You Look Just Like Your Sister

by Rachel Burns

  Mr. Montfort’s secretary told him he could go right in.

  Derrick nodded and swallowed hard before he knocked and pushed the door open. His mind was racing. What would he do after he got fired here?

  “Thank you for coming here so promptly. We seem to have a little problem. My daughter Ashton you already know, but this is Elise. She decided to come and work for me for a year before she starts college. I decided she should work in each department and learn what she can. Today she started in your department, and apparently you yelled at her and kicked her out? Is that true?” Marshall couldn’t fathom why Mr. Davis would do that to either of his daughters.

  There it was. He was about to be fired. Derrick had overstepped the line considerably.

  “Daddy, I don’t think he knew it was me. He thought I was Ashton.”

  “And that makes it okay?” Marshall barked at his daughter.

  “It was a misunderstanding.” Elise tried to explain. She didn’t want him to get fired.

  “Why are you standing up for him?” Ashton demanded. This was her chance to get rid of him.

  “I blew it out of proportion. This was entirely my fault. I should have explained what I was doing there.” Elise was even asking herself why she was sticking up for him. The thing was she wanted him to like her back. Her eyes would dart around and look for him whenever she entered a new room, in the hopes of seeing him.

  “Derrick, are you willing to work with my daughter? I mean this one.” He pointed to Elise, who was biting her lip.

  Derrick couldn’t believe it. He might not get fired. “Of course. I’d be glad to do that. My apologies Miss Montfort.”

  “Should I go with him now?” Elise asked her father.

  Mr. Montfort thought about that for a moment. He didn’t want anyone to hurt his baby, and he had a feeling her feelings had been hurt, terribly.

  “I would be honored to bring you back to my office and give you a tour.”

  “She doesn’t need a tour. She’s working here. Give her a task.” Marshall was relieved the situation was relaxing. He laid his hand on Elise’s back and gave her a gentle push in Derrick’s direction.

  Derrick jumped ahead and opened the door for Elise. He smiled back at Mr. Montfort, trying to reassure him he wouldn’t do anything to his beloved daughter.

  He saw Ashton’s mad face. She would be out for blood now. He could tell that her little sister was one of the few things she truly loved.

  Once he had Elise alone in the elevator, he turned to her. “I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am. I thought you were your sister. That isn’t a very good excuse. I want you to believe me when I say, it won’t happen again. If I’m unsure who is who, I’ll ask.”

  Elise smiled back at him. She was admitting to herself that she had a crush on him. He was the best-looking man she had ever seen, and now he was smiling at her.

  Butterflies were fluttering around inside of her tummy. She pulled her tummy in, so she would look thinner. She wanted him to think of her as attractive. Exactly like she thought of him.

  Derrick brought her back to the desk where she had been working before. He even pulled out the chair for her.

  Elise felt her cheeks flushing with color. She tried to get them to stop, but the heat only got worse.

  Derrick figured she was remembering what had happened. He felt like such a heel.

  Still he watched her work for ten minutes before he went back to his own office. He didn’t trust her. Both women were little beasts.

  Mr. Montfort had raised two spoiled brats who never could have found a real job without daddy’s help. This one he didn’t even trust enough to give her a real position at the company.

  She certainly didn't look like college kid.

  Elise loved and hated working in Mr. Davis department. He made her so nervous she could never say anything of intelligence when he was present.

  She liked that she got to see him every day. She would glance at him when he passed her, not allowing herself to stare at him like she wanted to do.

  At night, she would dream about him falling hopelessly in love with her and confessing his feelings for her. Then they would make love.

  Elise thought more about sex. She hadn’t yet, and she figured he would be a terrific lover. At least he was in her dreams.

  She pictured him thanking her for waiting for him. He would see her virginity as a precious gift. They would make love, and afterwards, he would beg her to be true to him and marry him.

  Mr. Davis was the star in thousands of her daydreams.

  Chapter 6 – Resentment

  The month quickly ended, and Elise had to move onto another department. She hated leaving Mr. Davis, but it was probably better for her. Her heart would pound so loudly when she saw him that she feared he would be able to hear it.

  The sad thing was that he never took notice of her.

  Nevertheless, Elise needed to help her father. She had already found several ways that helped.

  Her father was pleased with her. He even admitted she was more mature than what Ashton had been at her age.

  He talked of her and Ashton working as a team together to keep the company alive. Ashton needed someone who would help her keep both feet on the ground. She didn’t have the larger picture in her head. Unfortunately, he had given her a high entry position when she got out of college. He should have had her work in each department like little Elise was doing.

  He spoke of college with Elise every chance he got. She avoided questions about college by telling him they would talk in February.

  Elise was in public relations this month. She got to help plan the Christmas party. She tried to get them to cut costs as much as possible, but she was told they had a set budget for the party. They felt they had to use it all. They even wanted to ask for more next year.

