Chapter Seven
She placed the phone to her ear as she pushed the front door to the store open and walked out into the brisk evening. Goosebumps broke out on her skin from the cold, and she immediately jammed her hand into her pocket, regretting not putting on a pair of gloves.
As the phone rang in her ear, she noticed a sleek black SUV parked right in front of the store. She didn’t know much about cars, but this one screamed money. Even his rental must be luxurious. No simple Ford for this guy.
“What’s up, Angel?” Curtis’ deep voice came loud and clear from the other line. “Have you met Enrique yet?”
Leigh scoffed and glared at nothing in particular. When she spoke, her breaths came out in small white puffs.
“If this is a joke, Curtis, you got me good, but I’m not laughing.”
“Why? What’s wrong?” he asked concerned .
“You know what’s wrong. You told me he was your friend.”
“He is my friend,” he assured.
“Since when did you start making friends with self-entitled jerks? I’ve met almost all your friends, Curtis. None of them are like him .”
“Relax, Kiddo,” Curtis said. There was a smile in his voice now. “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you about him earlier, but I didn’t want you to go into this with any preconceived ideas. I’ll admit Enrique can be a little bit hard to handle at first, but it doesn’t take long to work out the kinks. Enrique is like an onion; you have to get past the tough brown part to reach the juicy flavors deep within.”
Her nostrils flared. “I don’t want to get to know him. He has no interest in listening to me or taking this seriously. And why was he so shocked when he found out I was a woman? Didn’t you tell him beforehand that I was going to be his instructor? Is this some kind of joke between the two of you? Another one of your elaborate pranks?”
Curtis sighed, “No, this is not a prank. I may have been having a little bit of fun with him when I told him Leigh would be his instructor and didn’t remind him that you were my little sister.”
“So, what… he has an issue with women because it certainly seems that way to me?” she asked.
“No, no, no. I was just messing with him because he automatically assumed Lee was a man, and I thought it would be a funny surprise to learn he was wrong. Yes, he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder when it comes to women. He has been burned a few times, but trust me, he’s one of the best people I know. Once you come to an understanding, you will get along just fine. Give this a chance.”
“Yeah, well, your funny little moment has turned into a bit of a mess,” Leigh grumbled.
Curtis chuckled. “So, how’s he holding up? This experience is likely going to be very stressful for him.”
“Like I said, he’s barely listening to me. I caught him texting during the instructional video, and he wasn’t even sorry about it. If this is what serious looks like for him, I would hate to see what fun looks like.”
“Enrique is a bit on the stubborn side – and he takes his job very seriously. Nothing personal is going to get in the way of that.”
Her eyes widened. “ A bit ?”
“Okay, so maybe he’s a lot stubborn, but really, just cut him some slack. He’ll come around. You can do this, Angel. You’ve handled clients way more annoying than he is.”
“Fine,” she gritted. Her teeth began to clatter from the cold, and she turned around and headed inside. “If you say so.”
“I know so,” he said as she pushed the front door open, her body relishing the warmth that enveloped her as she stepped into the warm shop. “I told you, he’s a good guy. You just need a little patience to deal with him at first. It took me a while, too, but I don’t regret it. He is one of the loyalist people I know, and he has helped me out when I got into a jam. ”
“I’ll take your word for it. I love you. Talk later,” she said before she ended the call.
She took a deep breath and tucked her phone into the back pocket of her jeans as she made her way back to the office, retrieving the box of gear she had previously gathered. The video was over, and Enrique was leaning back in his chair, his thumbs moving furiously over the screen of his phone. He barely acknowledged her return, and it made her wonder if he had truly watched the video till the end after she left or if he had been on his phone the entire time.
“So,” she started, lifting a box to the table and bringing out his gear. “Do you have any questions so far?”
His eyes never left the screen of his phone when he responded. “Nope.”
She narrowed her eyes as she placed his helmet and boots on the desk. “And you watched the video to the end?”
“Yep.”
“And you understood everything?”
“Yep.” Then he lifted his head and stared at the box. “When do we get to the real stuff?”
“We have to get you outfitted with your gear first,” she said.
“Good. Then we can head to the slopes after that.”
“No,” she said abruptly. He was looking at her now. “No, we won’t be heading to the slopes today. I need to be sure you understand the basics first. We have a state-of-the-art skiing simulator in the store. We can practice there first, make sure you’re good to go. Then we can head to the slopes. ”
He wasn’t impressed. “Frankly, I think that’s a waste of time, Leighann.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re excused.”
She blinked. “What?”
