Page 43 of Quake
“Let me spot you,” he said, likely thinking better than to bring up Juliette. “Don’t want too much swing back.”
I grunted and pulled on a pair of gloves I’d left behind the previous day. Kicking off my shoes, I stretched out my muscles, my back still feeling fine after the night before. It was nice to know I could have Juliette the way I wanted without having my stupid fucking injury get in the way like it did with almost everything else.
Franklin shouldered the bag, and I ran through a few sets, my fists slamming into the leather with satisfying smacks. The impact fed my frustration, and I hit harder, taking out every shred of my aggression until sweat was rolling down my back and beading across my forehead. I didn’t stop until my breath was too short to continue and Franklin was about to drop.
I nodded sharply at him before shoving my feet back into my trainers, and I strode off, making a detour past the water fountain outside the change rooms.
“I’ve never seen a guy hit a bag so hard,” I heard Mitch say as I drank my fill. “That’s the real deal.”
I was dripping with sweat and stinking up the place, but I didn’t care. I bounded upstairs and pushed into the office, my skin prickling with goose bumps as the breeze from the air conditioner hit me full in the face.
Picking up the phone on the desk, I pressed the speed dial for Pulse Fitness, knowing it would be easier to admit I’d hired a douche to Ren than to fess up to being a failure to her father, Andrew Miller, a man I looked up to as a hero.
“Pulse Fitness, Lori speaking.”
“Hey, Lori, it’s Caleb,” I said. “Is Ren around?”
“Yeah, she’s downstairs. Hold on, and I’ll grab her for you.”
There was a click as she placed me on hold, and I stood there looking out over the studio as the muted sounds of advertisements for the gym filtered down the phone. I hardly heard them as my thoughts mulled over the confrontation with Tommy, and I hoped it wouldn’t come back to bite me in the ass.
“Caleb Carmichael,” came Ren’s loud and overly enthusiastic voice. “To what do I owe the honor?”
“I fired Tommy,” I said, getting to the point as quickly as possible.
“You what?” She sighed loudly. “Well, it was coming one way or another. No surprise.”
“We had a rather public slanging match in the studio,” I went on. “He saw me with Juliette this morning and had a go before I could rein him in.”
“You were with Juliette?” she asked, bypassing the most important part of the sentence. “So you went for it?”
“Ren, Tommy and I almost came to blows over it. In front of everyone.”
“Shit, well, is he gone now?”
“Of course, he’s gone. I can handle him. Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“What happened exactly? Am I going to get a love letter from a lawyer for unfair dismissal?”
“Ren.” I pinched the bridge of my nose.
“Well, it sounds like a fun-filled experience.”
“He planned to take advantage of Juliette, and he neither confirmed nor denied, but I’m pretty sure he’s been pulling the same shit ever since he started. It was sheer fucking luck I picked up on it at all.”
“I had a feeling something wasn’t right,” she said after a moment of contemplation.
“You knew?” I asked, my temper beginning to rise again.
“I had an inkling, yeah,” she explained. “But so did you. The whole point of coaching and managing a gym like Beat is like knowing your opponent in the ring, Caleb. It’s about people and who they are and how they interact with others. It isn’t an easy gig. I learned the hard way, too.”
“It’s nothing like I thought it would be,” I confirmed, the realization I’d probably made an enemy for life with Tommy hitting home.
I’d made plenty when I was boxing, it was part of the game, but it wasn’t a long-term thing. Out in the trenches, you were only as good as your last bout, and grudges came and went with a flick of a wrist. The here and now was different. It was personal.
“I feel like a hypocrite,” I muttered, agonizing over Tommy’s accusation.
“It’s a borderline gray area,” Ren replied. “It’s the intention that separates it from being fucked up. Honestly, if it chews you up that much, stop training her as a client. It’s not a big deal. It was never part of your contract to take on private clients.”
