Fitness and health trade shows are notorious for debauchery and raucous parties. The trade floor is lined with stereotypical meathead guys and scantily clad female models. Exhibitions are less about the features and benefits of equipment and more about who has the most alluring eye candy. Deals are closed "after hours," often in private parties where older male executives sign contracts on the naked bodies of much younger...

The fitness equipment business is cutthroat. And let me tell you, COVID made my life a living hell. I've been selling fitness equipment for almost fifteen years, but nothing could prepare me for the lockdown of 2020. Gyms across the country shut down suddenly. The gyms that did manage to survive the summer were running on fumes and in no place financially to repair older sets, much less invest in new gear. Peleton and at-...

Part III: Labor Day It's been six months since I last heard from Paolo or Gio. Life has been… well, life. Everyday routines set in, and I have more free time than I've had without the car wash. Still, I struggle to forget what happened and those anxious and exhilarating few weeks. Something Paolo said has stuck in my brain, "Gio is at his day job, shall we say." Funny way of putting it. Like his job is unusual. Much like...

It's been three weeks since the night at the car wash. I am confident Kevin was not the person viewing the security camera; he's been blissfully unaware. But I am anything but blissful. The memory of that night races through my head and the paranoia of precisely who was watching. I need to know. I pull up Gio's number and text, "Hey Gio, hope everything is going well at the car wash. I want to talk. The security camera ha...

Part 1: Breach of Contract It’s Friday at 4:45 pm and I’m finally done with my last meeting of the week. I look at my phone to see six missed calls and two voicemails. I know the number, it’s the woman I sold the car wash to just two weeks ago. My long-term boyfriend Kevin and I owned a successful car wash for seven years as an investment. I’ve been successful in my fitness equipment sales career, but now nearing fifty, I...