As Girly As It Gets - The Dress Code - Part 18

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Terry was delivering the final copies around the office when Moira went to get their lunch smoothies.  Susan had picked up some of the lunch smoothies from All of U and she was sitting in the break room with Karen.  Karen asked if they would be going for a walk after their lunch drink. Moira assured her that it was a pretty regular thing.

After Terry, Doreen, and Moira finished, they headed out for their walk.  Susan and Karen joined them and the five took a good 30-minute walk.  Susan was fascinated by all the things she had overlooked about Terry.  She could not believe that his bra straps had never caught her eye.  He was clearly wearing a camisole and not an undershirt.  His blouse had obvious tailoring to accommodate breasts and yet she never noticed.  The shirt was buttoned in the wrong direction.  Was she blind?  And his pants under more scrutiny were nothing like most men’s suit pants.

They hugged his curves and were higher-waisted than most men’s pants.  The pockets looked unusable and the fabric was clearly not the worsted wool most of the men wore.  Of course, since he carried a purse, why did he need pockets?  Terry carried around a cell phone with a little wrist strap like a party clutch that had a covering that matched his purse.  As she absorbed all this she wanted to bang her head against a wall to knock whatever brain cells were not working back into place.

As they returned to the office, Susan walked up to Terry and said, “Hey Terry, can you give me a hand with something when we get back to the office?” “Sure,” Terry responded. As they entered the office, Susan headed for the break room with Terry in tow.  Moira wondered what was going on.  But, she, Karen, and Doreen headed back to their desks. Susan led Terry into the break room.

Susan moved over to the kitchenette and reached under the sink.  “Terry,” Susan began, “I just wanted to talk to you for a minute and today is my day to tidy up the break area after lunch.  You can help me while we talk.  Okay?” Terry was wary of what they were going to talk about.  He wanted to see where this went.  He guessed that if he had to help her out while they talked it was no big deal.  “Yeah, I can help out.” Susan gave him a rag and a spray bottle and instructed him on how to clean the table and the chairs.

The place was often a bit messy after morning break and then the people that ate lunch in the office.  Terry had to pick up some trash and Susan was sweeping up part of the area while explaining what was involved.  She seemed to be sweeping kind of slowly.  When Terry was done, she instructed him on how to clean up the counters and wipe out the sink.

About the time he was done with these things, she seemed to finish sweeping the floors.  Terry realized they were done cleaning up and Susan had not told him what she wanted to talk to him about.  “Susan, didn’t you want to talk to me about something?” Susan laughed, “I wanted to thank you for making me feel welcome at the workout this morning.  It was really nice to have some people I know there.

I think you and Moira are going to be an inspiration to me.  I also appreciate your help with the break room.” Terry made the mistake of saying, “My pleasure.  I’m happy to help out wherever I can.” Susan smiled, “That’s great to know Terry.  I know you haven’t let me down yet.  I’ll let you know if there is anything else I need help with.” Moira asked Terry what Susan wanted.

He told her about cleaning up the break room and that Susan had thanked him for welcoming Susan to the workout group.  Moira pointed out there were some projects which needed Terry’s attention. After Terry went into his office, Moira noted on the office skills form that Terry had been trained in cleaning up the break room.  She hoped that in the future, Terry would be added to the cleanup rotation.  She also noted that he knew how to make coffee.  Moira had left Terry with a list of tasks that needed to be done to finish a couple of the proposals.

Terry worked off the list and then started in on some of the other tasks he had put off.  When it was time for an afternoon break, Moira invited him to join them and as Terry walked out of the office Moira asked, “Terry, did you finish up those items I left on your to-do list?” Terry quickly responded, “Oh yes.  I did the first thing.  They are in a folder on my desk.” Moira congratulated him, “That’s great Terry.  Next time why don’t you just bring me the files so I know you are done with them?

