“Nice of him to give you his black sweats. Maybe if you lose some weight and dress like a woman, you can be more than just his housekeeper.”

Ronni turned away, not a bit concerned about the expression of outrage on Immelda’s face, and zeroed in on Gail Hansen. “You’re getting pretty top heavy there, Gail,” she said. “If somebody shoved you forward, you’d bounce.

“And there’s the quilting ladies,” Ronni went on. “Didn’t Roger tell you that you’ll never lose weight if you go to Hal and Rose’s after class for pancakes and eggs with a side of sausage?”

Hannah glanced around the room. Those who hadn’t been bitten by Ronni’s sharp criticism looked nervous wondering if they’d be next. It was time to put a stop to this before someone really got hurt. Ronni turned to face Andrea, but before she could open her mouth, Hannah stepped in.

“Are you going to lead us through our exercises, or just insult us?” she asked.

“The cookie lady steps up to the plate!” Ronni gave a little laugh. “I wondered how long it would take for somebody to talk back. Get mad, ladies. Get mad and do something to improve your image. If I noticed how bad you look, so does everybody else. Now watch me, and let’s do some bends and stretches.”

Hannah bent and stretched with the rest of the class, and as she did, she watched her classmates. Vonnie was blinking back tears, Immelda still looked outraged, Gail was clearly humiliated, Trudi and Loretta were just beginning to get over their embarrassment, and Babs had her fists clenched so hard, the knuckles she undoubtedly wanted to slam into Ronni’s face were turning white.

“How to win friends and influence people,” Hannah said in an undertone to Andrea. “If she treats all her classes this way, I’m surprised someone hasn’t decked her.”

Chapter Nine

“I can’t believe Ronni was so awful!” Lisa just shook her head after Hannah told her what had happened at Heavenly Bodies. “I always knew she didn’t care that much for other people’s feelings, but I thought she was just self-centered. Now I’m changing my mind. I think she might actually enjoy hurting other people.”

“That was my impression. She looked really pleased when Vonnie got tears in her eyes.”

“And Vonnie’s so sweet. How can they keep Ronni on as a fitness instructor if she treats all her classes like that?”

“She doesn’t, at least that’s what Andrea told me. She said that Ronni’s entirely different when she teaches a men’s class. Then she compliments them on how well they’re doing, and encourages them to do more. The guys all think she’s great.”