Free Kill the Competition by Stephanie Bond Page A

go.

 
     
     
    Chapter 7

     
    "So, I heard the board of directors approved the acquisition," Rosemary said.
    Belinda labored to bench-press a lousy twenty-five pounds. At the top of the extension, she glanced up at the older, firmer woman who was spotting her. "Yep," was all she could manage. She lowered the bar to her chest, and her pecs groaned in relief.
    "Juneau seemed pleased," Rosemary said. "And Margo is in rare form."
    Belinda followed Rosemary's gaze across the noisy gym, where Margo was receiving one-on-one attention from the gym's buff trainer on a mysterious-looking machine that appeared to work the crotch muscles.
    Anxiety needled Belinda—walking the line between loyalty to Margo and loyalty to her friends was proving to be a high-wire act. "Am I finished? I think I heard something pop."
    Rosemary dragged her gaze from Margo. "One more set, then we'll hit the showers."
    Belinda grunted her way through the repetitions, hoping she'd be able to lift her jelly arms to wash her hair. Her legs still throbbed from yesterday's punishment. (Rosemary called it "lunges." Tomato, tomoto.) Between her sore muscles and mild whiplash, ibuprofen was becoming her between-meals snack. She glanced at the dry sauna longingly—maybe another day.
    The locker room experience was another one of those unfamiliar girly situations; call her old-fashioned, but the sight of bare-breasted and -butted women walking around chatting about the best plastic surgeons made her pull her towel just a little tighter around her own ta-tas.
    Rosemary, too, was refreshingly modest, but when Belinda emerged from the curtained dressing room, fully clothed and coifed, she practically stepped on Margo—naked. Okay, the little woman was wearing flip-flops. And lipstick.
    "Hello," her boss said, just as if she weren't full-frontal with a subordinate.
    "Hi," Belinda said, keeping her eye contact high while sliding past.
    "Belinda."
    She closed her eyes briefly, then turned back. The woman's nipples were as big as saucers. "Yes?"
    "I meant to tell you how nice you looked at the meeting yesterday, and today."
    Belinda knew the brown wool-blend flattered her auburn hair, so the compliment was probably sincere, but it was weird coming from an unclothed woman. She tried to imagine Margo in her underwear. "Thank you."
    "And your hair—well, I think all professional women should wear their hair up."
    So it was a good thing that the coin had landed heads for bun, versus tails for stretchy headband. "Thanks." Her eyes were watering from the strain of keeping them fixed. She blinked and pointed over her shoulder. "I should go—Rosemary is waiting."
    A little wrinkle appeared between Margo's eyebrows. "Someone mentioned that you've become friends with Rosemary." From the tone of her voice, there was no love lost between the women.
    "I carpool with Rosemary, Libby, and Carole from the mailroom."
    "A word of caution, Belinda. A member of senior management has to be careful of the company she keeps."
    Belinda blinked. "Jeanie Lawford was a member of senior management, wasn't she?"
    Margo's eyes narrowed. "What do you know about Jeanie Lawford?"
    Belinda swallowed. "Just that she died... suddenly."
    Her boss's face melted into a mournful expression. "Yes, so sad. I had big plans for Jeanie, and yes, I gave her the same advice about her carpool buddies. She told me she was trying to find a way to bow out gracefully. I hope you do the same."
    Belinda held her gaze. "I believe I'm a good judge of character."
    Margo's black-cherry-colored mouth curled, but the warmth didn't reach her eyes. "As am I." Then she glided away, leaving Belinda with an eyeful of steely buns.
    Rosemary was checking her watch when Belinda emerged from the locker room. "Sorry. I ran into Margo. Nude."
    Rosemary rolled her eyes as she shouldered her gym bag. "That woman is unbearable. I don't understand how she has the wool pulled over Juneau's eyes."
    They exited the gym into the busy first floor of