Sara was eager to go back to work, she didn't like being idle, perhaps work can divert her from thinking too much. These days she gets very mad every time she thinks about Joaquin and what he did to her.

Anderson Industries informed her that they would give her a week off before they start the training, but she couldn't wait. Sitting around waiting for the day to be over was making her anxious, so she went to the office and was thinking they'd probably give her an assignment if they saw her there.

​​

Sara was an A list model and had already done a lot of projects, surely she didn't need any training, she already knew what to do, but that was not the case, today her initial interview will be conducted with an image consultant.

On the top of the list was her exercise routine, the consultant observed that although Sara was thin, and she had exercised a lot, she did not have muscles that were supposed to be toned to show off her assets.

Then they talked about how she presented herself to the public, her wardrobe needed to be changed and updated. Since paparazzi will be following her around a lot, she needs to dress to impress all the time, and since her image will be under scrutiny, she should be kind and graceful all the time.

Next was her skincare regimen. Since she was constantly working and heavy make-up was usually required in front of the cameras, they had to do several skin treatments to bring her skin bath to its youthful glow. She was given new skincare products that suited her skin type and were instructed to use these instead of her usual.

Diet, they said, was a big factor that affected her skin, so she was ordered to eat less fatty, oily foods and more vegetables.

They needed to change her hairstyle as well, to enhance her features more, instead of hiding her face, she said, and the consultant thinks that she would need more layers to achieve the look she wanted for Sara.

Modeling does not always go as planned, and most of the time stress affects the models' performances, they recommended her to take some meditation and relaxing exercises, to clear her mind and body.

Sara was stunned by the time she finished the list. It looked like she was going to do rigorous training in this company than she ever did in her life.

Anderson Industries made sure their models were well-rounded individuals and were not stick thin because they never ate anything. They did not tolerate self-harming to achieve one's goals.

It looked like she had to work harder to achieve her goals.

The image consultant told her that a personal trainer, a stylist, a makeup artist, a skincare specialist, a dietician, and a yoga instructor will be assigned to her to talk over their plans.

Sara couldn't help but agree, if she wanted to live up to their standards, she had no choice. They told her that today they will start with the personal trainer to assess her athletic abilities and how fit she really was.

Sara changed into her workout gear and went to the gym. The gym was very huge and had a lot of equipment and people working out in it.

The trainer was supposed to assess her flexibility, cardiovascular health, stamina, and strength. She started on the treadmill to monitor her heart rate and to warm her up, but before the required 30 minutes was up, he started her on the machines with a higher weight than she was used to.

He said that she was not using the proper breathing techniques, and he was not engaging her core to be able to achieve the tasks he wanted her to do. She thought he was being too hard on her, but she still powered through and pushed on. She was determined to prove that she could do it.

"I heard there was training happening here, but I feel like you placed her on the advanced level when you didn't even try to assess her capabilities," a voice said, coming from the door.

Sara turned around and saw it was Blake. "What is he doing here now? Isn't he supposed to be busy? Why does he have to be here when I'm here? Oh, this is so embarrassing, now he will see how weak I really am," she thought worriedly.

"Hello sir," the trainer replied, nervously. He was pushing her because she was already a model, and she should know how to do this the right way, he had nothing against her.

Everyone feared Blake, the employees were scared because Blake never forgave anyone who made a mistake.

"What is happening here?" Blake asked.

The trainer explained, "Well she said that she exercises regularly and that she was familiar with using most of the equipment, so I assumed she was using most of them already, I tried to place her on the advanced level because I think pushing her will achieve her goal faster."

Blake listened very patiently, but in the end, he was glaring at the trainer, "Who told you to do it that way? Do you know how to do your job properly?" Blake said sternly.

"I was watching, and you did not do the full warm-up on the treadmill, you didn't even let her do the stretching exercises that everyone is required to start with to make your muscles flexible, strong, and healthy. Is this your first day on the job?" Blake frowned,

"You don't just let her do the heavy lifting without warming up, easing her into the routine before making her lift heavy weights?"

