Page 48 of Beautiful Revenge

I’m happy to say this week has gone a lot better than last. None of Briar’s clients have brought their husbands to their sessions. She hasn’t even seen a male client this week, so I know she’s feeling more at ease. And I’m thankful for that, given how fucked up last week went with the other dumbass.

“Shouldn’t you be at the gym?” Dylan drawls, and I give him a look.

“I’ll go back to work shortly. I wanted to check in on the princess. I’m not okay with leaving her alone right now.” I wince when he stares me down. “Not what I meant, asshole.”

Dylan sighs. “I get it, man. I get the feeling shit with his body isn’t over yet.” He looks back at the computer. “They’ve found the warehouse, obviously, but they’re still waiting for DNA to come back on the body.”

“Has the wife even reported him missing yet?” I question, and he nods.

“Yeah, the day after the warehouse went up in smoke.” He smirks, proud of himself for being the fucking pyromaniac he’s become.

“Shit. Took her long enough, didn’t it?” I state, shaking my head. If Briar or Dylan were to go missing, I would report it immediately, not wait for three plus days.

Though neither of them are abusive, degrading assholes, so I guess I can see why she waited. It’s probably not the first time she’s had to sit at home while he was unfaithful to her.

“And it clicks,” Dylan snarks, smirking at me. “I’m surprised it took you this long to work through that.”

“I’m not used to loved ones ultimately not giving a fuck about the person in question.”

“It’s probably something we should get used to. I think some of them will end up reporting it right away, but others won’t. It will most likely depend on how warped their minds are because of the abuser,” he says, looking depressed at the thought.

“I have to get back to work. Make sure princess eats today, will you?”

He nods. “You know I will. She has an hour break between patients this afternoon. I already have takeout scheduled to be delivered.”

“Good. See you down at the gym when you’re finished.”

I say goodbye before leaving their office to head back to our gym. Dylan and I opened it about eight years ago when he graduated from University. He runs the business side of things for Briar and me both, while she focuses on her patients, and I take care of our clientele for fitness and nutrition.

Twice a week, we also hold free self-defence classes for anyone who feels the need for protection. One of those classes is for women and children, the other is for men. We want to make sure everyone is as comfortable as can be when seeking help, so keeping them separate makes the most sense.

Tonight’s class is for women and children, and I always make sure Briar is there. She helps me lead the teachings to make everyone more comfortable and at ease, but still uses me and Dylan as her test subjects for demonstrations. If we sense someone is uncomfortable with our presence, we will leave the room to make them feel safe. But we never go far, unwilling to leave Briar alone.

She’s more than capable of fighting her own battles and even has a second-degree black belt in kickboxing. It doesn’t mean we would ever leave her to her own devices when classes like this always run the risk of violence.

Briar has grown stronger throughout the years we’ve known her, but trauma and PTSD are still very much a factor in her life. All it would take is one abusive husband or father coming into the class and confronting her, and she could spiral. Even if it’s for a split second like that asshole in her office, sometimes that’s all it takes for real physical damage to be done, and we won’t let that happen. Not to her or our clients.

“Hey, boss man,” Kendra greets from the front desk as I open the doors to the gym.

“Anything interesting happen while I was gone?” I ask, and she snorts.

“You were gone for less than an hour. You really think something would have happened in that amount of time?” she asks, rolling her eyes.

“Anything can happen, Kendra.” I look through the glass wall and into the room holding the gym equipment. “Pretty packed for this time of day.”

“Yeah, the construction crew for the bar a few doors down got off work early. They made some sort of guy pact to get healthy together, I guess. I just barely finished processing eight new memberships.”

“Nicely done.” I bang my knuckles on the desk. “Any messages for me?” As much as I hate phone calls, they’re a big part of running the business on a day-to-day basis. Dylan already does most of the day-to-day shit for Briar, so I pick up the slack where I can over here while he does the accounting and computer shit.

“Only if you include the call you received this morning about the delay for the new machine you ordered.” She gives me a look, knowing full well I haven’t called them back yet.

“Shit. I better get on that before they end up cancelling the order or jerking us around for lack of communication.” I pinch the bridge of my nose, and she laughs.

“You do that,” she says in a stern tone. Honestly, I think I’d be lost without her organizational skills. “How is that fine-as-hell wife of yours?”

I narrow my eyes at her. She’s been with us for a few years now, and while I was initially worried about how the princess would react to hiring a female, even if it was her that made the decision, I shouldn’t have worried at all. Turns out Kendra is only into women.

“Still taken,” I tell her firmly before smiling and shaking my head at her. “You do realize she’s completely straight, right?” I raise an eyebrow in question.

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