A/N: Once again thank you for all the reviews, follows and favorites and my sincerest apologies for taking so long with this chapter. It's that time of the year again when exam stress really kicks in. In this chapter Chloe meets Beca at the recording studio. Nothing major - yet... ;) I've already written the bulk of the next chapter, hopefully I'll be able to finish it soon. You make writing worth while so keep reading and reviewing.

Chapter 10.

Chloe felt many eyes on her as she stepped into the reception area of Beca's record label. She was wearing her usual training clothes, running tights and a crop sports top that left her trimmed midsection bare for much to other people's delight. Chloe quickly pulled on the hoodie she had brought as she approached the reception desk. She hadn't expected everyone to look so corporate. This was a creative industry after all. Chloe felt even more out of place when the very beautiful model-looking receptionist sized her up from head to toe, her gaze stopping at the yoga mat the redheaded trainer was carrying. The receptionist smiled a friendly smile when she pointed at Chloe's yoga mat and winked at the redhead.

"I think you're in the wrong place. The gym is right next door. We're a different kind of business."

Chloe returned the smile although it felt a bit forced.

"Actually I'm here to train someone. My name is Chloe Beale."

The receptionist looked thoroughly surprised as she clicked through the appointment calendar on her computer screen.

"For who might that be?"

Chloe sighed. Beca had told her they knew she was coming.

"It's for Beca Mitchell."

The receptionist clicked through the records in a quick pace.

"We were supposed to meet at 1pm," Chloe huffed as she leaned on the desk, becoming frustrated now.

"The only record I can find is that there's an appointment booked for HNIB with Beca Mitchell at 1pm today."

"Well that must be it. She told me she hasn't got any other appointments booked for today."

The receptionist smiled apologetically as she picked up the phone from her desk.

"Let me just double-check with the recording studio."

Chloe could only nod as she wondered why nothing ever seemed to be simple when it came to Beca Mitchell.

"Hey, it's Annabelle calling from the reception. I have a Chloe Beale here. She's here for a training session with Beca. I've only got an appointment for HNIB with Beca at 1pm in the system."

Soon the receptionist, now identified as Annabelle giggled and placed a hand over her mouth to suppress her giggle. She glanced at Chloe again, this time eyeing her slowly up and down and then nodding. Chloe had no idea what was going on but she felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny. Annabelle nodded again.

"Yeah, fits the bill. I'll send her over. Thanks."

She placed the phone down and grinned at Chloe who felt like blushing now.

"Looks like Beca had the appointment under Hottest Name In the Business. I can't really argue against that. Take the elevator to the third floor and turn right until you reach the studio."

Now Chloe was blushing. She mumbled her thanks as she couldn't spare a grin at the smiling receptionist anymore. She reached the elevators without lifting her gaze from the floor and waited to reach inside the elevator to close her eyes and release the breath she'd been holding.

Beca had told her to meet in the kitchen area of the studio. Chloe felt relieved to find that the doors had labels on them so she was able to find the kitchen without further delay. Chloe entered the room and closed the door behind her. She took in her surroundings. It was a modern, spacious kitchen full of light. Beca was nowhere to be seen so Chloe took a seat on one of the stools next to the kitchen island in the middle.

This was the first session back since their little feud a few days ago. Chloe felt extremely grateful that the DJ had decided to trust her enough to let her in her past. It had brought up a whole another side of the private DJ. Chloe was pretty sure she was one of the very few people with whom Beca had trusted her story. Getting Beca to tell her the real reason behind her behavior had cleared the air between them much. Chloe wanted to believe that any disputes like this would be a thing of the past. Now hopefully they would be able to concentrate fully on achieving the goals they had set at the beginning of their contract. Today marked a beginning of a new stage in their co-operation as some big hurdles had now been cleared out of the way.

Chloe was expecting to see a different Beca, committed and focused working tirelessly towards her fitness goals, just as hard as she worked in her music career. This time they didn't get off to a great start though as Beca was already almost ten minutes late. Chloe knew for a fact the DJ knew how much she hated tardiness.

