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"You don't want to disappoint all those kids, do you?" Ice asked. There was nothing like a bit of emotional blackmail on a Tuesday afternoon.
"Of course not, but I…" I didn't know what else to say. No one had ever done anything like this for me before.
"There is one thing," Mannix said. He strode over to the office, wrenched the door open and said, "You're fired. Get the fuck out."
Charlie turned and stared at him, wide eyed.
"Wait, no," I said quickly. "He's a good coach. The kids love him."
When Mannix turned to argue with me I said, "If this is all really mine, you'll let me hire whoever I want to hire." Nothing was ever that simple when Mannix was involved, but I couldn't let him fire Charlie because he had a problem with him. For one thing, there were laws against it. This whole enterprise wouldn't start very well if I got sued straight off.
"He might not want to stay." Mannix looked at Charlie as if daring him to contradict him.
Charlie looked at me and sat up a bit straighter. "I do want to stay. I have to eat." He looked like he was trying not to wet himself. Still, he managed to stand up to Mannix. That wasn't easy for anyone to do. He must be tougher than he looked. Or desperate.
What did I really know about him anyway? Not much. Trying to engage him in conversation was difficult. After our first meeting, he closed himself off from me.
"Then you can stay." I gave Mannix a challenging look of my own. He couldn't say I owned all of this, and then immediately override me. Well, he could, but if I let him walk all over me now, he always would. The last thing I wanted to do was throw someone out if their financial situation was so tenuous. I'd have to find time to sit down with Charlie and see if he'd open up.
"For now," Mannix said. Apparently that was all the concession he was willing to give. "But if he steps a foot out of line…" He shot Charlie a warning look.
"He won't," I said firmly. "I wouldn't be able to do any of this without him. He knows the gym a lot better than I do."
Charlie looked grateful, but at the same time very much like he wished he was anywhere but here. Or in anyone's company but Mannix.
"He looks harmless to me." Ice looked him up and down like he was assessing a piece of meat and deciding on the best way to cook him.
"I am harmless." Charlie's voice squeaked when he spoke, and his throat bobbed. "Kennedy is right, I know this gym better than anyone, including Nicola and her. I can help."
"Then it's decided. We can keep the roster as it is for now. I don't see any point changing anything, except to upgrade the computer system. I'll make that as easy a transition as I can." There was nothing worse than workplaces changing systems in such a way that staff didn't know what the fuck was going on and how to use it.
"We'll work out the security," Mannix said. "Cameras out the front, for a start. State-of-the-art alarm system."
"This is a gym, not a bank," I pointed out.
"You're more precious than all the money in any bank," he said. "Any time you're here, I want you to be safe."
I could tell he wasn't going to back down on this, so I threw my hands up to either side and dropped them. "Fine, whatever you think we need. Just don't go spending too much money. Please."
"We make no promises," Ice said.
"None at all," Mannix agreed. "If we want to buy you things, then we're going to buy you things. What's money for if I can't use it to buy things for my princess?"
I gave Charlie a tentative smile and followed Mannix out the office door.
"What he said." Ice jerked a thumb in Mannix's direction. "Princess Beautiful deserves all the good things. If we can give it, then we will." He slipped an arm around me. "It doesn't really bother you, does it?"
"It does a bit," I admitted. "Ares said—"
"Don't worry about what Ares says. His bark is worse than his bite. Unfortunately, because a good bite is…" Ice shook his head. "It doesn't matter. The point is, we want you to have these things. And the town needs a really good gym. The other one is all the way on the other side of the city."
"And in Leo's basement," I pointed out. "He has everything you need right there."
"Everything we need," Ice agreed, "but what about the rest of Dusk Bay? We saw a hole in the market and decided to fill it. Actually, it was Mannix who saw it and made that decision."
"It's good business," Mannix said. "Wherever there's something lacking, there's a chance to make money by supplying it. In this case, making you some money. We'll help you with whatever you need, but this is your baby."
I was sure both of them, and Ares, would have a lot to say about the new gym and the old one. Mannix, in particular, liked to control everything way too much to step back from this.
