Today was like any other day, at least from where I was seated. No one was ready, the skirts from Calvin Klein were the wrong shade, and my coffee was missing in action for the second time this morning.

"Miranda, Roy is downstairs," Andrea called from my doorway.

I looked up at her, and my confusion must have been evident, because clarified and said that my appointment with Raul (my massage therapist) was in twenty minutes. I nodded, closed the folder with the budget on my desk, and headed for the elevators.

It had been nearly a month since I last saw Raul. With all the traveling for various shows the past few weeks, I wasn't able to get to the club for tennis or yoga—I didn't even have time to run on the treadmill at home. And my body is certainly feeling it. I was especially grateful that Andrea scheduled an extra-long block of time with him today.

"I've missed you, beautiful. Have you been cheating on me?" Raul asked as I walked into the spa.

I chuckled and exchanged air-kisses with him, all while reassuring him that I had simply been busy and hadn't had the time to come by. "There is no one who can do what you do for me," I said.

"Why don't we do a full body today, then? Go get into a towel, then relax in the sauna or steam room to loosen your muscles, then I will make you feel like you are eighteen again," he said with a wink.

If I wasn't so indebted to him, I would be annoyed at the way he talks to me; however, I learned years ago that I need him, and I need him every two weeks.

Sitting in the sauna, I found it difficult to relax. I kept thinking of work, things I needed to tell Andrea. It seemed a little ridiculous to bring her here with me, but maybe she could get a massage, too, and we could get some work done.

"Miranda, you need to relax. Whatever you are thinking about, let it go," Raul said. "Breathe with me. In, in, in, and out, out, out. Is there anything that has been bothering you recently?"

"My back is a little sore in the morning when I get out of bed. I suppose I need a new mattress or something." Or, I need to stop wearing shoes that do wonders for my ass but sabotage my posture, I thought.

While Raul worked his magic on my aching muscles, I decided that I need to have Andrea work more 'me' time into my schedule. Maybe a long weekend in Maine, or a few days in St Barths. It would have to be while the girls were with their father, but seeing as they were spending most of the summer with him or their grandparents or other aunts and uncles, that shouldn't be difficult.

"How is that?" Raul asked, bringing me back to the present.

"Finished already?" I asked as I pushed myself up on to my elbows. "I could have let you do that all day."

"Not good for your muscles. Here, let me help you up," he said, holding his hand out.

I carefully sat up and wrapped the towel around me, taking his hand as I climbed off the table. I took one step towards the dressing room and froze as a pain shot through my spine.

I held my breath, willing the pain to go away, but it wouldn't. I tried to straighten up, but the pain was worse. I pressed my palm into the table, trying to take pressure off my back, but it did very little to relieve the pain. Taking another step, I had to swallow the bile in my throat.

"Miranda, what is it?" Raul asked.

"My back. I don't know what happened," she said.

He gently placed his hands on my lower back and applied pressure to various areas, but it didn't provide any relief. He tried to help me back to the dressing room, but I was frozen in place, panting because the pain was so bad.

I hadn't even realized that my towel had fallen to the ground. Raul wrapped a fresh one around me and secured it with a clip. "What can I do for you? Is there someone I can call?"

"Andrea, my assistant. Call her."

.

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...to be continued

Note: this is definitely a longer continuing story...once again a fragment found on my computer that i am resuscitating. sorry to be such a tease (:-P), but i promise the next chapters will be longer.