Fit for the Job (7 page)

“Sassy, stop,” Bodie said.

“Fuck you, Bodie, I want to go rollerblading! I want to go up to the bike path!”

Bodie stepped toward her. “You know you can’t and you know why.” He stopped, hands going to his temples. He ran fingers through his pale brown hair, closing his eyes. When he opened them, he looked at Jay. “Sassy is grounded this summer. She can’t leave the property.”

“I can!” Sassy shouted. “Dad hired him to exercise me so he has to let the trainer do what he wants!”

“It doesn’t work that way and you know it,” Bodie said. “So just pick an activity you can do here.”

“I
hate
you!” With that, Sassy launched herself at Bodie.

Jay stood, stunned as the girl turned feral before his eyes, screeching as she grabbed a handful of Bodie’s hair, beating her other fist against his chest. “I hate you, fucker! Let me out of here! You fucker! Let me
out
of here!”

Jay didn’t know what to do, frozen in place, his mouth hanging open.

Bodie swiftly and gently lifted Sassy off her feet, prying her fingers from his hair. He turned her around, embracing her in a bear hug that pinned her arms as she continued to shriek and kick. “Jay, wait in the hallway,” Bodie said.

Jay couldn’t move.

Bodie’s eyes were on fire as he turned to look at him, still struggling with the hysterical girl. “I said wait outside!”

“Aaaaaagh!” Sassy screamed and tried to bite at Bodie’s forearms.

Jay hurried out of the room and closed the door, leaning against it, his heart pounding. “Bloody hell,” he whispered.

He heard more shrieks behind the door, then the sound of Sassy sobbing, backed by the soothing tones of Bodie’s voice.

Jay moved a bit farther down the hall and leaned against the wall.
What...the fuck?

He waited there for a long time, before finally Bodie came out of Sassy’s room, closing the door behind him. He glanced down the hall at Jay, then paused, taking a deep breath and letting it out.

Moving down the corridor, Bodie stopped before Jay, his lips pursed tightly together. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“Um, Bodie? We need to talk.”

Bodie nodded, running fingers across his scalp. “I know. Follow me.”

Chapter Three

Bodie closed the doors to Eben’s office, then gingerly stepped around Jay to reach the bar. He poured them both a glass of ice water. When he turned back, Jay still hadn’t sat down. He paced back and forth beside the furniture, blond hair askew in the front from rubbing his hand across his forehead.

“Here.” Bodie handed him the water.

Jay took it, but remained standing, his handsome face set in a scowl. Bodie moved to a chair and sat, hoping it would encourage Jay to do the same, but the man remained standing. Despite his obvious discomfort at the moment, the trainer looked delicious in his jeans and green tee shirt, far sexier than he had the day before; Bodie could no longer deny his weird attraction to the guy. But he had far greater problems than that at the moment. Eben had given Bodie one task—not to let the trainer quit. And he’d already blown it, before Jay even signed the contract.

“Why is she grounded?” Jay asked. “And why didn’t Eben mention that when he interviewed me? And
why
is she not fat?”

The last question gave Bodie pause. “Fat? Why did you think she’d be fat?”

Jay finally wandered over and took the chair across from Bodie. He set his water down, untouched. “Eben told me that Sassy had gained weight, and she’d taken to hiding out in her room because of it.”

Bodie shrugged. “No idea. Girls that age always think they’re fat when they’re not. Maybe she said something to Eben about it.”

“No.” Jay pointed an accusatory finger at Bodie. “No. Eben didn’t say
she
thought she’d gained weight. He said she
had
gained weight.”

“I don’t know, Jay. But listen. I think Sassy liked you. You were great with her. If you take the job, I’m sure she’ll come around and work with you.”

Jay blinked, then shook his head. “Are you insane? You heard her. She won’t go to the gym. She hates everything. And what exactly happened in there? I know teenagers can be volatile but...Sassy doesn’t need a fitness instructor, she needs a shot of Thorazine.”

“It’s not as bad as it looked,” Bodie said.

“She tried to bite you!”

Bodie winced. “It’s complicated.”

“How complicated?”

“Very,” Bodie said. “Very complicated.”

Jay scowled at him. “I’m gonna need more than that. It’s time to use your words, Bodie. Because as of right now, I have no intention of taking this job. I thought I was going to be working with a
willing
client.”

