No, she thought. She needed to get a business that didn’t make a person fat.
She wandered about the internet, then suddenly halted. There was a wellness center for sale in what looked like a really cute village. Actually, it was a nice-sized town. The center had yoga classes!
When the sun came up, Willa was still reading and making notes.
Twelve
“And you did it?” Sara asked. “It worked out like you thought it would? No, wait. Tell it in order.”
Meena looked up. “Have you ever seen traits in a blood relative that you hate but later find out that you have?”
“You mean like heart disease?” Sara asked. “Only without the heart.”
Meena laughed. “Just like that. My siblings will do anything to get what they want. It turns out that I have some of the same traits. I did something awful.”
“Please tell us,” Sara said. “Please.”
Meena laughed at her tone. “I started by lying to them. Hours after my mother’s funeral, I saw that they were going to incessantly hound me for money. I had to stop it! I faked an email from my bank that said my account was overdrawn. I told them I had no money and asked if they’d help me.”
“Bet they stopped being nice,” Kate said.
“They certainly did! Beatrice asked for the ring back but I told her I’d sent it to the lawyer to settle some accounts. Invitations to stay in their London apartments were withdrawn.”
“You learned lying quickly,?
? Jack said.
“I’d had some good teachers. Family and friends. The next day, Katrina quit her job with my brother, and she and I drove away together.” Meena’s eyes twinkled. “My brothers said they’d always known I was a lesbian.”
“And you started your business.” Sara sounded proud of her.
“I did, but not as I’d imagined it,” Meena said. “My fantasy was to be in a partnership, to be an equal with anyone who worked for me.”
“Someone has to be the boss,” Jack said.
“Yes, they do,” Meena said. “I realized that in an instant. When I walked into the Wellness Center, I instantly hated it. I could see why it failed. It was for people wearing Prada, not clients who were overweight and ate pork pies by the dozen. There are moments in your life when everything changes, and that was one of them. I turned to Katrina to ask what she thought. But I closed my mouth. I realized that if I started consulting, it would never end. I’d have to ask her approval on everything.”
“As you did with Nicky and Byon,” Kate said.
“And Nadine and Clive. I didn’t know I was fed up with it, but I was. I said, ‘We’re going to gut this place.’ Katrina said, ‘There’s a lot we can use. Those sofas are—’ I said, ‘No. It all goes. I have a different idea for my studio.’ Katrina hesitated, then said, ‘You’re the boss, Willa.’”
“And that set the tone forever,” Sara said.
“Yes.” Meena smiled. “And that’s the moment I changed my name. No more Willing Willa or a willow that bends with every breeze.”
Kate motioned to the room. “It looks like you succeeded. Your business is called Renewal?”
Meena smiled broadly. “If you were English, you’d know that there are Renewal studios all over the country. We offer every imaginable health service. All my trainers go through rigorous schooling. We—Sorry. You don’t need to hear the sales pitch.” She looked down at the tea table. “Our headquarters are in my family home. I bought it.”
“You must tell us how that happened!” Sara said. “Did you put ants in their beds?”
“Did you see them again?” Kate asked.
“I didn’t see or hear from them for eight whole years, not until I went back for my father’s funeral.”
“How many studios did you own by then?” Sara asked.
“About a dozen, I think.”