Free Working It Out by Teri Trojan Page B

arrange it and collect you at two. And will you be coming here again this evening?’
    ‘I’m not sure if I’m invited.’
    ‘I think you are, but I can check.’ He ended the call.
    She dressed in her leotard and pulled on tracksuit bottoms. She wasn’t sure what she would be doing and wanted to be prepared. Was this some sort of interview or a proper training session?
    When Will collected her promptly at two, he drove her to her usual gym. Though Andreas had mentioned that he owned the place, she hadn’t quite expected this would be where she’d actually be training for her future role. She was met in the reception area by a tall, slim man dressed in shorts and a vest. To her surprise, he greeted Will with a kiss and a hug. She stared.
    ‘This is Anderson. He and I are good friends.’
    ‘Come now, Will. Friends? Aren’t we much more than that?’ Will grinned.
    ‘Of course we are. I didn’t want to shock Shoanna.’
    ‘You’d hardly do that.’ She smiled. ‘Andreas said I was perfectly safe where you were concerned. I just didn’t realise Anderson was your – friend, partner, whatever you call it.’
    ‘No problem,’ Anderson said. ‘Right, well if you’d like to follow me, we’ll start work. See you later, Will.’
    ‘Enjoy,’ Will said as he turned to leave. ‘Give me a call when you need collecting.’
    ‘It’s OK. I’ll find my own was back to my flat. I need to see my flatmate.’
    ‘Andreas is hoping you will dine with him. He’ll be in touch later.’
    Anderson led her into a small room which had gym equipment ranged round the side and a large mat in the middle of the floor.
    ‘I’m relieved to see I don’t have to start this training in front of everyone else,’ she said. ‘I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to be doing.’
    ‘We’ll start with some stretch exercises. Give you a bit of a warm-up.’
    ‘I had a short yoga session before I left home, so I’m pretty flexible already. To be honest, I’m more interested in the movements I’m expected to do. I don’t see myself as one of these muscle-bound women tossing men over my shoulders and getting bruises all over my body.’
    ‘What you are preparing for is nothing like that. You will be shown how to overpower someone who’s totally compliant with the whole thing in the first place. On occasion, the man may want to fight back with a token resistance, but mostly they are here to be dominated and held down in particular holds. Come on. I’ll show you. And no need to worry that I will be turned on by you. Give me a man and everything would be quite different.’
    ‘Thanks a bunch. Never knew I was so unattractive.’
    ‘Hardly unattractive. Just not my type.’
    ‘You don’t strike me as being gay.’
    ‘I’m not sure what that means.’
    ‘You seem very fit. Well honed.’
    ‘And that makes a difference? I suspect you know very little about it. But you are very lovely, I can see that. But I suspect Andreas would have me put out of business instantly if I touched his property.’
    Shoanna stopped in her tracks.
    ‘His property, did you say? I’ll have you know I’m nobody’s property. I do what I want and when I want. Anything I have done with Andreas is because I wanted it. He does not own me, nor will he ever.’
    ‘You clearly don’t know the man. He is very powerful and I’ve never known him fail to get his own way and achieve everything he wants in life. You need to know what you’re getting into, dear girl. Don’t play away from home. He’ll always know if you do. Now, shall we get down to work?’
    ‘I’m not sure. You’ve given me something to think about. I need to know more about what I’m getting into.’
    ‘We may as well use the time we’ve set aside. Come on.’ Shoanna gave a shrug and approached her trainer. ‘First of all, see if you can drop me onto the mat.’ She moved towards him, slid her foot behind his knees, and gave a tug. His knees buckled and he fell. ‘Good