Chapter 11
The next morning, a bleary Viv really hoped Wade didn’t come to morning yoga. She’s tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep even after taking the edge off herself. Nothing helped. Maybe he was too sore or thought it was bullshit, as he’d declared on multiple occasions. Or maybe he wanted to avoid her as much as she wanted to avoid him. And she really needed to hide from Michael and his mother, Sarah, because Viv had no doubt that Michael would’ve run directly to his mom with that story. She grew up with siblings and cousins. That’s what they did.
As seven o’clock drew near and she corralled the goats into the space and lined up the small group of morning yoga guests, a familiar man walked in, scowling. He walked a little stiff and moved as if his back still bothered him, but it wasn’t as bad as she’d expected. Maybe he was right and the injury wasn’t as bad as it had looked. When she’d seen him go down the day before, she had been horrified, convinced he’d broken something or damaged his spine. But here he was, walking a bit gingerly, but clearly on the mend and in a pissy mood. Not getting laid could do that to someone. She should know. She had been left hanging, too. She wondered if he had taken the edge off himself last night as well.
Shaking her head to clear those kinds of thoughts, she pasted on a bright smile.“Good morning, Wade. How are you feeling this morning?”
He stared at her like she’d spouted wings and laid an egg.“What the hell are you doing?”
“Greeting you?”
“Too damned early for chipper attitudes.”
“Got it. Grumpy, party of one. I have your mat set up right over here, along with a strap and a block for some movements that might be more difficult because of your range of motion. Don’t push any movements if they hurt, okay?”
She pivoted to greet another guest and he grabbed her arm, turning her back to him.“Are you mad at me? Why are you so…”
“So cheerful? That’s my job, Wade.”
He frowned, confusion written all over his face.“No, you’re plastic.”
She pulled her arm out of his and gestured to her body.“You saw me last night. If I had any plastic, I’d be a lot more perky. Trust me, this is all one hundred percent god-given.”
“And thank God for that,” another man commented.
She sighed. She had hoped Scott Bennett wouldn’t show that morning. But here he was, yet again, with his comments just shy of harassing. She already had to speak to him about his actions during a massage with one of her therapists and remind him that they had recordings in the rooms for their guests’ and employees’ safety. Of course, he’d spouted about privacy laws and other such nonsense, but she’d gently pointed out that if he harassed her staff again, she would give the recordings to their lawyer and they could duke it out in court. He’d backed down, but here he was, as she’d suspected, which had been a reason she had taken this morning’s class. Only, she’d forgotten that she’d invited Wade to the class, too.
Wade stepped in front of her and towered over the other man.“What did you say to her?”
“It was a compliment. Jeez, it was just a compliment. Everyone gets so offended lately. Talk about taking political correctness too far.” He rolled his eyes at his buddy dramatically.
Wade grabbed his shirt and hauled him close until they were almost nose-to-nose.“I find it very insulting as I’m sure most of the people here would. She’s a member of the staff, as am I, and should be treated with respect. I’m sure management would agree, too. Care to restate your words?”
Scott wiggled in his clutches, his mouth opening and closing like a trout. Viv stepped in and pulled on Wade’s arms.“Wade, let him go. He’s not worth it. It’s not a big deal.”
Wade turned furious eyes on her.“It is a big deal. No one disrespects you or any member of the staff like that.”
But he opened his fist and Scott pulled away.“I want my money back. This place is bullshit.”
Wade gestured toward the door.“Go to the desk and tell them Wade Buchanan sent you. Ask for Sarah Buchanan.”
The other man paled for an instant as he registered the last name, then spots of color appeared on his cheeks.“You’ll hear from my lawyer.”
Viv stepped between them.“And you’ll hear from ours. We have recordings, remember Mr. Bennett?”
He stared at her for a long moment, then swore.“I don’t need this shit. This place wasn’t anything special, anyway. Come on, Tim. We’re out of here.”
He stalked out of there with his buddy on his heels like a dog.
Viv turned to Wade, who held up his hand before she could speak.“I know you had it handled, but we don’t tolerate guests browbeating or making suggestive comments to any of our staff. No matter what. I stand by my actions.”
She stared at him for a moment, then nodded.“Thank you.”
He gave a curt nod and stood by his mat and the pile of goat shit right in the middle. He sighed and arched an eyebrow at her. She stifled a laugh.“Use this one for now.”
“I guess it’s good you didn’t make me stretch in shit, right?”
“Well, you did defend me. I owed you.”
Viv did her best to ignore Wade throughout the session, but it was damned hard, in more ways than one. For one thing, she had a small class, so she didn’t have a lot of distractions. For another, well, he was new to yoga, so he needed a lot of guidance. And if she had to place her hands on his hips and help him into the right position to ensure he was achieving the maximum benefit…well, she was only doing her job. Or so she told herself. If she happened to feel a strong electric current race through her when she touched him, a tingle of awareness that flared whenever he was around, she could pass that off to the release of energy during the meditation.
By the time they were sitting back down in a lotus position, easing into the final position in that series for the morning, Viv finally felt like she’d regained some of her famed control. She opened her eyes and was pleased to see most of her students also looking more relaxed and at peace than when they came in. She stole a glance at Wade and his face was twisted up in an expression that she could only describe as puzzled and maybe a bit panicked.
Her students slowly gathered their gear to leave, chatting quietly among themselves. She beelined over to Wade, who hadn’t made any movement, concerned that maybe his back had seized up on him, his muscles locking in place. When she got closer, she burst out laughing. He gave her a disgruntled look.
Gilbert Goatfried had made himself at home in the Wade’s lap and had gone to sleep, looking the very image of innocence.
“Well, he didn’t crap on you.”
Wade only sighed.