Rick walked over to the wall of windows that faced the back of one of the company’s shopping centers and Bell Road.
‘If only you had not come to work that morning, you and mom would still be with us.’
He was just about to turn away from the window, when movement in the far end of the office building’s parking lot caught his attention. He watched as the attractive, athletically built blonde closed her VW Beetle’s door and walked swiftly towards the back of the shopping center. Even before she arrived at the back door of her studio, he knew who she was and where she was going. The only question in his mind was why she chose to park so far away from her back door.
Chapter 3
Two years seemed to fly by. For Sasha, they had been very good years. Not only had she settled comfortably into her new lifestyle, but her client base had continued to grow steadily as well. Best of all, her income had continued to grow to the point that she felt comfortable enough to take The Studio to the next level. There was only one thing stopping her, her lease.
Her ex-boyfriend, Matt, had cautioned her when she made the decision to open her own studio, to opt for a single five-year lease, thus limiting her potential exposure if the business failed. Her lease was due to expire in three months. She dreaded what she was sure to be a large increase in her rent. Before she could commit to a substantial investment in her business, she had to know if she could afford it.
Her new lease came in a certified letter three weeks later. As she compared the new lease to her old one, Sasha determined that nothing had changed except the amount of her rent and the insertion of a clause which gave her the right to renew her lease term for an additional five years at same rate, only her common area charges and real estate tax escalator amount would be re-determined at the time of renewal. What pleased her most was the amount of her monthly rent had only increased by one hundred dollars; an amount her monthly budget could easily handle.
Sasha placed an order for nine of the latest models of the Pilates Reformer machines. When they arrived, the driver would only deliver the boxes as far as her back door. It was up her to bring them into the building. They were heavy, but nothing that she could not handle by herself. After stacking eight of the boxes in one corner of the room, she opened the last one and found the assembly instructions. Overwhelmed at what, to her, seemed like a something written in a foreign language and not having any of the necessary tools, she just sat on the floor.
‘How am I going to get this done? I haven’t a clue where to begin.’
That’s when a thought popped into her head.
‘Maybe I can pay that cute maintenance guy to put these together. I’ll ask him tomorrow morning when he is collecting the garbage.’
Sasha got up earlier than normal the next morning, dressed in her best, and most flattering workout clothes. She placed two of the chairs from her waiting area, outside, prepared a cup of coffee for herself, and was outside relaxing in the refreshingly cool early morning air when she saw his truck enter the parking lot.
She waited until he had replaced the garbage bag before she stood and approached him.
“Hi, my name is Sasha; would you like to join me for a quick cup of coffee? I have something I’d like to talk to you about.”
“Well, it’s a little early for my coffee break, but sure, why not. My name is Rick.”
“How do you take your coffee?”
“Black, no sugar.”
“That’s easy; I’ll be back in two minutes.” She turned, walked back to the doorway, and disappeared from view. However, not before Rick had taken in and thoroughly appreciated the view of her shapely bottom and her long, well-formed legs.
When Sasha returned, she handed Rick his container of coffee and asked,
“Can you join me for a few minutes?”
“Of course I can, it will be a pleasure. I don’t often meet the owners of the companies that rent these places. I’m normally dealing with the store managers or sometimes just the owners’ reps.”
He sat across from her admiring her beauty. The Valley had no shortage of good-looking blue-eyed blondes. As far as he was concerned, Sasha was a step above any that he had met before.
“So, Rick, I see you work for the Landlord’s building maintenance company,” she said pointing to the writing on the door of his truck. “You must be very handy with tools and experienced at putting things together.”
“I’ve been known to handle myself fairly well around hand and power tools.”
“That’s wonderful. Can I hire you to do a job for me? I ordered some equipment for my studio. I had no idea that they would have to be assembled. The driver left the boxes at my back door; after I carried them inside, I opened one and discovered that there was no way I could put them together.”
“Well, normally, I wouldn’t be able to help you. We have strict rules against working on any of the tenant’s equipment or furniture and fixtures. However, if I do it on my own time; I don’t think I’ll be breaking any of the company rules. Let’s go inside and I’ll check out your equipment and see if I have the right tools for the job.”
His unintended sexual innuendo was not lost on Sasha; she just chose to ignore it for now.
They entered the building, walked through the waiting room, and crossed the large room to the far corner. As he walked, Rick could not help looking at the large, mirrored wall. He recalled that a dance studio had previously rented this space and that Sasha had elected to keep the two walls of mirrors. It made the space appear to be a whole lot bigger than it actually was. He especially liked the fact that he could watch Sasha from two different angles as she glided across the floor.
After studying the instruction manual, Rick looked up at Sasha saying, “You see this KD at the end of the item number on the packing slip. That stands for Knocked Down, meaning the unit comes in pieces and requires assembly. That being said, I don’t think this should be too difficult as long as they have given you all the pieces. What are they for? I thought Pilates was just a form of yoga type moves, done on a mat?”
“You are partially right, the main difference between Yoga and Pilates is that Yoga uses movement for improving the flexibility of the body and gradually increases the flexibility of your joints. Pilates, on the other hand, focuses on trying to relax the muscles of the body’s core and provide strengthening of the numerous muscles of the body. The equipment in these boxes is known as a reformer. Basically, it is used to intensify the movements that we do in our floor classes by adding resistance to the exercise. Pilates exercises builds strength into the muscles of the body’s core. Flat abs, strong backs, toned butts and firm thighs are all the results of our workout. By using the Reformer, we accelerate the process, encourage the lengthening of the body, and train the body to sustain that length.”
“Listen to me, I sound like a commercial.”
“No, you sound passionate about what you do; there is nothing wrong with that.”