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Chapter Fifteen
Sophie
Being back behind my desk in my professional attire and gym environment, I brushed off Cole and focused myself on purchasing an additional staffing company in New York. Unfortunately, Drake had not been himself that morning, coming in early with Miles from their meeting in Florida.
“I’m not sure why we can’t get a conference call set up with this owner? They are literally in bankruptcy.” Drake looked distracted, texting vigorously on his phone and I tried getting his attention, “Drake, are you even listening to me?” He looked up, realizing I was talking to him and I declared, “we need to talk.” Level setting with an employee, let alone someone I cared deeply about, was the worst part of my job.
I strode over to the long conference table in my office and waved for him to sit next to me. He unbuttoned his jacket and took a seat. I exhaled, “Drake, the past week, you have been distracted, not managing my calendar and randomly disappearing.” I paused to wait for his response, but he didn’t give me one. “Is everything okay?”
Instead, he looked at me like he was about to break my heart. “Sophie, we have worked together for a long time. But, unfortunately, I’m in a complicated position, and I can’t tell you about it.”
“Do you need to take some time off?”
His eyes studied his knuckles, avoiding contact with mine. “I’m submitting my resignation today.” His words didn’t process in my mind in that moment. I felt upset, even betrayed. I wandered towards the windows staring outside.
He sighed, “you have been nothing but generous to Paul and me, but unfortunately, I conflict with interest.”
My voice went restless, “a conflict of interest with who?”
Since he didn’t answer my question, I hesitated to bring up his personnel life. Knowing how close I was to Paul, he never wanted me to be involved when that went south.
“Drake, who do you have a conflict of interest with?”
He paused before looking away and finally mumbling, “It’s Miles, something is off about him, and I don’t feel comfortable assisting something that might turn bad.”
Keeping things professional, I turned to face him. “I’m not going to allow it, you’re in a three-year contract, and I don’t think you or Paul can afford to get out of it.”
Drake’s face went pale portraying the shock he felt. Beating him out the door, I left him sitting in my office and marched over to Miles. Missing his touch and logical mind, I needed to see him. Reaching down for the door, I found it locked. What the…? Before knocking, I found the secretary who used to sit in between our offices. “I need you to put in a maintenance changing his locks to match mine.”
As soon as she heard my words, she slammed the book she was reading shut closed. Her face lost its color and she scrambled to grab her paper and pen to write down my instructions. Making my way around to the stairs in gym area, I noticed something had been changed in our employees. The music was louder, and moving outside the front doors when I saw my staff had shifted from a good mixture of males and females to just young, pretty females.
Tibby showed up at the front door, and I noticed Paul already in the SUV. Before turning out the door, I approached a young blonde girl working at the counter. She greeted in her trained voice and fake smile, “Hello, welcome to Forever Fitness.”
Smiling back at her, I was already aware she had no clue who I was, and I asked a simple question, “What’s this company’s Master Fitness internship?”
She went dumb at my question before she replied, “Sorry, but we don’t provide internships.” Her face filled with both unapologetically and utter confusion.
“That’s what I thought.” I turned to go back upstairs when Drake grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the SUV. “Drake, get your hands off me.”
He leaned in, “I need to speak with you now.”
Glancing at Tibby and Paul already sitting inside the car, I didn’t hesitate and made my way out of the front doors. Drake climbed into the seats facing Paul as Tibby closed the door.
“What the hell is going on?” My tone was fierce, and I was baffled. Tibby started the car and we started to move forward, and Paul handed me that day’s newspaper.
‘CEO for Forever Fitness is trying to ensure the company doesn’t file for Bankruptcy.’
Miles’s face was on the front page standing in front of the board.
“This is not true. We are in the best financial state we have been from when the company stated…” My sudden outburst of the defense proved my love for the company. Looking towards Drake I demanded, “start talking.”
“That’s what I wanted to tell you this morning but couldn’t. Miles is trying to get you fired.”
Letting the news settle in my brain, I turned to look at Paul. “No, Miles took this job because he was attracted to me and wanted to help my business.”
Paul glanced back at me with that ‘you-can’t-be-serious’ look on his face.
Drake continued, “he has already convinced several members.”
