4
ISABELLA
Would it have killed Nash to have mentioned how attractive this guy is?
As I sat there rattling off ideas for his brand, I kept having to remind myself not to ogle him. However, it was difficult to keep from staring at him in the exact same way I hated when men stared at me during meetings.
He was so good-looking that, even though I made it a rule not to look at my clients that way, I just couldn’t ignore it this time. Especially since he seemed like a genuinely good guy to boot. In all the time I’d been here, he hadn’t glanced at my chest once, had treated me with respect, and seemed honestly forthcoming about his needs for his business.
Dragging a hand through his dark auburn hair, he nodded after I’d given him the guidelines I insisted on working by. “I have no problem with any of that.”
His electrifying amber-brown eyes met mine. “Do you want me to walk you through the basics now?”
“Yes, please,” I said. “Particularly, I’d like to focus on what makes you different from the competition. What should we be highlighting that makes you special?”
He drummed his fingers against his desk thoughtfully. “Well, a lot of stuff, actually. First off, I don’t know if you took a look around downstairs before you came up, but if you didn’t, I’ll give you a tour before you leave. All of our equipment is state of the art, but it’s not only focused on one way of exercising or getting fit. We’ve got something for everybody.”
“Okay, but don’t a lot of other places offer the same thing?”
“Not to the extent we do,” he said confidently. “A few different options, sure. Typically, you’ve got your circuits, treadmills, weights, sometimes a swimming pool, and sometimes a few other things. Obviously, you’ve also got spaces for classes like yoga, spinning, and whatever else is offered at that gym.”
“You don’t have those things?” I asked.
He shrugged, a ghost of a smile crossing his lips. “Sure I do, but I’ve also got boxing rings, a ballet studio, biokineticists on hand, and those are just the things that start with the letter B.”
It was clear he’d meant for it to be funny, but I didn’t laugh. Not because I didn’t have a sense of humor, but because I’d been serious when I’d said I didn’t joke around.
Sighing softly, he leaned back in his chair and motioned at the window behind him. “You’ll also notice that we set it up to make it look kind of like a theme park. The idea is to make it fun to be here, so we’ve got some of the more physical arcade games scattered around. We’ve also got adult-sized bouncy castles in the back, trampolines, monkey bars, and a climbing wall painted to look like the side of a fortress so you can feel like you’re part of a conquering army when you make it to the top.”
“All of this is part of your regular exercise regime?”
“Mine?” He grinned. “No. You’ve got a point, though. I should go on the bouncy castle again for a change later.”
“No, I meant for your members. Are all of these activities incorporated into their fitness programs?”
“For some people but not all. Most of them are part of the activities you get to choose for yourself as a reward.”
“Oh.” I had to admit that being down there sounded like fun, even to me. And I wasn’t a fan of sweating.
From the reviews I’d read, though, it wasn’t all fun and games. People raved about the results he got them, but most of them mentioned that he really made you work for it. Although he was relatively new as a name, he’d shown strong growth so far and he definitely had potential.
He was easy on the eyes too, which never hurt, but I had a feeling he wasn’t taking things seriously enough. It was a suspicion that he confirmed for me throughout the rest of our conversation. Instead of answering my questions clearly, he kept making jokes which were counterproductive.
It wasn’t ideal that he was already not sticking to the guidelines he’d just agreed to, but as I listened to him, I realized that I could pull this off. I could get him ready and get his sale for him, and then I would make it into the next tier, which had been my goal all along. I just hadn’t expected that it might be achievable with this guy until I’d gotten here and seen the scale of his operation.
Slow down, Izzy. You’re not there yet. You haven’t even officially taken him on as a client yet.
“You’ve also got an indoor playground for children, is that correct?” I asked once he’d finished telling me all the other things that made him different to other places.
He nodded. “Yeah, that’s correct. It was suggested to me that parents would be more inclined to join if there was somewhere for them to leave their kids safely while they work out. All I did was take the suggestion to the next level. I turned it into a playground they’ll be begging their parents to bring them to.”
“You’ve also signed agreements with a local coffee manufacturer and a café owner for them to have space at this location?”
“Yes. They’ve named a coffee blend and a sandwich after me. Cool, right? The idea is that their stores will also have space at every franchise which is in an area they operate out of, but if they’re not there, I source different providers for those services.”
“You do that yourself?”
He frowned. “Sure. I’ve got to make sure they’ve got quality products. I don’t want any of the gyms getting shitty reviews just because someone wasn’t happy with the food they got from the place inside it.”