At the sound of his name, he glanced over his shoulder to see a tall, dark-haired man in a suit. Where did he know the man from?
“It’s Carter. Remember we met at Michelle’s house for a hot second when I picked up my little brother?”
“Yes, of course.”
They shook hands, and Jeremy picked up his coffee cup. “Come to my office. I’ll put my stuff down, and then I can show you around.”
With Carter at his heels, Jeremy walked to the back of the gym to his small office and unlocked the door.
“Come on inside and sit for a second. I’ll get you a brochure with all the amenities.” Carter passed by him, and Jeremy caught a whiff of his expensive cologne. He wondered what Carter did for a living.
“Thanks. You have a nice place here. I’m not interested in one of the big chain gyms.” He set his soft leather briefcase and gym bag on the wide sofa situated against the far wall. “I want a clean place with personalized service. I can’t take classes, but I might want to do personal training sometime in the future.”
Jeremy handed him one of the slick pamphlets he’d had made up several months earlier. “I have all the latest equipment; virtual treadmills, bikes, and ellipticals. As for personal training, I can recommend some good guys I have, or you can use me.” He watched Carter as he quickly scanned the brochure.
“Sounds good. And you open at six thirty in the morning? That’s perfect. My husband, Reed, comes home from work at six a.m., and he and I get Jacks ready for school. Now that Jacks is twelve, he’s walking the few blocks to school with his friends, so we don’t have to worry about taking him, and I can get to my office around nine–nine thirty.”
“Remind me again—what business are you in?”
“Public relations and marketing.”
Jeremy could see that. Carter had the persuasive, dynamic personality necessary in that field. “Why don’t you work out on the house? See if you like it, and if so, let me know and I’ll give you a special rate.”
Carter collected his briefcase and jacket. “Thanks. Sounds great. I’m sure I will.” He walked out of the office, closing the door behind him.
Burying himself in monthly bills and paperwork, Jeremy tracked the progress of his membership signups and read a few articles on marketing and promotion. He scribbled some notes on a pad, wondering if he should start offering additional services to members, when a knock at the door broke into his musings.
“Yeah? Come on in.”
The door opened, and Carter poked his head inside. “I didn’t want to leave without saying good-bye. You’ve got a great place here. I’m definitely joining up.”
“Fantastic.” Jeremy sprang up from his chair. “Do you want to do monthly or annually?” He wrote out the special friends-and-family rate on a sticky note for Benny to enter. Gino was the smiling face to check people in, but Jeremy trusted the steadfast and no-nonsense Benny to sign up new customers and answer the phones.
“I’ll pay annually.”
“Great. Come with me, and I’ll get you set up with Benny.” He led Carter out to the front, where Gino was checking the picture identifications of the customers waiting. Benny was at the computer, tracking his customers. It was another new project of his, attempting to see if he could woo back people who signed up for his three-month special but then never returned to sign up for the rest of the year.
“Benny. This is Carter, a friend of mine. Make sure you set him up.” He didn’t want the other customers knowing he had a discounted rate, or they’d all be asking for it.
“Sure.” Benny flashed Carter a shy smile. “Come this way, and I’ll get you taken care of.”
Jeremy shook Carter’s hand. “Thanks for coming by and joining.”
“My pleasure. You have a nice place here.”
With Carter in public relations, Jeremy wondered if he should talk to him about some of the ideas he had, but dismissed it immediately. The last thing he wanted to do was ask for free advice, and right now he didn’t have the money to pay for a public-relations person.
“Thanks. I’ll see you next time you’re here.”
“Great. Do you sell coffee? I could use a cup right now.”
Regretfully, Jeremy shook his head. “No. There’s a coffee shop on the way to the subway.”
“Ahh. Too bad.” He walked away with Benny and Jeremy stared after him. Maybe he should think about that too. Jeremy scratched the back of his neck. Another thing to add to the list.
The day flew, and by six thirty Jeremy was ready to leave. Blake, who was visiting a client in Brooklyn, had texted him earlier to ask if he could come by and see the gym, so Jeremy was waiting for him to show up. The dinner lull had hit, and the gym wouldn’t fill up again until around seven–seven thirty when people came home from work. Later in the evening was always the slow time. That and the middle of the day. His phone buzzed.
A smile broke over his face when he saw it was a text from Blake, and he jumped out of his chair to go back to his office and read it in private.