  Elise did something she had never done before; she scolded them for wasting her father’s money on nonsense.

  It hurt her that she had to give up college, so these people could get wasted at their Christmas party with pretty straws in their drinks.

  She cut back where she could, using her Ashton trick, so people would listen to her. It didn’t make her very popular, but she made sure they had enough things that would make it a memorable evening. She only cut out things that were frivolous.

  Someone complained to Elise’s father about her.

  He called her into his office and had a long talk with her about the necessity of morale and the employees knowing the work they do here was appreciated. She found it very hard to agree with her father.

  Elise hoped she would be able to go to college in September. This was making her bitter.

  Her friends had stopped calling her because she never had anything interesting to tell them. All she did was work while they attended classes and learned new things and met interesting people their own age.

  She went back to work and put her nose to the grindstone to think of cost-efficient ways to give the employees a nice evening.

  At night she cried. She needed a vacation, but she couldn’t dare ask for one. This had supposedly been her idea.

  She wished Ashton hadn’t lost all of that money.

  Derrick was surprised when the report about the Christmas party landed on his desk. The estimated cost was half of what it had been the year before.

  He looked it over and nodded approvingly. The head of the PR Department had whipped her department into shape. He was glad to see the waste of last year wouldn’t be repeated this year.

  When he saw the head of the PR Department, he praised her only to find out Miss Montfort had been responsible for the cutbacks.

  “I’m assuming you mean Elise.” It was clear she couldn’t mean Ashton.

  “Elise is trying to save her father some money, although I feel that savings could best be done in other departments. It didn’t have to be the Christmas party, which everyone looks forward to every year.”

  “I looked over her plans. She didn’t cut out anyth
ing of importance. People will still have a good time.” Derrick was pleased that at least the little sister had a head on her shoulders. It amazed him that two people could look exactly alike and be so different.

  God must have felt Mr. Montfort didn’t deserve two such daughters, so he gave him Elise to make up for Ashton.

  Derrick hoped Elise would one day take over the company. She had more sense. Alone the idea of working here for a year before going to college said so much about her.

  Elise was a young lady with a head on her shoulders.

  Chapter 7 – Sacrifice

  December came, marking Elise's half year anniversary working for the company.

  It was time for Elise to move onto the next department. This time she was in Marketing and Advertising, Ashton’s department.

  Ashton welcomed her with open arms, literally. She showed her around and explained things to Elise personally.

  After the tour Ashton gave Elise simple tasks to do, but when Ashton had meetings, she took Elise along and introduced her around.

  Elise was able to see this department from the bottom and from the top. She had several suggestions about how to make things better and save money. After her success with doing that in the last department, she tried to do it again.

  Ashton didn’t want to change anything, explaining ‘if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it’ to Elise.

  Elise kept trying to change little things, but Ashton ignored her. She showed Elise her ideas and strategies for getting their company better known in the world. Some impressed Elise while others made her shake her head.

  The two of them started to fight.

  When two quarrel, a third rejoices. That third person was Derrick. He loved this little kid. She was making his job so much easier.

  The good thing was when Elise spoke; Ashton actually listened to her.

  Ashton was driving Elise home after work. They had butted heads again today. At the moment they weren’t talking to each other.

  Ashton told herself that work was work and home was home. She needed to forget the miser ways of her sister and simply love her.

  She figured Elise regretted her decision to work before college. It was clear that Elise wasn’t happy. She wasn’t going out and doing things with her friends. All she did was work and hang out at home.

  “You’ve changed. And not for the better,” Ashton added.

  Elise glanced over at her sister. It was a slap in the face, hearing you had changed for the worse from the person who forced you to change.

  In Elise's eyes the problem was that Ashton hadn’t changed. She still wanted to blow more of their dad’s money on weird projects and investments.

  Elise looked away from Ashton. She didn’t want to deal with this. She wanted to be left alone.

  All of her friends were going to go skiing after Christmas and before they went back to their fun lives at college. They had invited Elise along, but she had to tell them that she had to work.

  Bitterly, she thought to herself that she would be busy bringing Ashton her coffee while Ashton talked on the phone and signed away more of their father’s money. She would never be able to go to college at this rate.

  “Maybe we need a girl’s day out, only the two of us. We could go Christmas shopping and find something nice for Dad and for ourselves. I’d kill for a decent pedicure.”

  “It’s all about money with you, isn’t it? Having money and spending it. Why can’t you ever do something that wouldn’t cost Dad money?”

  “Elise, we aren’t at work anymore. I’m sure you’ve seen how hard I work for Dad. I can do what I want with the money I earn. That isn’t Dad’s money.”

  “Of course, it is. It’s all his. He has been very generous with us in the past, but it’s time to grow up.” Elise looked away from her sister and stared out of the window the rest of the way home.

  Ashton was pressing her lips together hard, so she wouldn’t cry. Even little Elise thought that she wasn’t a grown up. That hurt so much.

