by Hazel Keys
“What was that?” Isabella asked, catching Rachel’s grin.
“What was what?” Rachel asked, immediately picking up her fork and scooping a bite of eggplant parm into her mouth. “Mmm, this is really good. You two should try some.”
Isabella narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “I know what you were doing,” she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. “You were checking out Brad!”
Bella gasped, huddling in for a dose of gossip. “Really? He does look extra cute today, doesn’t he?”
“No. I mean yes. I mean,” Rachel sighed, not quite sure what to say. He was definitely looking handsome. The new promotion looked good on him, and the kindness he had shown her earlier that day was making him even more appealing.
“So what’s going to happen with you two?” Bella asked.
“Hmm? What do you mean? Like going out? I don’t think he’-
Bella laughed quietly and shook her head no. “Not what I meant, but now I know where your head is! I was talking about what are you going to do work wise? Are you still going to bunk with us in our office.”
Rachel let out a nervous laugh, suddenly wishing that her fruit punch was wine instead. “Oh, that. I’m going to have to move into the smaller conjoining office that’s attached to Bradley’s.”
“You think you can handle that now?” Isabella asked. “Remember what happened last time.”
“I know, I know,” Rachel replied, shrugging her shoulders. “But I’ve decided something, and I think it’s going to make a world of a difference.”
“Oh?” Bella asked, intrigued. “And what would that be?”
“I’m going to work on having a better temper.”
The Bella’s laughed and soon walked away to talk to other members of the office. They had every right to laugh, Rachel decided. She knew her temper and she also knew that it wasn’t always held in the highest regards. Which is exactly why she wanted to work on it. After she found out that she wasn’t going to lose her job after all, she went to her computer and found a yoga studio that was only a block away from work. She signed up to take a half hour class before work and an hour class after work every night. It was a lot of dedication, but she knew she needed it.
After the party was over everyone slowly made their way back to their desks to get back to work. With her tasks done for the day, Rachel set about moving the contents of her workspace into her new office. It was a much smaller office than the one she shared with the Bella’s, and it didn’t have any windows. But, there was a door for privacy if Brad got on her nerves too much, and it did have a nice little cubby feeling to it. Towards the end of the day, Brad came to knock on her door.
“How’s it going in here?” He asked, leaning in the doorway.
Rachel finished adjusting her overhead lamp and smiled up at him. “So far so good,” she replied. “Oh, um, I wanted to ask you. What did you want to do with that?” She asked, pointing towards a stand. There, sitting atop it, was the new coffee machine that Mr. Miller had gifted to him for his promotion. It was a black and stainless steel contraption, set up with a nice stainless steel tray with a bowl of sugar cubes and four matte black coffee mugs.
“I can move it into my office if it bothers you,” Brad offered.
Rachel shook her head no. “Not at all. And now I don’t have to steal it anymore.” Oops. The words slipped out of Rachel’s mouth before she even realized she was thinking them. A pink blush climbed up her cheeks as Bradley gawked at her.
“You?” He asked, sounding shocked. “You’re the one that’s been stealing my coffee? But you said you hated it!”
“I didn’t lie!” Rachel defended herself. “I did hate it. At first. And then I got used to the taste, and I was too bull headed to admit that I was wrong. So, whenever you weren’t looking, I would sneak into the break room and take some. At first it was only a cup a day, but then the more I was stressing out about work, the more I needed.” She put her hands behind her back and gave him a sheepish grin. “Sorry.”
Brad looked at her for a moment, as if he had no idea what to do with her. His brilliant blue eyes roamed all over her body.
“You know,” he said at last. “You are a very peculiar woman.”
Chapter 9
Bradley
“Yeah. No. No you’re totally right, mom. I should have asked for money.” Brad rolled his eyes as he listened to his mother go on and on about how he should have renegotiated the contract that was already too late to be negotiated.