“Listen,” he said, tucking his phone into his pocket and leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He was so tall he still loomed over the desk. “Why don’t I change into my gear right now so we can hit the slopes before dark? I am more of a hands-on type of guy. All this ‘classroom’ learning isn’t for me. I need to be outside getting my hands dirty, so to speak.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Seems very possible to me, Leighann.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “I can’t just let you hit the slopes right now without making sure you know what you’re doing first. That would be unprofessional of me. You could get hurt.”
“I won’t get hurt.”
“According to the profile my brother has on you, you’ve lived in New York your entire life and have never even put on a pair of skis before. There is a reason for that,” she said. She sounded very frustrated with him. “I’m your instructor. I’m the one who has been on the slopes countless times, and I know you could get hurt if we don’t practice first. My brother has top-of-the-line equipment that will make learning much safer and more effective. We need to practice here, then hit the snow when you’re ready. ”
He clenched his jaw. “Fine. I’m not agreeing, but let’s get on with it so we can hit the slopes already.”
You just need a little patience to deal with him . Curtis’ words echoed in her brain as she finished placing his gear on the desktop. She wasn’t sure how much more patience she could give this man. He was making this whole process so much more difficult than it needed to be, and she wanted to scream.
She grabbed a set of thermals, ski socks, and a black ski suit that had a few white and red details sewn down the sides and across the chest from the pile and handed them to him before directing him towards the bathroom to get changed. When he came out, she asked him how it all felt. When he agreed it fit well, she said, “Hands.”
He looked down at her, a little confused, as he offered his hands to her palms up. She pressed her lips together, avoiding his gaze as she grabbed the black gloves from the desk and quickly pulled them onto his hands.
“Fit?” she asked.
“They’re fine,” he replied.
She thrust the helmet and boots into his arms before commanding, “Follow me” and walked from the room.
Leigh led him over to some kind of electronic stand and said, “Get on. Place your feet on the pad where the blue foot outline is.”
Enrique quickly stood on the machine, and a readout lit up the LED screen in front of him .
Pointing to a wooden bench along the far wall, she said, “Sit on that bench. Put on your helmet and strap it tight while I go get your insoles. There is a marking inside to indicate which side is the front and which is the back.”
Enrique marveled at her presentation of the last few minutes of directions. She was like a no-nonsense general barking orders, and he was a wet-behind-the-ears soldier meant to follow them. It was a little irritating, but he guessed if it got him to the slopes faster, he would take it.
When she returned, she had a package of semi-custom insoles for his ski boots. “Trust me, your feet will thank me after a long day on the slopes with better support than the rental boots provide. Now, pull open the straps, pull up on the tongue, point your toe down, and push until your foot slides in. Good, now tap your heel on the ground until your heel slides back into the pocket. Okay, now we are going to tighten the straps. Listen carefully to this part. You always tighten the top first and make sure it is nice and firm. When you tighten the toe straps, you have to make sure it’s snug but not too tight, or you will limit circulation and have freezing feet. That makes for a very unpleasant experience.”
Enrique followed her directions then stood, “Now what?”
Leighann tried not to roll her eyes again. If he had really paid attention to the video, he would know what was next.
“You’re going to practice stepping into and out of your skis. This is much easier to learn when you aren’t sliding around on snow. ”
“I saw how to do this in the video; it isn’t rocket science.” Enrique grabbed the skis she had placed on the bench beside him, slid them apart where they were hooked together, and dropped them on the floor in front of him. He quickly dipped his right toe into the front binding on the right ski and pressed his heel down until it clicked and locked into place. He then repeated the process with the left. “Easy, now what?”
“ Now, you practice taking them off,” she said, handing him his poles.
He quickly used the bottom of his right pole to depress the lock on his right foot until it clicked, then pulled his heel up until his boot popped out of the binding. Before he could repeat the process with his left foot, Leigh stopped him.
“This time, use your boot to release the lock. In case you drop your pole, you need to be able to get yourself loose without them. You can also bend down and use your hand. Got it?”
“Got it,” he said, feeling like an advanced student stuck in a remedial class.
Next, she had him sit on the floor and practice getting up with the skis attached to his feet, simulating what it would be like if he fell. By the time they completed this exercise, his patience had run out, and he was done practicing indoors. When she told him they were headed to the simulation area, he balked.
“I’m done playing schoolboy. People learned to ski for years without indoor simulations, and I don’t need it either. It’s time to hit the slope. Grab your stuff; I’ll meet you in the car,” Enrique barked over his shoulder while marching toward the front of the store.
Leigh watched his broad shoulders as he walked away, weighing her options. She was done fighting with this man. If he wanted to learn the hard way, so be it. Some folks just didn’t feel accomplished if they didn’t attend the school of hard knocks, and apparently, Enrique was one of them. She would enjoy watching him fall on his behind.