fit World. And I guess he's like a famous internet fitness model now. Anyway, he was the biggest jerk in my high school and now I have to deal with him everyday.”
“I'm sorry, sweetie. Can't you just ignore him?”
“Yeah, that was the plan until he came up out of nowhere and started talking to me.”
“He remembered you?”
“No. That's the thing. He didn't remember me at all. Not at first. When he did finally remember me, he referred to me as being 'fat as fuck.'”
“Wow. What a prick. What did he want? Why did he start talking to you?”
“See, that's just it: I have no idea.”
“Maybe he's attracted to you.”
“Me? No way. Chad only goes after the type of girls that could be on TV or magazine covers. I'm way too average for him.”
“I think you're selling yourself short, Emma. I've seen you when you get dressed up. You clean up real nice. Real nice. Your day-to-day look is a bit ordinary, yes. But that's not a bad thing. You don't try too hard to look good. I mean, you do look good. What I'm trying to say is that you're hotter than you give yourself credit for.”
“Well, even if that is all true, there's no way that Chad's interested in me like that. No way.”
“Alright, then. Fuck Chad. Tell me about the rest of your day. How do you like your new job – aside from seeing that asshole you knew from high school.”
“Overall, it was great. I loved it. I got to meet a bunch of the clients I'll be working with. They're all really nice. There was one girl, Megan, who reminded me a lot of myself. She was my very first client, actually. I really think I'm gonna be able to make a difference in these people's lives.”
“I love it when you're optimistic like this, Emma. You are gonna make a difference. You've probably already started to make a difference in their lives. Are you hungry?”
“A little bit. Yeah.”
“Let's go out to dinner. You can tell me all about Megan, your other clients, and everything else.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
For the rest of the night, no matter what I'm doing, I can't seem to get Chad out of the back of my mind. Is it possible that Claire's right? Did he come up to me because he's interested in me? I can't think of any other reason but that doesn't make it true. And even if he does like me, I don't like him. I mean, he's probably the most handsome man I've ever laid eyes on in my entire life. And when I was talking to him, looking into his sapphire blue eyes, I did feel a little spark – if only for a second. But Chad's such a jerk. I could never go out with someone like him. Could I?
It doesn't matter. There's no way he's into me. Chad can – and probably does – have any woman that he wants. If anything, he's probably just trying to fuck and chuck me. Hump and dump. Well, I'm not that kinda girl. Not even for someone so goddamn handsome.