February Or Forever (2 page)

Chrissie pulled into a spot in the staff parking area at Serendipity, even though she could easily park at the house, it being only a short walk away, but with her workday ending at 3 p.m. she had to get to the school in time to pick up Kai. Reluctantly, Chrissie switched off the engine along with Drew's delicious voice, and readied her mind for the day ahead.

Serendipity was a beautiful place to work; no busy, loud offices with endlessly ringing phones and chatter, unlike her previous job at the newspaper. Stepping through the doors here was like entering a sanctuary where the outside world didn't exist. Chrissie walked down the corridor towards the staff zone, breathing in the hint of orange essential oil wafting in the air. She nodded hello to one of the nutritionists as she passed the staff lounge, and was about to walk upstairs to the yoga studios when someone called out.

‘Oh, Chrissie, could you come in here a moment?'

Chrissie turned to face her boss and manager of the retreat, Helena Washington. Her thin glasses perched on her nose and white-grey hair falling in wisps around her face, she ushered Chrissie into the main office.

Oh no, am I in trouble?
She was a little late, but hoped it didn't matter since she didn't have to teach a class till nine-thirty.

‘How are you settling in?' Helena asked.

‘Well, thanks. I love it here.' Chrissie smiled.

‘Good, good.' Helena pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose. ‘You met one of the other instructors, Rachel, last week…' Chrissie nodded. ‘Well, the poor lass broke her leg yesterday. She fell from a horse and got trampled on, will be out of action for quite a while.'

‘Oh no, is she going to be okay?'

‘Yes, yes, luckily it was only her bones that got damaged and not her internal organs, otherwise it could have been a different story.' Helena shook her head.

Ouch.
Chrissie felt for Rachel; she didn't really know her but couldn't imagine how painful it must have been, let alone the idea of being bedridden and not able to move around and stretch her body.

‘And you'd like me to take over some of her workload?' Chrissie assumed.

‘Yes, some, but Lisa and Damon can share the load as well. Mostly, there's another job I was hoping you could take on in her place.'

‘Sure, as long as it falls within the school hours we agreed upon, I can do anything that's required.'

Helena's mouth curved up into a faint smile. ‘Are you interested in taking on a challenge?'

Taking on challenges? Story of my life.

Chrissie widened her eyes and nodded.

‘Good. It's just that with Rachel gone, you're the most experienced instructor we have here, and I need the best for this job.' She rested her hand on the edge of the desk and leaned closer. ‘We have a V.I.P. guest staying with us for the month of February, arrived last night. He's requested daily yoga sessions — private sessions — and I assured him we could accommodate his request.'

Wow, only a few days in a new job and she was getting a promotion? Just what she needed; a chance to expand her experience and keep busy and focused on work. ‘Of course, I can do that.' Chrissie thought it was probably some corporate guy on stress leave, needing a month of rejuvenation.

‘Now, I know you can only do five days a week and the occasional Saturday, but he is fine with that. I said you would create a personal program for him to practise on his own time too, to get the most out of his stay.'

‘Definitely.' Creating individual yoga programs was one of her favourite parts of the job. She loved selecting the poses to suit each person's needs and putting them together into an exercise prescription. Yoga was more than exercise; it was about unifying the body, mind, and spirit.

‘Great.' Helena clapped her hands together. ‘Now there's one other thing,' she picked up a manila folder, ‘I'll need you to sign a legal document agreeing to keep the knowledge of his visit to yourself. His lawyer has requested complete discretion and privacy during his stay. Can I count on you for your professionalism?'

Man, who was this guy? Oh my God. What if he was some big name politician…did politicians even do yoga?
She couldn't imagine the pollies taking a break during Question Time for a spot of downward dog.

‘I won't say a word to anyone,' Chrissie replied, her brows drawing together. ‘Who is the guest?'

Helena opened her mouth but closed it again, then led Chrissie to the corner window of the office which had a snippet of a view into the V.I.P. garden. ‘See for yourself.'

