The Women's Job - Part 17

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I didn't need the alarm clock to get up at five. I fussed over my hair for quite a while. My makeup didn't take too long and I thought I did pretty well.

I chose a pair of black panties and the black lace bra Connie had bought. I had been grateful, the night before, that Connie hadn't asked me to try any of them on in the store. The new ones were much prettier than the plain ones I had worn.

In my new sheer black pantyhose, I went to the closet to get out the dress. The vee collar and short sleeves were trimmed with white lace. The buttons down the front were cloth-covered to match the dress. I stepped into it, buttoning the front. It was as intimidating as it had been when I tried it on in the store.

The waistline was tapered to show off the figure and the little pleated skirt was as short as I recalled, about four inches above my knees.

I heard a noise at the door and turned from the mirror to see what it was. It was Connie in her robe, showered, with her makeup on, standing there smiling at me.

"It looks adorable on you."

I guess I blushed.

"No, it really does Sweetheart."

"It's too short."

"No, it's not. It's perfect."

"I've got ugly legs."

Connie grinned. "You have nice legs."

"My knees are bony and they touch together. I look knock-kneed."

"Your knees are fine and they're supposed to touch." She assured me. "Your thighs are nice and trim. You have shapely legs. I think your working out at the gym was a good idea."

I looked at myself again. "You sure?"

"Positive!" Connie was enjoying this at least. "Which shoes are you going to wear?"

"I haven't even thought about that yet," I admitted. One hurdle at a time.

Connie suggested, "I think the black pumps with the black and gold button on the toes would look the nicest."

I went to the closet and searched through the boxes. "These?" I tried them on. They had an inch and a half heal but they were pretty comfortable. Virginia had insisted that we only buy good shoes.

"Lovely," Connie said, giving me a good look. "You did remember to put on a slip, didn't you?"

"I didn't think I could. This is so short."

"No, I made sure you had every size and color you might need. Look in the middle left drawer of the dresser. I think that's where I saw Virginia put them."

I found one. It was tiny.

I posed for her, feet together and hands on my hips. "That's better." Connie agreed. "I'm glad you got an early start. We have time to do your nails. Aren't you glad now, that I talked you out of trimming them?"

They were getting too long for me. They no longer looked just neat, they looked feminine. I suppose it was just as well now that I hadn't cut them.

"Bring your new nail polish out to the kitchen, I'll help you."

It didn't take Connie long at all. I had to just sit there and wait while they dried.

"We'll do your toenails tomorrow." She informed me.

"Why?"

"Because Jennifer, some of your new shoes are opened toed."

"How silly of me" I kidded. Inside I shuttered.

"That and it will be fun." She said smiling.

Fun for her. "This means I have to dress like Jennifer all weekend?"

Connie explained. "We're going to have to entertain Mr. Park this weekend."

I hadn't thought of that. "Both of us?" Mr. Park, Mike, made me very uncomfortable. At work was bad enough but I hadn't forgotten how he and Robert had competed for my attention at dinner and at the Met.

"I'll try to occupy him but we'll just have to see how it goes."

Connie poured me a glass of juice and got out our vitamins then went in and finished getting ready for work.

We stood over the jewelry box, my jewelry box. "Go ahead and put your rings on. I’ll help you pick out earrings."

I had two rings for my right hand and one for the left. None of the three were gaudy, thank God. Connie picked out the pearl drop earrings. They bounced against my neck when I turned my head. I certainly wouldn't forget they were there.

Connie found her pearls. The necklace was a double strand of small pearl and the bracelet matched. "Don't forget your new watch. I think the gold one would look the best."

I looked ready but I didn't feel ready. I slung my new Liz Clayborn purse over my shoulder, all filled with everything a girl needed for a day at work, and we headed out.

I had made up my mind, sitting at the kitchen table, that today would be just like any other. My illusion was shattered the moment I got to work.

"Good morning Ms. Sackett. Good morning Jennifer."

Bobbie never got to work so early. "Good morning Bobbie," I replied as melodiously as she had sounded.

"You look fantastic." Bobbie's eyes were wide.

I replied. "Thank you. You look very pretty this morning too. I just love those shoes." I told her, practicing what Connie had told me about always finding something to compliment women on.

They both got a kick out of my antics.

I had a surprise on my desk. Someone had put a little basket of colorful dried flowers on the corner. A small picture frame held pictures of two adorable children, a boy, and a girl.

