“My left arm is heavy.”
“My left arm is heavy,” he repeated.
“My legs are heavy.”
“My legs are heavy.”
“My body is warm.”
“My body is warm.” To his surprise, as he chanted the words his body had begun to act on each of the suggestions. He was feeling slow, heavy and unrushed. And he was warm, a cozy kind of warm.
“My face is cool.” Asia’s voice was low and soothing and almost seemed to come from a faraway place.
“My face is cool,” he repeated.
“I am filled with peace.”
“I am filled with peace.” By the time he’d got to that line Rico was almost falling asleep.
“Now breathe.” It was that quiet voice again, Asia’s voice, that was prompting him. “Breathe deeply.”
He breathed in and out, long, deep breaths that seemed to cleanse him from the inside out. With each breath that he exhaled he could feel the tension flow from his body and the stresses slip from his mind. A few more breaths and his mind went blank.
“Now listen to me, Rico,” said the faraway voice. “Follow my instructions. Arms firm.”
It felt like new life was flowing to that part of his body.
“Legs firm.”
His legs came back to life.
“Body firm and just right,” Asia said, and her voice was closer now, stronger. “I remain at peace.”
Rico’s head flopped back against the chair and he looked up at Asia as she stood watching him. He’d never felt so relaxed in his life. And so free. “What did you just do to me?” he asked as he stared up at her. But he was smiling because whatever she’d done had felt good.
“I was getting you balanced,” she said simply. “Releasing the anger, relieving the tension, creating a foundation on which you can build strong techniques.” She gave his shoulder a light tap. “Sit up and get your jacket on. Now you’re ready to face the day.” As he slipped his arms into the sleeves she continued. “Once you practice the techniques outlined in your folder you’ll be able to de-stress on a daily basis. In fact, I recommend that you start with a balance exercise before you begin each work day.”
“If it will make me feel as good as this one just did, no problem.” He rolled his shoulders back then looked at Asia. “Is this what you do each day?”
Asia smiled. “I do it often, especially when I feel I need that extra boost.”
“And is that why you’re always so calm?” he asked, genuinely curious now. “Hardly anything seems to throw you off balance.” Then he chuckled. “Except my kiss, of course.”
He was a bit surprised when she laughed at that one. He’d half expected her to get defensive, maybe even peeved. But no, she hadn’t been offended at the reminder. Her dark brown eyes sparkled as she laughed and her pink-painted lips curved up in a sweet smile that made him want to kiss her again. Right here. Right now.
He leaned toward her. “I want to see you again, Asia.” He was watching her face, gauging her reaction to his request.
Her smile slipped away but she nodded. “You will. Two weeks from today I’ll do a follow up session with you.”
“You know what I mean, Asia. I don’t need to spell it out.” He leaned back in the chair. “But I know your principles and that’s why I agree to stay away from you until this coaching contract is completed. After that I’ll no longer be your client so there’s nothing that should get in the way of my asking you out.” Then he thought of something and asked, “Is there?” He gave her a pointed stare.
“No,” she said quietly, “there isn’t.”
“Good. I’m glad that’s settled.”
“Thanks for being such a good student today,” she said as she buckled her bag.
“I actually enjoyed it,” he said and reached for the folder. “I’m looking forward to trying out some of these exercises of yours.”
She looked like she was ready to go but he stopped her. “One last question,” he said. “Once I do these two weeks of exercises I'm done with the training, right?”
“That depends,” she said, giving him an enigmatic look.
“On?”
“On whether you pass the final test. If you don’t, I’ll have to give you another two weeks of work.”
“What?” He hadn’t contemplated the possibility of anything delaying his completion. What if he didn’t pass the test? He had no intention of waiting four weeks before he could invite Asia out again.
“What’s on the test?” he asked. “How can I prepare?”
“Sorry, can’t tell you.” She was shaking her head and grinning at him. She must have guessed his worry because she seemed to be enjoying torturing him with the possibility of failure. “It’s an impromptu test. You won’t know when it’s coming, the nature of the test, nor how it will be graded. Let’s just say, if you’re ready to go back into the conference room I’ll know.”
“Well, that’s a big help,” he said with enough sarcasm for her to tut-tut at him. “Whatever it is, Miss Asia Miller, I will pass that test,” he declared. “Failure is not an option.”
She bowed her head demurely then bid him goodbye and went through the door.
After she'd left he got up and grabbed his car keys from the desk. He had a meeting with the shipping association in half an hour. It had been a sore point on his list of things to do for the day but now he felt ready for it.
And in two weeks he’d be ready for his second date with Asia Miller.
******
He was going to make it. She could just tell. Darn.
Was it unfair of her to be secretly wishing for the failure of her own client? Or was she just being a chicken? Maybe Shelley was right - she was running ‘man-scared’. Maybe her trepidation had little to do with Rico’s being a client. Maybe she was just scared of the man himself.
She shook her head. What the heck was wrong with her? It was her job to tame this tycoon. That was what the corporation was paying her for. So how could she be scared of him?