Bodie straightened up. “Please. Give it a chance. I know how this sounds, but you’re kind of all she’s got at the moment.”

Jay shook his head. “I don’t understand. Why can’t she leave the property?”

“She’s grounded.”

“For how long?”

Bodie blinked slowly. “Until further notice.”

Jay’s scowl deepened. “What did she get grounded for? What did she do that’s so bad she can’t leave the property, even with an escort? Even with a
security guard
?”

Bodie hesitated. He knew Jay was asking all the right questions, things any normal person would want to know. But it was a gamble. Being straight with him about Sassy and Eben’s feud might make things clearer. But it would also let Jay know just how screwed up a situation he was walking into. “I’m sorry, Jay, I can’t really discuss the details of her punishment. That’s a personal matter between Eben and his daughter.”

“And this punishment will continue for how long?”

“Possibly the duration of the summer,” Bodie said. “Though I truly hope that’s not the case.”

Jay stood. He lifted his arms, then dropped them at his sides, letting out an exasperated sigh. “Well, then I’m at a loss. If she won’t go to the gym, won’t do any activities on the property, and I can’t take her anywhere else, then there’s not a thing I can do for her. It was nice meeting you, Bodie. Please tell Eben thank you, but I’m declining his job offer. I can’t work like this, no matter how much money he’s paying me.”

Shit
.

Jay turned and started for the door.

Bodie clenched his teeth.
Damn it
. “Wait.”

Jay paused and turned back.

“Please.” Bodie gestured toward the empty chair Jay had vacated. “Just sit for a minute.”

Jay hesitated a moment, then slowly made his way back, skeptical gaze on Bodie as he sat down.

“There’s a good reason Eben’s keeping Sassy grounded, he’s not just being a mean dad.”

“Okay.”

“You haven’t signed anything yet, but what I’m about to tell you is confidential, and I’ll expect you to take that seriously.” Bodie gave his best hard, intimidating look. It seemed to have the desired effect, as Jay suddenly shrunk back in his chair, looking uneasy.

“I won’t say a word, Bodie. That’s not why I’m here. I have no interest in spreading gossip about Eben or his family. You can track me down and beat my ass if I do.”

Without thinking, Bodie raised an eyebrow and grinned, losing his concentration for a moment when Jay mentioned
beating his ass
.

Jay’s fair cheeks flushed, and he looked down, wringing his hands. “You know what I mean. What you say in this room will stay with me alone.”

Bodie forced himself to regain his composure and push all images of Jay’s perky ass out of his mind.

“Okay, here’s the deal. Eben is my cousin,” Bodie said. “He hired me at the beginning of March, just after Sassy’s winter break from school.”

Jay looked up quickly. “You’re Eben’s cousin?”

He nodded.

“Oh.” Jay’s eyes studied Bodie with interest now. “Guess that explains your looks. Good gene pool.”

Now Bodie felt his own cheeks heat. “I’m pretty sure Eben got all the good looks genes.”

Jay grinned and shook his head. “No, he didn’t get all of them.”

Bodie held his eyes for a moment, then looked away. Were they flirting now? When Bodie was supposed to be having a deadly serious conversation with the guy? It appeared so. And Bodie wasn’t just allowing it. He was kind of enjoying it.

“Anyway,” Bodie said, making his tone serious again. “I started working for Eben in early March. He’d pulled Sassy out of school. She didn’t go back after her winter break. She’s been with him ever since.”

Jay frowned. “Why?”

“Something...
occurred
while she was home on break. Eben told me she filmed him in a state of drunkenness. Secretly. He wasn’t aware. She showed him the damaging material, and said if he didn’t pay out her trust fund and voluntarily give up all parental rights, letting her go off on her own to do as she pleased, she would release the video and let it go viral. She had another copy stored somewhere, she said.”

Jay raised his eyebrows. “
Oh
.” He frowned at the floor for a long moment, then looked up at Bodie. “She’s blackmailing her own father?”

Bodie nodded. “That’s the long and short of it, yes.”

“Oh. Wow. Um...how damaging are we talking here? Like, David Hasselhoff inhaling a cheeseburger bad, or...something worse?”

“Eben didn’t share the particulars with me.”

“But he said no, of course,” Jay said. “Right? I mean, he didn’t agree.”