That way if there are any unfinished issues or questions we can get them done and get the proposal out quicker.  Okay?” Terry thought that sounded wrong but assured her, “No problem.  I’ll get them for you after a break.  Then we can look them over.” Moira continued, “Good plan.  That way we’ll have time if you still need to get anything else done.”

Terry nodded knowing he would have time.  But, it still felt like this interaction was backward.  They had arrived in the break room and everyone was talking Terry thought he could deal with things after the break. During the break, several of the women discussed their book club.  Susan asked Terry if he liked to read. Terry said, “I love to read.  I just have not had time lately.” Susan explained, “A group of us pick books and then we all read the same book and then we get together for dinner and discuss the book.  We typically get together once a month on a Wednesday evening.

We go to different restaurants and it gives us a chance to try different foods and we also have our book to talk about.” Terry didn’t really have much of a social life.  “It sounds like fun but I would feel out of place.” Karen said, “Terry, it’s kind of like afternoon break only we get a nice meal and we can relax and take our time.  We’re getting together tomorrow night.  Why don’t you come?  Please?” Several of the girls were looking at him and nodding in encouragement.  He didn’t want to let people down.  Caving into the peer pressure, Terry agreed, “Fine.  I’d love to come.  But, I am not committing long term.  Wait, I haven’t read the book.” One of the other girls jumped in, “That’s no problem.  Some people never seem to read the book.

But it gives us a topic to fall back on if we run out of things to talk about.” The girls gave Terry the details and told him where to meet and when.  After the break, Terry gathered up his notes and walked out to Moira’s desk.  Terry began, “Moira, here are the notes on what I have gotten done.” Moira motioned to a simple straight-back chair next to her desk and said, “Have a seat Terry and we can go over what you have done.”

Terry sat in the small guest chair and wondered why they didn’t do this in his own office. Moira looked over Terry’s notes and they discussed several of the issues Terry had investigated.  Moira identified a couple of additional issues which needed more confirmation.  Terry agreed. Moira handed the files back to Terry and said, “You did a great job on those.  Let’s finish up the few stragglers we identified and we’ll be done with these.  As soon as you have them completed, bring them back to me so we can close the projects.” Terry took the proffered files and again had that feeling things were backward.  Moira had turned back to her computer and was working away. Terry slowly made his way back into his office.

Once there, he decided to complete the projects and get this stuff back to Moira so he could move on to his other tasks. Moira smiled as Terry entered his office.  She was surprised when Terry didn’t complain about her telling him what to do.  She corrected him on his work like he was her secretary and he just took it.  Things were moving along just fine.  Wednesday morning found Terry, Moira, and Susan preparing for their morning aerobics class.  Susan watched Terry’s movements and noticed not a single thing that would identify Terry as a man.

As he stood there in his sports bra and a loose workout shirt which plainly revealed the bra, it was clear he was becoming comfortable with his daily attire.  Moira had watched the same thing over the last few weeks.  But Moira had seen it more gradually.  Susan was observing it as an immediate change which she had obviously been ignoring.  Terry worked hard during their workout and he seemed comfortable with his friends in the class.  To everyone in the room, Terry was just another office girl working out in the morning.  While they were sitting with their finishing stylist, Susan offered to drive Terry to the book club dinner.  Terry thought it might ease his entrance and he accepted her offer.

When they arrived at the office, everyone put their things at their desks and Terry started the coffee.  He gathered his morning filing and copying from the ladies and went about his assigned duties.  Along with her other copying, Susan handed off a copying job that she had been asked to complete by Chris’s assistant.  She did not mention to Terry who the job was for. Several of the girls dropped off copying jobs for Terry and he found himself pretty backed up with jobs to complete.  At around 11 AM Marsha, Chris’s part-time assistant called Susan to get a status on the copying job.

