Taming and Tanning Libby

by Carl Hamlin

  Libby felt her face turn warm. “Thank you… I’m just trying to do my job.”

  Clay reached inside his pocket and pulled out a small slip of paper. “I forgot. A friend of mine from my last job sent me the name of this website. He says it has a great selection of digital background imaging.”

  Libby felt her spine stiffen. “But I think the ones I have been selecting are pretty good.”

  “Oh, they certainly are. I had just mentioned you to him, and how you and I were both new on the job, and he suggested this and thought you might find it helpful.”

  Libby began to bite her lip. “Thank you… I am perfectly capable of picking out my own resources.”

  “Libby… I’m just trying to be helpful.”

  Libby stepped forward and stood on her tiptoes to put her lips close to his ear. “I have this covered… thank you very much.” She then arched her eyebrows and stepped away and disappeared into the crowd.

  * * * * *

  The group had a two-day break, and then headed for another sold-out appearance in Wichita, Kansas. Libby had spent her free time hidden away in her room at the hotel, working on new designs and stage themes. She had made it a point to seclude herself, wishing to avoid contact with Clay.

  Libby had always tried to avoid the previous manager as well, for she was not eager to have another person giving her orders. She spent hours each day with the design pad on her lap, followed by having the images scanned and sent to a company in Texas that actually manufactured the outfits. If not at the sketchpad or on her computer, she was often on the telephone with suppliers, squeezing in several calls each week to her parents and siblings.

  Libby was a dynamo of work and creativity. She was also known as a sweetheart unless someone failed to meet her expectations or stepped on her creative toes, as Clay had done unwittingly.

  After her indignation on the morning of the interview, Libby tried to maintain her mode of independence from any additional managerial oversight. When Clay would speak to her, Libby would reply in short, clipped sentences. It was not that she had developed an immediate dislike for the man. Instead, she just did not feel that she needed anyone’s interference in her work, let alone their assistance. At the same time, it was obvious from his demeanor that Clay had not appreciated her response to his simple offer of information that he felt would have been helpful to her.

  Upon arriving in Wichita, Libby and Clay found themselves sitting next to each other at a brief staff meeting called by Max. Each at the circular table in the rear of the tour bus took a turn going over their individual preparations for the show. During the meeting, Libby could not help noticing that Clay was occasionally glancing down at the legs revealed by her short denim skirt.

  When the meeting was finished and Libby stood to leave, she felt a hand on her elbow. She looked down to see that Clay had remained seated, so she sat back down.

  “Libby… I just want to emphasize to you, that I think it’s very important for you and I to be able to get along. I don’t mean to interfere in your work, but I am the business manager. I have responsibilities to Max, just as you do, but one of my responsibilities is to oversee things in general, and that includes your work. It’s an organizational thing.

  He offered a smile. “And your work is tremendous. Everyone knows that. But Max has made it clear to me that he wants me to be an extension of him with everyone who works for him. It’s not a matter of trust, it’s just a matter of responsibility.”

  Libby looked at him through narrowed eyes. “Let me get this straight, Clay… I’m doing my job to everyone’s satisfaction… I’ve had no complaints from anyone about the costumes or the sets. But still, you need to look over my shoulder? Why is that?”

  “Libby… once again… I want you to understand. It’s just a matter of the chain of command.”

  Libby began to seethe in anger. “Command… my… sweet ass.”

  Clay tried to keep a straight face, but his face contorted and his chest shook as he tried in vain to contain his laughter. “Oh… Libby… I’m sorry, but I have all these possible responses to that bouncing around in my head right now.”

  Libby crossed her arms and glared at him. “And I imagine they are just so… funny… and charming… to say nothing of brilliant.”

  Clay struggled to stop laughing. “They’re definitely all of those. I wouldn’t know where to begin.” He looked at her with a mischievous grin on his face. “And I’m sure it is.”

  Libby put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “You’re sure what is what?”

  Clay began to laugh again. “I’m sure it is sweet.”

  Libby stood up suddenly; stiffened her arms and closed her fists at her side, before shutting her eyes and emitting an angry “Oooohhh!” and then rapidly walking away.

  * * * * *

  It was at the Wichita concert that Clay was witness to Libby giving a dressing down to a delivery truck driver who was a few minutes late in arriving at the arena with the new costumes she had arranged for Max and his band members to wear. Clay did not intervene, but stood back in the hallway and watched and listened as the 5’2” redhead scolded the 6’5” driver without mercy.