The trainer felt ashamed, he pushed Sara only because she looked like she knew what to do, and she wasn't complaining. He wanted Sara to show the results as soon as possible, so he did not follow step by step procedure, but jumped a few steps. This resulted in her getting tired and not being able to perform any of the exercises.

"Sir I thought …," the trainer stammered, he did not want to go against Blake, he was at a loss for words, whatever he said might result in him getting fired.

"It's okay, I haven't been to the gym in a while, it's my fau…," Sara tried to interrupt. Blake showed his palm to silence her.

"Do you know that without stretching, you can ruin her posture, or cause her back pain? What are you going to do if you injure her?" Blake said coldly.

The trainer was shivering. He knew Blake was right, and there is nothing he could do to compensate her if she cannot work, these injuries can last a while, and some of them can never be cured.

Blake was very worried about Sara, but he had been wondering why himself? Today he asked his assistant to inform him of Sara's day-to-day activities especially when she was in the building. He could not sit still and concentrate on the meetings without thinking about her.

When he heard that the trainer was training her harder than anyone else he wanted to explode, does that idiot know the implications if she gets hurt? It stopped him cold in his tracks just thinking about it.

"Leave the room," Blake said to the trainer, he couldn't get out of there fast enough, being grilled by Blake was like facing the executioner.

Sara was feeling awkward being alone with him. Blake stared at her, contemplating how he should start this exercise and get close to her at the same time.

"I'm okay maybe I can start afresh tomorrow," Sara spoke nervously,

"Go stand in front of the mirror, you need to see the proper stance and position to execute the stretches properly," Blake said huskily.

"What?" Sara was confused, "Is he saying he wants to train me?" thinking to herself.

"Go! I don't have all day," Blake said, leaving no time for argument.

As she stood in front of the mirror, Blake was behind her looking at her through the mirror. She gulped, "Why is he standing so near?"

"Relax," Blake whispered in her ear. Sara shivered and tightened her fists.

Blake uncurled her fingers, so she could be more relaxed, but it just spiked up her heart another few beats faster. She could not escape his hold.

"You need to move your body and stretch sideways, leaning into the right but keeping your feet planted on the floor," Blake said, bending her body to the right, "Look into the mirror, everything should be in a straight line, straighten your back."

She was amazed at how he was able to execute all the stretches granting that he was wearing trousers and a very expensive sweater. He was much more flexible than she thought.

He stepped back and told her to do it all over again from the beginning, so she would get used to it and start with doing it every single time she exercised.

"I got it," Sara said, cheerfully.

"Yup, you did," Blake said smilingly.

He was standing next to her when he touched her neck. She screamed, "Are you crazy? Why did you touch me?" because she was not expecting him to touch her neck.

He shrugged, he didn't feel the least bit guilty, because he's been wanting to touch her so desperately ever since he walked in and saw her wearing those tight hugging spandex gym clothes she was wearing. It highlighted each and every part of her body, and it called out to him.

"You said, we'd never cross the line," she snapped.

"It was hot, sweat was trickling down your neck," he indicated

"You could not have told me," she said matter of factly.

"Next time I will," Blake said innocently.

"No, there will not be the next time," Sara was frustrated. She knew Blake was acting like nothing happened.

"Next time I will manage without your help," Sara said to avoid any more encounters with Blake.

He did not say anything but gave her a look, which made her feel that she had been guilty, so she averted her eyes downward.

Blake gave her a second look and walked to the door, he smirked on his way out, getting a rise out of Sara made him happy because it made him feel that he affected her like she affected him.

He's never met anybody as interesting as her.

Sara felt like her body was on fire when he touched her. Even though Blake barely touched her, yet it felt different, like he woke up something dormant inside her.

Sara was preoccupied with thoughts of Blake and his touch, so without looking at the caller id on her phone, she answered it.

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