“All I’m saying is that you could have gotten more,” She pushed. “You undersold yourself!” Margaret Rivhorn was a wife, mother of two, and the COO of Inteltech, a fortune five hundred company that she had helped to build almost thirty years from the ground up right after she finished her Master’s degree. To say she was a hard working woman was a huge understatement. One that she just loved pointing out to her male peers.
While they focused on their careers, she had focused on her own, her husband’s, and the lives of her two children, Bradley and Valarie. She had brought them both up to be smart, hardworking, and also kind. Bradley knew he couldn’t have asked for a better mother, and he was thankful for her every day. However, when she talked to him like this, he always had the urge to hurry off the phone.
“You’re right mom,” he repeated, zipping up his charcoal gray hoodie. “Listen, it was great to talk with you but I have to go, I’m on my way to yoga.”
“All right then,” Margaret sighed, not missing her son’s slightly agitated tone. “Go on.” Then, in a much softer voice she added. “Congratulations, darling. Your father would have been proud. See you for dinner next Sunday?”
Brad’s heart constricted as he thanked his mother and promised her that yes; he would indeed be at dinner. He hung up the phone, slid it into his gym bag, and went on his way. In the car he thought fondly of the memory of his father, and concluded that yes, he would have been proud of him for his promotion.
At the yoga studio he greeted June as usual, signed in, and headed towards studio C. He was a little early, but then again he always was. He liked to pick his spot out in the empty room, lay out his mat, and do his stretches before the rest of class, mostly women, all filtered in.
“Hey there Brad!”
Brad looked up from his stretching to see Summer. A pretty, mid thirties woman with long, straight, straw blonde and a tiny waist.
“Hi Summer, how did your week go?”
The stay at home mom filled him on her week with the four kids and the everlasting tale of a husband that was a traveling salesman. By the time she was finished, the majority of the class had filed in and had taken their places.
“He’s in China?” Brad asked, surprised.
Summer shrugged, a hint of sadness in her eyes. “Yeah. Well, what do you do, right?” She paused, her lower lip disappearing between her teeth in a nervous action as her blue eyes looked imploringly up at him. “Listen, um, I was wondering if maybe after class you’d”-
A loud crash cut Summer off and the entire class looked up to see a cute brunette sprawled on the floor with the shelf of yoga blocks scattered all around her. Brad recognized her immediately and, completely forgetting the conversation he was having with Summer, went over to help her up.
“Rachel? What are you doing here?”
Rachel scrambled up to her feet, her long brown curls falling loose from her half thrown up ponytail, and she looked at Brad wide-eyed. That adorable blush filled her cheeks again, and he had to bite back a smile.
“Brad! Hey. I um, this is yoga, right?” She stammered, trying to right the heavy shelf.
A chuckle slipped from Brad’s lips as he nodded his head and helped her right the stand and put the blocks back on it. “Yes. Yes it is. Since when did you start doing yoga here?”
Rachel put the last block back down on the shelf and let Brad lead her to an open spot near his mat. She looked good in yoga pants, he decided, catching a few peeks. Unlike the rest of the women wearing tight exercise
shirts or just sports bras, she was wearing an oversized black t-shirt with a rip down the front that stopped just above her breasts. Her pants, however, were hugging the curves of her legs and backside scrumptiously.
“Today, actually,” she answered, rolling out her mat. She looked nervous as she stepped onto the studio- supplied mat, and lowered her voice. “If I’m being totally honest, this is my first day ever doing yoga.” She was looking around, and when Brad followed her line of sight he saw that there were several women, including Summer, that had no intention of hiding their snickers.
Without thinking about it, Brad reached out and put his hand on her shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. Even through the t-shirt he could feel her trembling with nerves. “Hey, that’s okay,” he assured with a smile. “Yoga is all about relaxation. We all have to start somewhere right? Plus you came on a good day. This is a basic to medium level class. Nothing too fancy.”
