Page 22 of Training Maisy

Chapter 14

Maisy tried Brittany’s number again for the millionth time after she returned from the restaurant with Chloe, eager to share the news of her new job. And again, like all the previous times, it rang and rang till it went to voicemail. Maisy knew Brittany was probably busy, away from her phone, but she really wanted to share her news with someone. She was about to give up and go to bed when she heard her phone ring, thinking it was Brittany calling back after seeing her missed call. She pounced on her phone. “Hey, why weren’t answering your phone?”

There was a small pause, then a voice she was all-too-well acquainted with said, “I normally would if it asked me a question. Evening, Maisy, this is Carter. I was calling to tell you that I need to go somewhere tomorrow morning. So, can we move our session to evening? Or, better yet, you can come to the gym in the morning and work on your own, then we could still meet up in the evening.”

Maisy’s cheeks flamed in embarrassment. “Sorry about that. And no problem. Guess I’ll be seeing you in the evening.”

“All right then, and maybe next time you could check who’s calling before picking up the phone. You never know who you might be telling where you hide your gold stash.” He sounded playful, but his voice held a thread of seriousness in it, and it made Maisy wonder if he was trying to be protective of her.

“I usually do, but I needed to talk to a friend of mine, and I’ve been calling her since morning, and she isn’t picking up. Then when the phone rang, I naturally assumed she was calling me back, so I answered without looking at my phone.”

“Oh,” Carter said, and Maisy realized she may have spoken too much. When Carter still didn’t say anything, she got nervous and continued.

“You see, the thing is, I got a job today, sort of. I mean, I’m still meeting tomorrow to talk things out with the head chef, but he already said I had the job.”

“That’s great; didn’t even know you were looking for one. So where is this place?” Carter seemed excited at her news, and Maisy felt a little more comfortable talking to him about it.

“It’s at this restaurant Chloe took me to, Ralph’s. It’s just about five blocks from here. Wait, you’ve lived here long enough, I’m sure you know where I’m talking about.”

“Yes, Maisy, I know the place. Even worked there for a while after I came back.” A short pause, then, “So, you work there now. Well, I know Ralph only hires the best, so I’m thinking I’ll be stopping by to see how good you are in the kitchen.”

Maisy smiled a little at that then, feeling a little bit naughty, said, “If you wanted to know how good I was in the kitchen, all you needed to do was ask, and I would have shown you. Then you can thank me by showing me how good you are in bed. Oh wait, I already know that.”

“You may think you do, but trust me, Maisy, you have no idea,” Carter replied in a voice dripping with sex and a not-so-subtle hint of forbidden pleasures. Maisy’s body went hot all over, and she had to force herself to keep her mind on what they were talking about.

“Now you’re just teasing me,” she managed to say in a voice low with arousal.

“Maybe I was; but, really, congratulations on your new job.”

“Thanks. I’m a little bit scared, though.” Maisy finally admitted the reason she was so frantic to get across to Brittany. Why was she talking to Carter about it when they never really got personal with each other?

“Scared of what?” Carter sounded confused and concerned all at once.

“I work as a pastry chef. I literally work with the very thing that could ruin all the hard work and progress I’ve made these past few weeks.”

“And you’re scared that going back to work would mean you would gain back all the weight you lost?” Carter asked, and Maisy nodded to herself, almost afraid to even say it out loud.

“Let me ask you a question: exactly what does your work mean to you?”

Maisy didn’t even have to think before she answered, “It’s the one thing I have always wanted to do since I was a kid. I never wanted to be a movie star, or singer, or doctor, or any of that. I’ve always loved working in the kitchen, mixing recipes, coming up with new ones, and all that. Quite simply put, I’m happiest when I’m cooking and baking and stuff.”

“Then go ahead and do it,” Carter stated. Then he added, “I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, and I can almost bet that you may fall a few times along the way. But what’s important is that you get back up and keep working hard at it, and in a way, it just might help. Because the key isn’t to deny yourself something that you really want but isn’t good for you, but to work till you only want the things that are good for you.”

“So, you’re saying I should go for it?”

“Yes, Maisy, that’s what I’m saying. Tell me, do you think your former weight was a function of the fact that you cook?”

“Well, not exactly. I mean, knowing how to whip up a three-layer chocolate cake without actually thinking too much sure doesn’t help. But I wouldn’t say it was exactly the reason why I was that fat before,” Maisy answered, trying to be as honest as she could be.

“Then what would you say the problem was?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t use to be really like, fat or anything. I mean, I used to eat a lot, sort of, and I guess not working out at all sort of meant I never lost all the weight I gained. But I think I ate mostly when I was unhappy. Actually, cramming the sweetest thing I could find was my default reaction to any situation that made me unhappy.”

“There you go. So just try to stay out of scenarios that make you unhappy. It may not always work, but when you feel you’ve eaten more than you should have, you should just put in extra work in the next workout.”

“That kinda makes sense now, and here I was blaming myself for putting on so much weight during my relationship, and it was actually the bastard’s fault.”

“Sorry, who’s the bastard?”

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