Chapter 13
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
Sabrina dumped a load of sheets into the washer and added detergent.
If there was time between clients, everyone took turns keeping up with laundry and other tasks around the spa.
Stocking oils, making calls, cleaning bathrooms—whatever task was needed, the expectation was for the staff to jump in and get it done.
Stephan walked by the open laundry room, playing a game on his phone.
Sabrina called out to him, “Hey, Steph, can you check the mudroom for any towels?”
The man actually looked down his nose at her. “Really? I don’t do menial.” He walked off with the sounds of Mario Kart following him.
It pissed her off, but she reminded herself that this place was just a temporary gig until she figured out what came next.
She closed the machine lid and turned the dial to start it.
What did come next?
Up until last night, she had a plan, but the impulsive dare threw her off. What possessed her to ask for that kiss? Now she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
When was the last time she did that? Years ago, when she and Carlos had their thing going.
They’d been high school sweethearts. He was her first kiss and first big crush.
She gave her virginity to him at graduation, and they’d dated a little while longer after that, but he had other plans that included four years of football at the University of Georgia.
Those plans didn’t include her. Later, there was Parker, but his love was based on her breadwinning capabilities.
Right off the bat, he’d tried to move in with her and suggested he become a house-boyfriend.
Nope. Whoever she lived with didn’t have to support her, but he damn well needed to support himself. Ernie taught her that.
“If a man can’t stand on his own two feet, you don’t need him.”
Sabrina paused as she recalled her dad’s words. She had to thank her on-again, off-again mother for that as well. Raquel spent most of her life sponging off any man she could find to give her money. Sabrina vowed a long time ago to never be that kind of woman.
“Find something you like that you can earn your own living doing, mija. Always be able to pay your own bills and take care of yourself.”
That’s exactly what she did. Ernie had helped her out as much as he could with school, but she’d paid most of her own way and made it into a career.
In the short time she’d been here in Pittsburgh, she’d met a number of people and built a budding reputation.
More musicians were coming to see her about hand and elbow issues, and a few of them offered comp tickets for any concerts she wanted to see.
Would Cam be interested in hearing the symphony?
She closed her eyes and took a cleansing breath. Stop thinking about him all the damn time!
The vision of this morning appeared behind her eyelids. Waking up, seeing his handsome face relaxed as he slept on, his arm around her as he held her close and secure. All of it was etched into her memory, and she would never forget the sense of safety she felt, of belonging.
She took another breath, drawing air deep into her lungs, and held it. Stop it, Sabrina. You’re too old to have schoolgirl crushes anymore.
The pep talk didn’t work.
Stephan broke her concentration by calling her from the front.
“Earth to Sabrina! You have a new person up in here!”
She gritted her teeth. Her next appointment was in two hours, so this must be a walk-in type or someone Stephan didn’t want to deal with. Money is money, she thought as she walked down the hall to the counter.
The short, tubby man wore a business suit that was at least one size too small. He drove a hand through his spiked-up hair, lifting it farther as he snapped irritably, “No, no, no, no! I said two hundred twenty-four, not twenty-four hundred!”
Sabrina’s confusion dissipated when she spotted the dual Bluetooth devices in his ears.
“Absolute incompetence! Someone’s getting fired. I’ll give you an hour to figure out who. What’s taking so long?”
A moment passed before Sabrina realized he was talking to her. “I’m ready when you are. Right this way.”
The man punched at his ear and stomped down the hall like a steaming bull. Sabrina’s radar pinged that this session would not be fun. She followed him and pointed him to her room. “I’ll give you a minute to get undressed, okay?”
The grunt she got in return was not reassuring.
Fuck, this is going to be tough. Cicely said no bad reviews, and you need this job. Don’t cuss him, don’t cuss him, don’t cuss him….
Her internal monologue wasn’t convincing either. After waiting a couple of minutes, she took a long, cleansing breath and knocked before entering the small studio.
The smell hit her first. He lay face down on the table, exuding a combination of sweat, sour, and shit. This guy stank like he hadn’t bathed or used deodorant in a while.
You’re kidding me. I gotta work on him? No wonder Stephan handed him over to me.
Sabrina put a hand over her nose. The time she’d worked on Cam directly from the machine shop, he admitted to being smelly, but he wasn’t this bad.
