Chapter Four

Mason

“So, to wrap this all up,” I said, wanting to move on from this meeting, “our revenue has already hit the mark for the entire year. It can only go up from here, so let’s stay on the game, make this quarter’s earnings blast us out of the water, and move up to the number one spot for record label of the year.”

I smiled as several people clapped and the others finished up their notes and made a break for the door. I didn’t blame them at all considering we had just sat through at least two hours of investor lectures before getting to the numbers. I was so tired of these meetings, but I knew they were vital to public confidence, and that was my biggest weakness being so young in the business.

I packed up my things and headed back to the office, ready for a little peace and quiet. There weren’t any more meetings before my lunch break, and I was pretty excited to get over there for my first yoga class with Missy, the hot instructor from yesterday. As I turned into my office, I found Chris posted in my chair, his feet on my desk. I lifted my eyebrows at him as he got up and switched to the chair on the other side. I laughed, knowing he wanted my office bad. It had the best view in the whole place.

“Hey, bro,” I said, smiling. “What’s up?”

“So, I met this chick last night,” he said, pulling out a CD. “I just so happened to notice while she was showering at my place that she has the voice of a freaking angel.”

I waved my hand, rolling my eyes thinking this was just another one of those girls that banged him for a chance at the big show. As soon as he popped the CD in and pressed Play, though, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It was soulful and sultry, and I could almost imagine this girl in bed, even without having met her. I nodded my head in approval, and Chris closed his eyes and sang along. I laughed at his ridiculousness and leaned back, taking in the tune as she sang. When it was done, Chris raised his eyebrows, waiting for my response.

“I’m impressed,” I said. “Bring her in for a test recording, and then we’ll see how it goes.”

“Dude, this girl is hot too,” Chris said, plopping down in his chair. “I picked her up, got drunk with her, and we did all kinds of kinky shit last night. I tell you, man, one look at this girl and you’ll sell a million records. She is hot as hell.”

“You gotta stop sleeping with the clients.” I laughed.

“She wasn’t a client until I slept with her,” Chris corrected me. “So, what are we doing for lunch today? I was thinking some sushi since it’s been a while. There’s a new place that just opened up down the street, and the girl in the mail room said it’s amazing.”

“Actually, I can’t today,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I’ve signed up for some yoga classes on my lunch break. I’m trying to figure out how to destress my life a little.”

“I can’t picture you doing the downward-facing dog,” Chris said with a laugh. “But whatever floats your boat. You want me to bring you back takeout?”

“Sure,” I replied, thinking about Missy. “Hopefully I can get a little ‘take-in’ at one of these private lessons. This yoga instructor is freaking hot, no joke. Like I haven’t met a girl this hot in a really long time. Well, I take that back—I haven’t met a girl this hot that isn’t made of plastic.”

“Hey, I like fake titties,” Chris said, furrowing his brow. “Besides, those yoga instructors are really high-strung, and have a serious issue with sleeping with clients—trust me, I know.”

“Okay, first of all, this chick was way interested.” I laughed. “And secondly, I am not going to base my opinion on you striking out with one yoga instructor.”

“Okay, big man,” Chris said, shaking his head. “I bet you a thousand bucks you can’t get this chick in the sack.”

“You know I don’t bet,” I said, chuckling. “Besides, that’s really cliché.”

“You’re right,” Chris said, waving his hands. “I didn’t think you’d be up for it anyway.”

“Don’t you have something that you need to be doing? Like your job?” I said, throwing the stapler at him.

“You are right,” Chris replied, grabbing the CD. “I gotta call Miss Sexy and let her know about the recording. You want to be there?”

“Yeah,” I said, realizing this girl was legit. “Just let my secretary know when you schedule it.”

“You got it, boss,” Chris said. He put the stapler down and walked to the door. “Have fun at yoga. Namaste, player.”

I watched as Chris made his way out of my office and down the hall, checking out the secretary as she bent over to file something. I swear that guy would screw a desk if it moved for him—good thing our desks aren’t on wheels. I picked up the apple on my desk and let my mind float off for a few minutes. Missy was smoking hot, even with her pouty lips covered in salad dressing. She definitely wasn’t the normal blonde bimbo I usually went after, but there was something sexy and edgy about her. She was relatively tall with jet-black hair cut into a bob and blunt long bangs that sat right over her emerald-green eyes. The contrast was almost stunning, and it took me a minute when I first saw her to drag my eyes away from her.

