Redemption

CHAPTER 5: Friend and Work

Kylie woke up at 5:00AM. She tossed and turned all night, replaying the meeting with Paul and thinking about the favor he was asking her. Since there was no sense trying to fall back asleep, she quickly changed into workout clothes, and wandered down to the basement to their home gym set up. Matt was already up and running on the treadmill. Seeing her come in, he jumped to the sides and took out his headphones.

“You’re up earlier than usual.”

“Couldn’t sleep,” Kylie replied. She grabbed her yoga mat and laid it out to begin some stretching before starting her workout. Matt went back to running. They worked out asynchronously for the next hour, Matt jumping off the treadmill and hitting the heavy bag that hung in the corner. Kylie focused on a lower body workout. Once she finished her last set, she laid down on her yoga mat again for a cooldown and savasana. She had a busy day ahead of her and needed to get in the right mind.

Matt laid down next to her and joined her. For the next few minutes, they both just lay, inhaling and exhaling, taking large belly breaths. Finally, Kylie spoke.

“What time do you think you will be home tonight?” she asked, sitting up and taking a sip of water.

“Probably not until after 7. I have a few showings out in Lambeth and then Scott wants to meet with a few of us afterwards at Cool’s.” Kylie grimaced

.

“Cool’s? Are you guys going clubbing?” Matt laughed and shrugged.

“He’s been acting weird ever since Jan filed for divorce. It’s like he’s going through some kind of mid-life crisis, but he thinks it’ll be a good place to get back out there and meet women.”

Kylie just shook her head. Scott Steele was the principal owner of Sunset Realtors and he thought that made him something special, especially with the ladies. So, when his wife caught him in an affair with the receptionist of the brokerage, she promptly filed for divorce and left the city, taking his teenage kids and half his paycheck with her. Now, he spends most weekends at various establishments and events spreading his seed to any poor, clueless woman who will let him.

“Well after work, I am going to meet up with Allie and Nicole for drinks at Legend’s if that’s okay” Kylie said while rolling up her mat.

“Sounds good. Maybe I’ll invite some of the guys over after Cool’s for the game.” Matt replied. Kylie nodded and gathered up her water bottle and put her yoga mat back on the shelf.

“That’s a good idea, it’s been a while. And maybe we’ll come back here after. I know Nicole would love to see Ryan.” She grinned. Her friend Nicole had the biggest crush on Ryan, Matt’s bff, but Ryan had made it clear he was not interested in anything serious. Regardless, Kylie never missed an opportunity to get them together to play cupid. Matt grinned. Ryan was his best friend, had been since middle school. When they were in eleventh grade, he had gotten into a serious relationship with Courtney and fell head over heels in love with her. They dated all of eleventh and twelfth grade, but then Coutney went away for her first year of university where she ended up sleeping with some guy at a frat party.

Ryan was devastated and broke off their relationship. Since then, he has avoided any serious relationships, preferring to keep things casual, and mostly physical. Even though they had both known Nicole all through high school, they didn’t start spending time with her until Ryan and Kylie started dating. Nicole was beautiful, sweet, and thoughtful, the exact opposite of what Coutney and Matt thought would have been perfect for Ryan. So anytime Kylie tried to play matchmaker, he was more than happy to assist.

“I am sure Ryan would not hate that idea,” he chuckled. He secretly thought Ryan liked Nicole anyway, but was always too stubborn to do anything about it out of fear.

As they turned out the lights and headed up the stairs, Kylie’s phone dinged, indicating an incoming text. Looking down, she rolled her eyes and grumbled.

“For f*ck sakes. Kelsey is calling in sick, AGAIN!”

“Does this mean you need to head in?” Matt questioned.

“I will go in to get everything up and running for the day, but Michelle can handle the desk today. I am not rescheduling any of my clients.”

Kylie quickly showered, pulled on new workout gear and a sweater over a t-shirt. She also quickly packed up some evening clothes for after work and headed out the door, hopped in her Jeep and headed to work.

Michelle was already getting out of her vehicle when Kylie pulled into the parking lot of the gym. She looked just as annoyed as Kylie.

“Third time this week she has done this shit.” Kylie said.

“I know. We’re going to have to talk to her.” Michelle replied, clearly frustrated.

“Just fire her. She clearly doesn’t give a s**t about this job or her co-workers.” Kylie scathed. Michelle sighed.

“I can’t just fire her; I have to follow the whole disciplinary procedure since she’s been here for over 3 months. Corporate would have a fit.” Kylie rolled her eyes. This was exactly why she was working on opening her own studio gym. She loved working here and her co-workers were some of the bests, but she couldn’t stand all the red tape and answering a higher up.

“Anyways, I will work the desk today, you have a full roster of clients coming in and I know you already had to re-arrange your schedule yesterday” Michelle told her.

“Thanks Michelle, I appreciate it.” Kylie gave her a grateful smile. She helped Michelle do the opening of the facility and then prepared for her first client.

The day passed quickly. She was just wrapping up with her last client when her phone dinged with a text message. Glancing down, she saw it was from a number she didn’t recognize. Looking at the message, she frowned.

Hi Kylie. It’s Paul – I got your number from the gym website where you work. Just wanted to let you know are meeting with the judge on Monday morning. If you change your mind, the address is 267 Elm St. Hope you come. – Paul

Kylie rolled her eyes, and put her attention back on her client, coaching her through her last set of squats. It was Friday. That meant she only had the weekend to think about what she wanted to do.

After her client left, Kylie slipped into the changing room and changed into the clothes she packed. A pair of short white shorts, and a black blouse and black ballet flats. She brushed out her long blonde hair and touched up her mascara. She looked good. At 5’4, she wasn’t very tall, but she was athletic and took good care of herself. She took up running not long after she had been kicked out. There was something about running that helped clear her mind and relieve stress. In her last year of high school, she joined the cross-country teams and went all the way to provincials. It was then that she decided she wanted to pursue a career in fitness and health. After graduating she obtained her personal training certificate and shortly after, completed her Yoga Teacher Training. She loved helping people achieve physical goals, as well as teaching people how being active helps with mental health. Once her online platform was up and running, she had plans to expand into nutrition and wellness, as well as open her own physical studio. It was all coming together.

Giving herself one last look in the mirror, she headed out to meet Allie and Nicole.