He was clean under his sweat, so to speak, and used hygiene products.
His scent had been a combination of machine oil, Speed Stick, and man—not unpleasant, at least to her.
The man currently on her table was unwashed and sour.
There was a lavender-scented candle in her room on the utility table in the corner. She moved to light it in an attempt to mask the pungent odor, but the guy interrupted her.
“Don’t light that shit. I hate smelly candles.”
I hate smelly jerks! she thought right back at him. Somehow, she managed to nod and smile, but her eyes began to water. Breathing through her mouth wasn’t an option either, as she could almost taste the stink.
“You just gonna stand there, or do I get my gawddamn massage?”
Good Lord in heaven, please get me through this session without losing my job for smackin’ this asshole!
“Are there any places that you want me to work on specifically?”
“My back hurts, and my feet are crampin’ like crazy.”
Oh shit! Do I have to touch his feet?
Sabrina debated the merits of pulling the fire alarm just outside the room door as she strapped an oil dispenser to her hip. She did not want to put her hands on this man. Just the thought was making her gag a bit. “Okay. Let me know if the pressure is too much.”
The man’s fleshy back was covered in red patches of some sort of dermatitis.
Rather than risk herself, Sabrina quickly pulled a pair of nitrile medical gloves from a supply drawer.
Using gloves was not her favorite, but her choices were to refuse the massage or risk losing her job.
The oil she pulled out had antibacterial properties in it, so she reasoned she should be protected enough to complete this odious task.
Once she started, she realized his back was full of crunchy tight spots. The moment she dug into one, he cussed and hollered at her. “That fuckin’ hurts!”
Sabrina gritted her teeth. “I’m sorry. I’ll lighten up the pressure.”
“Moron.” He uttered the word softly, but she still heard it.
Don’t cuss him, don’t cuss him, don’t cuss him…. She added more oil to her hands. “Is that any better?”
“Can you just do your job and not talk?”
A flare of anger made her want to jab the guy’s ribs in a painful trigger point, but she reasoned that maybe if she didn’t speak, the smell might get easier to handle.
Not thirty seconds later, he yanked up his arm, nearly knocking her over, and jabbed at his ear. “Yeah?”
Sabrina stopped working on his shoulder as he started yelling.
“What the fuck, Tony? Get your fuckin’ ass over to the shipping department pronto and tell them to get it done.”
Whatever Tony said set the guy off even more. He jerked himself up and planted his elbows on the table as he continued to lose his mind. “What do you mean, there’s not enough time? We got a three o’clock deadline to make! This is your fuckup, pal! What’s your problem?”
Again, it took a moment for Sabrina to figure out he’d switched people and was talking to her now. She pulled the last ice cube of patience from the bottom of her glass. “I don’t have a problem. I’m just waiting for you to conclude your business so I can continue.”
“Look, cupcake, I don’t wanna rain on your parade, but when I pay for a gawddamn massage, I expect to get a gawddamn massage!”
From the word cupcake, all bets were off. “You want a ‘gawddamn’ massage? I’ll give you the best ‘gawddamn’ massage you’ve ever had. Just do the world a favor and shower the shit stink off your ass first. You smell like you dropped a load and didn’t clean up after.”
The man stared at her in stunned silence, his red, pudgy face falling as slack as his protruding belly that squished out on either side of his body. “Did you just speak to me like that?”
Fuck this job! If Cicely doesn’t support me in this, I’m outta here anyway, so I’ve got nothing to lose.
Sabrina didn’t hesitate. “Yes, I did. You’ve been a totally disrespectful asshat since you walked in here. I’m wasting my time working on you because you’re fighting me. You’re rude as fuck, and you smell so bad I want to puke!”
“I can’t help it if I got no time for a shower this morning! I sweat a lot!”
“Then don’t get a massage until you do bathe!”
The man spluttered something about her being unprofessional and that she should be fired, but Sabrina didn’t hear him as she walked out of the room and slammed the door behind her.
Cicely came out of the mudroom. “What’s going on? Who’s yelling?”
“Mr. Shitty Diaper in there.” Sabrina flicked a hand at her room. “I don’t know what your policy is on working with people who have poor hygiene or questionable skin conditions or ones who are just plain assholes, but I’m not dealing with that shit. If you want to fire me, go ahead.”