He wipes his eyes and sniffles a bit as his eyes meet mine. “You have good news for me?”
“Yeah,” I say, my voice soft with him as I hand over the envelope.
“Why is this so fancy?”
He almost looks concerned, and again the desire to pull him into my lap and comfort him nearly overrides reason. I roll my eyes upward. “Evie. Of course. She said that I had to make a big deal of this.”
* * *
Elijah
The envelope feels important, heavy in my hands, and I’m almost too afraid to open it. But Nick’s expectant look and the smile that grows on his lips make me think that it won’t be bad. I slide my finger under the flap and rip it open in one clean swoop. I pull out the document folded neatly within, and it, too, is heavy-grade paper.
“Well?” he asks, seemingly out of patience.
I read the words on the paper and then read them again. They don’t make any sense to me. It’s saying I’ve been promoted to assistant manager, and that I stand to make double what I’m making now, even with my overtime. It just feels wrong. There’s no way.
“I haven’t even been here a month. Why are you doing this?”
Nick laughs. “Because you’re too damn good at your job. Why do you sound so angry?”
“Oh, I swear, I’m not angry.I swear.I’m just so confused right now. Why are y’all being so nice to me?” Tears start up again, and my nose begins to run. Nick hands me a paper towel, and I blow my nose. Loudly.
“We’re not being nice. We don’t want you to leave. We want you to stay with us. Forever,” he adds at the end. “You’re a damn good employee, and you are excellent with our particular clientele. You got alpha jock heads who can be douchebags. You got PTSD folks, who can have prickly sensitivities, you’ve got moms, you’ve got people who want yoga, you have people who want to flip tires all around the space. And you handle it perfectly. You give everybody exactly what they need. You go hard on the people who need you to go hard, you’re a soft touch with a lot of folks who were jittery about being in a gym like this, and you are downright filthy when it comes to Morris. Don’t think I haven’t heard the two of you chatting over there in the corner.”
“Eh, it’s just some low-level unprofessionalism with a few limp-dick jokes thrown in for good measure. It’s a shared mutual disrespect with a strong undercurrent of actual respect. We’re a bit of an odd couple, but it works.”
“Okay, fine. But to answer your question, you earned this promotion.”
I blink, still unable to comprehend. “But it’s so fast. I am prepared to work to gain your trust. Make sure that you have faith in me so that I can run this place the way it needs to be run.”
“Well, I didn’t need a whole lot of time to know that I could trust you. In fact, since you’ve been here, people have been asking when I’m going to give you more responsibility. So, this at least will shut them up.”
“Really?” More tears well up in my eyes, because apparently I’m not done being an emotional wreck today. I’m also not quite prepared for the fact that he reaches out, caressing my cheek with the backs of his fingers, wiping away the new tears. “Really.”
I lean into his caress and then… the moment is broken when Roly walks into the locker room. Our eyes fly open and we split apart on the bench, putting an appropriate amount of space between the two of us before he rounds the corner.
“So? How long does it take to tell somebody he’s been promoted? How you feeling, Elijah? You taking us out for a drink tonight?”
“Um, rain check?” I don’t know if I could handle a night of drinking at this point.
Nick looks between the two of us and puts his hands in his pockets, surreptitiously adjusting… something. “Ugh, Roly. It’s nasty outside.” He stands up and whispers something in Roly’s ear.
Roly’s face is kind as he rubs my arm. “This is the beginning of something good, Elijah. I’m so sorry to hear about your aunt; today must be a difficult day for you, and I hope you can get some rest, get some perspective, and then get drunk with us, okay?”
I sniff and rub my eyes once more. “Okay, Roly. It’s a promise. I just have to get a few more things done this evening, and then I’m heading home. Y’all can go on, I’ll lock up.”
Honestly, I just need a minute to myself. I doubt I’m going to get any sleep.
Chapter Fifteen
Nick
Roly leaves pretty quickly; he’s got a bear on the hook and is actually kinda grateful that Elijah declined the offer of a happy hour. I am, too, but my reasons are a bit vague to me right now.
I wait for Elijah outside, then go back in to see what’s taking him so long. I accidentally startle the shit out of him when I find him stacking yoga mats in the storage closet. In retrospect, quietly walking up on an emotionally compromised guy in the dark wasn’t my brightest idea.
“Oh my god, why do you insist on scaring me like that?” he says, pushing at my shoulder, a weird, tentative laugh on his lips.
