1
TOBIAS STOOD IN THE middle of his gym trying his best not to check the time, again.
“What’s got you so nervous?” Garrett asked, reminding him he was there. He’d forgotten for a moment, so maybe he was more anxious than he’d thought.
“What? Nothing. I’m not nervous. Just impatient.”
Liar.
Tobias had wanted to add yoga to the class schedule at his gym for a while, but he hadn’t gotten the courage to actually bring in anyone for an interview. Usually, he let his manager, Megan, handle all of the personnel at Gym Rat Fitness, but he was more familiar with yoga than her. A few weeks ago, one of the guys from his gym introduced him to a yoga instructor and it felt like serendipity, like the guy just fell into Tobias’ lap.
‘You’d love to see him on your lap.’
No idea what you’re talking about.
‘Dude, you need to relax. Garrett is totally judging you.’
Urrrgh.
There was a reason everyone in his life assumed he was a stoic, anti-social grump. He was too busy arguing with his annoying brain. At the moment, he didn’t need that brain reminding him of the jolt he felt through his body when he shook hands with Chase Townsend.
Tobias hadn’t felt that kind of physical reaction to a person in years, and it threw him for a loop. If Chase was going to start working for him, he’d remain professional, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t nervous about it.
A few weeks passed between Tobias initially meeting Chase and actually scheduling the interview.
After weighing the options, Tobias decided to give him an interview in his gym with a private demo, but he needed a buffer.
Garrett was an easy choice since he was the most level-headed of Tobias’ gym friends, so they found a time when all three of them could make it. He asked Chase to come in after the early morning class, once everyone else had left. The last thing he needed was Cole… Actually, he didn’t even need to add more to that sentence.
Cole Durbin was another member of his daily six a.m. class, and was also a giant pain in the ass, but at least he was useful enough to introduce Tobias to Chase.
Now, Tobias and Garrett waited for Chase to arrive, and Tobias reminded himself of interview questions he liked to ask.
The benefit of having Garrett there was the free background check he’d offered to run on Chase, thanks to his job as a Cherrywood detective.
He figured they’d do the demo first, and then Garrett could leave so they could do the interview portion in private.
“Does this guy have a lot of experience?” Garrett asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.
“I think so, but I don’t know any specifics yet. I’ll ask during the interview.”
“You don’t have his resume?”
“No, I forgot to ask for it.”
Garrett’s gaze narrowed and he ran his hand through his dirty blond hair in frustration. Tobias couldn’t help but wonder if this was how he interrogated suspects.
“How’d he apply for the job?”
“I met him at that soccer tournament a few weeks ago. He’s old friends with Cole. He introduced us.”
“Damn, taking Cole’s word? I can’t believe you’d do such a thing.”
Tobias scoffed, ignoring the jibe.
His grumpiness tended to rise when Cole was in his vicinity, but thankfully Garrett didn’t push the issue. He didn’t have time to as they both turned atthe loud click of the front door opening.
Tobias left Garrett in the main part of the gym and headed toward the front, where Chase stood, a bright, inviting smile on his face that highlighted his eagerness.
