by Fields, MJ
“Yup. Works for me.” I opened the document on my laptop that I’d started earlier. So far, I only had a few notes based on our earlier conversations and a couple of things I’d thought of after searching through her social media.
“I pretty much need help with everything.” She shyly giggled, which once again left my head spinning. Mady Russo was a puzzle that I wasn’t certain could ever be solved. “And it can change on a daily basis, so I’m not sure what to put down since there are so many factors involved.”
“Makes sense.” My hands paused above the keys of my laptop, ready to type out anything of use. But she just kept spinning in circles instead of spitting out her actual needs. I let her ramble for another ten minutes before I broke in. “This is how I see things… You’ll need to communicate daily tasks to me, so we need to figure out how to accomplish that. It would make the most sense if I create a shared document that you can type in when things come up.”
She began to chew on her bottom lip, as if my suggestion had made her uneasy.
“If you don’t like that idea, we can set up a time every morning to go over the daily agenda. That can be done over the phone, so you wouldn’t even have to leave your house. Or if you come here every day, I can meet you and go over what you need me to do then. Whatever works best for you, Mady.”
“I don’t really see the point in meeting daily. Seems unnecessary, if I’m being honest.” Her eyes darted around the room, and I feared she’d bolt at any moment. Why was this so hard for her? My attempt to come up with a simple task list seemed to set her into a tailspin. “But I guess a phone call every morning could work.”
Finally, we were getting somewhere. “Well, I still think we should have a shared document so you can see what I’ve done, what I haven’t gotten to yet, what I need from you, etcetera. As well as a shared calendar. That way, we both know exactly what’s going on. It will eliminate a lot of the initial confusion before we find our rhythm.”
Her smile didn’t appear to be forced, yet it wasn’t the easy, genuine kind I’d grown used to. Then she shrugged and added, “If you say so. I’ll just follow your lead since I’m new to this, and you’re not.”
We spent the next couple of hours going over the day-to-day operations of her business, as well as her goals and dreams. I needed to know where she wanted to go in order to help map out a way to get her there. It was obvious she didn’t want to remain stagnant, so I needed to know everything, all the way down to her craziest desire for her brand. And by the time we finished, I had a good idea of what I had to do.
Without sounding like an asshole, it seemed like she needed someone to be her beck-and-call bitch like Kyle had surmised. As far as I could tell, there wasn’t much to this job, except tracking her calendar, social media, and correspondences, and then finding opportunities for her as they came up. It seemed too easy, which didn’t leave me feeling very excited. I’d taken on this job expecting a challenge. I was used to becoming overwhelmed when starting a brand-new job, but this was unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
I guess I’d just have to wait and see what happened.
Five
Mady
It was safe to say that having an assistant was more work than doing everything myself.
That didn’t mean I wasn’t appreciative of everything Finn had done in the three days since he started, but getting used to working with a total stranger was a job in itself. And while I knew it was best to keep things professional, I couldn’t stand how impersonal it all felt. Then again, I was used to working with my sister, someone I could be myself around. Having to always be on guard and watch every word that came out of my mouth was somewhat foreign to me.
Needless to say…something had to change.
“I told you to dress comfortably,” I said to Finn when he met me on the sidewalk in front of his truck.
He glanced down at his outfit and then gave me a confused stare. “I did. What’s more comfortable than jeans and a T-shirt? It might’ve helped if you told me what we’re doing instead of just telling me to dress comfortably and meet you here.”
I couldn’t fight the smile that burned my cheeks when he peered over my head at the building behind me. “We’re going to do a yoga class together. Surprise!”
Sadly, his dubious gaze was void of excitement. “Yoga? You’re joking, right?”
“No. I read that in order to work well together, we need to bond. And I’ve heard that yoga is a really great way to accomplish that. So…here we are.” I held out my hand behind me at the glass front of the studio, hoping he wouldn’t laugh in my face and leave.
His expression spoke volumes, and it screamed that he was close to bolting. “Mady, I appreciate the effort, but I’ve never done yoga before.”
“No worries, neither have I.”
He studied me for a moment, and then a grin finally tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Then what in the world would make you want to try it now, especially as a bonding experience? Not to mention, I’m pretty sure there’s a strict no-talking rule. It’s like a library or something, right?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Besides, what are they going to do, kick us out for talking?”
“Yes, Mady.” He laughed under his breath and shook his head. “That’s exactly what they’ll do. What made you think we need to bond anyway?”
“I told you…so we can work better together. Simpatico.” I laced my fingers together and showed him.
His laughter grew a bit louder and filled his words when he said, “That will come with time. I literally started a few days ago. This has got to be the strangest assignment I’ve ever been given. And I’ve seen it all. What even prompted this? Have I done something wrong, or are you not satisfied with my work?”
Somehow, I knew he’d ask that. “No, it’s not that at all. You’ve been great, amazing even, and the things you’ve come up with and set in place have been exactly what I needed.” I pulled my bottom lip into my mouth and stared at the concrete between our feet. “It’s just awkward, that’s all.”