  When they got home, each sister went to her room to think about what was said. Elise cried and went to bed early.

  Derrick walked into Ashton’s office. The sisters were arguing again. To him it looked as if the same person was arguing with herself. The resemblance was uncanny. He couldn’t even see the age difference.

  He had resorted to telling them apart by their clothes. Ashton wore designer clothes that demanded attention. He knew her clothes caught his eye.

  Elise wore plain simple things with no jewelry. And she smiled at him when she saw him.

  That was the biggest difference.

  “Ashton, I have to agree with your sister. This is too risky. We won’t be dealing with this company.” He slapped the file down on her desk.

  Ashton glanced at the file to see what he was talking about. “An alliance with them is cheaper than with all of our other suppliers.” Ashton had been fighting with Elise about something else. At the moment she felt like everyone was picking on her.

  “Why do they want to do business with us to the point that they’re no longer making a profit? Think about it.” Derrick couldn’t believe that he had to explain this to her.

  “They want to use us to improve their reputation. We want to use them to maximize our profits. It will save money. You usually like that.” Ashton didn’t have any patience for Mr. Davis at the moment.

  “Elise, talk some sense into your sister.”

  “But if it will save money, it has to be a good idea. It’s not like we sell Christian books. They’re a supplier and they are the cheapest. As long as their practices aren’t illegal, I’ll side with my sister.”

  Derrick sighed and left. Once again, he would have to go to Mr. Montfort.

  Marshall called his daughters into his office. He raised his eyebrows and looked at them. “This company stands for family. I inherited it from my father, and he inherited it from his father. One day, you two will inherit it. I would like you to carry on as the three generations before you have. People buy our products because they trust us. If we start dealing with a company who is known for selling sex products, it will lower our reputation. Thankfully, Derrick informed me. The press would have had a field day with this. I expect better from you girls. You may leave now.”

  “Father, times have changed and sexuality isn’t something that has to be hidden nowadays. Everyone has sex. It’s the most natural thing in the world. No one is going to bat an eye.”

  Derrick couldn’t help but think about doing the most natural thing in the world with Ashton.

  “Ashton!” Marshall stopped her before she could continue. “That isn’t the kind of talk we tolerate in this company. The answer is no.” He couldn’t believe Ashton had said things like that in front of Elise.

  Ashton understood what had upset her father. She was certain that Elise was still a virgin. As the baby of the family, she needed to be protected from lewd things.

  “Of course, Dad.” Ashton turned to leave.

  Derrick jumped ahead of Ashton to open the door for her.

  Elise could see he was in love with Ashton by the way he smiled at Ashton.

  Of course, he wouldn’t be interested in her, Elise thought. She was only a kid, and she hadn’t even started college yet.

  “Elise, please stay. I want to talk to you about the Christmas party tonight.” Marshall wanted her to keep an eye on everything to make sure it was running smoothly. He figured it would be good for her to oversee what she had set into motion.

  “Of course, Dad. You don’t have to worry about anything.” Great, now she couldn’t enjoy the party. It was just another long day at work for her.

  She left her father’s office and saw Ashton fighting with Mr. Davis. Ashton stormed off, and Mr. Davis stared at her backside as she went.

  Why couldn’t he look at her like he did at Ashton? He thought they looked alike, but he didn’t think Elise was attractive.

  Elise went back to Marketing and helped pick out a kid for a com
mercial. It was for a breakfast cereal.

  Elise’s dress for this evening was in Ashton’s closet. The way this was dragging on she would have to dash to get to the party on time.

  Working here was a lot of work, and the longer she worked here the more got piled onto her.

  While she sat and talked to parents about their children getting the role, she thought about everything she had given up.

  If only Ashton hadn’t lost that money, she could still be a kid.

  She gave herself a mental shake. She wasn’t that bad off. Some people didn’t have a job or money to buy food. She was feeling sorry for herself.

  On the way to Ashton’s office her cell rang.

  “Hello, Elise. It’s me.”

  “Hi, Laura.” Laura was one of her friends from school.

  “You have to come along skiing with us. Tell your dad whatever you have to.” Laura was begging her to go along again.

  The begging from her friend only made everything worse. “I can’t. You know I have to work.”

  “Elise, we made friends with some really cute guys. There are five of them, and they agreed to come with us. You need to come along, so we’re an even number. It is going to be a blast.”

  Elise pushed the door open to Ashton’s office. “I would love to come along, but I can’t get off of work.”

  “Elise, you have to think of something to tell your dad. These guys are really hot, and they’re so nice. This is the perfect chance for – you know – to do it.”

  Elise sat down behind Ashton’s desk, taking off her blazer and laid it over her lap. She needed to hurry, but somehow she felt depressed and sluggish.

  “I can’t. I’d love to, honestly I would, but I can’t get away.” Elise leaned back in Ashton’s soft chair and put her feet up on Ashton’s desk.