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It was him.
And whoever had suggested that imagining people who intimidated you without their clothes on to make things easier had clearly never seen Iosef Kolovsky with practically nothing on.
His body was divine. Even from this distance, Annie could see his body was superbly toned, wide shoulders tapering down to a very flat stomach. Annie swallowed as he strode across the floor and came delightfully into better focus. His bathers, heavy with water, were down just low enough on his hips to allow the viewer a glimpse of a delicious line of hair, a decadent arrow that pointed downwards, but as she rather reluctantly dragged her eyes upwards Annie was mortified to find him staring up at her, realizing then that the treadmill was at a complete standstill. That she’d absolutely, one hundred per cent certainly been caught—not just staring but drooling!
So she’d looked at him, Annie tried to reason with herself, but even the cold jets of the shower couldn’t soothe the blush that had swept over her. If it had been anyone else from work she’d have looked over when she noticed them but she’d have waved if they’d seen her, Annie conceded. She certainly wouldn’t have stood transfixed on a motionless treadmill, gawping. And all too soon she’d have to face him—in fact, if she didn’t step on it she’d be late for work.
What was it with Iosef Kolovsky?
Yes, he was good-looking and, yes, he had a fabulous body, but he was also arrogant, opinionated and downright rude—at least he was with her Annie fumed as, shivering now, she turned off the shower and grabbed her towel from the peg.
She’d been staring daggers at him, Annie decided hopefully, pulling her stuff out of her locker, or perhaps she could pretend that she needed glasses and had been squinting, trying to make out if she knew him. All these thoughts were being processed as she tried to wrestle a damp body into a pair of knickers. She paused as she straightened up, the pale heel of a foot jutting out from under one of the shower doors catching her eye. From its position it was clear that whoever the foot belonged to was lying on the floor.
‘Hello,’ she called out. ‘Are you OK?’
No response.
Annie grabbed up her towel, wrapping it around her as she crossed back over to the showers. She banged on the door with one hand, trying to rouse whoever the unfortunate person was, while with the other she palpated the foot, relieved to feel a pulse but knowing that her banging wasn’t going to rouse whoever was in there. The shower was running and if blasts of cold water weren’t having an effect then her banging wasn’t going to do anything.
The woman could be drowning on the other side of the door, Annie realized with horror, she might be lying face down in a pool of water...
She needed help!
Urgently!
Only this wasn’t Emergency, where she could press a bell and summon a team. Running back, Annie grabbed a coin out of her purse, spilling most of its contents on the floor. Then she quickly yanked open the changing-room door and called out for assistance, startling a young guy who was walking past the door towards the gym, earphones in place and bag over his shoulder. Clearly not expecting a woman, wrapped in a towel and looking frantic, jumping out at him on his way to his morning workout.
‘Go to the desk and tell them we need an ambulance.’ Annie’s voice was slightly breathless but clear. ‘Tell them there’s a woman collapsed and unconscious in the shower and to send someone up to help with the door.’ She hadn’t finished talking before the young man dropped his bag and fled for the reception area.
Knowing that help was on the way allowed her to breathe just a touch easier, and back at the shower cubicle she attempted to use the coin she’d grabbed from her purse to turn the lock from the outside, a trick she’d used many times before. Collapsed patients in showers and toilets were not an unknown predicament in Emergency, but as Annie freed the lock and pushed on the door, she realized with a sinking feeling that the worst possible scenario had transpired. The collapsed body in the confined space was wedging the door closed, so forcing the door would be useless and could only injure the patient further. She didn’t even turn her head as the changing-room door slammed open and footsteps raced to join her.
‘Don’t,’ Annie ordered as a rather burly personal trainer faced the door shoulder on. ‘It’s jammed by the patient.’
‘I’ll ring Maintenance, get them to take it off,’ he offered.
But Annie wasn’t listening. Instead she was eyeing the impossibly small gap between the shower wall and the ceiling and wishing she’d been on her diet for more than four days!
‘What’s the story?’
She’d know that voice anywhere, and even though to that point she’d barely given a thought to her lack of attire, suddenly Annie was acutely aware that she was dressed in little more than a towel.
He didn’t even wait her response, just assessed the situation in seconds.
‘You’re the only one small enough.’
The personal trainer went to crouch, his palms pleated together to make a step, but Iosef wasn’t wasting a second, his hands gripping her waist and hoisting her up to the wall where she clung none too elegantly as he let go and placed her waving feet on his shoulders. Thank the Lord she’d at least had time to put on knickers.
‘Can you see anything?’ he demanded impatiently, but the gap was too high and too narrow and until she was on the other side there would be nothing to report.
He was so tall that from her position, standing on his shoulders, it wasn’t that far a stretch to get her right leg over the partition and squeeze through the gap. She looked down to the shower floor below, ignoring his impatient questions as she chose a piece of floor space where she could safely drop. It was not a clear drop, though, as she grazed her left leg on the partition and gave a rather large yelp.
‘What’s happening?’ Iosef called.
‘I just caught my leg!’ Annie snarled through gritted teeth.
‘I meant with the patient.’
She was a large lady, half sitting, half lying against the opposite partition wall, her shoulders wedging the door awkwardly, and Annie noted with disquiet the awkward position of her head was actually half blocking her airway.