"I just couldn't resist. Your desk didn't look right." Bobbie was sticking her head in the door. "They're my niece and nephew. You can borrow them for a few days."

I didn't think the decorations were necessary but I knew she meant well. "What are their names?"

"Candace and Wayne."

"Thanks for the loan."

Bobbie's expression change from smiling to serious. "You really do look fantastic. If you need anything, just call me."

She was a sweetheart. "I will, I promise."

"You're going to do fine Honey." Connie liked the way Bobbie and I got along.

I tried to get to work but people started arriving and the traffic past the office was surprising. Most people normally came in the back way, not today. Everyone wanted to say good morning to Jennifer.

The offices that had grown so familiar over the past few months, now seemed so different. I was aware of the smallest things as I traced the footsteps that Jeffrey made each day.

I couldn't go anywhere without running into someone. I had expected to be teased, and while they didn't completely disappoint me, a lot of the comments I received were in the form of constructive criticism. Almost all the women had suggestions for how to do this or that, how to behave.

I had expected to have a quiet lunch in the office but that didn't happen either. A number of the younger women regularly got together at lunchtime, in the conference room, to eat. They came and got me, insisting that I join them. Even Connie encouraged me to go.

It was obvious to me at least, that I didn't belong there with all those women but they made me as comfortable as they could while they tried to draw me into their conversations. To say I was the center of attention would have been an understatement. I worked up the courage to ask what they thought of the dress and how I looked. I shouldn't have asked. It seemed they were just waiting for an opportunity to let me know how sensational I came across as a girl.

Fielding phone calls was a problem. I didn't know whether to answer as Jeffrey or as Jennifer. You couldn't tell by the ring if the calls were inside or outside. I just answered them all as Jennifer.

I caught Connie watching me from time to time when I looked up. She had that adoring smile on her face each time. I couldn't help but smile back.

I found myself constantly tugging my short skirt down as I sat at my desk working. If I did it once, I did it a thousand times. It was to no avail. The skirt was just too short to cover my legs. I was very self-conscious about it.

About three I finally couldn't hold on any longer, I had to go to the bathroom. I stood in the hallway, outside the restrooms. It startled me when Candace came out of the ladies' room and caught me standing there, looking lost. She understood my dilemma.

"There's no one in there right now Jennifer, go ahead." She only grinned, holding the door for me.

What could I say, "Thanks, Candace." I sheepishly replied and stepped past her.

Someone had to have called them because they had no reason to be there. I was surprised when Trish, Kim, and Judy walked into the office around four-thirty. The three of them looked so imposing, lined up in front of my desk, smiling down at me. "Oh please." They made me want to laugh.

Connie saw them and came out of her office. "What are you three doing here?"

"We just came by to visit with our girlfriend," Trish said kidding around.

"We're going to take her out for a drink and some fun," Kim added.

"Oh no!" I said emphatically.

"Oh yes!" Trish replied. She turned to Connie. "You weren't planning on her working late tonight?"

Connie looked torn. I knew she was worried about me. "I don't know."

"We promise to look after her. It'll be fun."

"Fun?" I questioned.

"Sure." Judy insisted. "We'll go have a few drinks, pick up some guys." She was kidding.

"Jennifer's had a pretty rough day." Connie tried to dissuade them.

Trish implored me. "Come on. All kidding aside, we'll just go have a glass of wine, a little girl talk. We'll have dinner and then home. I promise."

Connie looked at me and shrugged her shoulders. "It's up to Jennifer."

That was all they needed to hear. Kim came around behind me and pulled out my chair. Judy grabbed my purse from behind me and handed it to me. "Let's go."

"I love that dress," Trish said when I stood up.

I had heard that kind of thing all day.

"No, I mean it. Can I borrow it sometime?"

"Sure." I wasn't sure if I should believe her or not.

I would have preferred to just go home and take off my heels. I wasn't anxious to go out in public in what I was wearing. "I don't think this is a good idea," I told them as they hurried me up the hall to the lobby.

"Relax Jeffrey. We'll have a good time." Judy insisted.

Trish, Kim, and I all reminded her, "Jennifer!"

"How did you know?" I asked Trish.

"A little bird told us." She said, laughing.

We passed the little bird on the way out of the building. "I wish I could go with you." Bobbie said, "But I promised Jack I'd come right home after work."

"I'll get you back," I told her as the others hurried me out the door.

