I wasn’t going to make this a bigger deal than it was. I thought about Renee’s statement about how hard Cozart had me smiling at the phone and it wasn’thimthat had me smiling, it was the banter. It had been a while since I exchanged flirty words with a man. It had been a while since I talked to a man and didn’t see Larry. No matter how much I had been hurt, I was still a woman. A rose could make me cum three times on Sunday, but it couldn’t tell me funny jokes.
I would never allow myself to like someone like Co, but it still felt nice to entertain the thought. He was the biggest hoe at the gym, he was still legally married, and his wife had just come and busted the gym window because he was fucking some other woman and she received a video. His situation put the M in Messy. No matter how funny he was. No matter how good he looked without a shirt. I would never allow myself to get caught up with Cozart. Besides, someone had taken my husband, and Iwould never knowingly do that to another woman after knowing what that kind of pain felt like. I would not be the reason somebody else had to sit in the dark and cry over a man who didn’t understand the words for better or worse, rich, or poor, sick, and healthy, until death do us apart. Not until you gain weight and you are no longer desirable to me.
After finishing my workday earlier than I anticipated, I went over to Nordstroms to try on dresses and shoes. I found a pair of gorgeous Manolo Blahniks, a matching clutch purse, and went into the dressing room to try on the four dresses I had on hold. The one that I loved was too loose, and that made me both happy and sad. After putting in an alteration order with the in-house seamstress, I purchased the dress, paid for alterations then went home floating on a cloud. I had accomplished securing a dress, accessories, and a date within a few hours.
The week went by in a blur of outside workouts, gym workouts, and a bunch of trying not to stare at Cozart while being in the same room with him. The fact that he had become even more popular since his scandal definitely made it easier for me to remember that I only wanted friendship from him. The number of women who had joined our workouts with no real intention of working out, just wanting to be near him was laughable. I didn’t understand how they could be so obsessed over a man that wasn’t and had never been theirs. My obsession with Larry was nothing like their obsession with Co.
Larry had been mine once and he would be again.
Chapter Twelve
Trallis McDaniel
When the notification from Chase Bank lit up my phone, I smirked before I even opened it.
CHASE: Your incoming wire transfer of $50,000 has been received.
Money looked good no matter whose name it was under. Mine just happened to say Ny’Airy Buckle. I opened the banking app anyway just to admire my work. Fifty thousand dollars sat in the account looking pretty as hell. A bitch had finally gotten paid for her efforts. I couldn’t wait to go shopping and buy so much shit I would lose count.
I typed in the man’s name and his contact information as he handed me his credit card to put on file. I was completing a stack of new member intake forms while checking in existing members because Shelly was running late to our grand Re-opening. A few seconds later, she came flying inside with her bag and her oversized Stanley cup underneath her arm.
“I am so sorry Trallis, there was a bad car accident on the interstate near Camp Creek Marketplace. Traffic was sitting in one place for a full hour,” she apologized as she placed her bag underneath the cabinet.
“It’s ok girl, just take care of the next customer,” I instructed as I entered in the next person’s address, date of birth, employer, and emergency contact. My mind drifted back to the fifty thousand dollars sitting comfortably in my account.
Ny’Airy probably hadn’t even looked at her credit report yet.
Poor thing.
By the time she figured out what was happening, I’d already have every dollar spent and the account would be closed. It would take her years to dispute and fight all the charges. She would have to get police reports to prove that she didn’t open the account and go through years of legal action.
“I hate being late,” Shelly whined bringing me out of my victory thoughts, as she typed her credentials in the system and began checking the customer in.
“Girl, breathe, you made it. That’s all that matters,” I assured her. The thousands of dollars sitting pretty in my account had me feeling extra nice.
“Why the hell is it so packed? Did I miss a sell on memberships? Has Brick started a new promo campaign? Did one of our videos go viral?” Shelly asked as I started on another intake form.
“I don’t know what happened, but either everybody in Atlanta suddenly decided they wanted abs or someone was recording that drama with Cozart and his wife and now all these people are here because they think this gym is going to be the workout version of Love and Hip Hop,” I shrugged.
We had been open for three days and already signed one hundred and fifty new members. It usually took a month to see this many new memberships. I slid the clipboard toward Shelly, before returning my attention to the computer. Brick & Co wasproving that bad publicity was still publicity. The phones were ringing off the hook, and I felt like I needed octopus arms to keep up with everything.
“Speaking of Love and Lifting Weights, have you seen our messy ass Peter Gunz aka Cozart Walker?” Shelly cracked, causing me to laugh loudly. She had been so spot on, because if Brick and Co were Love and Hip Hop, Cozart would definitely be Peter’s trifling tail, and I would be Amina, the dummy who loves his dirty drawers and blamed everyone but him for his behavior.
“He’s doing his fitness in the park thing this morning he should be strolling in here with no shirt and a random girl’s panties in his pocket at any moment.” I rolled my eyes and Shelly laughed.
“He’s fine as hell, but I can’t lie, I don’t understand why all of these women go so crazy over him. I mean I have worked for a few gyms, and I have seen him so many times. Nothimspecifically but so many men like him. Gym rats whose entire personality is in their biceps. I blame the women who make him feel like a GOD just because he can lift a heavy object in the air. It ain’t like the man is curing cancer,” Shelly muttered.
I nodded and smiled, like I wasn’t one of the women she was speaking of who treated Cozart like a God.
“So, what did you do over your break? I don’t think I asked you. We’ve been so nonstop busy since we came back a few days ago. Girl, I got my black blown out by some fine ass African man in Miami. He knocked my wig off and my period on,” I laughed causing Shelly to laugh heartily with me.
“Well, your break was more exciting than mine. I just went down to hot ass Texas to visit some family,” she smiled.
“I’ve been to Texas once or twice, what part did you grow up in?” I asked her realizing, I didn’t know too much aboutShelly aside from what I saw while we were working together. She was a little shy and reminded me of a pretty blonde girl in a high school movie. I would have thought she was from Boston or Arizona, I would have never pegged her for a Texas girl.
“Waco, Texas born and raised,” she said proudly, and I could hear a hint of a southern twang. Maybe she was really good at hiding it. I personally thought the southern belle accent was adorable. My phone pinged, and there was another notification from Chase Bank. I didn’t bother to check it, assuming that it was simply another alert telling me about the fifty thousand dollars in Ny’Airy’s account. Four people came through the door at once and I put on a big smile to welcome them into the gym. Brick & Co were getting their money’s worth out of me today and I probably wouldn’t even get a lunch break.
The hours crawled by until the rush finally began to die down. I knew that I wouldn’t get a break today so by seven o’clock I was exhausted, the lobby looked like it had survived a hurricane, and my feet were screaming in pain. There were half-empty water bottles thrown all over the floor, discarded guest passes were scattered everywhere, and I couldn’t remember the last time I had sat down for longer than one minute. The gym looked how we felt.