Just like this conversation.
Finn lifted my gaze with a finger beneath my chin and asked, “What is?”
I huffed, fully aware—but not at all caring—that I likely looked like a toddler on the verge of a tantrum. I was at the end of my anxiety rope and unable to hold on much longer. “I’m used to being friendly and laughing with people, which is why when you said you’re a people person, I thought it would be perfect. But it’s not. We spend about five minutes on the phone every morning going over things that I honestly don’t understand, and then we hang up. It’s giving me a major complex.”
Even though his lips didn’t move, humor shined brightly in his eyes, making them glow the most beautiful shade of sea green. “If you wanted to build some sort of friendship, you could’ve just said something to me, Mady. You didn’t have to drag me to yoga.”
Feeling a little ridiculous but wanting to pass it off, I shrugged and held out my arms. “Well, since we’re already here and all…”
“No way. I’m not going in there. I’m not even dressed properly, and as we’ve both discussed, neither one of us knows what the hell we’re doing. Why don’t we go for a bite to eat instead?”
“Lunch sounds amazing. But not until we downward-dog it.” As soon as those words left my mouth, I realized how it sounded. Rather than backpedal, I straightened my spine and owned it. “I hear it’s a really good way to get to know someone.”
His laughter roared past his smiling lips and wrapped around me like a blanket before being carried away with the wind, on its way to make someone else happy. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”
Thankfully, he didn’t continue to fight me, and instead, followed me into the studio.
We’d made it just in time; the instructor was already in the front of the room preparing her Zen space. At least, that’s what I called it. There might’ve been a proper term for it, but I didn’t have the first clue what it was. Before we could garner
too much attention, I wrapped my fingers around Finn’s wrist and dragged him to the back corner of the class.
“Don’t we need mats?” he asked once we made it to the back.
I glanced around the room, wondering where they kept the spares. “I assumed they’d provide them for us. But I don’t see any…do you?”
“No, I don’t, because I’m pretty sure you have to use your own. It’s probably a health risk or something. All that sweat…” He visibly shivered, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing at his obvious revulsion to perspiration.
The woman in front of us turned and smiled, amusement brightening her face. “Most people bring their own, but I think Tasha has a few extras up front.”
I faced Finn and stuck out my tongue. Because, you know, I hadn’t done enough today to show my age. “See? Tasha has some up front. You should go get us one. Well, two. One for you, and one for me.”
“This was your idea, remember? You should get them.”
Taking a deep breath and holding it for a moment before slowly letting it out, I stared across the room at who I assumed was Tasha, the instructor with legs that went on for miles. But no matter how many times I tried to tell myself that it wasn’t difficult, that there weren’t too many people in the room, it didn’t help. I automatically multiplied the women around me by two and knew that was how many eyes would be upon me as I crossed the floor. I couldn’t do it. My feet refused to move, fear keeping me grounded in place.
“Mady…” Finn grabbed my hand and waited until I pulled my attention from the front of the room to his face. “Are you scared of going up there and asking for a couple mats?”
“No,” I muttered while nodding. “Okay, fine. Yes, I’m terrified. Are you happy now?”
“What are you so afraid of?”
“Everyone looking at me.”
He rolled his eyes while husky laughter seeped past his lips. “You post your whole life on social media for everyone to see. The entire world looks at you on a daily basis. How is this any worse? If anything, I’d think this would be a hell of a lot easier.”
“I know. It doesn’t make any sense. I could stand here and explain it to you, but in the end, we still wouldn’t have any mats. So how about you be a good assistant and go get them, and I’ll tell you all about my irrational fear when we leave, deal?”
He simply shook his head and walked away, lessening the weight of anxiety on my chest. Although, that might’ve had more to do with the fact that I watched his every step as he made his way to the front. My anxiety decreased even more when he bent down to quietly talk to the instructor. And it would’ve completely gone away had he not glanced up and caught me ogling his backside.
That smirk lit my face on fire.
He knew exactly what kind of dirty thoughts had raced through my mind.
This was not the kind of bonding I had hoped for.
With that all-knowing smile still in place, Finn handed me a rolled-up mat and began to unfurl his on the floor in front of him. To keep from looking too obvious, I busied myself with setting up mine, making sure it was perfectly flat—which required me to practically lay on it in the position one would if making a snow angel.
I giggled to myself when I caught him stepping out of his shoes. They reminded me of something a skater would wear, and they were so worn in, I’d bet they were at least ten years old. However, even though they looked like they’d smell, I caught no whiff of any odor when he stepped onto the mat in his bright-white socks.
“What’s so funny?” he whispered after taking a seat, his arms stretched out behind him to prop him up. At least he seemed to be comfortable, especially for a guy who didn’t even want to do this to begin with.
“Nothing.” But when I couldn’t stop laughing, I gave in and explained, “Your shoes are old, but your socks are brand new.”
He studied his feet, wiggling his toes. “Should I wear old socks, too?”
“No, I just don’t understand why you don’t buy new shoes.”