The redhead was about to take a second sip of her bottle when she heard the kitchen door open and turned instinctively in her stool. She was half way of lifting her bottle to her lips when her hand just stopped. Her thoughts about Beca being late were pushed somewhere in the very back of her mind as she stared at the door.

Chloe would've recognized the famous singer anywhere. Ke$ha of all people had entered in the kitchen. As the singer greeted and walked over Chloe could just stare in awe. Chloe had to tell herself not to hang her mouth open like an idiot. She was starstruck. Her list of people who she would just casually run into definitely didn't really include Ke$ha.

The blonde singer was the first to speak as it was clear Chloe couldn't get as much as a word out of her mouth.

"You're Chloe right? Beca's trainer?"

"Mhmm." Chloe nodded and tried not to look too surprised that the singer remembered her name. You can do better than this Beale. Just don't ask for an autograph. Please don't.

Ke$ha grinned now as she observed Chloe go from sitting completely at ease in her stool to flustered in only few seconds.

"Did Beca mention that I'm a fan of your skating?"

Chloe taken aback by the words. Had Ke$ha just complimented her skating for real? Ke$ha? She racked her brain for everything she knew about the singer standing in front of her. Funny enough her mind filled with a picture of Beca snickering into her phone while the two artists exchanged experiences about personal trainers and a whole lot of other stuff that Chloe still didn't think she was supposed to hear.

Chloe cleared her throat as she fought hard to come up with audible reply this time.

"She did. I'm honored to hear that. Did I mention I'm a big fan of your music?" Chloe offered back. As lame as it sounded Chloe really liked Ke$ha's music. Lot of the songs made great workout music. She told as much to the blonde.

Ke$ha looked taken aback.

"Aww thanks. You sound like you mean it." Chloe settled for a light chuckle.

"I do. I usually mean what I say."

"You're rare quality then. Not a lot of people in this city are so genuine. I can see now why Beca likes you."

Chloe tried not to cipher anything into the singer's words. Liking could mean so many things. Something the singer said reminded Chloe of why she was here in the first place.

"Speaking of Beca, do you know where she is? We were supposed to meet like 15 minutes ago."

Ke$ha chuckled as she took a seat next to Chloe.

"She also told you're always on time."

Chloe quirked an eyebrow.

"Do you two spend a lot of time talking about me because it sure sounds like it?"

Ke$ha chuckled again.

"She's running a bit late recording the song we're doing together for her album. We've been working on it for hours already. It's just in Beca's nature not to leave things halfway if she can avoid it. She asked me to come here to keep you watch for you while she finishes up."

Chloe rolled her eyes at the last sentence.

"Well so far you're doing a very good job."

Ke$ha nodded and then clasped her hands together, grinning.

"So what kind of exercise are you going to torture her with today?"

"Torture? Is that what she told you?"

"She might've used the word a couple of times…" Ke$ha grinned.

Chloe didn't have time to think for a response because at that moment the door to the kitchen flew open again. This time it was Beca who came in, also dressed in her training clothes. She looked a bit tired but smiled at the two women in the kitchen.

"Sorry I'm late. We're finished with the first part now. You two enjoying yourselves here?" The DJ queried as she stepped further in the kitchen.

"Just talking about you," Chloe replied truthfully as Beca walked next to her and yawned. Chloe thought Beca looked quite adorable when she was tired and the feeling of irritation about Beca being late slowly washed off. How could she be mad when the petite brunette reminded her of a tired, cute kitten? She had a sudden impulse of patting Beca on the head but she decided against it on the last minute. Where was all this affection stemming from? Chloe travelled somewhere so far away in her thoughts that she almost jumped when she felt Beca press her head on Chloe's shoulder and mutter.

"All good I hope."

"Oh you know, just the usual." It was Ke$ha who spoke now and wiggled her eyebrows at Beca. The petite DJ lifted her head from Chloe's shoulder and stuck out her tongue at the singer.

Chloe was intrigued by the exchange between the two stars as she vividly remembered the phone call Beca had made to the singer at their first meeting. She looked for any signs of 'more than friends' vibes but felt relieved when she couldn't find any. Chloe surprised herself by how strongly her body seemed to go from tensed to relaxed at the result. She was glad when Beca finally told her they could begin their session.

