Chapter 30
"Come on Amy! Push! Two more reps!" Trish yelled, watching Amy struggle through two more reps of her kettle bell workout.
Two reps later, Amy dropped the bell as her body as she collapsed to the floor, sucking in air. "Shit that was tough! But I loved it!" She sat up, taking a sip of water and wiping the sweat off her forehead with her forearm. Trish chuckled and sat down next to her. "It's a great feeling, isn't it?"
Amy nodded, "It really is. I don't think I've pushed myself this hard in a while."
A comfortable silence overcame them as they sat catching their breath.
"Are you going to take the contract?"
Trish looked at Amy, waiting for an answer. It wasn't her intent to persuade Amy one way or the other, but she did want to be there for her if she wanted to talk things through.
Amy shrugged, "I don't know honestly. But I will tell you, it's all I've thought about for the past two days."
Trish nodded and played with the shoe string on her sneaker. It took everything she had not to tell Amy she thought she should take the contract. But, she didn't want to be selfish…of course she wanted Amy to come back full time, but it was more for her benefit than it was for Amy's. She missed her and having her around the past 2 months has been great.
"Do you have a pros and cons list?"
Amy looked at Trish, a slight smirk pulling at her lips. "Yes, I do…what can I say? Your anal-like ways are rubbing off on me!"
Trish threw an elbow into her. "Not funny! So let's here them."
Amy sighed, "The pros…Phil, you, the fans, the rush." She paused for a minute as if contemplating before she spoke again. "The cons…the travel, the schedule, the effects on my body, reopening a chapter of my life that I thought I was finished with."
Trish nodded, thinking about everything she said. She made valid points…points that Trish would have to consider for herself not too far in the future.
"What would you do if you were me?"
Trish shrugged, "I'm not sure you can ask me that. I'm not you…you're not afraid to go home and live your life…"
"First off, you shouldn't be afraid to go home. And second, you'll be in the same boat I'm in come six months."
"I guess then I would look at the pros and cons and figure out what's more important. Do you want to continue to date Phil…if so, can you get over the travel and schedule? Are you willing to put your body on the line for the fans for another five years? Is the rush worth reopening this chapter?"
They both sat there, quietly thinking about what Trish had just said. Both of them realizing this decision could change the direction of their lives drastically.
"I found a loft in downtown Toronto that I'm thinking about buying." Trish blurted out. She had been looking at real estate in Toronto for about a month or so and finally had decided on what type of place she wanted.
Amy's eyes lit up, "That's great! When do you get to look at it?"
Trish shrugged, "I saw pictures of it online. I was thinking I'd just buy it. It's new…looks amazing…"
"But?"
"But I'm afraid to try to start my life over in Toronto. I'm over everything with Ron, but there are so many memories there…what if I reopen the flood gates that I worked so hard to close?"
Amy gave Trish a sympathetic look. "Trish, Toronto is your home. You have family there...friends, a business. I don't think you want to let all of that go just because you're afraid of seeing Ron. You're essentially living out of a suitcase and storage unit right now."
Trish played with the label on her water bottle. "I'm not afraid of seeing Ron."
Amy smiled, "Yes, you are. I know you…I'll tell you what. We have tomorrow and Friday off before you have to be in Seattle on Saturday. I'll fly to Toronto with you and let's go look at this loft. Besides, what are the chances that we'd even run into Ron?"
Trish smiled and crawled over to Amy, embracing her in a hug. "You're the best!"
Amy laughed, "I know," a thought crossing her mind, "Did you mention this to Randy yet?"
Trish shook her head, "No, not yet. I'll talk to him later tonight."
"You know he's going to want to come too…"
"I know, but he won't be able too…he has a radio interview here tomorrow morning and then an autograph signing in Detroit on Friday. I'm not sure I want him to come anyway…I was so dependent on Ron, I don't want to make the same mistake again with Randy."
Randy watched Trish pick at her meal for the greater part of ten minutes. She seemed to have a lot on her mind and he waited anxiously. He knew something was bothering her, and she'd spit it out eventually. So until she was ready to, he sat there as patient as he could. "If you keep torturing your food like that, there wont' be anything left to actually eat."