I thought my dress was short. Walking next to Trish and Kim, I realized it wasn't all that short. Judy's was about the same length as mine. I caught our reflections in the office windows as we walked across the front of the building to the parking lot. I saw four long, slender pairs of legs. Maybe mine wasn't so bad looking, after all, I remembered thinking to myself.

"Where are we going?" I asked, climbing into Trish's Camaro. It was awkward getting into the back seat in my heels. "Not to the point?!" The odds were remote but there was the chance that Christy would be there. No way I wanted her to see me the way I was dressed.

"No, not on a Thursday," Kim explained. "Too dead. We're going to the lounge at the Marriott, by the airport."

Guys, no matter how young or old, love to look at girls. I was in the company of three very beautiful ones. "Doesn't it bother you to have guys staring at you all the time?"

They all got a kick out of my question. "Not at all." Kim turned and looked over the back seat. "Let them look, as long as that's all they do. It's flattering and it makes a girl feel desirable."

"You've got to learn not to let it bother you. Just don't return their interest." Judy added.

"Unless, of course, they're cute," Trish said grinning in the rearview mirror.

I had felt like everyone was looking at me when I drove to Virginia's those few times. In the car with my friends, it wasn't just a feeling.

"So how did you do today?" Kim asked.

"I was pretty scared at first but everyone was really great. By lunch, it got easier."

"You really do look terrific." Judy was so impressed.

"You could fool anyone." Kim agreed.

Trish pulled into the hotel parking lot and found a spot close to the lobby. It was worse climbing out of the car. I felt like such a klutz in my heels.

"Now just stay close and walk in like you own the place," Kim informed me.

Did they think I was going to wander off? I stuck to them like glue. My steps matched their casual stride. One hand rested on my purse, the other swung in a short arc. I kept my shoulders back and my head up.

A couple of men in business suits held the door for us as we approached the lobby. I could feel their eyes as they stared at the four of us. This didn't bother Kim and the others?

"Thank you." We each told them. I was relieved they didn't hear the quiver in my voice.

"Our pleasure." Was the response that came with the lecherous smiles.

We crossed the lobby to the entrance to the lounge. There were a number of men in business suits, coming and going from the hotel and their heads turned as we crossed the lobby.

"I need to check my makeup and go to the bathroom," Judy said as we neared the door.

"Me too," Trish added.

"Jennifer, you need to powder and put on fresh lipstick," Kim whispered. "Do you have some with you?"

Connie had insisted that I tuck it all in my purse this morning. I nodded. I had everything I needed.

Trish was concerned. Now she whispered to me, "Are you going to be ok, going in the ladies’ room?"

"I'll manage," I assured her. I was so nervous about going into the bar that I really had to go. It was getting a little less unnerving, using ladies’ restrooms.

I took Kim's advice and powdered my shiny nose and put on fresh lipstick. It was lucky that I had a hairbrush because my hair had gotten windblown outside in the breeze. I didn't want anyone looking at me funny because of so obvious and oversight.

In a way, I was fortunate that we weren't alone in there. There were a couple of women in there with us. I could tell that Judy wanted to tease me. I gave her a smile and a wink that said 'too bad.

The lounge wasn't too crowded. It was only about five-thirty. We had no trouble finding a table. We had to cross the open dance floor to reach it and I could feel the eyes of the men at the bar on us. They all seemed to stop whatever they were doing when we walked in. They just stared.

My heart raced and I could feel my knees shaking. I really had to concentrate to walk normally, like the others.

Trish must have been reading my mind. She leaned toward me and whispered. "Don't pay them any attention. Pretend like they're not even there."

My next problem was the table the others selected. It was one of those high round ones with stools instead of chairs. They had no trouble getting comfortable on the high stools, crossing their legs in a seductive fashion. I found it easier to mimic them than to try and keep my knees locked together, the way I was shaking.

Trish and Judy ordered wine. Kim wanted a daiquiri. I almost ordered wine too. At the last second, I realized what could happen if the waitress asked me for proof of age. I ordered a coke.

The waitress didn't seem to notice the tension in my voice. I tried to smile, even though inside, I was trembling.

We were far enough from inquisitive ears to talk. "How are you doing?" Trish asked.

"I'm scared to death," I admitted freely.

The waitress returned with our drinks. We each paid for our own.

"The two gentlemen at the end of the bar would like to buy you around." The waitress informed us.

"Tell them to thank you," Kim told the girl. All three of them looked to the end of the bar, smiled, and nodded to the men. I couldn't even look at them.

