Page 26 of Every Inch of You
“Vivian. You’re a corporate paralegal. It’s your job to ensure that businesses runethically.”
“Exactly. I just found you a legal loophole. For free. You’rewelcome.”
“But I’m the owner of the gym. Anyone who’s a member of my gym is myclient.”
“Is that the wording in your resolutions? Is there a formal code of conduct? About not datingclients?”
“It’s not in the resolutions, it’s an unwrittenpolicy.”
Shesmiled.
“Ithink.”
She frowned. Then she looked relieved. “So you’ve never dated any other members of yourgym?”
“No,never.”
“Really?”
“I’m not lying toyou.”
“Get me a copy of all of your corporate documents, I’ll read through them to make sure there’s nothing in them that would get you into trouble, and if necessary you can have your lawyer change thewording.”
“Won’t that createsuspicion?”
“You can either relieve yourself and your employees of paranoia and angst and blue balls, or your can run the risk of creating suspicion—those are your options. Personally, I doubt that your lawyer’s paralegal has enough time in his or her schedule to wonder whether or not you’re boning your gym’s members. Unless, of course, he or she has eyes and can see you withthem.”
She was exhausting, but I wasn’t going to let her wear me down. “I don’t want this to change the way I run my gym. I didn’t set out to open up a nightclub with exercise equipment. This isn’t CrunchFitness.”
She covered her mouth to suppress alaugh.
I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “I’m serious. Look, exercise causes the body to release hormones, one of them being oxytocin aka ‘the love hormone.’ Add to that the feel-good endorphins, and the fact that men release pheromones when they exercise and you’ve got a situation where women are just physically primed to feel attracted to their personal trainers. I just want you to be aware that that may be what’s going onhere.”
She paused to process my rant, and then burst out laughing. I had been earnest, and it pissed me off that she found it all soamusing.
“I think you’re over-thinking it and being way too rigid. Sex is healthy and the healthier people get the more they’re going to want to havesex.”
“I know that. Obviously I know that.” I was getting grouchier by the second. Trying to argue with Vivian while I had a throbbing hard-on that I refused to take care of in her presence was not fun, and I needed her to leave as much as I wanted her in mybed.
“Then why are you outlawing sex in yourgym?”
“I haven’t outlawed it. You know what—this is not yourbusiness.”
“It really feels like it is. Didn’t Madonna have a baby with hertrainer?”
“She also made a coffee table book calledSexwith naked pictures of herself. Are you going to start basing your life choices onMadonna’s?”
“I’m basingthislife choice on being physically attracted to you. If I choose to do a naked coffee table book, it will also be for my own personalreasons.”
“I’m not giving you my corporatedocuments.”
“Why not? Don’t you trustme?”
“Of course I trust you. With certain things. Not everything. We’re done talking aboutthis.”
“Good. I don’t want totalk.”
“I’m not going to be your reboundfuck.”
