Frodo cocked her little head to the side. “Bite me,” she mouthed back before jotting something down and returning her attention to the front of the room.
Holding it together until a co ee break, Sloane strode out of the room. With all the exterior calm she could muster, she slipped into the elevator where she endured small talk with a senior prosecutor until getting out on the garage floor while the man continued down to the courthouse at the ground level. Her heels clicked on the smooth cement floor as she hurried toward her car. Once inside, Sloane screamed until her emotions were under control.
WHEN THEY RESUMED TRAINING, Ari was flying high. The surge of adrenaline had worn o , but thanks to all the positive comments she’d gotten from Chad, her skin was still buzzing. Beating Sloane felt so good she wanted to do it again as soon as possible.
Yelena’s quiet, trembling voice pulled Ari out of her daydream. Standing at the podium she was holding onto for dear life, Yelena was barely audible. Secondhand
embarrassment washed away Ari’s good mood. As she watched the girl struggle through what should’ve been a simple scenario, Ari wished she could jump up and finish for her. She’d do anything to spare her the palpable discomfort.
An eternity later, Chad sent them home a few minutes early. He looked right at her when he said they’d done a fantastic job and deserved the early start to the weekend. Ari couldn’t contain her smile.
“Yelena, hang on.” Ari reached out for her forearm to stop her and wait for the room to empty before continuing.
“Do you mind if I give you a tip or two?”
Yelena’s fair skin blushed violently as she plopped back into her seat and dropped her head on the table. “I was terrible, wasn’t I? I’m terrible at public speaking. What was I thinking even applying for this job? I don’t belong here. I can’t do this,” she cried, her words mu ed by the crook of her arm.
Ari put her palm on her back and tried to soothe her. “You weren’t terrible, and you absolutely belong here. How many interviews did we have to go through, huh? How many hoops did we jump? If you didn’t have what it takes, they wouldn’t have hired you, plain and simple.”
Peeking up over her arm, Yelena’s eyes were wide and watery. “You really think that? You’re not saying that because you feel sorry for me being so pathetic?”
Smiling softly, Ari gave Yelena’s shoulder a squeeze. “I promise.”
Yelena wiped her eyes and sat up. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I know what I want to say, but then I get up there and it’s like someone hijacked my brain. All I can think
about is everyone staring at me and my entire body starts sweating. My mouth goes dry. If I can hardly breathe with my heart beating so fast, how am I supposed to focus?”
“That sounds like a little stage fright,” Ari decided. “I have a fear of public speaking too.”
Yelena furrowed her blonde eyebrows before laughing.
“Yeah right.”
“I swear,” she replied, holding up her hand as if taking an oath. “Do you want me to tell you how I keep it from taking over my body?”
Yelena nodded emphatically.
“Slow, steady breaths. I know that sounds corny, but your heart can’t beat out of your chest if you’re taking deep breaths. I usually start about ten minutes before I have to talk.”
“Breathing? That’s it?”
Ari chuckled. “No, that’s just the most important one to keep in mind. Practice doing it as often as you can. What’s your biggest fear when you’re standing up there?”
Yelena picked at her fingernails while she considered the question. “That I’ll forget what I’m going to say.”
“Me too,” Ari admitted. “So you know what I do? I write everything down. Most of the time I never have to look at my notes, but knowing they’re there frees me from my fear. If the worst happens and I totally blank out, then I’ll read from my notes. I’d rather sound boring reading than not have anything to say.”
“But how do you know what’s going to happen so you can write it out?”
“I come up with as many contingencies as I can and outline my responses. It’s not perfect and it’s really time consuming, but it works most of the time and helps me feel prepared, which in turn boils away some of that fear of the unknown.”
“That makes sense,” Yelena replied, lunging forward to hug her. “Thank you.”
“Hey, you’re going to be great. We’re going to be the best division DV has ever seen.” Ari returned her embrace, and as she o ered more words of encouragement, Sloane burst back into the room. “What are you doing here,” Ari snapped as she stood.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to interrupt your tutoring session or . . . whatever you were doing in here alone,” she replied, her gaze darting between them as if suggesting something untoward.
“I better go. Thanks for trying to help me, Ari,” Yelena said, head down as she grabbed her stu and raced out of the room.