The Girl in the Gym

Almond Eye Alpha

As Jack shook the woman's hand, he was struck by the strength in her grip. She was far stronger than she seemed, and her eyes held a world of toughness in them. And right now, those eyes were looking at him in a guarded manner. They narrowed and glanced down at his hand.

"Uhh, hi. Sorry, I didn't catch your name," he said, still gripping her hand. He probably didn't realise what he was doing, so struck was he by her.

Politely tugging her hand away from his, she repeated, "Inaya. I'm Inaya, your personal trainer for the entire duration of your stay here. Do you want to go inside and talk?" she inquired, one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah sure. Wait, actually, can we sit out here, Bud needs to be outdoors for a while longer," he answered.

Jack was flustered. It had been so long since he had even spoken to a woman outside work. He felt like he had forgotten all his manners and social skills. Inaya was striking. That was the perfect word for her. Calling her pretty or beautiful was too trite and the words didn't encompass what she was. It was like calling a lion tame. Her golden-hued skin and almond eyes lent an ethereal glow to her, Jack tried very hard not to imagine how goddess-like she would look when she worked out, all sweaty. And this particular woman was as striking as she seemed intimidating, a no-nonsense type of a person. Typically he admired that trait, in men and women both, at work and otherwise. But in this particular instance, he found himself wishing that she should have been more of a girly girl who he could work his charm on. It had worked countless times before, women usually warmed up to him pretty fast.

She was, he thought irritably, definitely more charmed by his energetic and wild puppy than by him. Laughing at himself for feeling jealous of his dog, of all the things, he excused himself to go inside.

With a single nod, Inaya lowered herself onto the patch of grass, next to Bud, who was rolling around, begging to be petted. Jack went in to get the folder which Abhijit had given him in the morning. Inaya watched him go inside without a single expression on her face. She absently ruffled Bud's fur and started thinking.

This one is going to take a lot of work, she thought. There was a lot to be done at the preliminary level itself. She mentally started working out a chart for him. He would need a lot of dieting and extreme cardio and aerobics, at least in the beginning. Taking a measure of his form, she guessed that beneath all the flab, there was a core of strength. Maybe he would do well in combat-style training as well. They would wait and see.

As she sat there, people could have mistaken her for a statue. She held herself immobile and practised some yoga breathing exercises. It had become second nature to her. She closed her eyes, blocked all her senses and concentrated on doing Pranayama, a breathing exercise. There was not a single idle moment in her life, she filled each day, each minute with something productive.

Inaya was a woman who seemed to be a cut above all others. Nobody knew where she had cropped up from, and nobody knew anything about her family. Some of the newer trainers whispered among themselves, saying that she had reached such a high level at Zero Bulge because she knew the old owner. Some even speculated that she was his illegitimate daughter, but all the rumours were quashed by the older trainers. And once they saw her in form, while working out and training, all doubts about her position and capability flew out of the window. She was that good. She was able to hold her own against men and women, and was highly trained in all types of combat and constantly developed unique workouts and styles. To call her tough, stubborn, independent, difficult or aggressive would be an understatement. Her skill was unlike any other and when she moved, it was with such precision and power that you could almost hear the wind whoosh as her limbs cut through the air. She was all that and more. However, her intense energy never repulsed or scared people off. It wasn't overwhelming. She gave off an aura of calm strength, and that she was on a quest to heal the world, not conquer it. But underneath it, all was a fit of inexplicable anger, which was never evident but always perceptible. Most times people got taken in by her sweet face, missing the depth behind them. Trainees were initially happy to be assigned to her, but once their regime began, a lot of them begged to be assigned to someone else. She always pushed them hard and barely gave them time to breathe. The ones strong enough to stick with her came out on top.

Jack watched Inaya from the window of his suite, taking his time to observe. She was still, but not absent, he realised. She was breathing deeply. He pulled himself away from the window before she could catch him staring, and went out.