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from the vent and I pictured him gesturing with his hands as he talked the way Rudy did. “The business, it is going under. You want that we help you o no ?”
    My breath caught in my throat. Going under? We’d suspected it, yes, but having it confirmed gave me a horrible sinking feeling. Poor Rudy. And poor me, too. Where would I find another job in this economy?
    “You know I try to do business with you.” Rudy’s accented words clipped out. “But the amount you offer is niente . Pietro , you are my cousin, my blood. You offer me fair price, I sell to you now.”
    Matt leaned away from the vent, and whispered. “Told you that Zambini guy was family.”
    “You said brother,” I reminded him.
    “Never claimed to be clairvoyant.” Matt held his palms in the air. “Don’t start with that ‘my word is my word’ thing again. I admit freely that I was incorrect, okay?”
    “Wow.” Erica clasped her hand around Matt’s elbow. “A guy admitting he’s wrong? That’s positively yumzy.”
    “Can we get back to the issue at hand, people?” Steve tapped his index finger on the wall. 
    We all turned back to the choppy conversation.
    “ Guarda, cugino mio. Nicollò and I here to help you, no ?” The thickly accented Pietro took on a companionable tone and I pictured him putting an arm around poor Rudy. “We keep price same ma we keep you on to manage, yes? You will receive a fine salary.”
    Rudy sighed. “ Va bene . Totally Fit, it is yours.”
    “ Bravo , my cousin. You never regret this.” It sounded like they were slapping each other on the back. “ Allora , we make some changes. Nicollò ?”
    “ Sì .” There was a rustling of papers. “Our goal is to increase revenue, and cut costs. I’ve gone through the books and found some places to trim spending.” This Nicollò guy had a deep, sexy voice and must’ve grown up in the States because he spoke without a trace of accent. “First, your trainer, Steve Burns?”
    I turned toward Steve, whose eyes widened.
    “The guy charges eighty bucks an hour for his services and you only keep twenty-five percent? No wonder your gym’s isn’t making profit.”
    “Steve is excellent trainer.” Rudy’s voice was shaky. “He brings a lot of business and the clients, they like him.”
    “We’re going to raise his services to ninety an hour and he can keep half of that. If he doesn’t like it, we’ll get a replacement.”
    Steve’s face paled.
    I put my hand on his forearm, knowing I barely scraped by on my Totally Fit paycheck. What if they decided to cut my salary, too?
    “ Sì .” Pietro was speaking again. “Like the one at the front desk. This guy Steve want to walk? We replace with the front desk guy. He in good shape.”
    Reflexively, I turned toward Matt out, remembering his muscular silhouette at the door. Staring at his biceps, I blinked. Had he been working out more often?
    Matt nudged me. “You can rest easy. I’m not interested in Steve’s job. Actually, I won’t be working here much longer, anyway. I’ve finished my thesis.”
    My stomach sank. I couldn’t imagine Totally Fit without Matt. It just wouldn’t be the same. Out of nowhere, tears sprang into my eyes.
    “Don’t be sad.” He gave me a squeeze. “I’ll still be working out here.”
    What was wrong with me? Matt would have the PhD he’d worked so hard for. I should be happy for him. “Congratulations, Matt. That’s great.”
    The sound of breaking glass broke my thoughts, and my eyes darted to the dusty air vent.
    “ Pietro . Look what you do to my desk.” Rudy barked.
    “Relax, Rudy.” No accent. “It’s not like he knocked his drink over on purpose.”
    “There is glass all over my office. It is sticky everywhere.” Rudy sounded like he might snap. Must be the tension of losing the gym because Rudy normally kept his cool. “ Pietro , just clean this up. Go next door, bring back the mop and bucket, then fix this mess.”
    “I’ll get it.” No accent, so