Page 10 of My CEO Neighbor
"How do you suggest we do that?"Ted's voice carried a skeptical edge.
"We could try some breathing exercises.Help you calm down."
Ted's jaw tightened.The suggestion felt like an insult to his competence, his ability to handle stress."I don't need to calm down.I need to get out of here."
"Your heartbeat is loud enough that I can hear it from here."
"That's not—" Ted stopped, became aware of the rapid percussion in his chest."That's just adrenaline.It's a normal response to crisis situations."
"Exactly.Which is why breathing would help."
"I know how to breathe."The words came out condescending, dismissive."I've been successfully breathing for thirty-two years without professional instruction."
"Do you?"
The challenge in her voice sparked his competitive nature.No one questioned his competence.Especially not a yoga instructor who thought deep breathing could solve complex business problems.
"Of course, I know how to breathe.Watch."
Ted inhaled through his nose, held it briefly, then exhaled through his mouth with exaggerated precision."There.Breathing.Satisfied?"
Monica's expression was patient in a way that made him feel like a kindergartener demonstrating basic motor skills, and it rankled."That's more like hyperventilating with style."
"I am not hyperventilating."
"Your shoulders are up around your ears, your jaw is clenched, and you're breathing into your chest instead of your diaphragm."Monica's voice remained calm despite his obvious irritation."If that's not hyperventilating, it's at least aggressive respiration."
Despite everything, Ted felt his mouth twitch toward a smile.The term was ridiculous enough to crack his defensive anger."Aggressive respiration?"
"It's a technical term."
The small moment of levity made things a little less serious.The emergency lighting cast strange shadows that made her features look softer, more mysterious.
She was sitting with her back against the wall, legs crossed in that effortless way that drew attention to the long line of her thighs.Her lips were slightly parted, and Ted found himself wondering what it would be like to kiss someone who actually knew how to breathe properly.Whether she'd taste as calm as she looked, or whether there was fire beneath that serene surface.
The thought came out of nowhere and it shocked him with its intensity.
This was not the time.This was not the woman.This was exactly the kind of distraction that led to poor decision-making and compromised judgment.
But as Monica met his eyes across the small space, a jolt of electricity passed between them that had nothing to do with the building's failed power grid and everything to do with the way she was looking at him—like she could see through his expensive suit to the exhausted, uncertain man underneath.
"Ted," she said, and the sound of his name in her voice sent an unexpected jolt of desire into him.
"What?"
"Your breathing just got worse."
He realized she was right.His chest felt tight again, but this time it had nothing to do with panic and everything to do with the woman sitting three feet away from him, offering solutions he wasn't sure he wanted and asking questions he definitely didn't want to answer.
"Maybe," Ted said carefully, swallowing his pride, "you could show me how it's supposed to work."
Monica smiled, and the expression transformed her entire face, made her even more beautiful."I thought you'd never ask."
