Page 10 of Sweet Twins For My Brother's Best Friend

I run to my closest gym, 5 miles away. I arrive sweaty and exhausted, and I lean against the brick wall outside for a moment, trying to slow my breathing against the rhythmic pounding of my heart.

People pass me with strange faces like they won’t be gasping for air on a treadmill in a little while.

I love what I do, and I’m happy that I’ve created a place where people feel safe and enjoy working out, but I wish LA wasn’t so removed from…nature.

The outdoors is, in so many ways, really good for people. It nurtures us. We need to get outside more and appreciate our surroundings.

I push open the front doors of the CHOICE fitness location I frequent, the one I tend to favor for my own personal workouts, nodding at the front desk employees, pretending not to notice their whispers as I walk past them and into the men’s locker room.

I know they speak quietly to each other in order to illustrate their best behavior as long as I’m in the house, and I don’t take it personally since I am, after all, their boss and the owner.

I know what it’s like to have the boss breathing down your neck. People are always surprised to find that I have an active hands-on relationship with my own business, which I find strange – but about right for LA.

There are too many trust fund kids with business investments that they have no real emotional or personal connection to, I guess.

But I’m not here today to workout. I’m here to gather all the financial information that Hannah asked me for.

I change out of my sticky workout clothes, shower, and change into some branded work clothes.

I could put on a button up shirt, do the whole I’m-the-boss shtick where I then stand out and tend to be approached by our clients when I’m on site.

But it embarrasses me when that happens, as I prefer to leave customer service issues to the staff, so I stick with khakis and a CHOICE tee.

In the cramped back office, I find my administrative assistant, Sarah, clacking away on a loud, hot pink keyboard. She stops for a moment when she sees me and sips on something I can see is green through clear plastic, nodding her head upwards in acknowledgement, her sleek black hair sliding to the side.

"Mm.” She lets out the noise involuntarily as she pulls the straw out of her mouth and acknowledges me.

“Good morning, Boss. Didn't expect to see you here today," she says, returning her fingers to their fast little happy dance on the keyboard.

“Please, Sarah, Boss was my father. You can call me Chris,” I joke, sitting on the edge of her desk. It’s a small area, basically a closet really, except for the window.

I shoved her in here when we first started expanding and I realized I needed to start hiring some administrative help as well as trainers and staff to work the floor and assist the clientele.

Since then, I’ve been promising Sarah that when the next expansion phase begins, she will have some seriousresponsibilities in getting it off the ground – and I’ll see to it she get an office more befitting her status in the organization. I definitely don’t want to lose her – especially now that I’m preparing to broaden our horizons.

Sarah rolls her eyes at me. I don’t normally use this phrase to describe people, but Sarah is what I think of as chronically professional.

I noticed after I stuck her back here, and away from the front desk, that not only was she happier, but the front office staff actually unclenched their shoulders and relaxed more as well.

Maybe they feared Sarah was a little “spy” for management? Who knows?

“Okay,Chris,what are you doing here…in that?”

She wrinkles her nose at the CHOICE shirt. I have half a mind to be offended, but I know she’s a fashionista who was relieved to be able to go back to silk blouses and high neck tanks. She’d prefer me in a more tailored look since she believes the boss should look like a boss.

I consider reminding her that I am, in fact, the boss and can wear what I like and show up when I like, but I decide to cut straight to the point of my visit.

“I’m just here for the financial data for the last two quarters. I also need the current balance sheet, profit and loss statements for the last two years, tax returns for the last two years,the operating agreement, a list of the businesses licenses for each location, leases for each location, and a list of company employees. How long do you think it will take you to get all that together?”

I glance around the room at the strangely empty space. Although small, it leaves Sarah with plenty of room since she only needs a desk, a chair, a computer, a printer, a phone and a credenza.

When I was younger, years ago now, maybe a decade, I interned at a physical therapist’s office with a nice man named Jonathan, and he had an entire room just for files. He had filing cabinets upon filing cabinets, big bulky metal things with peeling paint, full of folders. I wonder how long it took his team to eventually go digital.

Sarah nods. “Mhm, sure. Give me a second.”

“No worries, just tell me when you’re--”

“Done. They’re printing now.”

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