The two women left the room and a grinning Ke$ha behind and went into a meeting room next to the kitchen. The tables and chairs that usually occupied the room were now piled away on the walls so there was enough space in the middle to perform the exercises.

They started with some light warm-up exercises as they casually discussed how the recording was going and if Beca had finished the song she'd been working on earlier. Beca confessed she was pretty stressed out because of the recording process. It was only her second studio album but she felt there was a lot of pressure on her because her first album had been such a success. Beca told Chloe that she expected a lot from herself since she wanted to prove that she had developed as an artist after her first album.

After the warm-up they moved into doing core endurance.

"Is this the way you got your abs?" Beca queried as she lay on her back on the floor and did the exercise Chloe had demonstrated a few minutes earlier.

"This and 15 years of figure skating training. In the end it all boils down to engaging your core as well as training the different parts of your abs. For example in this exercise we're doing now it's your core muscles underneath doing the body of work. Can you feel it?"

As Chloe spoke she placed her hand on Beca's stomach to feel if the brunette was doing the exercise correctly. Beca fell silent and felt slightly flushed as Chloe didn't lift her hand off her stomach right away but rather kept it there while Beca repeated the exercise.

After a while Chloe quirked an eyebrow as Beca kept working.

"Are you sure you're engaging your core? I can feel you your abs work but I'm not sure how engaged your core is."

Beca let out a frustrated laugh as she took a break and leaned back on her elbows.

"I don't know what I'm doing wrong here."

"Just try again and this time really think about working your core when you do the exercise. Don't forget to breathe. Exhale when you go up and breath in when you come down."

Beca nodded and let out a breath she'd been holding.

Chloe placed her hand on Beca's stomach again and smiled encouragingly at the brunette.

Beca closed her eyes for a moment to focus and then repeated the exercise. After a few reps a full-fledged smile spread across her features as she could feel the difference. Chloe had totally changed the exercise for her with just a few words. In Beca's eyes that was like magic. Chloe had to blink couple of times as the radiation of Beca's smile sent a rush of heat through her own abdomen even though she wasn't even the one exercising. Chloe was suddenly glad she was kneeling down as she might've ended up on her knees from the sheer power of the smile she received. Suddenly Choe had to remind herself to exhale and inhale to slow down her heartbeat that had picked up without warning.

Chloe finally lifted her hand off the brunette's stomach and cleared her throat, her voice quivering only slightly.

"Alright, I think you've got the hang of it. Eight more reps and you're done."

Beca did as she was told even though the last repetitions were almost impossible. It was for Chloe's firm voice telling her to finish the set that Beca managed to push through. As Beca lay on the floor with every bit of her abdominals burning from the exercise she was positive there was no way she could've managed this lifestyle change by herself. If it wasn't for Chloe telling her to use the last bit of her strength Beca would've happily stayed in her comfort zone. There was no question about that.

"Way to go Beca. You really nailed it with those last reps!" Chloe had only meant to pat Beca on the shoulder but for some reason her hand slipped lower to pat Beca's abs instead. Chloe cursed for the lack of control she seemed to have near the DJ and removed her hand immediately after the contact.

It was a different story to feel her client's abs to see if she did the exercise correctly but this was surely not necessary. Chloe hoped in vain that Beca wouldn't call her on that but this was simply too good of a chance for the DJ to miss.

"You can't keep your hands off me can you?" Beca grinned at the uneasy redhead as she sat up. Chloe closed her eyes and wished that she would've suddenly gained a power to turn invisible. Her wish was never granted. There was no way of playing off the DJ's comment after her actions.

"I think you should feel how engaged my core is now when I'm just talking to you. I can feel it deep down right here…" The DJ teased as she placed both of her hands on her lower abdominal. Beca grinned wickedly as Chloe's face went bright pink. The redhead stood up abruptly.

"And we're done for today." She chirped with a voice that was a lot higher than her normal speaking voice.

Beca stood up as well, with a smug smile plastered across her features.