“Obviously,” Bodie said. “But Sassy refused to let up. Eben confiscated her computer and her phone. He tried to be stern with her. He tried to reason with her. But she wouldn’t yield. Initially, Eben figured she’d get over it eventually and move on. But when he took her out to dinner one night, she tried to run off, and was damn near successful. Eben caught up to her entering an Internet café. She told him that since he wouldn’t agree to her terms, she was going to find the first computer she could get her hands on and let the video fly.”

“Oh. Shit.”

Bodie nodded. “So that’s when he revoked all her privileges. And hired security to watch her around the clock. It’s been a challenge, as you can imagine. Especially since we got to Rhode Island. There’s a skeleton crew here, far fewer staff than Eben usually hires, because he’s limiting access to people he feels he can trust with the Sassy problem. And that’s not many.”

Jay stared at him, tapping his index finger on his chin. “What about her mother? Can’t she help somehow?”

“Back when it happened, Ingrid flew in to California from a film she was working on abroad to talk to Sassy, but whatever talk they had only made things worse. I don’t know what they discussed, but since Ingrid’s visit, Sassy’s gotten gradually more volatile. She still refuses to let up on her quest to be free of her parents. Eben’s been at his wit’s end. But ultimately he had to get back to work. And so we came out here so he could work on this new film, with Sassy in tow. She spends her days watching violent films or fighting with Eben when he tries to talk to her.” Bodie shrugged. “And so hiring you is Eben’s latest attempt to at least give Sassy something productive to do until she gives in and let’s this go. Or until Eben can figure out another solution.”

Jay scowled. “What do you mean by I’m the
latest
attempt There were others?”

Bodie chuckled softly. “Eben’s been very...
creative
in his vigilance to get through to his daughter. When it became clear he wouldn’t make any headway himself, he thought maybe an outside influence might have more sway. There were a few characters he called in to try and break through Sassy’s ice. But none of them were even remotely successful. At
all
. Let’s just say a ‘spiritual advisor’ left the house nearly in tears. A grown man in his sixties.”

Jay huffed. “Then why the hell doesn’t Eben just hire a therapist, a professional? They’d be more apt to be able to help her than a spiritual advisor.”

“Eben doesn’t seem to trust therapists, doctor/patient confidentiality or not. He’s not ready to have someone dragging all their personal problems out of Sassy. He claims this is for her protection, but you know. It’s complicated.”

Jay shook his head. “I don’t know how I feel about this. How do you feel about it?”

Bodie shrugged. “How I feel about it is irrelevant. Eben hired me to do a job, so I’m trying to do that job to the best of my ability.”

Jay stared back at him, his wide blue eyes swimming with indecision. “I wasn’t prepared to work with an emotionally volatile teen. I worry about doing more damage somehow. This is not my forte, Bodie.”

“I wasn’t kidding when I said I think she liked you,” Bodie said. “I’m not saying this only because my boss will be unhappy if you quit. I firmly believe that you, and the focus on fitness, could be just the distraction she needs.”

“Distraction, huh?” Jay frowned. “So the kid’s right. I am a pony.”

“You’re not a pony,” Bodie said. “But you are the first person I’ve seen make her smile in nine weeks.”

Jay groaned, rubbing his temples. “Look, Bodie. I have a degree in exercise physiology, not child psychology. I feel bad for the kid, and for Eben, but I am out of my league here.”

“Can’t you just give it a try?” Bodie asked. “Just give it a couple weeks. You can always leave if it doesn’t get any better.”

Jay groaned again, running fingers through his blond hair. “I don’t know, man. This is all so...
Flowers in the Attic
.”

Bodie laughed. “Come on, it’s not quite
that
bad. Sassy stays in her room by choice, but she’s got the run of the house if she wants it, and the acres of land out back. This isn’t exactly a prison. I sure as shit didn’t have an indoor pool, tennis courts, and a full gym when
I
got grounded as a kid.”

Jay shook his head. “What if she flips out on me? Attacks me, like she just did to you? I’m not going to put my hands on a client. Especially a fifteen-year-old one. This isn’t just gray area, it’s fucking murky.”

“I’ll be there in case anything like that happens,” Bodie said. “I’ll be with you the entire time.”

Jay looked up. As their eyes met, Bodie felt that attraction pass through him again, that unspoken
thing
that was there whether he chose to acknowledge it or not.