The instructor shouted welcome and the class began. Brad gave Rachel one more assuring smile and returned to his own mat. He had been practicing for years, but still liked to visit a beginner’s class once a month or so to make sure he was doing the basics properly. As his arms reached up high in sun salutation, he was glad that he had decided go to one that day.
~
“How do you feel?” Brad asked, rolling up his mat. The class, as always, had gone by quickly. Every now and then he’d take a quick look over to Rachel to see how she was doing and just as he had predicted, she was learning quite well.
“Great actually!” Rachel replied enthusiastically. “Do you feel this way after every class?”
Brad chuckled, and picked up her mat to roll it for her. “Most days.” They started walking together out the door when Summer approached him, putting her body directly between his and Rachel’s.
“Hey you! You walked away before I could finish talking to you!” She said, almost too sweetly.
“Sorry Summer,” he apologized. “What were saying earlier?”
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and batted her eyelashes. “I was wondering if you’d want to go get a smoothie with me?” Her eyes shot over towards Rachel, then right back to his. “Like, right now maybe?”
“Tempting,” he said, stepping around her. “But no thanks. I need some coffee.” He stepped up to Rachel, smiling. “What do you say? Could you go for a cup? You won’t even have to steal this one.”
Chapter 10
Rachel
So many things, Rachel thought, as she waited for Brad to bring their coffee to the table. There were so many things that were bizarre about the morning so far. First, she’d woken up late, almost not making it in time for class. Then of course the whole horrible incident of her knocking everything over. And then there was Brad in her class, of all places, looking hot as hell. Ready for yoga, he had been wearing a pair of black knee length fitted shorts and a black ribbed shirt. In so little clothes, it was easy to see that he was a very fit man, with small but well shaped muscles that were sure to make any woman swoon. Especially the blonde haired lady who had given her the death stare.
What was worse…or was it better? Was that not only did Brad turn her down, but then asked her to go get coffee with him right in front of the scorned woman. It was as they were walking away from the huffing blonde that Rachel had realized that it hadn’t even dawned on Brad that it was a pickup gone wrong. Now she was with him, in a cute little coffee shop filled with books and antique coffee machines. They’d picked the table by the window, which was actually more like a reading nook with all kinds of large, fluffy pillows scattered around, and the rain had commenced once again.
“Here you go,” Brad said, coming back with two large steaming cups of black coffee.
“Thanks,” she said, using the cup to warm her hands. As he passed the mug to her their fingers brushed against another, making her jump.
They sat in comfortable silence for a moment as they blew on the surface of their coffees before taking the first tentative sip.
“So,” Brad said, breaking the silence. “What made you decide to do yoga?”
Rachel laughed, and hugged the warm mug closer to her chest. “You, actually,” she admitted.
Brad looked surprised. “You knew I did yoga?” He asked.
Rachel shook her head no. “Didn’t have a clue. But I figured that now that I had a new chance at work that I should try to a little um…a little calmer. I thought yoga might help with that.”
Brad nodded his head in agreement, and for the first time she noticed how well defined his jaw line was. Had he always had such a cute Adam’s apple?
“It really does,” he told her. “Keeps the stress way down. You’ll like the studio too. Everyone there is really nice.”
Rachel let out a bark of a laugh, and rolled her eyes. “To you maybe.”
“What do you mean?” Brad asked, his eyebrow doing that sexy arch thing again.
“I mean that soccer mom that nearly body checked me. She’s got a thing for you.”
“Summer? No. She’s married,” Brad said simply, taking a sip of his coffee. “Talks about him all the time.”
Rachel felt a softness for him start to grow in her heart. Was he really that unaware of such blatant flirting? Oh well. If he was, she wasn’t going to ruin it for him.
