Chapter 19: Sway
“I do not try to
dance better than anyone else. I only try to to dance better than myself.”
― Mikhail Baryshnikov
― Mikhail Baryshnikov
Danielle could hardly believe her luck! She had been praying so hard about finding a
way to earn money while she was recovering from her injury. Working at the fitness center would allow her
a desk job where she could still be around her friends in the community and be
recovering at the same time. She had
dropped off her resume and application and had waited a full 24 hours before
she was scheduled for her interview.
Jamarcus had hired her right on the spot. Danielle was thrilled with her new job. As people came in to workout, they would scan
their membership card right in front of her desk. She would greet them with a cheery hello and
hand them a sweat towel. She also was
responsible for answering the phones and scheduling court times. She learned the duties of her job quickly and
had excellent customer service skills.
Jamarcus
liked being among the patrons of his athletic club so he rarely stayed in his
back office too long. And now that
Danielle was the new “face” of the club’s customer service, he liked watching
his business succeed from up front. The
first week he had trained Danielle and was hardly ever more than ten feet away
from her. He loved smelling her splash
of perfume and looked forward to her energetic, “Hey Jamarcus!” Surely she couldn’t have been so clueless as
to not know how Jamarcus was falling for her.
Danielle was the only person Jamarcus ever got tongue tied around. Normally Jamarcus was smooth and in control,
but since Danielle came to work for him, he kept losing things and stuttered
over his words.
One
day when Lucy was clocking in to teach her Zumba class, she observed first hand
how twitter-pated Jamarcus was with Danielle.
Danielle was showing him the tennis court reservation sheet. Apparently, the court had been double booked
and Danielle needed to know who to give preference to. Jamarcus reached out to grab the file and
missed. He was trying so hard not to
have Danielle’s hand touch his that he completely missed grasping the file in a
way that would ensure the papers stayed securely in place. Papers floated down to the ground as he said,
“Sorry about that…” Since Danielle was
seated, she leaned over to pick up the papers now beside her foot. Unfortunately, Jamarcus bent down to help
pick them up too, and their heads bonked into each other. “Ow!” exclaimed Danielle rubbing her
head. “I am sooo sorry Danielle, I
didn’t mean to…I’m not sure how … let me get the papers for you…are you ok?” “No biggie, Jamarcus…I’m just seeing stars
right now, haha!” She continued to rub
her head. The phone rang, “Boomerang
Valley Fitness Center, this is Danielle.
How may I help you?” Jamarcus
felt lucky that he had been saved by the phonecall. He gathered all the papers, shoved them in
the file and walked back to his office embarrassedly. Lucy stopped him at the door to his office
and said, “Ask her out already, would ya!” She winked at him and then she
turned with a flip of her long hair and headed to class. “Is it that obvious?” Jamarcus wondered.
After
two weeks of working with Jamarcus, Danielle was finally starting to get a
clue. She hadn’t seen the signs earlier
because she had been so immersed in learning how to run new computer software,
updating the website, answering phones, and greeting every single person who
walked through the gym door. She was
proud of herself for controlling her flirting with the patrons. Since her experience at the Falls, she didn’t
feel like she needed to impress anyone but herself. This was a liberating feeling and she didn’t
want to mess things up by getting involved with anyone…at least not right now. She had watched Runaway Bride and had been
shocked at how many similarities she had with Julia Robert’s character. She
had always turned into whatever kind of girl her boyfriend expected her to be to
the point where she would order the same thing as them at a restaurant and
listen to the same music as them. In a
way, she had no idea what kind of “eggs” she really liked, just as in the
movie. This was a time of deep soul
searching and refining.
Danielle loved working
for Jamarcus. He was easy going and a very effective communicator.
Oh sure he stammered when he was around her, but around all the other
employees he was smooth as could be. The club members were thrilled with
the changes he had made since buying the club. He had changed the payment
process so there was no longer an initiation fee and members could choose to
pay month to month. Before he took over, the members had to pay a monthly
fee that was locked in for one year at a time. Jamarcus knew that
business practices had to roll with the times. So many men were working
in North Dakota that they weren't able to come work out at the gym while they
were out of state but once they would return home, they wanted a place to stay
in shape. Jamarcus took all this into consideration with the way his new
billing program worked. He would even prorate by the week if needed.
Another change
was the social media marketing. One of the first things he implemented
was facebook contests. He created a Boomerang Valley Fitness Center page
and if people “liked” the page they were eligible for a one month free
membership. If someone left a comment on a health or nutrition post, they
were eligible to be in a monthly drawing for a free massage. The older people
in the community wrote editorials about the new Jamaican owner and how pleased they
were with the implementation of new policies. The younger generation had
twitter all abuzz. Membership at the club was booming for the first time
in years. Jamarcus was in the process of approving the construction of
four basketball courts. Not only was the community in desperate need of
basketball courts, but it would offer employment to the men locally who would
be on the construction crews. Jamarcus had a monthly employee meeting
where all ideas were shared and discussed before being implemented. He
found that his employees had wonderful ideas and he wanted to make sure he
stayed on the cutting edge of the fitness industry.
