But Sarah died during elective surgery about eight months after Lucy moved to Miami. She looked around the conference table now and knew that everyone there-herself included-had stayed with Stephan because the job market was tight, not because they enjoyed working for him.

And in ten months, if she met her weight loss goal, she’d be walking out of this place with a hundred thousand in her pocket and a business plan for her own agency. The thought put a smile on her face.

“So Barry,” Lucy decided to salvage the meeting. “What do you think about capitalizing on the idea that the gym can work around anyone’s schedule?”

“It’s the only way to go, frankly,” he said. “The fact that the Palm Club has personal trainers available from five a.m. to ten p.m. seven days a week really sets them apart. They’re leaving their competition in the dust.” Barry referred to his laptop screen. “Goldstein’s Gym only offers personal training from six to six, five days a week.”

Maria agreed. “The Palm Club’s ability to work around a client’s schedule is really the only way to justify a price point much higher than anywhere else in town, including Goldstein’s.”

“Exactly,” Barry said. “You can’t exactly put a price tag on the South Beach celebrity mojo thing they’ve got going.”

As everyone nodded their agreement, Lucy glanced Stephan’s way. At some point in the last few moments, his expression had shifted from affable vacancy to pasty fear.

“Are you all right, Stephan?”

“Fine. Fine.” He cleared his throat and straightened in the leather chair.

“Well, I loved the slogan ‘Fitness at the Speed of Life,’” Veronica chimed in.