Chapter 120

Bill and Ciera arrived at the estate just as Liz was wrapping up a series of calls with the head of her apparel line.

Instead of heading into the workout room as we normally did, we convened in what Liz called her boardroom. It was where she met with her large and diverse staff of managers, accountants, lawyers and assistants a few times every year.

I spotted a line of dust on the back of the chair I appropriated for my usage – and I thought I was going to have to speak to Melinda about it. Then I decided that she might not understand my poor attempts at humor and find a way to poison me. So I forgot I’d ever seen it.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get out yesterday,” Bill said when we sat down.

“It’s no problem,” I answered – even though he was looking at Liz and not at me. “Ciera went above and beyond this weekend. She saw that my rehab had lagged for a couple of days so she came out on Saturday and Sunday to whip my sorry behind into shape. I think you’ll be pleased with the progress I’ve made. I’m kicking myself for letting it get away from me.”

Ciera blushed but Bill still looked uncomfortable. I supposed my attempts to put him at ease had been a waste of time.

“One of our football players stepped off a curb and hurt his knee,” Ciera informed me. “He had surgery on Friday so we needed to be there in order to get his routine started correctly if he’s not going to miss the entire season.”

“That plays into what we want to talk to you about,” Liz said. “Your duties at the university are going to resume at the end of next week. We appreciate everything you’ve done – both of you. But I think you’ll agree that Travis is going to start taking a backseat to your other obligations.”

“We’ll still be available,” Bill said.

“I know you will,” Liz said, smiling. “The problem is that we won’t be available. We had this crazy idea that we could both just stay here in Nashville until he was better. That’s just not possible. So we’ve decided it is best to bring in somebody fulltime to oversee things. The person will serve a dual purpose. He or she will need to be knowledgeable about what Travis is doing but they will also need to be able to serve as our personal trainer after Travis concludes his therapy in a few months. They will need to be able to travel with us so it can’t be a student with obligations here.”

I had seen Ciera’s eyes brighten when she considered the possibility of becoming part of Liz’s circle. I was happy that Liz hadn’t squashed her completely. After all, I would still be relying on her assistance until we had somebody else lined up.

“What about the OT that Travis wanted to discuss?” Bill asked.

“We’ve decided that we can work on those things separately,” I answered. “It was mundane things ... tying my shoes, cutting my food. I’ve found over the past couple of days that I have enough grip to hold a shoestring or a plate. I got dressed all by myself this morning.”

“Excellent,” Bill said.

Liz rolled her eyes. I was wearing one of my sleeveless T-shirts and a pair of mesh shorts. Those didn’t really require both hands. Neither did the ankle socks I’d pulled on before I slid into my sneakers. But the shoestrings were a major accomplishment (to me, at least). “I’m glad you could find a medium that was acceptable to you. From my end, particularly after the reports I’ve gotten about this weekend, I wasn’t ready to write off your recovery.”

He offered a gentle smile.

“You’re like so many athletes I deal with,” he said. “Your body has always done exactly what you want it to do. Even after you hurt your arm the first time, you still worked your way back in a few months. Yes, there were things you could no longer do. Those are the things that most of us can’t do. You came into this expecting to see instant results. Again, from my perspective, you have. I think you’re probably a week or two ahead of what I expected from you ... even after you slacked off for a few days.”

“I wish I was devoted enough to ensure that I stayed on top of things,” I admitted.

“But we’ve both seen that he will put himself at the back of the line,” Liz said, frowning at me. “I don’t know if it’s his gentle nature or if he’s just too proud or too dumb to step forward but that’s my problem, not yours.”

I stuck my tongue out at her.

“We had planned that Travis would be ... able to police himself ... in the next couple of weeks,” Bill said. “Yes, we are about to get into our busiest time of the year. Summer football opens next week, along with soccer, cross country, fall baseball and softball ... and I’m sure I’m forgetting a few more. We can still come out once or twice a week to check progress but I’m not certain we can devote someone more frequently than that. I wish I had the staff ... but I know I don’t.”

“And the university has to take precedence,” Liz said. It was a statement, not a question.

Bill nodded.

“At the same time, I’m not certain you’re going to be able to find somebody that fits your requirements,” he said. “They are separate disciplines. Physical therapy and physical fitness are not the same thing.”

“Oh, we know,” Liz said, smiling at him. “I already have a recommendation from a member of the Tennessee Titans and his wife. But I wanted to see if you had any recent graduates that hadn’t been able to find a placement yet. You’ve both done a lot for us and we are willing to consider anybody that you might know.”

Bill looked at Ciera but she only shrugged.

“Do I have a day or two to look into it?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “We hope that you’ll stay on for the rest of this week and then we’ll work our schedule around yours until we find the right person. I can be trusted for a few weeks to look after my own well-being.”

“And I recently bought a new horsewhip in case he changes his mind,” Liz said.

“I would like for you to consider a different sling that I can get into and out of by myself,” I mentioned. “The soft sling is fine for times like this but we both know it has its limitations. The other one is just too cumbersome for one person to operate.”

Bill looked toward Liz before he answered. After all, the bills were coming in her name. She offered a slight nod. I don’t know if she was hoping I wouldn’t notice. I noticed but it didn’t bother me as much I thought it should.

“They make a couple that are easier to operate,” Bill said. “That said, the one that you have is the best available. It provides not only maximum protection and support but it also provides maximum comfort.”

