“Thank you, Ali. I’ll get the hang of this soon.”
“Anytime, Boss Man.”
I turned to give her another look as I pulled open the door. She smiled triumphantly, knowing she’d gotten the last word in.
I spotted James instantly. Ever since I’d known him, he’d had a presence about him. He really should have taken over as owner and operator. I greeted a few club members as I made my way over to him. The few people I spoke to congratulated me on my new role and wished me well. It was encouraging and helped with my confidence by the time I’d reached James. When he saw me, he stood and then held his hand out toward me. It was a congratulatory handshake that turned into a hug.
“I’m proud of you, Andrew,” he said.
“Thank you.” I pulled out of the hug and glanced around at all of the people milling about and socializing in the main room as James threw his first test at me.
“What’s going on tonight?” he questioned.
“Um … Juan is doing a demonstration.”
“What kind?”
“Fire cupping.”
“What time?”
“Nine.” After a short pause, and without being asked, I volunteered that it would be held in room one.
“How is occupancy tonight?” he asked.
“Almost at capacity.”
“Any new members to be aware of?”
“No,” I replied.
“What if there were?”
“Then I would make an effort to welcome them and introduce myself.”
I answered everything correctly, thankfully, due to Ali offering up the stats on the night. James smiled and suggested we take a walk around the club.Yes, good thinking, James. Get me walking around and members used to seeing me.
We walked down the long hallway with private rooms on either side. A handful of members in the hallway acknowledged me either by saying something or by nodding their heads. This was really helpful and encouraging for me. It didn’t feel as though anyone was giving me the cold shoulder.
“Are you planning on negotiating a session later on?” James asked while we turned the corner and began our trek down the hallway. I huffed out a laugh. “What? Why was that funny, Andrew?”
“I’m nervous as hell tonight.” I paused long enough to smile and nod at a couple coming toward us in the hallway. Once they passed us, I continued. “Besides … I don’t think I should be doing any session negotiations anytime soon.”
“Andrew, everyone makes mistakes—”
“Come on, James. You have to admit that mine was pretty epic.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t.”
“What’s worse is that I made the mistake more than once with her. Several times, in fact.”
James stopped walking and wrapped his hand around my bicep.
“Andrew, relax. Everyone makes mistakes, and hindsight is always perfect.”
“Yeah, nearly being killed finally woke me the hell up.”
“I’m happy to hear that.”
