“Miserable night,” Theo said. “Snow and rain together.”
“Snain,” Cassie said, stepping out of the conference room where she’d been setting up for her presentation. Slim and blond, it hadn’t taken her long to get her figure back after her baby’s birth. She was wearing a slim skirt and heels, so she’d changed since teaching her last class.
“Or rrrrrrow,” Kyle said.
“Wait for the sleet.” Cassie shivered elaborately, then went to give each of the partners a welcoming kiss on the cheek.
“How’s the boy?” Kyle asked and they chatted about babies and partners in a way that no one would have expected five years before. It was a good team, like a big family, and Jacquie liked the easy rhythm they had with each other. The partners had cultivated an excellent work environment and she was relieved by Kyle’s offer of a job at the sister club in San Francisco.
It felt good to have an option.
Six
It was the usual chaos of starting the meeting, with greetings and technical details to coordinate. Chloe, another newer member of the team who now worked part-time for Tyler, was calling in from the farm in upstate New York where she now lived with Hunter, and Rachel, Kyle’s right hand on the west coast, was joining the Zoom call from the San Francisco office.
Damon charged in, still flushed from the weight room, with Nate right behind him. Damon was also one of the five founding partners, though he and his partner Haley had no children as yet.
Nate was a vet and an amputee who coordinated weight training programs for other vets dealing with physical challenges as a result of their service. He had a heart of gold and if Jacquie had a spare daughter, she would have fixed them up. He’d joined the management team recently to share the burden of responsibilities of the partners.
Thom arrived next, unusually late for him, but Jacquie knew he’d filled in for an instructor on the rock climbing wall who had called in sick. “Am I late?” he asked and Jacquie shook her head. Thom was a gentle giant, a tall and broad, heavily tattooed and typically silent member of the team who might be the kindest soul in the world.
Everyone seemed to be talking at once. There were connections to be checked, and Ty still had to print out the agenda.
“You could just email it to us,” Meesha complained good-naturedly.
“I couldn’t. I’m the official Luddite on the team,” he countered just as good-naturedly, and retrieved the stack from the printer. “It would be so out of character that you’d all be terrified.”
“Or checking for your pod,” Meesha replied. “Do you have any social media accounts yet?”
“Not one,” Ty said. “Don’t hold your breath on that changing.”
“Trust me, I won’t—but you had better be at the party Friday night.” She wagged a finger at him and Jacquie smiled. She doubted any of the partners had realized how Meesha would run their show once she joined the team.
Ty lifted a hand. “I arranged the babysitter. I’m on board.”
“And Shannyn’s got the costumes?” Meesha demanded. “Because it’s all about superheroes and you’re not coming to the door in a suit saying you’re Clark Kent.”
Ty leaned close to her, eyes twinkling. “You’re right. I’m not.” He gestured to the conference room and Meesha, obviously suspicious, headed in there.
“Hello, team!” Kyle called from the conference room. “Let’s get started already.”
Jacquie turned to get her laptop for the meeting.
“I trump the agenda on a matter of critical importance,” Meesha said in the conference room, standing at her place and bracing her hands on her hips. “Friday night is the Valentine’s Day Superhero Masquerade party at the club.”
“As we all know, because we’ve been promoting it like crazy,” Sonia said, sinking into her chair. “What about it?”
“Not all of you have bought tickets,” Meesha said sternly. She surveyed the gathered group, then glared at Sonia.
Jacquie was glad she’d bought hers already.
Sonia looked startled. “I have to work Saturday morning.”
Meesha glared at Damon.
“I don’t do costumes.”
Meesha flung out her hands and looked skyward, beseeching someone somewhere. “Help me, please.” Then she braced her hands on her hips and glared at them both. “Of course, you’re both going. You’re going to buy your tickets right this minute. And you’re going to both dance like wild things, and you—” she pointed at Sonia— “are going to choose the hottest guy you can find, and you’re going to drag said hunk home and have your way with him, releasing him from your seductive clutches only when the sun breaks over the horizon.”
Sonia giggled and blushed.
Meesha nodded at Damon. “You can go home to Haley.”
“Thank you very much,” Damon said gruffly.
Jacquie bit back a smile.
“And you,” Meesha said, targeting Nate with her laser glare. “Haven’t bought a ticket either.”
“Dances aren’t so much my thing.” He lifted his arm, displaying his prosthesis, which evidently he thought said it all.
“Bollocks!” Meesha said in a terrible British accent and Theo winced. “You can be Razorfist or Risk.”
“Hey, Nate’s one of the good guys,” Thom protested. “Bucky Barnes.”
“Garrison Kane,” Kyle suggested.
Meesha wagged a finger at Nate. “You have to take someone home, too.”
Nate looked uncomfortable. “Trust me, I don’t want to be there for the surprise, when my date realizes the costume is all too real.”
“You worry about it too much,” Sonia said to him, her tone gentle and reassuring.
“It’s tough to forget,” Nate admitted. He was matter-of-fact about his missing hand and Jacquie admired him for not making an issue of it. It had to interfere with people’s perceptions, though.
“It won’t matter to the