Susan explained that the copying was pretty backed up and she would get back to her in a few minutes.  Susan approached the copying room and found Terry fully consumed by the multiple copying jobs.  He was multi-tasking and had jobs lined up for the copier, and was stapling completed projects while others were running.  Susan asked about the job for Chris. Terry checked and informed her that the job was the one presently running on the copier.  Susan told Terry it was for someone else and they needed it as soon as possible.  Susan offered to stay and help Terry.

Susan helped Terry take jobs off the copier and they were working as a team to get things collated and stapled. As they were finishing up, Marsha poked her head in the door.  She was stunned to see Terry helping Susan complete their project.  Marsha moved quickly into the room to see how she could help.  “Susan, if you needed help, why didn’t you call me?  Terry, I am so sorry you got dragged into this.” Terry was not sure what to say.  He had no idea who the job was for.  He had taken to not even reading the things he was copying.  If Marsha was here, that meant he was doing a copy job for Chris or his own boss the Finance Director.  How embarrassing?

Before Terry could say anything, Susan jumped in, “Marsha, Terry is very well respected in our department because Terry is willing to help wherever help is needed.  Everyone can count on Terry to be there for us.  We are almost done.  We are a team and Terry is a great example for all of us.” Terry added, “Besides, we’re almost done.  Give us a moment or two and you can take the job with you.” Marsha stepped back and saw that Susan and Terry were a good team.  It was clear that Terry knew as much about the copier as Susan.

She laughed to herself thinking that neither Chris nor the director would have any idea how to make her own copies. Soon, Susan handed Marsha the bundle and sent her on her way.  Susan smiled at Terry and thanked him for all his help.  Susan returned to her desk leaving Terry with a large amount of copying that still needed to be done.  Terry was not done when lunchtime arrived. Moira retrieved Terry from the copying room to join Doreen and herself for lunch.  Terry set his jobs aside and left a note that he would return after lunch.

After their smoothies, Terry, Moira, Doreen, Susan, and Karen headed out for their walk.  Moira handed Terry several bundles of clothing for the cleaners and they retrieved Terry and Moira’s clothes from the car.  Susan helped Terry with the bundles as Moira and Doreen simply smiled and watched.  They dropped the clothes off at the cleaners and Terry was surprised by the number of tickets he was given.

As they entered the building after their walk, Moira said, “Terry, I need you to finish your copying so we can complete some work on our outstanding proposals.  Do you think you will be done in the next hour or so?” Terry was caught off guard by Moira’s admonition.  As he hurried off to the copying room, he said, “I think I can get it done Moira.  I’ll check in with you as soon as I am done.”

“Great Terry.  I’ll have a list of uncompleted tasks for the proposals when you are done.”  Moira called after him. Doreen and Susan chuckled as they watched Terry scurry off to do his copying.  Karen was still not fully on board and just stared at the three of them like they had lost their minds.  A little over an hour later, Terry finally completed his copying backlog.  He had been delayed when a few more jobs showed up while he was working.  Moira looked up at him as he hurried towards her desk.  Moira said, “Well, you took your time.

I hope everyone was happy with your work.” Terry nodded and still a little out of breath said, “Yes everyone thanked me and confirmed I got their jobs done correctly.”  He was smiling at her like a puppy hoping for a compliment and a treat.  Moira smiled and said, “Good job.  You should be proud of yourself.  Listen, you look a little frazzled.  Step into the office and pull yourself together.  Check your face.  I’ll get us some fresh coffee and then you can come on out and I’ll let you know what needs to be done for these proposals.” Terry thanked her for the compliment, smiled, and made his way into his office to check his looks.

When Moira brought the coffee back, she reviewed the videos of Terry checking his hair, and his lipstick.  He quickly ran a brush through his hair, freshened his lipstick, and brushed some imaginary dust off his face.  But he had not come out to her desk yet.  Moira stepped to the door and looked in.  Terry was running the nail file over his nails and blowing on them.  Moira used her bossy voice and said, “Terry, I think you can work on your nails when we don’t have work being held up.  Or you could do it when you are placed on hold by someone you are calling.  Please put away your toys and come to my desk.”