“What’s wrong with the ones I have?” He glanced over his shoulder at his sneakers and then back at me, the expression on his face making me worried that I had offended him somehow. But before I could answer, the woman at the front called out that it was time to get started.
Thank God!
“Okay, class, hopefully we’ve all done some stretching while waiting, but for those who haven’t”—I was convinced she’d directed that solely at Finn and me—“we’ll do a simple warmup before we start. Let’s begin with the extended child’s pose. Remember…knees apart, big toes together, forehead on the mat with your arms stretched out in front, and completely relax.”
I felt confident as I mimicked those around me. This was a piece of cake. Nothing to it. But when I turned my head to the side, I realized that Finn was having a much harder time with it. I found it comical to watch him try to widen his legs while stretching out, attempting to get his forehead to touch his mat.
After nailing that pose for a minute or so, she had us pushing up on all fours, doing some weird breathing technique. We had to drop our heads forward and arch our spines as we inhaled, and then turn our faces toward the ceiling and push our asses out as we exhaled. I would have been able to stay composed if I didn’t watch Finn attempt this one as well.
I learned very quickly that breathing and hysterically laughing did not go hand in hand.
“You look like a wolf huffing and puffing at the moon.” My whispered words were consumed by a fit of giggles that I couldn’t control. “You’re really into this, aren’t you?”
“Maybe you should focus on your own warmup instead of making fun of mine. You’ve missed several inhales. I can tell by the lack of oxygen in your brain right now.” His lips didn’t curl, though his humor was vibrantly expressed in his eyes.
The woman in front of Finn peered over her shoulder, placed a finger over her mouth, and shushed us. All I could do was stare at her, considering I’d likely get kicked out for speaking my mind. Uttering any sound at all seemed to piss her off, let alone sharing my actual thoughts about her.
Finn must’ve found my silent reaction funny, because he practically fell over in hysterics. He dropped to his elbows, ass still perched high in the air, and muffled his laughter by covering his face with his hands. Aside from the heavy breathing that could be heard, his amusement was noted by the way his body rocked back and forth with each hiccupping chuckle.
“Seriously, Finn…it wasn’t that funny.” As soon as those words were out of my mouth, I flicked my gaze to the woman in front of him, making sure I hadn’t interrupted her warmup again. Confident that she either hadn’t heard or chose to ignore me, I turned back to Finn, who had begun to calm down. “Whose brain is lacking oxygen now, huh?”
As luck would have it, someone else in that same row decided to jump on the shushing bandwagon. If they kept this up, they’d have to worry more about saliva on their mats than sweat. I certainly hoped they were part of the majority who brought their own.
I shuddered at the thought of pressing my forehead to a mat they’d previously slobbered on.
“All right, everyone’s doing so well,” Tasha called out from the front. “Now, let’s push into a high plank. Good job, you guys.” While our instructor cooed at the class, I frantically scoured the rows of women in the hopes I’d understand what the fuck a high plank was. Which, as it turned out, was nothing more than the position one would get in to do a push-up. Again, easy peasy.
Except she didn’t stop there.
Apparently, a high plank wasn’t something that was held for longer than a second, because she immediately had us going from that to the only position I actually knew. It also happened to be one that made Finn laugh beside me.
“Without moving your hands and feet, reach your hips back into downward facing dog.” It seemed that reaching your hips back was a polite way of saying stick your butt high in the air. It was a good thing I knew what I was doing this time, because if I had to glance
up for help, I’d get a panoramic view of nothing but ass.
Maybe the back row wasn’t the best choice.
Then again, it was better than giving all these ladies an eyeful of my tush.
“Remember to breathe into it,” Tasha, who was now obstructed from my view, continued. “Press your chest toward your thighs and pedal with your legs, rolling onto the ball of your foot while bending one knee, then the other. But make sure you keep your spine straight. If your lower back is rounding, then bend your knees slightly. This will allow you to tilt your tailbone up and lengthen your spine.”
None of that made sense. Not a single word of it. I had no idea how people could follow along without picture diagrams or, at the very least, slowly spoken instructions. I was utterly lost. In order to know what the hell I was supposed to be doing, I dropped to my knees and glanced around the room, looking for a more visual translation of Tasha’s directions. But when I turned to look at Finn, I couldn’t stop the giggles from rumbling in my chest all over again.
He sat on his haunches with his phone in his hand, clearly not at all interested in participating with the rest of the class. As soon as he heard me snicker, he swung his gaze from his cell to my face, and in an instant, that smile stretched his lips, the corners of his mouth hiding behind his light-colored facial hair—which looked even more untamed than when we first arrived.
“What are you doing?” he whispered, though with as deep as his voice was, it was more of a hushed grumble. “Isn’t this your favorite position? Don’t you want to…how’d you word it? Oh, yeah. Downward dog it?”
“Very funny, Finn. It seems yoga isn’t as easy as I thought.”
“It’s only the warmup, Mads. And isn’t this beginner yoga?”
Hearing him call me Mads did something to me. Yet I wasn’t sure what…or why.