Danielle was so
impressed with his leadership skills. He was a fun loving, energetic,
athletic, professional guy. To Danielle, he had the whole package.
The two o f them had developed a professional work relationship but as the
weeks went on, Danielle found herself wanting to talk to him more and more after
work hours. Jamarcus always seemed to stop by after her shift at the
snack bar where she would have a power smoothie. A couple of times he put
the tab on his account. She wasn't sure if employees were allowed to date
each other but she kind of figure...no. This made her friendship with
Jamarcus blossom since she knew there was no way they could go out.
Little did she know that at the employee meeting held the week after she
started, that they had all voted unanimously, that who they dated should not
have anything to do with their job. Their private business should be kept
just that..private. But in order to preserve order in the ranks, Jamarcus
still felt he needed to be discreet about the way he treated Danielle. Professional
was the word that came to mind.
So one day after
Danielle got off work, she was quite surprised to see Jamarcus waiting by her
car. Actually, he was leaning on his truck talking on his cell phone and
his truck just happened to be parked right next to hers. He motioned to
her to wait until he was off the phone. He quickly ended the conversation
and turned his attention to Danielle. She was wearing a red and black
plaid knee length skirt with a black sweater. She looked amazing. Jamarcus knew if he didn't just come out and say
it, he would chicken out again so out he blurted, "Danielle, would you do
me the honor of being my date tonight?"
“Umm, what?”
Jamarcus wondered if
the words had come out wrong but no...he had said them right. Maybe it was too cheesy? He tried
again, "I would love to take you out on a date tonight. After all it is Friday."
Danielle looked around
the parking lot and said, "Oh I heard you the first time," she
giggled and Jamarcus relaxed a little. I just, well, you know...you are
my boss..and I wasn’t sure if..do we have to meet clandestinely or something?”
"Who I choose to
spend my time with is my own business. Who you choose to spend your time
is yours. So what do you think? Are you up for a night of
adventure?”
"I'm not sure how
much fun I will be right now, since my knee is limited in mobility. You sure you want to risk taking little
ole me anywhere with the level of clutziness I have?”
"Danielle, I would
be happy to just sit on your couch and watch a movie with you but what kind of
first date would that be? No, I have something way more fun planned but
you just have to trust me."
"Ooh, a mystery
date! I love it. I'm in!"
“Great, I will pick you
up at seventeen hundred hours...all i can tell you is dinner will be
provided...so come hungry."
Jamarcus was pleased to
see Danielle's body language. She had actually said yes!
When Jamarcus stopped by the house to pick up
Danielle, she was still getting ready so it gave him some time to visit with
her mother and father. Her parents were already impressed with what
little they knew about the new club owner from Jamaica. So few of
Danielle's beaus had ever taken the time to come in and chat so Jamarcus was
scoring some serious brownie points. Danielle’s parents asked him about
life in Jamaica and said they hope to go someday.
Meanwhile, Danielle was putting the finishing touches on her ensemble. She was listening to a song Lucy had done right before her cooldown in Zumba earlier that day as she had walked by. She had seen all the Zumba-ites cha-cha-ing away through the window. The song was Sway by Michael Bubble but sung by the Pussycat Dolls. Danielle couldn’t help but sway and sing as she hairsprayed her hair.
Meanwhile, Danielle was putting the finishing touches on her ensemble. She was listening to a song Lucy had done right before her cooldown in Zumba earlier that day as she had walked by. She had seen all the Zumba-ites cha-cha-ing away through the window. The song was Sway by Michael Bubble but sung by the Pussycat Dolls. Danielle couldn’t help but sway and sing as she hairsprayed her hair.
“Other
dancers may be on the floor
Dear, but my eyes will see only you
Only you have that magic technique
When we sway I go weak…”
Dear, but my eyes will see only you
Only you have that magic technique
When we sway I go weak…”
Danielle
sang along as she swayed. She had been
jealous of the people actually dancing in the aerobics room that day but now as
she sang along to the words, all she could think about was that Jamarcus in
theory wanted to “sway” with her. She
had spent so much time and energy over the years chasing after guys that she
had never once been the one that had been being chased. Danielle could hardly wait for the date to
begin as she hobbled over to the bathroom sink.
She
was at the vanity putting on her lipstick when her cell phone rang signaling
she had an incoming text...it was her grandma. All the text said was, “Heard
you are going on a date...please don't break his heart;)”. So grandma had
learned how to enter a winky face, Danielle laughed. She texted back,
"Wasn't planning on it haha." One more text came in right as
she was going to put her phone in her purse, it said... “This one is different
than the rest of those boys.” Danielle wondererd what those boys meant. Had grandma
really kept up on all the guys she had dated? Was she so self absorbed
that she hadn’t realized how her actions
affected those who loved her the most. She texted back, “I know gma,
thanks for caring.”
Pussycat Dolls. Sway. Rec. 14 Feb. 2006. Pussycat Dolls LLC., 2006. MP3.
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