Yoga

Over the next few months Steve looked for any reason to interact with Sam. He’d call her into his office to help with things he really could do himself. Most of their chats were professional, but occasionally, at the end of the day their shop talk would spill over into existential discussions…that weren’t a drag. Why? Matthew is his best mate. They used to stay up till dawn discussing girls, future, starting a company together, traveling the world. Maybe having the same conversation and getting the same answers wasn’t stimulating an more. One man seemed to grow up while the other was stuck in his glory days. Steven feels his “glory days” are still ahead of him.

The first time Steven asked Sam for her opinion on the cause of the global financial crisis of 2008 and if she feels like they are heading for another and she answered, “I don’t care. There’s never going to be a shortage of businessmen wanting to play God with other people’s livelihood.” He laughed so hard he nearly fell out of his chair. Steven enjoyed her blunt candor. She had this way of saying it with a smile that Steven doesn’t quite know how to interpret. The more they are able to have a cordial conversation the more he enjoys watching her smile go all the way up to her eyes. There is something playful behind that smile that made him want to keep digging for more about her.

On the other end of the phone, Matthew sat patiently listening to another story about Steven’s conversation with Sam.

“Are you going to ask her out already?”

“What? No.”

“Every time I call you lately all I hear about is Sam this and Sam that. Ask her.”

Sitting in his office the conversation with Matt kept rolling around. He hadn’t realized so much of the conversation was him talking about her. He took a deep breath and called Sam to come into his office.

Walking through the door was like running a marathon with her. “Did you sign the papers for me to send to JP Morgan today? They are due by the 23rd and you know how Anthony starts to get twitchy when they aren’t there at least a week before deadline.”

“Yes, they’re in the manila envelope at the end of my desk.”

She sat down and grabbed the envelope putting it under her Ipad so she wouldn’t forget it on her way out. “Let’s go over your speech to the board tomorrow. You seemed a bit concerned with your talking points yesterday and you need to sound confident. Last thing we need is for them to think you’re incompetent.” Sam looked above the rim of her glasses to see his reaction. Steven watched as the left side of her mouth went up and traveling straight to her eyes. She is obviously getting more relaxed around him if she can tease him now.

“Let’s get drinks after work tonight.” Steven blurted out before he could overthink it anymore.

Without missing a beat, “No”. She looked back down to her Ipad not say anything else, just no.

A bit taken back he tried to save himself the humiliation of being rejected. “Just to chat. Drinks just to chat.”

“No, I don’t date people I work with, let alone my boss.”

“No no no you misunderstand, this wouldn’t be a date. It would be more like the chats we have occasionally at the end of the day already, just in a different location.”

“So, you want to go get drinks and chat?”

“Yes. Just chat.”

“You said that already. What do you normally do on a first date?”

“Well, I haven’t had one in ages, but I usually take them to the pub and get some dinner.”

“And how do you get to know more about each other?”

“We ask questions that lead into conversation.”

“So, let me get this straight. On your date you take a woman to the pub and chat?” She looked at him for a second allowing him to process they were both saying the same thing.

“But, I won’t get you dinner.” He stammered confused on how to save himself.

“No thank you, I don’t date people I work with.” She scribbled something on a piece of paper, stood up and handed it to him. “If you want to chat, meet me here at six tomorrow morning.” Sam walked out of the office. Steven and his bruised ego avoided her the rest of the day.

The next morning Steven drove up to the address he’d typed into his GPS. Feeling a bit over dressed in his three-piece double-breasted pinstripe suit when he saw Sam in a hot pink tank top and black yoga pants holding a Lillywhites Sportswear bag.

“What is this?” Steven pointed to the bag, then her attire and finishing with waving his arms in circles around the sign Shine Yoga Dance Studio.

Holding the bag toward Steven, “this is my back up plan if you didn’t Google what establishment the address belongs to. Clearly you didn’t.” She thrust the bag in his hands and hurried into the yoga studio. He followed her inside his head not processing what is going to nearly quick enough.

“Go in there and change. Hurry class is about to start.” She breached the threshold to a room covered in hard wood floors and mirrors with a long guardrail running down the middle of the mirrors. Sam grabbed an extra mat and laying it on the floor, took the rolled mat off her back and laid it beside the other. He did what he was told and changed his cloths. Surprised they fit perfectly, but self-conscious about being so dressed down in public. He found his way to the mat next to Sam. She was sitting cross legged, hands on her knees and her eyes closed. Steven attempted to mimic her pose, but his legs did not bend that way.

He leaned over and asked, “How did you know my size?”

“Shh, you need to meditate before class starts to get the full experience.”

Whispering loudly, “I thought we were here to chat.”

“After.”

Steven made a lot of groaning noises. He’d never heard of downward dog, warrior one, child’s pose, and pigeon but he tried his best to do every one of them. The absolute worst was when they were asked to get into happy baby pose. He felt all dignity leave his body. He looked over at Sam to see if she was watching his torture. Laying on her back, legs bent grabbing each big toe while rocking from side to side she was watching him smiling.

Walking over to the street cart after yoga Sam ordered two earl grey teas. “Now we can chat,” she said.

“I fear hanging out with you could get me in a lot of trouble. Not just with yoga instructors who likes to shoosh me. Did you see the looks she was giving me for grunting during tree pose?” He reached out and grabbed the tea from Sam. “Thank you. And how is this not a date? We’re getting drinks.”

“I do this every Saturday with my girlfriends. Besides, do you usually get all sweaty on your first dates?”

Now it was his turn to smile, “it depends how well we get on. Um, today is Friday.”

Sam laughed and punched him in the arm.

“So, if having drinks with me is a no no because we work together…then you’re fired.”

Sam spun around and started walking away.

“I was kidding. We need to get to work?”

Sam kept walking and yelled over her shoulder, “No. I’m going to Paris to hang out with my mates for the weekend.” She spun back around to face him, “you wanna come?” She smiled and this time one of her mischievous eyes winked at him.