“I bet she does,” was all she said before taking another sip of her coffee. She switched the subject to yoga poses, and the two fell easily into conversation. Eventually they refilled their cups of coffee, and then went on to split a scrumptious looking bear claw that could have easily fed four people. She was enjoying herself so much that she had completely forgot to keep track of the time. It wasn’t until she glanced out the window and saw that it was still raining. With the gloomy skies there was no sun to watch or tell of any kind of the passing hours. Pulling out her phone, she saw that she had been sitting there with Brad for nearly three hours!
“Crap,” she murmured, checking the nine waiting text messages, all from the Bellas.
“What’s wrong?” Brad asked. He too must have stopped keeping track of time.
“The girls. Indoor veg fest and movie day. I was supposed to go to yoga, pick up the DVD’s and food, and be back like two hours ago.” She got up and grabbed her small gym bag. She looked out the window again for any signs of a cab, but couldn’t see any. For once, the streets of New York looked like a ghost town. “I have to go. Do you have a number of a cab company?”
“No,” he said, picking up his bag. “But I can drive you.”
Rachel laughed, thinking he was only trying to be nice. “That’s okay. I have like three stops to make before even getting home. I’ll see if the barista has a list.”
Brad reached out, touching her shoulder again. It was a becoming a habit she liked, she realized. “I don’t mind at all,” he said. “Where’s the first stop?”
~
Bella pulled the cork out of the bottle of two dollar red wine with a satisfactory pop. Yes it was only three o’ clock, but it was rainy, it was Saturday, and Rachel was late. She called out to Isabella to see if she wanted some and proceeded to pour two glasses. When she walked into living room she saw a puzzling image of Isabella, with her head out of the window and her bum up high in the air.
“What are you doing?” She asked.
Isabella jumped backwards and squeaked, narrowly missing hitting her head on the windowsill. She plopped back down onto the recliner, pulling her long, heavy sweater over her red and white Christmas themed leggings. An odd choice for April, but that was Isabella for you.
“Rachel’s down there!” Isabella whispered.
“Finally!” Bella sighed. “I’m starving. Why are you whispering?”
“Because she’s down there with Brad!”
“What?” Bella asked, moving towards the window and poked her head out into the rainy street. Sure enough, there was Rachel and Brad, standing together under an umbrella. They looked like they were arguing who was going to take all of the bag
s upstairs, and there were plenty.
“Hey!” Bella shouted down, giving herself away. “I don’t care who carries the bags up, just get them here! I’m hungry!”
The two looked up at her suddenly, and she gave them a sugary sweet smile. They shared a glance at one another before shrugging their shoulders, and they both moved towards the entrance of the building.
“Hey Brad,” Bella said coolly as he and Rachel walked into their apartment a few minutes later.
Brad sat the bags down on the coffee table, and looked back up to smile at the Bella’s. “Hello ladies. How’s it going?”
“Not bad. Ran into Rachel here at yoga and we got held up. Sorry she’s late. It’s my fault.” Brad said, defending Rachel.
“Thanks for helping me,” Rachel said suddenly, putting on a smile. Her eyes silently begged him to leave, and she winked at him when he picked up her hint.
“Not a problem,” he replied. “I’ll see you all on Monday.”
Bella tried to get him to stay, but to Rachel’s relief he made excuses to leave. She was thankful that he could read her signals and not got offended. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him to stay. In fact, hanging out with him had been a lot of fun. She just didn’t want to have to do it around the Bella’s, who were sure to make the situation as awkward as possible.
Chapter 11
Bradley
6 Days Later
“Don’t say that again,” Brad said, his temper getting the best of him. “That was not a sexist comment. It was just a suggestion!”
“Just a suggestion?” Rachel repeated, her body shaking. “You want me to make her breasts bigger!”
It was late Friday night. The rest of the staff was gone, and Bradley and Rachel had stayed behind to finish the first rough draft of Rachel’s catalogue idea. He’d had a long day, and even longer week. Being Vice President was hard enough to do, let alone still be a department head. Some nights he wasn’t getting home until ten or eleven o’ clock, then getting up at five-thirty to do it all over again.