She huffs out loud. “A word of the day calendar. They said I only use three words, and maybe this will help me not get fired for only posting“Awesome”on all my social media captions,” she says, air-quoting and rolling her eyes.
Laughing, I tease in an enthusiastic, surfer dude tone, “Awesome,” to which she playfully slaps my arm and smiles.
“Jerk.”
5
Mabel
Feverishly tapping away at my laptop as I finish up my weekend’s marketing and strategy plans, I sit back with a sense of contentment and achievement.
There’s solid planning, and I love I am nailing this role. I can see Rayna’s icon on the screen in our shared document, a bandicoot, jumping around the page; no notes added anywhere. My phone buzzes with a message from Rayna.
Perfect weekend set up. Now take your lunch.
I smile and reply:
Will do.
Lifting my head, I see Sophia and Fleur walking in. They spot me with greeting waves.
“Mind if we join you?” Sophia asks as they approach with their lunch.
“Please!” I reply, closing my laptop and dragging my lunch over from the opposite side of the table to make room. They settle down at the table, laying out their food.
“How have things been going? Settling into the groove of it?” Fleur asks.
“Enjoying it a lot. It’s a great environment to be in,” I reply.
“She’s fit in seamlessly,” Sophia adds with her dazzling smile.
“You’re not at the hotel with us on this track?” I ask Fleur.
“Nah, I bought some property down the coast, which I stay at when we are this way.”
“It’s amazing,” Sophia notes.
“You should come down to the hotel gym when Riley does our condition training tomorrow. Get yourself out of the room. Then the three of us can hang out on the property after, I just got the spa fixed,” Fleur offers, gesturing around to us all.
“As long as it’s okay?”
“Absolutely! More the merrier.”
“Then I’m in!”
The gym the next morning was brutal, but I didn’t want to let on I was struggling. I was surprised by how intense it was for athletes who get around with engines, and Cole seemed to be the only one complaining about the session.
“Surprisingly quiet today, Riley!” Their trainer, Hamish, laughs.
“Must be getting used to your torturous ways, Ham!” Riley throws back. “Ohhh, famous last words.” Hamish rubs his palms together.
“Oh, fuck!” Riley barks out. A worried look washes across his face, to which we all do the completely mature thing and “oooooo”together like we are in a primary school class and Riley got called to the principal’s office as we laugh.
By some miracle, I get through the session, and with jelly legs, Sophia and I pile into Fleur’s car—a cute, red Audi convertible.
The drive to her property is picturesque. Twisty, tight road hug the hills. The vibrant greens flourish and glow under the late-February sun.
We make our way up a hill to a modest, single-storey house. It’s dark wood exterior is bold and deep in contrast to the surrounding green.
