“What’d I do?” Gino’s innocent smile didn’t fool Jeremy.
“Keep it professional.”
Spotting Carter, Jeremy decided to have a chat and walked up to him as he cooled down from working out on the elliptical. The man was in excellent shape and very good-looking: dark hair, silvery gray eyes, and trim, muscular body.
“Hey, Carter, how’s it going? Enjoying your workouts here?”
The man finished wiping away the sweat from his arms with a towel, then tossed it into the used-towel bin and held out his hand. “Great. Good to see you again. Yeah, I meant to stop by the office to tell you this is a great place.”
Pride in his business brought a smile to Jeremy’s face. “Thanks.”
“Yeah.” Carter leaned against the elliptical. “I’ve brought Reed and my little brother here for the rock climbing. They loved it.”
“It’s been a good draw. I’m still trying to figure out ways to bring in more business.”
A gleam entered Carter’s eyes. “Oh yeah? I’m all about that. I think you have a nice concept here, and I can help you make it better.”
“Yeah?” Jeremy rubbed his chin. “You’re public relations, right?”
“Publicity, marketing, advertising, you name it. If you want to get your business noticed, I’m your guy.” A model-perfect smile flashed brightly on Carter’s face. “With all the emphasis on health and wellness nowadays, I have some clients I’d like you to meet. They’re ready to break into the health food and juice market but don’t want to open their own stores. Health clubs might be the answer, and your club—small but dedicated—would be a great place to start.”
“Dude, have you been hacking into my computer?”
“Huh?” Carter’s dark brows knitted together, and Jeremy laughed at his confusion before explaining.
“For the past few months, I’ve been researching the juice trend in New York, seeing the big corporate clubs pairing up with these well-known brands, and wondering how I can integrate it into my small club.”
“Well, you wouldn’t need to worry about that. I’m here to take everything on for you, so you can sit back and relax.”
“That is so not me. I’m a hands-on owner. If I hire you, you may get sick of me and all my questions.”
With a rueful grin, Carter checked his watch. “Come with me to the locker room. I have to shower before I get to the office for a ten o’clock appointment.”
Side by side, they walked together to the back where the locker rooms were located. Jeremy waited while Carter stripped out of his sweaty T-shirt and shorts, then grabbed a towel on his way to the showers.
“We can talk while I shower.” Carter stepped inside the stall and turned on the jets, but continued to talk, even after pulling the curtain closed, raising his voice to be heard over the spray. “I have these Florida-based clients I’ve been working with for almost two years. They’ve tried to get a foothold in the city and even went so far as to think about signing a lease on a store here. I think that’s the wrong move. But”—Carter stopped for a moment to step under the water to rinse off the soap and began to wash his hair—“if they lease space in your gym and you work a profit-sharing agreement, you both could benefit. I’ll tell you more in a sec.” He stuck his head back under the water and Jeremy took the opportunity to walk back to the locker room and let Carter finish his shower. It also gave him a chance to run through some ideas in his head.
“So.” Carter walked back inside, a towel around his waist, and opened his locker, picking up the conversation from the shower. “What do you think? You’ve got the space and the clientele. People who come in the morning would love a smoothie or a cold-pressed juice on their way out the door to work. Plus I also think you should consider expanding, maybe to Long Island or Queens. People like the intimacy of a smaller gym, and you have a good concept. I have places near me in Windsor Terrace, but I like what you’ve done here, with the rock-climbing wall and virtual-training machines. Really high tech and new.” He dropped the towel and began to dress.
“I dunno. I’m definitely interested in the juice-bar concept; it’s something I’ve been looking into, so I’d like to hear more about your clients. I hadn’t thought beyond installing a refrigerator and finding a distributor.”
Flashing him a cocky grin, Carter finished knotting his tie. “That’s why you need me. You stick to the weights, and I’ll take care of the business.” He tugged his shirtsleeves down and slipped on his suit jacket, looking every inch the high-powered executive. “It’s all about the branding.”
Jeremy walked out of the locker room with Carter, and they stood by the front desk. Carter fished out his wallet and handed him his business card. “Call me and we can talk. I really think the idea is a great one.”
“Yeah, sure.” He glanced down at the black-and-silver card that fit Carter’s persona—smooth and sleek. “Nice to see you again.”
“Same here.”
He stared at the door long after Carter left, lost in thought, excitement building in his veins, tempered by Carter’s remark of sticking to his weights. People always underestimated him, assuming that because he was into fitness and looking good, he was shallow and not intelligent. It surprised them when he could converse about books and plays and especially business trends and the economy. He flipped the business card around his fingers and walked back to his office.
It had been that way with Blake at first. Jeremy had suspected his boyfriend initially thought he was a dumb jock, and his hesitation when Jeremy asked him out confirmed it. Much as he hated to admit it, even now he still wondered. Several days earlier they’d had an invigorating discussion of taxes and how it was killing the middle class in the city, and in the middle of a disagreement on rates, Blake looked at him, smiled, and said,“And here I thought you were just another pretty face.”It stung a bit, but he shrugged it off and forgot about it. Almost. It hovered in the corner of his mind.
But dwelling on negative shit did little to move him forward. The thought of hiring a publicist, while daunting, invigorated him. Where once he’d be anxious to share his news with Noah, now Blake was the first person to come to mind, and Jeremy texted him.
To his shock, Jeremy received an immediate response.
Great. I have to be in Brooklyn to see a client. I’ll come by.
