PROLOGUE
SHAE
Two Weeks Earlier
“Hey, Shae, how’s your day going?” Lyric walks in through the studio doors, a smile on her face and a pep in her step. She’s here three times a week and part of the reason I’ve seen an influx of new clients. Between her and the girls, Lennie, Kenny, Winnie, and Maci, word of mouth has gotten around Oak County, the neighboring towns around Oak View, where my studio is situated.
When I opened up LITHE a year ago, I barely had two nickels to rub together, especially after installing the mirrors, floors, and speakers throughout the once art gallery. It truly helped when I looked at the space with the realtor that the plan was completely open. My parents being the most supportive helped in the way of elbow grease. They couldn’t help me financially, yet they pulled their weight inwhat I needed most. Dad built the walls for three separate rooms for different classes to be held, saving me a butt load of cash. He also did similar for the reception area, where I’m standing now. The reception desk and area were also built by him.
“Hi, Lyric, not too bad. What about yours?” I don’t tell her that I’m waffling between closing the studio down for the afternoon and having to refund or credit the next classes for the day. One of my instructors turned in her notice this morning and didn’t feel the need to give me her two weeks, either. Needless to say, I truly hope she won’t be using my name as a reference or that her next place of employment chooses not to call me.
“Oh, you know, same old, same old.” She shrugs her shoulders. I notice the iced coffee with the Oak & Brew emblazoned in a clear plastic cup with olive green print and their signature logo in the form of a coffee cup on the side.
“Anything new on the menu this week?” I ask. Oak & Brew is known for more than just coffee—they also have baked goods, breakfast sandwiches, and teas.
“Yes, it’s all things cinnamon this week. Cinnamon swirl latte, cinnamon coffee cake, cinnamon tea, and endless others. The girls and I have stopped by almost every day so far. I swear they put crack in their drinks, because I am officially addicted.” Lyric takes the last sip of her drink; the slurping tells me more than she ever needed to.
“Crack in the form of caffeine. You are not wrong.” Tomorrow morning, I’ll be waking up earlier than usual to get a fix of my own.
“Nope. Where are the others?” Lyric asks.
“Well, my sister is on vacation with her girlfriends. They take an annual trip, and this is their week.” They’re younger than I am by about six years or so; my sister, Coralynn, is what my older brother, Zane, likes to call the oops baby. Whereas we’re two years apart, he and our baby sister are eight years apart. At least she doesn’t get the never-ending older brother tales that she’s adopted or is the milkman’s baby. I swear he’s a pain in the ass, yet I still love him even with his dumb jokes. “As for Blair, she quit this morning.”
Lyric’s mouth opens and closes. That’s about the size of it. I’d felt like a fish out of water as well. Trying to come up with a new instructor on the fly isn’t as easy as you’d think. Which means I’ll be working all of the classes and somehow finagling changing the schedule if I can.
“Are you looking for someone to replace her?” Lyric recovers, a thoughtful expression on her face.
“I would like to, but with the short notice she gave me and Coralynn being out of town, it’s going to be hard.” Coralynn helps out with the dance classes, contemporary and ballet. I know she’d help if she weren’t boozing and sunning it up with her girl gang.
“Damn.” I nod, agreeing with her just as the phone on the desk rings.
“Hi, thank you for calling LITHE. This is Shae, how can I help you?” Lyric stays where she is, leaning on the counter while pulling out her phone to text someone. I think it’s safe to assume she’s texting either Jagger, her man, or the girls in her group. Winnie brings her son, Sebastian, in, and she’s probably letting her know the toddler classes might be canceled for the time being.
“This is C & G Women’s Health. I’m calling to confirm your appointment for tomorrow at one o’clock.” I close my eyes and mouth the wordshit.I’ve completely forgotten about my appointment with everything going on today.
“Is it possible to reschedule? Something came up unexpectedly.” Lyric raises her arms, waving them in a way to grab my attention. “Can you hold on for just a moment, please?” I ask the receptionist.
“Sure thing, but if we get disconnected, you’ll have to call back,” she replies, making sense. Time is money, and money is time.
“No problem.” I cover the mouth piece.
“Is everything okay?” I question, feeling the lines in my forehead furrow.
“Yes, I’ll do the class tomorrow. I’m not working at the vet clinic. You’re in a pinch, and I’m available. Use me, and if you can’t find anyone to pick up Blair’s shifts, I’m sure I can. Please, allow me to do this. I’m so bored that I’ve been tempted to ask Jagger for a job.” Her hands come up in a praying manner, and as much as I’d like to say no, I can’t; not only because she’s Lyric Skye, almost Steele, but she’s also genuinely sweet.
“Are you sure? I mean, this is a big favor, and of course, I’ll pay you.” There’s a reason I’m hoping Lyric will pull through. I’ve had my period for longer than normal, above normal, really. It started happening a couple of months ago. The normal three-to-five-day menstrual cycle went to two weeks. I let it roll off my back, figuring stress could have caused it. When it ended, I put the notes in my period tracker app and went aboutmy day. Then the damn thing came back a week later. I called the gynecologist immediately, and with the clashing of schedules, this has been the first available appointment.
“Yes, now, tell the nice lady on the phone that you’ll be there tomorrow.” I do as Lyric says, breathing a sigh of relief when it’s all said and done.
“Hi, sorry about the wait.” I wait for her to respond.
“No problem. Do we need to reschedule your appointment,” she questions.
“Nope, I’ll be there.” We say our goodbyes and hang up, then I immediately return my attention to Lyric. “Thank you. Are you looking for a job?” She laughs. I’m not sure what she’s thinking, because I’m being one hundred percent serious.
“Kind of. Maybe. But”—she puts her finger up in the air—“I don’t want full-time. I especially don’t want later in the evening or weekends. God, I sound like a brat.” This time, it’s me who laughs.
“Well, we can see how you like tomorrow and go from there. The mommy and me classes are during the day, so you wouldn’t work late evenings, plus we don’t have them on weekends, either.” Lyric probably knows the schedule backward and forward; she’s been here enough times with Winnie and Sebastian. Especially when we run our summer program and all the moms are looking to get the littles out of the heat while still burning off their energy.