For what it cost, it should go out and start my car in the winter, I thought. Bill shot another preconceived notion in the ass with his next statement.

“It isn’t the most expensive but it’s what I recommend for all shoulder difficulties,” he said.

“We aren’t worried about the cost,” Liz told him. It was a lie. She might not be worried but I sure as hell was.

She must have known what I was thinking because she rolled her eyes at me.

“We ran into some difficulty over the weekend,” Liz admitted. “Travis makes a valid point about needing autonomy. So if you think it is medically sound then we’d be interested in a separate sling to supplement what you’ve already recommended. It won’t replace it except when Travis is going to be by himself. It seems that I go several places that he isn’t interested in visiting.”

“I see,” Bill said. I was certain Ciera had told him all about my misadventures on Friday evening. “I’ll talk to Dr. Davis and if she’s OK with it then I’ll order it.”

“She’s OK with it,” I said. “She wasn’t sure if you’d require a script for it or not.”

I slid one across to him anyway. Sondra had left a blank, signed prescription with me. She was lucky I hadn’t headed to the drug store for 10,000 pain killers. I could sell them on the street and help Liz pay for the house she was determined to buy in San Diego.

“I won’t,” Bill said, sliding the paper back toward me. I ripped it into small pieces – unwilling to test my resolve on the subject. “I’ll put the order in today. It should be here by ... tomorrow, maybe. Can I assume that shipping costs won’t be an issue?”

“They won’t,” Liz said.

“I can bring it out when it gets here,” Ciera offered. I think she saw her access to Liz’s mansion coming to an end well before she thought it would.

“There is no rush,” I said. “We’re not planning to go anywhere this week. I have a procedure scheduled for Friday morning and Liz has an appointment tomorrow. We’ll be fine.”

“Then let’s see how you’re progressing,” Bill proposed.

We adjourned to the downstairs workout room after Liz said she’d join us in a couple of minutes to get me out of my sling. I had just turned to enter the room when I stopped.

Jill was walking out of Liz’s office with Skye.

Jill had on a pair of black shorts that looked like swimsuit bottoms because of how she was wearing them and a tight, fluorescent orange top unzipped almost to her waist. She had rolled the legs of her small shorts up to where they stopped even with the V at her legs.

Skye had on white leggings and a bright yellow top that was cut identically to Jill’s. Hers was zipped up a little higher but not much.

Jill grinned and waved to me. I waved back, shook my head and headed into the room.

Ciera had dressed more demurely since her boss was present. She had on a pair of Lycra running pants and she actually wore a T-shirt over her sports bra.

The door opened and I turned, awaiting Liz’s arrival. Liz was there. But so were Jill, Skye, Conny and Melissa. Conny and Melissa were dressed in the same fashion as Jill and Skye. Liz had on a pair of yellow yoga pants and a black sports bra. “We decided you needed some incentive,” Melissa said. I had seen her in something besides jeans exactly once – the night she had been tossed into the pool during the “Girls Night In.”

I was surprised at how nice her body looked in form-fitting clothing. She had decided on grey stretch pants that were as tight as Skye’s and a matching workout top. Her breasts were a lot bigger than I’d thought they were.

Conny wore a variety of clothing around us ... but nothing remotely like what she was wearing now. She had on a pair of shorts cut the same as Jill’s. She hadn’t rolled them upward but they fit like a second skin – and they were white. I could see the cut of her panties through the material. She had split the difference between Jill and Liz and worn a green sports bra.

“Close your mouth, dimwit,” Jill said, laughing. I couldn’t be sure if she was talking to me, Bill or Ciera. All three of us were stunned at the visions in front of us. I saw Ciera look down at her own clothing and frown.

“We made Travis a promise,” Liz explained. “We have a rule about promises. Don’t we, Travis?”

I nodded dumbly.

“We told him that if he got his arm fixed then we would dress like this for his workouts,” Liz continued. “We’ve been remiss about a lot of our promises lately. So we’ve set our schedules. At least one of us will be here to encourage Travis to do his best.”

“Uh, that’s fine,” Bill stammered.

“I’m going to have some of the workout equipment moved into here,” Liz continued. “We’ve also been a bit lax in our personal workouts so we’re going to exercise with Travis.”

Bill nodded as his eyes shifted to the forms of three of Nashville’s most recognizable female personalities.

“Dom, Brian and Ryan are going to start doing their rehab out here as soon as we get the equipment moved,” Liz informed me as she removed the sling from my arm. “Brian is getting his cast off tomorrow.”

“Awesome,” I said.

“Let’s get started,” Bill said, finally getting his mind around what he was witnessing. The ladies appeared prepared to use the yoga pants for their intended purpose – yoga. Liz pulled out several mats from a box that I’d never seen before and the group moved to the opposite side of the large room.

“It’s good to have a support system,” Bill said when he saw my ashen face.

“It’s a torture system,” I said. My eyes were looking at the four butts pointed in my direction. Everybody but Skye was down on their knees with their asses aimed at me. Skye was in the same position but she was facing me. I had to use the mirror directly behind her to see her butt.

Bill turned to see what had captured my attention and his usually stern face broke into a grin.

“Are you going to be able to concentrate with them in the room?” Ciera asked. “You did really well this weekend when the distractions were minimized.”

“It’ll be fine,” I said as I got down to work.