Page 73 of Friends With Benefits

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Kerri arrived at the studio early to go on the Internet to look at commercial real estate listings again. Her kids’ yoga class started in half an hour.

She scrolled down with a sigh. Everything was super expensive. She’d crunched the numbers and knew what she could afford but man, this was going to cut into her profits. She’d be eating macaroni and cheese for months.

Bah. She didn’t need to eat. In the last two weeks, her appetite had disappeared to the point where her yoga pants hung so loosely on her hips she’d almost lost them in the men’s class doing Downward-Facing Dog.

It was too much effort to care. So she’d flashed a little lace thong at them. It was probably good for business.

“Hey,” came a voice from her door. She lifted her head to see Sela. They hadn’t spoken much in the last few days, although Kerri had quietly removed her Buddha and water fountain and plants from the waiting room. She’d taken the remainder of the herbal teas she’d purchased as well, feeling petty because there were only like, three tea bags left and who cared, but hell, if Sela was pissed off about it, fine.

Amanda had been almost in tears at what had happened, apologizing to Kerri for the uproar. A client had come in wanting to purchase a bottle of the oil. Of course, the girls at the front desk had had no idea what she’d been talking about and called Sela, who also had no idea but quickly figured it out. The woman kept insisting she’d “seen it in a magazine”.

Lines bracketed Sela’s mouth and her eyes tightened. “Can I talk to you for a few minutes?”

Kerri checked her watch. “I have about half an hour before class.”

Sela pulled up a chair and tossed a glossy women’s magazine down on Kerri’s desk. “I came to apologize,” Sela said, with obvious difficulty. “I’m very sorry about the things I said to you the other day.”

Nowthiswas a surprise.

“Oookay,” Kerri said slowly. “I guess I’m sorry, too, then, for calling you a control freak.”

“No.” Sela rubbed the back of her neck. “Iama control freak. I was out of line to criticize your business. You’re right. I’m not your boss.” She paused. “And I am stressed. Do you…do you think a yoga class would help me?”

Kerri stared at her in amazement. “Do you have time for that? You’re always going nuts, between here and home.”

“I’ll find time. Ineedto find time. I need your help, Kerri. The harder I try to control things, the more out of control I feel.”

Kerri nodded, eyeing her sister thoughtfully. “Sure, I’ll help, Sela, if you really mean that. I just can’t believe…you’re the one who can do it all, even with one arm tied behind your back.”

Sela let out a shaky breath. “Doug and the girls are angry because I’m never home lately, and I’m stressed to the max trying to get things going here. I thought I was doing a good job of managing everything, but I think I’m just doing a good job of killing myself.”

“I offered to help,” Kerri couldn’t resist pointing out. “But you need to do it all.”

“I need to learn to delegate better,” Sela agreed. “We had a big blow out at home last night and I realized things have to change.”

Wow, that was a huge thing for Sela to admit.

“And,” she continued. “I owe you another apology.” She pushed the magazine toward Kerri, folded open. She pointed to a small article at the bottom of the page.

Kerri glanced at it quickly, not really seeing it. She took another look. The article was a little promotional piece about the White Lotus Spa and Yoga Studio in Santa Barbara.

“Hey!” she said with delight. “That’s us!”

“Mmhmm. Read it.”

Kerri read it quickly. “This is nice!” Apparently a beauty editor at the magazine had visited the spa, unbeknownst to them. She’d had a few services and had loved them all, raved about the “incredibly silky, rejuvenating massage oil that made skin feel like polished silk, the fragrance mesmerizing and sexy”. Kerri gave a little shiver of pleasure. The woman hadn’t attended a yoga class, but had called and been told there were waiting lists for almost every class.

“I didn’t know you had waiting lists. I just didn’t realize how popular your classes are. And you’ve expanded so much, that makes it even more amazing.”

“Why is it amazing?” Kerri asked with annoyance. She pushed the magazine back across the desk. “Why is everyone surprised that I can actually run a successful business?”

“That’s not what I meant! I just meant, ‘amazing’ as in ‘great’. Fantastic. Not that I’m surprised by what you’ve done.”

Kerri grimaced, unsure if she believed her sister’s protests.

“And the oil…obviously I made a big mistake there. You were totally right. People love it. They’ve been coming in and asking for it ever since this magazine came out last week.”

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