"I bet Jennifer won't ever have to buy herself more than one drink in a place like this," Judy said to me.

"Or any other bar for that matter," Kim added.

"There are perks to being an attractive young woman," Trish said to no one in particular.

"Does this happen all the time?" I asked, picking up my soda and sipping through the tiny straw. My hand shook and I was actually afraid of dropping the glass.

"Just about." Trish and Kim agreed, nodding.

It wouldn't happen to me, I thought to myself.

Avoiding looking in the direction of the two men, I did look around the rest of the place. It was like a dozen other bars I'd been in, back up north. A lot of wood and brass. What made it unique was that I didn't see one man without a suit coat on.

"Salesmen," Judy explained. "They stay here because it's close to the airport and it's convenient to the beltway. They can get almost anywhere in the city in minutes from here."

"So why did we come here?" I asked, wishing now that I had been more insistent about not coming. I wasn't ready for this.

They looked at each other and smiled. "We wanted to show you what it's like to be picked up and this is one of the best places in town. Salesmen are unique and you can meet all kinds here. Young, old, married, single and they're all smooth talkers."

"We're not going to get 'picked up'!?" I asked, more scared than ever.

Trish reassured me. "Don't worry. We'll just have a little fun then we'll go."

I trusted her. I trusted each of them. "So what makes them so unique?"

Judy answered. "They'll do almost anything to get laid. They'll buy you drinks to try to get you drunk, gifts to impress you, dinner at the best places in town. They feel safe because they'll jump on a plane the next day. No promises, no commitments, and hardly any chance of their wives finding out."

"You make them sound pretty bad."

"A lot of them are," Trish said with conviction. "Take those two that want to buy us drinks. See the white outline on the ring finger on the hand of the young one, the one on the left with the great eyes?"

It meant I had to stare but he and his friend weren't looking at the moment. I had to strain to see what Trish saw. "He's married?"

"That's right and I'll bet ten dollars that he took off his wedding ring the moment the four of us walked into the room," Kim told me. "The bastard probably cheats on his wife regularly."

"But we let him buy us drinks?" If they knew at a glance? "Why?"

Trish was very smug. "We'll play with them a little then send them packing."

With the next round of drinks came the two men. I watched as they got up from the bar and walked in our direction. My heart raced even faster. I turned on the stool so my leg, which was twitching, rested against the table support. My mouth was so dry. I took another sip of my soda.

The married one looked to be about twenty-five. His friend didn't look much older. They made small talk, first introducing themselves. We each told them our names. I was last and followed the lead of the others, only telling them our first names. I was petrified when it was my turn. I barely got out my name. I said nothing else.

Trish and the others responded to their small talk with pleasant smiles, leading them along.

The married one, Pete, seemed particularly interested in Trish. Jeff, ironically, the other man, moved in close to Judy, vying for her favor. It wasn't till Pete tried to get familiar with Trish, resting his hand on her arm, that she decided the game was over.

Out of the blue, she asked, "Doesn't your wife mind that you pick up women in bars."

He tried to deny he was married but she didn't let up.

"What's that ring on your finger?"

"Oh that. I'm recently separated." He explained clumsily.

Even I noticed the change in his voice. It wasn't hard to tell he was lying.

"We'll Pete, why don't you come back after the divorce and try again."

He knew he was had and his buddy knew his chances were blown too.

"It was nice meeting you all."

The girls made no bones about it. They snickered loud enough for the men to hear as they walked away from us and right out the door. They knew they had been played for suckers and were too embarrassed to stay.

I almost commented that they had been pretty rough on him but when I thought about it, I realized he deserved it.

I was relieved they were gone. My stomach was doing flips. "I'm not doing too well. Can we go?"

They responded as I hoped they would. My knees were still shaking as we got up and left, leaving the round of drinks almost untouched.

Outside the hotel, walking to the car, we could talk. I was so relieved to be out of there.

"I'm so sorry Jennifer. I didn't think it would be so hard on you." Trish felt bad.

"It's just that you're so convincing when we fool around at the studio." Kim was sorry too.

"That's different. It's just horsing around and I'm not so nervous around you."

"Do you want to go for something to eat or would you rather we take you home?" Judy asked.

I enjoyed their company. It was compromising circumstances like I had just experienced that scared me so. "Can we go somewhere where we can just eat and talk without anyone trying to come on to us?" Was there such a place?