Page 16 of Beauty and the Grease
Jenny.MyJenny. This whole day is a severe head trip. Seeing her at all for starters. Walking through her place of business and witnessing how she’s thriving. This weekend should mean closure. Instead of hearing she’s doing well from a secondhand source, I’m seeing it for myself. This should close the book on a story long finished.
But none of this feels finished. I have questions. I want to know what the past seventeen years have been like for her.
Why? Why do I need to know this?
Probably guilt. For how I left her. I caved when my parents demanded we annul our marriage. I did it because I believedthem. Lisa came from a family like ours, with money and connections. A job her parents handed her at their company until she could quit when she became pregnant. Lisa and I, we were happy for a while, weren’t we? We had to have been. It wasn’t like I was thinking of Jenny every single day.
But I’d be lying if I said I’d forgotten her. One afternoon back in Jenny’s presence and I’m a mess of memories and tangled feelings.
And now she’s sticking around to support me? To help me?
I can’t let her. This job problem is my hole to dig myself out of.
My phone buzzes in my pocket.
Ben:EveningIcebreaker starts in five.
Oh, man. I forgot what retreats are made of. Forced communal time. I can hardly wait to see what therealgame is.
The forced group time is as bad as expected. I used every skill I have—engaging others, small talk on steroids, positive affirmations, a mildly edgy joke placed at the right time.
Afterward, I’m exhausted. My coworkers head for the bar near the lobby, but I’m on the lookout. For Jenny.
I find her in a fitness studio on the opposite end of the building from our designated meeting rooms. She emerges in fitness clothes and a towel around her neck looking relaxed and refreshed.
“Hey, Chase.” Jenny’s voice sounds a little dreamy, a little lower in register. “Have you ever done yoga? It’sfantastic. The focus was aligning our breaths more than pretzel poses. I feel amazing.” Her cheeks flush giving her a glow.
“I’ll have to try it sometime.” With her. No, not with her. What am I thinking? “I’m glad you decided to stay.”
“Turns out, the main road has downed power lines and severe tree damage. I guess the local sheriff wants people off the road tonight. I went ahead and moved my truck to the parking lot.” Her eyes brighten. “Oh, and I finally get to earn travel points on my new credit card!”
I grin, remembering our plan to charge everything to earn travel points. I wanted to earn the trips on my own to break free from reliance on my parents. Finally when we did, we chose a resort in Mexico. And got hitched.
Maybe not the greatest memory to replay here.
I’m equal parts stoked she’ll be around and mad at myself for being stoked. I don’t know what this means. I don’t know what any of this means.
None of this deters me. “Are you free for dinner?”
She bites her lip and I feel weak again. “Um, maybe? The yoga crew have dinner included in their retreat package. They let me drop in on their session, but I don’t want to Kool-Aid Man crash their dinner. So, I’m free.”
Free for dinner. Tonight. With Jenny.
“Will Cliff be there?” she asks. “He’ll expect me.”
I don’t want Cliff anywhere near Jenny. But he’s testing us, testing me. Arriving together will prove I have control over my personal life. Which I don’t, but he doesn’t need to know that. “Yeah, he’ll be there.”
She wipes her forehead with the towel. “I’ll go to my room and change. Where should I meet you?”
“Everyone’s at the bar.”
“The bar, huh?” She gives me a quizzical look. “Why aren’tyouat the bar? Isn’t that where the real deals are made?”
She’s right. Why in the world am I here talking to Jenny and not schmoozing with the C-suite? Every good sales person knows the real work happens in hotel bars (or golf courses or retreat centers). Even though these are my colleagues and not clients, the social hour is where the real conversations happen.
For some reason, I find it hard to care about any of that with Jenny in front of me. “Are you up for a drink?”
CHAPTER 9
