Blinking once, Jackie said, “Touche,” before laughing loudly. She'd known he was a medic and the fact that he had access to medical records hadn't even occurred to her. Of course he'd know the state of her sanity, if she'd been completely honest with the people keeping the records. Since she had nothing to gain from lying about her minimal ailments, her record was legitimate. “Damn, I really should've used a different line there. One that made me look more clever and mysterious.” She snapped her fingers like she was hugely disappointed in herself.
“Gym's not mine to make rules about who's allowed here and who isn't. Unless someone's just here to fuck things up and take the equipment. Then I'd put up a fight.” Nobody had done that so far. She wanted to believe that was her influence, but it probably wasn't. Compared to other parts of the compound, the gym wasn't nearly as popular. “We'll see if you still think you're lucky when I finally let you rest.”
The double-meaning of stamina wasn't lost on her and she gave a lopsided grin in response. “Show, don't tell, Johnson.” If this was still a paying job, she probably would've gotten fired for a remark in a context like that.
“Did I say it bothered me?” Her smirk grew. “If it's too much of a strain, don't hold back. It just won't help in getting me to go easy on you.” But it would boost her ego and that was always a good thing. Maybe not so much to people who thought she was too full of herself already, but everyone had vulnerabilities. Jackie had simply grown a thick skin over hers. Jackie let her expression relax a little when he admitted that his statement had been honest. “I'll keep that in mind.” For what, she didn't know yet, but it was good to know.
“Bet you're just in heaven, then,” she said, beginning to jump rope. “All these take-charge ladies living here.” Most of the ones she knew of were authoritative and strong-willed in some way. It was heartening and not just because she thought it was hot, too.