Trish looked up, her eyes wide; not realizing Randy was watching her this entire time. "I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind tonight."
Randy gave her a shy smile that made her heart melt. "What's bothering you?" He reached across the table, taking both of her hands in his.
"Well, I found a loft in Toronto that I'm interested in buying…considering I'm living out of suitcases and a storage locker."
Randy nodded slowly, "That's a good thing…right?" He couldn't understand what the problem was with buying a new place.
"No, it is…it's just I haven't been back to Toronto since…"
Randy instantly understood where she was going with this. "Since Christmas."
Trish nodded, "Exactly. I'm just nervous. I'm over everything with Ron…really, I am. I'm just scared going back to all those memories." She was worried how Randy was going to respond to her comment. She looked at him anxiously, her eyes probing his for a reaction.
He understood what she was going through. Granted, when he ended things with Sam, he found a new home in St. Louis right there and then, but only because he was injured and had no choice but to rehab at home. Trish didn't have that luxury at Christmas. She was back on the road all but three days later. She got closure from Ron, but not from her life with Ron.
"I could come with you…to Toronto? If you wanted to look at the place, that is…and if you wanted me too of course."
Trish smiled lightly, slightly afraid to tell Randy she already had a ticket bought and that Amy would be joining her. "Actually, since I don't have anything planned these next two days, I'm going to head back to Toronto tomorrow morning…and Amy is going to come with me."
A slight frown pulled at Randy's lips. "So I'm not going to see you for two whole days?"
She sweetly smiled at him, "No, but I'll see you Saturday in Oregon. The time will fly with all the media appearances you have."
He nodded slowly; he couldn't help but wonder if Trish didn't want him there for a reason. He believed that she was over Ron, but maybe she didn't want him there to witness her reaction if they would run into him.
"I wish I could be there to help you through this…"
She smiled, "I have to do this for myself. You've helped me through too many hard times this year. I need to prove to myself that I'm still as strong as I ever was."
He looked across the table at her and still could see worry in her eyes. "What else is bothering you?"
She sighed, "My financial situation has me worried."
He tilted his head to one side, a questioning face forming "Why?"
"I still owe Ron money for his investment into Stratusphere. I never found another investor, so I'm going to have to give him the money myself. And I have it…but it's really not financially sane to invest in this loft if I give him back the money."
His eyes lit up instantly, remembering the decision he made a few weeks back. "Trish, I've done a lot of thinking and I've decided that I want to invest in Stratusphere."
Trish's eyes grew wide, she was astonished. "No! Randy I can't ask you to do that!"
"You don't have to ask me! I want to do it!"
She shook her head, "No, I have an idea why you want to invest and I'm saying no."
He rolled his eyes, "Trish, you know I want you to be happy and if I can be the one to make you smile, you know I'm going to do it. But the main reason I want to invest is because I can see the profit in this business. I've invested in other companies before and I see your product and I know you want to expand into the United States at some point. Your studio is amazing and you're breaking into food sales and workout gear. You're practically a house hold name when it comes to fitness and yoga. Why wouldn't I try to get in on this?"
She chuckled, "Wow, you've really done your homework. How long have you been considering this?"
He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled lightly. "For a while now…I thought about it when you had dinner with my parents, and then a few weeks ago when I overheard you talking to Ron…well, that was when I decided that I really wanted to do it. So please, let me."
She looked at him, deep in thought, as if she was truly considering his offer. She sighed, "What if things don't work out with us?"
He shrugged, "Then I'm invested in a business that my ex-girlfriend owns. I don't make any decisions on how your company is run. If I don't like the direction the company is headed, I get out."
She looked at him blankly. "You think it's as simple as that? If things end badly between us, you can keep emotion out of it and strictly think of it as business?"
He nodded, his eyes becoming more serious than she's ever seen them before. "Yes, I believe that I can."
She hesitated for a moment and sighed. "Ok, if this is what you want to do…then I'm in agreement."
He smiled triumphantly. "Yes, I want to do this. Now, can I see that beautiful smile of yours again?
She gave a nervous smile, "I hope you know what you're doing!"