Curiosity tingled inside as Chrissie peered out the window. Her heart beat faster in anticipation then skidded to a halt at the sight of the man. There, sitting on the garden swing, swaying back and forth with a guitar on his lap, was none other than the owner of the voice that had permeated her car only minutes before.

‘Drew Williams?' The words almost choked her as they catapulted out of her mouth.

Am I seeing things?

‘The one and only,' Helena replied. ‘You a fan?'

His biggest.

‘Um,' she gulped, running her hand down her long blonde ponytail, ‘He's ah, very gifted.'

In more ways than one.

Chrissie stole another glance in his direction. His tanned face appeared to glow under the sun's rays, his eyes squinting, but he didn't seem bothered. He strummed his guitar, then put it aside and jotted something down on a piece of paper. Writing a song?

‘He grew up here in town, did you know that?'

‘I knew he came from somewhere down this way, but wasn't sure where.'

‘Yep, Tarrin's Bay, born and bred.' Helena swivelled the rod hanging from the Venetian blinds, reducing the sunlight to thin horizontal slits, signalling the end of Chrissie's spying opportunity. ‘He's asked for a session this morning, can you do that?'

‘Now?'

‘No, after your morning group class. 11 a.m.?'

‘So, Damon will take over my other class?'

‘Yes. Consider Mr Williams your top priority from now on. Well, until he leaves the country on the 1st of March. I told him we could arrange afternoon sessions in addition to or in place of the morning class if he prefers, but he'll see how he goes.'

Chrissie nodded with a little too much enthusiasm, or perhaps nerves, and wondered if this was some kind of dream and she hadn't even left the house yet. Maybe she was still tucked up in bed and she'd wake any minute and laugh at the fantasy she'd created.

Chrissie looked at the forms that Helena placed in her trembling hands. A lot of legal mumbo jumbo, but the gist of it was that she would not tell anyone that Drew Williams was staying at Serendipity, or that she had anything to do with him.

This was no dream. Her favourite celebrity was right outside and she'd be meeting him in less than two hours. She wanted to call her friend Melinda in Sydney and brag, but couldn't. She would be the envy of every woman her age, and she couldn't tell a single soul.

Thoughts bounced through her mind as Helena ducked out to make a call, leaving her alone to peruse the document and add her signature, which would probably look nothing like her real signature on account of the shaky hands. She read and re-read the document, her mind not really taking in the information, but she knew what it meant. She took a deep breath and put the tip of the pen to the paper, and scrawled
C Burns
, complete with the little flourish at the end of the ‘s'.

There. Done. I can keep a secret.

‘Yes of course, see you then. Bye.' Helena ended her call and placed the phone on the desk, raising her eyebrows to ask if Chrissie was done.

‘Signed, sealed, delivered,' Chrissie said, handing over the forms.

‘Fantastic. Thanks, Chrissie. I'm so glad you've joined us here at the retreat. Perfect timing, huh?'

That was yet to be determined. Such an important role so soon after starting a new job, in
this
town of all towns. She had no idea if she could handle it. But somehow, she had to.

‘Now, you had a look through the V.I.P. quarters only recently during your staff orientation, so you should be familiar with where everything is?'

Chrissie nodded. ‘I hadn't expected anyone to be staying there so soon.'

‘Me neither. Usually we have a fair bit of notice, but this was a spur of the moment arrangement, apparently. Luckily Ms Kidman didn't happen to be here at this time.'

‘Nicole Kidman stays here?'

Helena smiled, then unlocked a drawer under her desk. ‘This is a bit different to teaching in the hall above the drycleaners, I bet?'

Hell yeah.
Chrissie had spent a good five years running classes there in Glebe, both before and after Kai was born, and had only been at a slightly more upmarket fitness centre for just over a year before the opportunity at Serendipity came along. The fitness centre's own V.I.P. program had given her experience in one-on-one sessions and program design, but the V.I.P.'s were mostly well paid execs and spouses of the well-off rather than…famous people.

‘I'm really happy to be here.' Chrissie smiled.

