Page 68 of You'll Never Know
Then come join us for Christian Business Fellowship!
Every Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Garden Room.
Reed hadn’t planned on seeing Lacey there, he was simply looking for an easy mark. But there she was, planted in the middle of the second row, dressed in jeans and a sweater, looking hot as fuck. He sat two chairs down and pretended to listen as a guy wearing a twenty-year-old sport coat dropped a bunch of Christian catchphrases about perseverance and integrity and how you needed to let go and let God. It made sense to Reed because God’s power was exactly what it wouldtake for a guy like this to ever make a dime on his own.
“Don’t you work out at The Spot?”
It had taken Reed a second to realize Lacey was talking to him. He’d nearly fallen asleep in his chair.
“Yeah,” he’d replied, rubbing his eyes. “Do you?” He’d said it like he didn’t know, like he hadn’t had to tear his gaze from her at least a dozen times.
The corners of her lips had kicked up into a pair of dimples. “No, I’m just stalking you.”
“Do I need to call the cops?”
“Probably. But you’ll need my name for the restraining order. I’m Lacey.”
Reed had laughed at that. Couldn’t help it. “Luke. So, what brings you here?”
She wanted to start a yoga studio, but the property prices in LA were outrageous. She had family in Ohio and had moved here after graduating from UCLA to save up. Reed told her he’d done the same, though he’d migrated from the East Coast. And then he’d surprised himself and asked her out. One second, they were there talking and the next—bam!—he knew exactly how to play her. That’s how fast his plan hit.
They’d dated for two months before he set it in motion, Reed listening as Lacey droned on about all things Lacey most of the time: Her devotion to eating vegan. Her exercise regimen. How she micro-bladed her eyebrows and preferred vintage handbags to modern. Her faith. Dear god, her faith. The church food drives she organized but never volunteered for. The Bible studies she dragged him to, which were nothing more than thinly veiled social clubs full of women who gossiped about the people who weren’t there and talked about problems that weren’t really problems: Sick pets. Kids who didn’t get into the local charter school. Bullshit campaigns to modernize the already modern church.
It drove him crazy. But he’d endured it … he’d played along for Lacey’s sake. Their shared Christian morals were what they’d bonded over in the first place, after all. They were both in search of something higher than what the world had to offer. And they both steered clear of temptation—which was code for no sex. Reed hated it, hated how Lacey was forever toying with him, teasing him, edging closer but pulling back at the last second with her lips brushing against his ear.I just want it to be special, you know?
Reed did know. He’d told her he felt the same way. Of course, he did. He was different than the other guys at the gym constantly trying to get into her pants. Unlike them, he wasn’t chasing her body; he was pursuing her heart. He wanted to know her. Therealher. Sex could wait. And then, when he was certain she believed that, Reed had baited the hook and dropped the line.
“I need to tell you something.”
They’d been sitting at a Mad Greens, eating salads for the thousandth time, and she’d given him anoh-here-it-comes-I-knew-this-was-too-good-to-be-trueexpression, her lips curling down as she asked, “Should I be worried?”
He’d played into the question, hesitated for effect—like what he had to say next would change her life. “No, it’s a good thing, actually. Remember how I told you I work in accounting?”
“Yes—for the health club chain.”
“Well, I do a little more than that. I’m not really supposed to share this, but the reason I’m in Ohio is because Soul Fitness is looking to expand. I’m here conducting a market study for the company.”
“Why is that a secret?”
“The competition. We don’t want word getting out. We want to be the first to market.”
“Oh,” she’d said with a shrug before going back to her salad, her interest already waning, exactly like it had any time he’d mentioned anything about his “job” in the past. He’d dropped hints along the way,telling Lacey how Soul Fitness was a faith-based franchise focused on expanding across the country with the purpose of providing exercise locations where believers could gather and workout together. He’d said Soul Fitness was committed to building fitness centers where followers could worship through the beauty of exercise and movement together, and how beautiful was that?
In case Lacey bothered to verify his story, Reed had created a sleek website that would back him up. He’d even filed all of the appropriate business paperwork and backdated it five years to make it look like the chain had been around for a while. But despite this, Lacey had only asked about his job once. Reed had been surprised she’d even remembered what he did when he mentioned it now.
“Well, that’s exciting,” she said in between bites.
“It is. But the real reason I’m bringing it up is … well, I’m wondering if you’d be interested in running a location?”
Her eyes returned to his and widened. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. I think you’d be a perfect fit.”
Reed watched Lacey bustle around the room, looking like a kid on Christmas, her face so bright it seemed to glow. “This is incredible.”
“I’m glad you like it,” Reed said.
“Like it? Are you kidding? I love it.” She neared the squat rack and cocked her head. “This looks a little old though, doesn’t it?”
