Page 53 of Spar
Ryan cocked an eyebrow at her but didn’t respond.
Tori scooted to the front of her chair, ready to flee, but wanted to get Ryan’s opinion on one last thing she’d been mulling over. “Anyway, I spoke to Susan earlier this week. She’s so excited and said they’d be here. I was thinking, though… maybe there’s a way we can continue to raise funds for kids and adults in need of sensory therapy. I have most the equipment already. We just need the funds and a permanent space for it.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“A monthly fight-night held here at Fit Club. It doesn’t have to be as big of an event as this one is, just one or two fights each time. We charge admission, give the winners a small cut, and the rest goes into a scholarship fund.”
“I don’t know,” Ryan said, picking up the papers in front of him. “That sounds like a lot of work to plan one of these every month. Besides, even if we had more sensory clients, where would you train them?”
“The Group Exercise Room.” She stood and held up her hands before he could protest. “Hear me out. We have three exercise rooms. Why can’t one of them be dedicated to therapy? Or at least the primary function. We could set it up so the equipment can be moved when we need it for other classes.”
“It’s not a terrible idea, but right now, you only have the one client. It sounds like a big time-and-space investment. Let’s see how the fundraiser goes first, and then we can talk about it.”
“Hey, sorry to interrupt.”
The sound of his voice caused butterflies in her stomach. She turned to see him standing in the doorway. His tall and built body leaned against the doorframe, blocking her view of the busy gym. It had only been a few hours since she’d seen Chris, and she already missed him in the worst way.
“No worries. Come in. We were just talking about Friday night. This roster is incredible.”
“How did you get Benny to help you? That seems extremely unlike him.”
“He owed me a favor.” Chris shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
“I’ve got a class in five. Think about it?” she pleaded, looking at Ryan.
He nodded, and Tori stood. She let her gaze sweep over Chris who hadn’t moved from the doorway. She brushed past him, grazing his arm with her breasts.
“What was thatall about?” Chris asked when Tori was gone. She’d had a wild look in her eyes and the body language of a woman with a mission. He guessed only part of that was aimed at him and the things he hoped she wanted to do with him.
Ryan shook his head and motioned for Chris to sit down. “She wants the gym to host a monthly fight-night to raise money for more sensory clients.”
He thought about that. He wasn’t surprised she was already looking ahead to service more people. She loved the work she did with Autumn. It meant something to her to help someone in need. He recognized that urge in her. He’d had that same drive when he’d started the construction company. “Not unreasonable. What else does she want?”
Ryan scrunched his eyebrows at him and then shook his head with a smile. “You know her too well. She wants to turn one of the exercise rooms into a sensory room full-time. I’m not sure how I’m gonna pull that off. The rooms are in high demand as it is.”
Ryan stared out the window of his office with his hand on his chin. It reminded Chris of how close the siblings were and how much Ryan was willing to do for his sister.
“You should give her this office. It’s nearly as big as the exercise rooms.” Chris glanced around at the office. His work trailers didn’t really compare. Then again, he wasn’t spending a lot of time behind a desk, either.
“Actually, that’s a great idea.” Ryan stood and opened the door to his office.
“I was kidding.” Chris stood to follow Ryan out.
Ryan’s face lit up, and he smiled as he waved toward the office next to his. “Tori’s office shares a wall with Exercise Room Three.” He walked quickly down the hall and paced outside the rooms. Tori was standing inside one of the exercise rooms, and a group of women were filing in for the next class. “We could knock down that wall, making the space larger and then split it in the middle. That exercise room would be smaller, but it doesn’t completely eliminate it for group classes.”
Chris pried his eyes away from Tori and studied the space to see if what Ryan was suggesting was possible. “What about Tori’s office?”
“That whole room can be her office. She doesn’t spend much time in there anyway. We can move her office stuff into a corner, and the rest of the space can be used for her clients.”
“Bywedo you meanme?”Chris asked, knowing Ryan wasn’t going to drop the idea.
He smiled and patted Chris on the back. “Apparently, you know me too well, too.”
Claire sat onthe bed in Tori’s room with poster board and markers laid out before her. “I don’t know if I should be having a second glass,” she said, holding her empty glass up. “I don’t think my drawing skills are going to improve with wine.”
“I insist.” Tori filled the empty glass to the top and sat the bottle on the nightstand. “Ihaveto unpack and organize my closet, and I hear drinking alone is frowned upon. How did you get roped into helping anyway?”
“Ryan went all‘But you’re so good at this kind of thing’on me. And it was the only way I could think to help that didn’t involve being in the same room as Jake.”