‘Here you go.' Helena handed her a key card suspended from a lanyard. ‘The key to the V.I.P. quarters — the general rooms that is — obviously the sleeping quarters have a separate key.'

Sleeping quarters. Bedroom. Drew Williams…naughty thoughts crept into her mind and, her cheeks becoming hot, she willed them to disappear. She had to remain completely and utterly professional at all times. But you wouldn't be a woman if you hadn't at least imagined
Mr Williams
in a more personal nature at some stage in your life.

Then another thought crept into her mind…

How will I teach him without…touching him?

Stop it, Chrissie!

She took hold of the key card, its cold, hard plastic cooling her heated fingertips. This was the key to the most exclusive part of Serendipity and, symbolically, the key to a new world which, although temporary, would no doubt be challenging, exciting, scary, amazing, and unforgettable — all at the same time.

Chrissie put the remaining wedges of orange in the fridge of the staff lounge. She'd only eaten one after her morning class and couldn't eat another. Her nerves were in no state to tell her body how to digest food. Besides, yoga was best on an empty stomach. Although when you taught three or four classes a day, you couldn't exactly go without food all day in order to follow the recommended principles. At least the lunchbreak allowed enough time to have a decent healthy meal — all cooked by award-winning gourmet chefs too.

‘I'll have that, if you're not going to eat it?' Damon asked before Chrissie could close the fridge door.

‘Sure, go ahead. I'm not that hungry.'

‘Nerves will do that to you.' He winked, and bit into an orange wedge. ‘All ready to meet your special student?'

‘Oh, you know who it is?'

‘Yeah, all the main staff have been briefed. I signed my legal doc. I just hope Lisa can keep her mouth shut, she likes a bit of gossip.' He held a hand below his chin to catch any drips of juice.

‘I guess she'll have to.' Chrissie replied.

‘Are you going to ask for his autograph?'

‘Autograph? No!' Chrissie flicked her hand as if the idea was ridiculous. She wasn't an obsessed teenage fan. At least, not anymore.

‘Well, you'll have something better: one-on-one time with the star. Pretty good perk for first week on the job.' Damon's grin added a sparkle to his dark eyes.

‘Yeah, I never expected this.'

Damon ate the remaining orange wedge, rinsed his hands under the tap, and turned for the door. ‘
Adios
, Chrissie, enjoy!' He waved and disappeared around the door. Chrissie chuckled. After he'd finished his shift last Friday he'd said ‘
Sayonara
'. Which language would he embrace next?

The good thing about working in a health retreat was that everyone was happy and friendly. The atmosphere was laced with a calm, positive buzz. Of course, like Chrissie, people had their bad days, but it gave her comfort that she was in a supportive environment for the duration of her workday.

Chrissie raised her wrist and a fluttery sensation in her belly raised her heart rate a notch. Ten minutes to go. Should she head up there now? What if he wasn't ready yet? What if she looked too keen? Maybe she should wait till five to eleven. But what if the key malfunctioned and she had to call the reception staff to help, and then she'd be late and things would get off to a bad start with him?

Okay, I'll go up at seven minutes to eleven.
She focused on her watch and willed her heartbeat to match the ticking of the second hand on the clock face, when in reality it was more like double the speed.

Breathe, Chrissie, breathe. He's just like any other student, he's only human, he's… Oh who am I kidding? He's Drew freaking Williams!

Chrissie used the same technique she used for her panic attacks and hoped for the best. She took a quick glance in the mirror and tightened the elastic on her ponytail, lifted her singlet to wipe the sheen of oil from her nose, and grinned wide to check her teeth.

Right, time to go.

She grabbed her bag and hooked the lanyard with the V.I.P. key around her neck, then exited the staff lounge and walked down the inconspicuous corridor behind the café. She passed the door to a storage room and turned the corner to face another door.

‘STAFF ONLY', the sign read, but it was really the secret entrance to the V.I.P. quarters. Drew had his own private entrance that led outside the building, but this was how he could get in and out from inside if he wished, and how the necessary staff could get in.

Chrissie's hand poised above the electronic lock, and she plastered a smile on her face.