Terry looked like a child caught breaking the rules.  He slipped his nail file back into his purse and scurried out to Moira’s desk.  He hoped Moira had not seen the bottle of nail polish he had pulled out to repair one of his nail tips. Moira handed Terry a pile of documents.  “Terry, there is a table of contents on top of the pile.  I need you to collate all of the documents and get this proposal bound.  There is some missing contact information noted with little green post-its.

You need to call and get the relevant information.  Then edit the documents and fill in the pertinent data.  Insert those pages into the document and get the finished proposal back to me as soon as possible.  We have several of these proposals to finish this week.  I’ll start getting the next one together while you finish the first one.  You can use the conference table in the finance office.  Do you understand what you need to do?” Terry, still reeling from getting caught working on his nails, just nodded and turned back to the “finance” office.

Apparently, Moira was now calling his office the finance office.  Why did Terry care?  He just scooted into the office, avoided the desk, and moved to the conference table where he began organizing. Moira was surprised Terry did not correct her and asked why she called his office the finance office.  She was also satisfied to see that he did not go to his desk and used the conference table as directed.  Once Terry had organized the documents, he determined what data was needed.  He pulled his phone to the front of his desk and sat in one of the visitor chairs.

He made the calls and collected the missing data.  Everyone asked if he worked with or for Moira and he simply said yes to get things moved along.  When Terry went to his desk to edit the documents, he could not find them.  He went out to Moira to let her know he could not find the documents.

Moira thought for a moment and looked at her computer.  She realized they were on her local disk.  Moira suggested, “Terry, why don’t you just edit them here so we can save time.”  As she said this, Moira stood up and held her chair for Terry.  Terry quickly sat down and turned to the screen.  Moira had logged out of her account and told Terry she would do some of her work on the finance office computer while Terry edited the documents.  Terry logged in and started his work.  He couldn’t help wondering why Moira didn’t just do the edits herself.

But he pushed the idea aside and got the work done.  Terry printed the pages off and had to go to the area printer near Doreen to collect the pages.  He entered his office and found Moira working hard at the desk.  He moved to the conference table and inserted the new pages.  He then collected the proposals and took them to the copying room to bind them.  When Terry returned from the copying room, Moira was on his phone.  She pointed to a pile on the corner of the desk and Terry realized she had the next proposal ready to go.

Terry began the same process and when he got to the edits, he ran out to Moira’s computer to make the edits.  Terry grabbed his bag and took it with him when he went out to Moira’s desk.  He needed to check his lipstick.  While editing, he pulled out his phone and checked his look.  Moira smiled as she looked down at her phone to see Terry checking his make-up at the secretary’s desk.  She wondered if any of the girls noticed as Terry leaned down and freshened his lipstick. By the time Terry was done with the second proposal, Moira had a to-do list on the corner of the desk.  Moira was on another call.  So, Terry took the list and went out to Moira’s desk.

He began making calls and gathering information needed for some future proposals.  When he got placed on hold, he remembered what Moira had said and he pulled out his nail file.  Terry idly buffed his nails and sanded a rough spot.  Still waiting, he pulled out the bottle of polish and quickly applied a coat on the nails which had been damaged.  As he was blowing on his nails, the caller returned. Doreen couldn’t help pulling out her phone and filming Terry holding the phone to his ear while focusing on his nail maintenance.  She forwarded the video to Moira. Terry was just getting off the phone when he heard Moira giggling in the finance office.  He wondered what had prompted that.

Looking at the phone he saw that the light for the official line was off, so he knew she was not on the office phone. The light came on and he noticed that Doreen had also just gotten on the phone.  Everyone was busy on the phone.  He made his next call. As the day came to a close, Terry had not completed the full list of calls for data that Moira had given him.  Terry entered the office and gave Moira an update on where he was on the list.  Moira seemed pleased.  She suggested they gather their things to head home.