6: Training Day

Tucker sat in the driver's seat of his car, tapping on the steering wheel. He was still parked in his garage and was sweating.

It was Monday. Ruby's first day Monday.

He started the car, quick to turn on the AC. Why was he so hot? Why did he care if it was Ruby's first day? He had trained many other people before. He listed every one of them from any location he could think of in his head. Craig, Lacey, Ben, Jake, Jack, Nicky, Franco, Tara, Jackie, Tessa. He paused. Eve.

Tucker rolled his eyes and put his car into gear. He would train the new girl. There was nothing special about her. She was just new. He repeated this over and over until he arrived at the gym.

***

"Well, well, well, to what do we owe this great pleasure, O Hallowed One?" Ben teased across the desk upon seeing Tuck. They both laughed. Ben had been with this location since it opened and he and Tucker had formed a friendship outside of work. It was an easy friendship, with few questions asked, something Tucker enjoyed more and more lately.

"I'm, uh... I'm training," Tucker confessed.

"She must be real fuckin' hot then," Ben said, grabbing a spray bottle to wipe down mirrors, walking away before Tucker got the chance to reply.

It wasn't that Tucker disliked training new employees. He actually liked getting to know them better. This is why he considered his OG employees friends and his new employees people that worked for him. However, training was something that fell by the wayside as the clubs expanded. There were other people who could train, but not too many people who could manage the budget, hiring, firing, payroll, bill paying....

Tucker absentmindedly said hello to the few members who walked in and began to wonder where Jackie was. She turned the corner from the tanning beds the second his thought was finished.

"Ooooohhhh, Tuckerrrrr, in full uniformmmm, traininggggg," Jackie said suggestively. Tucker hated that he felt himself turning red. Was he so obvious? He felt so high school, like a boy who had been caught passing notes to someone. He also wanted to know how Jackie had been so perceptive, but then, she did say that he would like the new girl.

"I'm gonna go clean," Tucker said, taking the keys to the storage room.

"Should I let you know when your, uhhhhmmmm, package gets here?" Jackie giggled.

Tucker grunted and tried to occupy himself with different thoughts. He looked up at the televisions he passed on the way. Americans held hostage overseas. Basketball. Kardashians. Baseball. Infomercials. Bull riding. What could he make of this?

He walked into the men's room and avoided eye contact with everyone he passed. He slid the key into the hole and gave it a jiggle. Then another one. Then another, harder one. Damn, he would need to get this door fixed. Finally, it gave in, but then his phone buzzed.

Jackie, with a short text.

Special delivery ;)

All that door trouble for nothing. He took a deep breath before walking back to the lobby and began unconsciously grooming himself as he walked. He adjusted his pants and shirt, rubbed his head, puffed out his chest, flexed a little bit, and even tried to taste what his breath smelled like.

He tried again to remind himself that this girl was just an employee. Someone on the payroll. Some girl.

The actual sight of her changed that thought immediately. And the sight of her talking to Ben made things change quite a bit more. Tucker felt the heat of jealousy in his neck and ears. She was so cute today, in her khaki pants and tennis shoes. The fact that she wore full length pants amused him. It was so hot outside that she should have worn khaki shorts, which was dress code appropriate. But he did say khakis on the phone and she listened. He liked that.

Her hair was in a big, neat bun on her head and she had a tight, solid colored shirt as a placeholder until she got her uniform. He heard her laugh and it sent a flood of conflicting feelings though him. He loved the sound. So light and joy-filled. He hated that it wasn't him making her produce that sound.

Tucker saw the light in her eyes and the spark between her and Ben. They're both just being friendly, he told himself. He didn't necessarily believe it. He grew even hotter when he approached the desk and she didn't notice him.

"Hey there," he said. Ruby blinked, looking at him, then at Ben, then realizing it was Tucker, looked back. Her eyes widened into doe eyes and she smiled.

"Hello Tucker! It's okay if I call you that, right?" she asked. Ben snorted.

"Of course it is," Ben said. Tucker nodded.

"Sit over there and I'll be with you in a second." The words felt forceful coming out of Tucker's mouth. She obeyed his command quickly and silently. He had to admit that he liked that she had so quickly left Ben, like she had never been speaking to him.

He chose to ignore the questioning look on Ben's face as he got his notebook and prepared to sit down with the girl who had been occupying his thoughts more invasively than he would prefer.