"Only if you say so. I really liked that session. Very hands on…"

Chloe found it hard to regain her composure but she tried. There was no hope of a witty comeback though. Today clearly wasn't her day. But as Chloe reminded herself as in figure skating no medals were given out after the short program. It was the free skating that would determine the final ranking of the skater. Beca had a good start today but Chloe was ready to up her game when the chance came. Just not today.

"I'm glad you liked it."

"Thanks for coming down today. I know it took some extra arranging on your side."

"I'm just doing my job," Chloe stated as by now she had managed to steady her breathing.

"Oh you're doing more than that. I'm really lucky to have you kick my butt," Beca grinned as she nudged Chloe on the shoulder.

"Thanks Beca. It means a lot to me to hear you say that. I really enjoy kicking your butt," Chloe smiled. It was unbelievable how fast she went from feeling uneasy to feeling at ease with Beca. It was real rollercoaster ride with the star. A voice from the door interrupted them.

"If you two are done gazing in each other's eyes Beca and I've got some work to do."

The trainer and her client turned their heads to see a grinning Ke$ha at the door. Chloe blushed furiously when the singer winked at her. Then the blonde singer turned her attention to Beca. She walked closer and whispered into the brunette's ear so that only Beca could hear her words.

"Control your ladyboner!" With that Ke$ha turned on her heel and waved her hand in the air theatrically as she left the room.

"Don't keep me waiting Mitchell!"

Beca coughed as she stared at the wall instead of Chloe. She would be sure to give her singer friend hell later. There was a moment of silence when Beca mustered the courage to say her next words. Ke$ha had shaken the confidence she had felt only a few minutes ago. In an instant Beca, queen of flirting was replaced with Beca, queen of babble.

"I should probably go. If you want to you can come and watch us work for a few minutes. I still feel kinda bad about what happened on Thursday so I thought you might enjoy this. I mean I don't want to sound self-centered or anything. I just thought you said this is your first time in a recording studio so- "

Beca felt Chloe's hand on her arm as the redhead interrupted her rant.

"I'd love to."

It was Beca's turn to draw breath now as she nodded, relieved.

"Follow me."

Chloe followed Beca into the control room of the studio. A massive mixing desk with about zillion different buttons and computer screens faced the studio behind a glass wall. In front of the desk sat a guy with dark brown hair and brown eyes dressed in a maroon hoodie and black jeans. When they entered the room he turned around in his chair and offered a lopsided smile.

Beca made the necessary introductions.

"Chloe, this is Bumper, my producer. Bumper, this is Chloe. She's going to stay and watch for a while. She won't be any trouble."

Bumper nodded her head at Chloe and winked at Beca.

"Sure thing boss. You want to get in there before Ke$ha decides to break something? You shouldn't keep her waiting."

Beca chuckled at the comment and then turned to Chloe.

"You can stay as long as you like."

"Yeah I won't be long because I have another session in an hour. "

"You know not a lot of people outside these walls haven't heard me sing so consider this a privilege," Beca dragged as she darted a flirtatious smile at Chloe.

"Well you better go and deliver then," Chloe replied with a matching wide smile.

"I'll blow your mind," Beca promised as she sent Chloe an air kiss before entering the studio.

Chloe felt shivers at Beca's last words as she watched Beca turn and leave the control room.

"That's some girlfriend you've got there," Bumper remarked as he had followed the exchange between the two.

Chloe turned to look at him and felt a bit flushed to reply.

"We're not...involved. I'm Beca's trainer."

Bumper looked genuinely surprised. The reaction made Chloe question her interaction with the DJ. Did they act like a couple?

"My bad! I just figured you two seemed to hit it off. Not to mention you're exactly her type," Bumper explained as he turned back to his mixing table.

Chloe felt her earns burn again and blush creep into her cheeks. She didn't ask but Bumper told her anyway.

"You know, hot redhead with a killer body," Bumper stated casually as he returned his eyes on the computer screen.

So Beca had a thing for redheads. Chloe found this piece of information extremely amusing. She realized she was smiling like an idiot and turned her attention to the studio. Beca hadn't sung a note yet but Chloe was already on her way to be blown away.