Chapter Twelve
Ren
‘You pathetic coward,’ I shouted across the gym floor.
I’d timed it perfectly. Peak gym hours. Maximum audience.
The echo bounced off the high-gloss walls and polished mirrors of Momentum’s main training space – a posh, pristine set-up, all reflective and stainless-steel.
Craig was barking instructions, leading a packed-out circuit training group in the centre of the room, until my voice cut through it like a dropped barbell.
Metal weights clattered to the floor. Treadmills slowed. Heads turned. Every eye in the place shifted to me as I made my way towards Craig’s ratty face.
I’d been planning this since Lydia told me what he’d done – since I saw her face fall as she pieced it together. The subtle, devastating discrimination. The way he’d used her disability against her, knowing exactly what he was doing.
‘Excuse me?’ Craig rose to his full height – all five foot seven of it.
His black hair was slicked back, just like the first time I’d seen him.
Lydia had been showing me the new equipment and he’d called her over just to embarrass her.
He’d told her we’d been too loud, and that she wasn’t allowed to have non-members in the gym without his approval.
She’d come back with her cheeks flushed and her spark dimmed.
He’d always seen her light – and wanted to snuff it out.
I should have said something then. God, I wanted to, the second I saw that look on her face. But she’d begged me not to.
Don’t make a fuss, she said. It’s fine.
Well, it wasn’t fucking fine now.
Craig cocked his head. ‘Do I know you?’
He knew exactly who I was.
Because every time I swung by the gym to pick Lydia up – whether we were headed to the cinema or out for the night – his beady little eyes tracked me like a threat. Craig had always been weirdly fixated on Lydia in a way that made my skin crawl.
‘She worked here for years,’ I snapped. ‘Put up with your bullshit daily. You kept her late to clean the gym. You undermined her in front of her clients. And now you sack her? Just like that?’
All eyes swung to Craig, whose face was turning a beautiful shade of puce. Craig’s jaw twitched. He was trying to stay composed, but his eyes flickered like a cornered animal.
‘This is a private matter between myself and a staff member,’ he said stiffly.
‘Oh, so now you know who I am.’ I stepped forward into Craig’s personal space.
The thing about being at the edge of your emotions at all times was that it was easy to step into them. They were always there, simmering at my fingertips.
Love, hope, rage, frustration.
I’d always felt so much. I hadn’t learnt to manage my emotions until I went into therapy at 16 and, slowly but surely, I developed better ways to deal with the surging North Sea that was my feelings. But the best bit? Was letting it go when someone deserved it.
Don’t get me wrong – I wasn’t some alpha dickhead.
I’d always been the one to get punched. Admittedly, it was because I knew exactly how to push someone’s buttons to make them see red.
Although I hadn’t leaned into this particular skill in a while – not since my brother had me by the scruff of the neck two years ago.
And my brother didn’t count, surely? Who didn’t wind up their siblings until they wanted to strangle you?
I had matured. Mostly. Now I was the one de-escalating fights in bars.
But I was more than happy to reprise my role as chief shithouser for Lydia.
I was happy to do this for her, say the words that I know she wouldn’t have thrown in his face – yet.
And I’d be more than happy to drive her to this gym when she was ready to say them herself.
It took Lydia a while to process how she felt, but when she was ready…
well, Craig better duck for cover. An angry Lydia was a rare sight, and much scarier than me.
‘I think everyone here deserves to know why Lydia Williams isn’t working here any more,’ I said, addressing Craig’s class.
Half of them had been Lydia’s clients once upon a time.
‘I don’t know what he’s told you – probably something about new pastures, new opportunities.
But he effectively fired her. No notice. No reason. Just blindsided her.’
Craig sputtered, ‘I didn’t fire anyone. Our personal trainers are freelance—’
‘Fucking semantics,’ I spat. ‘You terminated her contract out of nowhere, blindsiding her. All because you were jealous that she did your job better than you. All because she was more likeable than you. You were threatened – because talking to you is like trying to have a meaningful conversation with a toilet brush.’
Out of the corner of my eye, two women looked at each other and shrugged, like, he’s not wrong.
‘Our pal Craig here planned to get her out – and waited until her contract was due for renewal to do it.’ I clamped a hand on Craig’s shoulder, which was admittedly solid.
‘I just thought everyone should know what a piece of shit you are,’ I whispered.
‘And what dirty tactics you’re more than happy to use.
I’m not as quiet as you, huh? She worked her arse off here for years,’ I said, voice rising.
‘And you nitpicked every bloody second of it. Timekeeping, formatting, her invoices not matching your weird little spreadsheet template.’ I shook my head.
‘You were never managing her. You were waiting for her to mess up.’
I took another step forward, lowering my voice.
‘You knew she struggled with numbers. And, instead of supporting her, you used it as a reason to push her out. You made her feel small for something she can’t control.’
Craig opened his mouth, but I didn’t let him speak.
‘Tell me, Craig. Did you document that properly? Did you make reasonable adjustments? Because, from where I’m standing, it sounds a lot like discrimination. And wouldn’t that be fun to explain to Niall?’
Craig’s face flickered with panic, and I knew it then. I grinned, showing my teeth.
‘Ah! Now we’re getting closer to the truth.
Interesting.’ Craig’s eyes grew dark and empty, making me shudder, thinking of Lydia working with this man.
‘He doesn’t know, does he? I wonder what Niall would have to say about his golden employee being shoved out without a word.
What did you tell him, huh? That she’d gone to work for some other gym?
That she’d been too emotional about leaving Momentum to tell him to his face? ’ I hummed. ‘Naughty, naughty, Craig.’
I booped his nose, and that’s when I saw it – the final wave of anger. Craig launched for my hand, pulling it with force away from his face, and pulling his other hand into a fist, aimed directly at my face.
And there we go, ladies and gentlemen.
I could always make them throw the first punch.
The class gasped, and people leaped off their treadmills.
‘Take it easy, son,’ an older, grey-haired gentleman said to Craig.
‘Easy does it,’ another added.
Craig’s face morphed into embarrassment, with a nice hint of shame. Good. I hoped he felt even an inch of what he’d made Lydia feel.
‘Yeah,’ I said, my voice low enough that I knew only Craig could hear me.
‘Take it easy, Craig. Don’t want to have evidence of you punching a paying customer.
’ My eyes shifted to the CCTV cameras behind Craig, with a perfect view of his attempted punch.
‘I think that might be a sackable offence. God knows, you whip them out of your arse,’ I added.
Craig shoved me away, and I smiled, stepping back with my hands up, as if I hadn’t been the antagonist of this whole interaction.
‘Have a good day, Craig.’
I swivelled on my heel, practically skipped towards the exit, but not before I asked for Niall’s email and phone number at reception.
I thought he’d be very interested in what I had to say.