Page 17 of Santa Maybe
His boss gave a dismissive wave. “Don’t worry about it. You know how December is. Everyone’s busy with the holidays. As long as you pull your weight in January, we’ll be fine.”
January was always their busiest month, when they were flooded with new members intent on tackling their New Year’s resolutions.
Bones continued. “I wanted to let you know Jared’s leaving. He’s moving up to Nanaimo to be the assistant manager of a new branch of Northlife that’s opening in January.”
Jared was leaving? Drew could barely contain his glee. Right from the start, he’d never liked the guy. And when he’d discovered Jared and Evelyn were hooking up on the sly, he’d hated him even more. “Already? He’s only been here since May.”
“Apparently, he and Evelyn are looking to buy a house once they get married. Nanaimo’s a little more affordable.”
“Makes sense. I think everywhere on Vancouver Island is more affordable than Victoria.” While Drew had no desire to move, he could see the appeal. Nanaimo was a beautiful coastal city, located about an hour and a half north of Victoria. “I assume Evelyn’s leaving, too?”
“That’s the plan. Her last day is December thirtieth. I’ll be sad to lose her.”
“But not Jared, I take it?”
Bones laughed. “Do you even have to ask?”
Though he was the one who’d hired Jared to take on the role of fitness manager—a position that placed him in charge of all the personal trainers—the two of them had clashed almost immediately. Bones believed fitness was for everyone, whereas Jared only liked working with people who were already in decent shape. Due to his disdain for the gym’s elderly clientele, the Golden Oldies couldn’t stand him.
Drew felt like celebrating. Working at the gym would be infinitely more enjoyable if he didn’t have to report directly to Jared. Having Evelyn gone made the deal even sweeter.
“Thanks for letting me know. If you need me to take on any of Jared’s clients, I can start in January.”
“Actually, I was wondering if you’d consider applying for his job.”
“Me?” Even when the position had come open last spring, he hadn’t pursued it. Which had led to Bones hiring Jared, who’d subsequently upended Drew’s world.
“Why not?” Bones asked. “You’ve been with us for five years, and you’re one of the most popular trainers here. Your clients love you, there’s always a waiting list for your boot camp classes, and your reviews are consistently high.”
“Thanks.” Drew loved what he did, but a little validation never hurt. “The thing is—I don’t have any management experience, other than a few business classes.”
“There’s not much to it. You’d be supervising the other trainers, so there’d be some paperwork, but you’d still get to spend time on the floor. The job comes with a higher salary and better benefits. It wouldn’t hurt to consider your long-term goals and decide what you want for the future.”
Right now, Drew wanted to keep doing exactly what he’d done for the past five years: teach group exercise classes, train clients, and coach people on fitness and nutrition. But was he being too shortsighted? “Can I think about it?”
“Sure. Just don’t take too long. If you’re not interested, I’ll open it up to the other trainers. But you’d be my first choice.”
“I appreciate it.”
“Good. You also emailed me last week about some new boot camp ideas?”
“Yeah, I was thinking of starting one that incorporates more team challenges because the added incentive makes people try a little harder.” With Bones’ encouragement, he went on to elaborate. Fitness was an industry where you could always keep learning, so he spent a lot of his free time doing research: watching videos, reading articles, and chatting online with trainers from gyms all over Canada.
As he left the office, Bones’ offer lingered in the back of his mind. Should he be thinking about the future? By not pursuing a management role, was he coasting through life without challenging himself?
He needed to ask someone for advice. Though he had no doubt his fellow trainers would support him, they wouldn’t understand his anxiety over taking on the role. And right now, his older sister, Kate, would be busy teaching preschool.
For a second, he was tempted to call his mom. But his parents had never supported his career. He could still remember the way they’d reacted when he’d come home for the summer after his first year at the University of Victoria. With pride, he’d told them that he’d decided to gear his studies toward landing a job in the fitness industry.
His mom had regarded him with disbelief. “Are you shitting me? You’re paying good money to take gym classes?”
“That’s not all I’m doing,” he said. “I’ll be learning how the human body works. Studying subjects like anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology.”
“Then you should be getting a medical degree,” his dad said. “That way, you could make real money instead of being an underpaid gym rat.”
Never mind that a medical degree would mean more years of school and thousands more dollars. “This is what I’m passionate about,” he said. “For once, it would be nice to have your support.”
“If by support, you mean money, then you’re shit out of luck,” his dad said. “You’re paying for all of it yourself.”
