She made a face. “I bet you used to say you loved Arizona.”
She wasn’t wrong. I did love Arizona, but coming back, it was like revisiting a weird dream. There were bits and pieces of that life, but none of it really felt quite the same as when I was in the dream. I felt out of place in Arizona. I didn’t know anyone, not anymore. The town had changed. Our old house had probably been razed to the ground and some new fancy subdivision was in its place. You could never go back.
“I did, but—” I stopped midsentence.
My eyes were drawn to the back of a woman’s head. I cocked my head to the side, staring at the dark blonde hair piled on top of her head. I couldn’t see much of her body at all. She was behind a large piece of equipment.
“Did I mention how much this job pays?” she asked.
I blinked and gave myself a mental shake. I couldn’t stare at the members. That was not going to win me any points with my potential boss or the women trying to work out. “Yes, you mentioned that in your email.”
“I know there is no way you are making that kind of money at your gym in Dallas.”
I smirked. “No, I’m not, but sometimes money isn’t everything. My gym has been good to me. They hired me when I was no one. They gave me a chance and I’ve soared because of their faith in me.”
“Great! Just think of what you can achieve here. You’ve hit your ceiling there. Here, the sky is the limit. The owners of the gym have given me free rein to do whatever it takes to get this place to the top of the food chain in the world of gyms. There are going to be bonuses for those that help me make that happen.”
I had to laugh. “You are very aggressive, you know that?”
She wasn’t the least bit offended. “I do know that and so do the owners, which is why they have put me in this position.”
“I bet you just need to put an ad in a local paper, and you will have people lining up to take a job as a personal trainer.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t want just anyone. I want guys like you that are used to busting the asses of rich people. They require a bit of a different approach than other folks. They want you to treat them like they are royalty, but they also want you to make them beautiful. That takes someone that has experience doing just that.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “You’ve been reading my Yelp reviews.”
“Damn straight I have. I’ve already spoken with a few of your clients.”
“How did you really hear about me?” I asked.
“They say it’s a small world and it is. I just sold a year-long membership to a guy who said he trained with you in Dallas. He couldn’t stop raving about you.”
“Who?”
“His name is Dale, fifty-two, runs marathons.”
I nodded, knowing exactly who she was talking about. “Dale is a good guy. When he told me he was moving to Phoenix, I told him about growing up here.”
She was smiling. “Yes, you did, which is why I thought bringing you back was a great plan.”
It was all starting to make sense now. I was wondering how she found me. Out of all the trainers in all the country, she found me. Now I realized I had Dale to thank. “Again, I really appreciate the offer, but I am just not in a position to pick up and move.”
The moment I said it, the woman with the messy bun walked past the window. I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. It was her. It was Alora.
Alora fucking Springfield.
She was staring at a weight machine with a combination of fear and confusion.
“This—” Fran started to say.
“Can I tour your gym? Not out here, but in there?” I pointed through the window at the four-thousand-square-foot area with tall windows and every high-tech exercise machine one could imagine.
“Absolutely!”
She slid a keycard through a reader and pushed open the doors. Cool air hit me. Hints of sweat and deodorant mingled in the air. Music was pumping through hidden overhead speakers. The space was enormous. My eyes scanned the area. I saw her standing next to an overhead press machine. She slowly walked around the thing before taking a seat.