Owning a gym, she definitely lived up to the hype, and I could see her tight round bootie in my mind. I’d watched as she walked around the studio, her ass bouncing and the muscles in her thighs showing through her leggings. Her stomach was tight and her hips were curvy, giving her that fit but voluptuous vibe. I could only imagine how she would look with her long legs stretched up over my shoulders as I pounded her in all kinds of crazy yoga positions. She was so hot that I already saw myself having a hard time focusing and I wasn’t even there yet. I was confident in my skills, though, especially since I’ve been doing yoga since I was a little kid.

She may have been an expert, but I was no slacker, and I couldn’t wait for her to put her hands on me whenever she corrected my posture. I took in a deep breath. I needed to stop thinking about her like that unless I wanted to include my massive boner in my yoga routine. Besides, Chris was probably right—I was sure she was used to dealing with the stigma that yoga instructors got. Everyone thought of them as free-loving hippies who were flexible as hell and ready to let you bang them anywhere. The reality of it, though, was far from that, especially knowing several yoga instructors who were probably more prudish than most people I knew, including my parents.

I looked down at the clock and realized I needed to head out if I was going to get to the Art District by noon. Everyone would be grabbing cabs for lunch soon, so I wanted to get ahead of the game. I grabbed my gym bag, checked out with the secretary, and made my way out to the street when I remembered I had already scheduled a private car to take me over. I hated cabs, so I usually ended up in one of the town cars, especially since driving in New York was pretty much impossible. I jumped in the back and grabbed a bottle of water, downing it while I rode along and stared out the window.

When we arrived, I shook my thoughts of business out of my head, ready to get my relaxing yoga on. I walked in the door and smiled at Missy, who was standing behind the counter finishing up a conversation on the phone. She covered the mouthpiece and looked up at me.

“Hey, go ahead and get ready and set up,” she whispered. “I’ll be in there in a minute.”

I nodded and made my way back to the changing rooms, where I threw on a pair of shorts and a tank top and stored my things in the lockers. The place smelled like lavender and patchouli, which was a nice change from the normal sweaty smell of the gym. By the time I got back out there, she was sitting on her mat stretching and waiting for me. Immediately she launched into the meditative prayer before starting, and I was slightly amused at how professionally she was handling herself. She may have been all nerves yesterday, but today my charming smile was not cracking that demeanor of hers.

I closed my eyes and listened to her talk, feeling a strong comfort and relaxation from the sound of her voice. She led me through a fifteen-minute meditation where I was supposed to be clearing my mind and riding the waves of relaxation. In reality, I was cracking my eyes and staring at her sexy body as she sat cross-legged in front of me on her mat. After that part was over, we dove right into the yoga. At first, I considered everything we were doing as really easy, but as the hour-long session continued, I could feel this chick completely kicking my butt. Either I was way more out of shape than I thought, or she was purposely challenging my cocky attitude. From the looks of her glances and a small smirk, I was pretty sure it was the latter.

By the end of the class, I was completely soaked, and I sat breathing heavily as she took me through the ending meditation. I chuckled to myself as I rolled up my mat—she had really taken me through the ringer. If getting in shape was on my list, I was definitely on the way to that. Oddly enough, even with the effort and strain the class provided, I felt extremely calm and very relaxed. I went into the changing area and took a quick shower to rinse off the sweat, redressed for the office, and met Missy at the front desk.

“That was definitely a workout.” I laughed. “I thought I was on top of my yoga game, but you showed me different.”

“It’ll get easier,” she said with a smirk. “So, would you like to schedule another class?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “I’d love to go ahead and make this a daily occurrence at the same time.”

“Oh, awesome,” she said, obviously excited. “Do you want to book a month, and then go from there?”

“That would be great,” I said, handing her my black card and stifling a laugh at her wide eyes as she held the thick plastic in her hand.

“So the total comes out to $1,500 for thirty private classes,” she said, looking up at me.

“Perfect,” I replied, looking down as my phone rang.

She ran my card and had me sign for it. I smiled and thanked her, trying to ignore my secretary’s text messages. I wanted to ask this girl out, but for some reason, I was really hitting a road block. I turned and walked through the door, stopping and turning back to Missy.

“Do you want to grab a drink tonight?”

She looked up at me for several seconds. “No,” she said nonchalantly. “But I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.”

I laughed to myself and nodded as I walked out onto the city streets. This girl was going to be a challenge, and I was ready to accept it full force.