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than Dennis had expected. One thing still puzzled him
though.
    “I have to ask – why did you
invite me out to dinner tonight? I mean, I know we’re getting on
well and I’m having a great time, but you can’t have known that
would happen. What made you take a chance on spending time with a
shy fat guy when there must be far more appealing men in your life?
What about Vincenzo, for instance – he’s impossibly handsome and
looks like every woman’s dream. Isn’t he a more likely prospect for
you?”
    “I wouldn’t mix business and
pleasure by dating an employee. Besides,” she paused, searching for
the right words. “I’m not quite sure about him.” She shot him a
searching look. “Can I trust you to be discreet about this?”
    “Of course.” He mimed zipping
across his mouth. “My lips are sealed.”
    “I wondered, since you’re new to
the gym, if I could get you to help me out by keeping an eye on him
while you and the guys are training. You’ll have an unbiased view
and you haven’t got a history with anyone else here. He seems
perfectly nice, and he has great references from other gyms, but
there’s just something about him that doesn’t sit right. I thought
if you were there with the other guys from the theatre, you might
be able to pick up on what’s going on. If there really is anything
going on.” She blew out a sigh that sent the candle on the table
guttering. “I may be imagining the whole thing, but I get the
impression he’s keeping a few secrets. I see him having quiet
conversations with guys he’s training, but everything stops if I go
near them – it’s the kind of thing that rings alarm bells.”
    “Sure, I’ll be happy to keep my
nose to the ground while you’re busy keeping it to the grindstone.”
He grinned as a thought occurred to him. “So I can be your
undercover agent? That sounds dashing and just a little dangerous,
doesn’t it? Perhaps I can shake off that ‘sweet’ label with a bit
of cloak and dagger skulduggery.”
    “You can write me secret reports
in invisible ink,” she giggled, “and I’ll have to eat them
afterwards.”
    “Why yesh, Moneypenny – and I’ll
have ‘Q’ rig up shome clever lishtening devices in my iPod,” said
Dennis in his best Sean Connery accent.
    “Oh James, you are wonderful!”
she gushed back in mock breathless admiration. “I’ll ask ‘M’ to put
you up for a knighthood!”
    “There’s just one thing,” he
said, pouring the last of the wine into her glass. “I’m currently
in deep cover with this amazing disguise of blubber. Don’t you
think it would arouse suspicion if I lose it too quickly? Perhaps I
shouldn’t rush into the full exercise routine just yet. I’m a far
less likely spy when I’m the size of a house.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “You’re not
trying to weasel out of your fitness programme are you? I’m not
going to take it easy on you just because you’re helping me out –
that wouldn’t be fair to either of us in the long run.”
    He held his hands up in
submission. “Goodness me no. The thought never crossed my mind. You
have my entire cooperation and I’ll do whatever you say.”
     
    The next time he went to the gym
he found he was paired off with Mark and Vincenzo had been put in
charge of their training. He listened carefully and with growing
dismay as Vincenzo listed the procedures they were to follow for
each session.
    “OK guys, here’s what you gonna
do. You get in here nice and early, get on the treadmills, go for a
nice long run to warm up.” He looked dubiously at Dennis. “OK,
maybe we start you off on a rowing machine first, so you can sit
down and save your knees. Then we gonna lift some weights. One day
we do upper body, the next day lower body. I’ll tell you how to do
it, set the weight you’ll be lifting, and you tick it off in your
training book when you’ve done it.” He smiled at Mark. “I think we
can make you into a real hunk those ladies at the theatre will