Skin by Kate Krake Read Free Book Online Page B

my head and rushed back to see her.
    “ I told
you I can’t take your job.”
    “ So
you’re happy to stay working for Prime Life as they gut your
Saturn’s? Your home away from home?”
    “ I’ll
figure something out,”
    “ You’ll
have to wear a company shirt, you realise. It will likely be quite
ugly.”
    “ I’ll
deal with it,”
    “ Saturn’s was a quiet place. That’s over now. You’ll have to
use words like 'epic' and 'awesome'. You will have to pretend all
those fat people walking on treadmills are actually achieving
something. You will have to sell them Prime Life branded energy
drinks and powders.”
    “ There
are other places I can get a job. Yours isn’t the only gym in
Guessing not owned by Prime Life.”
    “ For
now. And who knows? The way this world is going, I too may soon be
a corporate employee.” She threw her head back and
laughed.
    “ You’re
not going to leave me alone are you,” I stepped toward her, hoping
that she’d touch me.
    “ I told
you I’m not used to people saying no to me, Rev. Especially when
there is no good reason to say no and every good reason to say yes.
I need you,” she said. She looked up at me. “I want you to come and
work for me, but I want you to kiss me more,”
    I leaned
in, our faces just inches apart. She smelled like flowers. “It would be wrong to kiss my boss,” I said.
    She
smiled.
     
    We
walked down to the Sanctuary building, neither of us speaking much
beyond small talk as if we ’d known one another for
years. Sveta had let me open the door of my building for her, she’d
let me lead, and did the same when we reached Sanctuary. It was a
game and I was happy to play it.
    There
were a few people on the gym floor. Cato was lifting on some
machine that looked like a medieval torture device rendered in
shining chrome and rubber. Imogen was twisting herself through her
yoga paces like a piece of origami paper. I made a show of smiling
and waving to her and she threw me a small nod back, a basic
acknowledgement but a sign she didn ’t hate me. In
every other part of life, I walked around not caring in the
slightest what people thought about me or whether or not they liked
me. It seemed vitally important that everyone at Sanctuary like
me.
    Sveta
moved closely, touching my hand and back, just gently, casually,
almost incidentally, and I felt everyone notice our closeness. From
everything Cato had told me, I obviously wasn ’t the
first one in the room to have moved this close to the boss but it
still made me feel special, like I was chosen.
    “ Your
first day of work,” she said. “Officially.”
    “ What do
you want me to do?”
    “ What
did you do at Saturn’s?”
    “ I
lifted weights for most of the day,” I said.
    “ And
that’s why that place was a roach bucket that smelled like feet,”
she pointed to a door off the main area. “That’s the janitor’s
store. A good place to start.”
    There
wasn ’t a speck of dirt or dust anywhere in the place,
but I dutifully wiped over every surface. I oiled machines and
double checked on all the cable connections. I polished the
floorboards and cleaned the one way windows. I polished the chrome
weights and lined up the rows of floor mats like regimented
soldiers. It was menial work and I loved every second of
it.
    At six
o ’clock, Sveta came out of her office, a room I was
yet to see from the inside, and told me my work day was
over.
    “ I’m
going to change and workout, if that’s OK, boss.”
    “ Do you
feel like a sauna? Loosen you up before you lift?
    “ It’s
probably not a great idea,” I said. “Steaming after a lift is
better. I don’t want to risk dehydrating and —”
    “ Rev. I
have a private steam room.” Sveta had one eyebrow
cocked and a half smile of expectation on her pursed
lips.
    “ Oh
right,” I said. “Yeah, private steam room. It’ll be good to warm
up, I guess.”
    Sveta took my
hand and we walked through the blank door that was her