  Clay decided to wait until the next day to speak to Libby about the incident. After the program was over that evening, they would be leaving for another program in Lawrence, a shorter than typical travel distance, so there would be more than sufficient time to address the matter.

  * * * * *

  Most of the travelers were asleep when the driver announced at 2:00 AM that they had arrived at their Lawrence hotel for the night. As usual, Max had arranged for them to stay at a comfortable and somewhat elegant establishment, complete with an indoor pool. A second bus, just as comfortable, was provided for the sound crew, equipment handlers and the rest of the many employees needed to produce a major concert.

  As was usual, Libby and Veronica shared a room with two large beds, while the men were paired similarly, except that Max allowed himself a room all to himself. Libby had quickly learned the routine. Upon rising, all would partake of a hearty breakfast, and whenever time allowed, they would have some time to enjoy the pool.

  Libby had also quickly learned that, as the only young woman in the group, and a knockout at that, the men looked forward to seeing her stroll to the pool in her latest and newest bikini. And Libby always made certain that she chose a swimsuit that did not require a great deal of fabric in its design. She always told herself that it was one extra little perk for the guys, but she also knew that she did not at all mind the attention.

  As she approached the pool, she saw that Clay was sitting on a lounge chair with a clipboard on his lap, but was wearing jeans and a tee shirt. She tried to not be obvious in looking at him, but just as she passed between him and the edge of the pool, she heard his voice. “Libby… can I talk with you for a moment?” He then patted the seat on the empty lounge chair next to him.

  Uncertain as to what to expect, Libby walked over and sat down next to him. She flashed a simultaneously defiant and flirtatious smile. “Am I already in trouble with the brilliant and infallible new manager?”

  Clay did not smile in return. “Not really trouble.” Libby arched her eyebrows in response of the unexpected answer. “I just want to get something straight.”

  Just hearing those words made Libby feel as if she were about to be challenged, and she had to bite her lip to refrain from snapping at him. Instead, she sat in silence and waited for him to continue.

  “I get the impression that you want to avoid contact with me. Am I correct?”

  Libby shrugged. “I’m sorry if I’m coming across as rude. But I just like to do my own thing, and Max seems to be satisfied with my work.”

  “I understand, Libby… you have quite a talent for background design, and especially for creating clothes for Max and the band members. Just look at the recognition you are receiving. When it comes to a business like this, that type of knowledge and intuition can be priceless.”
>
  Libby nodded cautiously. “Thank you.”

  Clay looked at her with a thin smile. “But I also understand that you’ve quickly developed a reputation for being somewhat argumentative and difficult.”

  Libby exhaled through clenched teeth. “You know how I feel… I like to think that I am determined and effective. Or is that not an appealing quality to you in a woman?”

  Clay held up both hands. “Hey… I didn’t mean that. It has nothing to do with you being a woman, even if you think I’m chauvinistic. I just understand that there have been times when you have ruffled feathers unnecessarily, and Max and Veronica have had to smooth things over with people.”

  “Have you considered that perhaps I was right, and maybe the other people were being unreasonable?”

  “I saw you in action with that delivery truck driver in Wichita…”

  She interrupted him. “He was late with the costumes.”

  “Libby… I recall that he was less than ten minutes late, and that can easily be written off to being caught in a traffic jam.”

  Libby narrowed her eyes. “I expect things to be on time.”

  Clay sighed. “Max and Veronica think very highly of you. They also like you very much. But this is a business, and do you think that they would have mentioned this to me if they weren’t convinced that it’s a problem from time to time?”

  Libby rolled her eyes and leaned her head back. “Then why didn’t they talk to me about this?”

  Clay arched his eyebrows and leaned toward her. “I understand that they have. And that’s the point of my concern.”

  Libby looked away for a moment. “I can’t say they haven’t spoken to me about this. But I always hoped that my determination to do well would overshadow concerns over something as nebulous as an attitude. Attitude is hardly something that can be scientifically measured. All through high school and college, I got mostly A’s. And I got along pretty well with people, although I do admit that some people thought I had kind of a fiery personality. I just like to go all out, and see what I can accomplish.”

  Clay nodded his head in agreement. “I can relate to that. When I was getting my degree in business, I took all my classes very seriously. And like you… I really want to do my best. The problem is, Libby, sometimes people trying to do their best can get in each other’s way and be counterproductive. And that just can’t be tolerated in an organization.”

  Libby took a deep breath, and her expression betrayed for the first time an indication of worry. “Are you telling me I’m in danger of being fired?”

  Clay shook his head slowly. “Oh, no… no… no. I think it’s more of a matter that everyone wants you to be as good in your job as you can possibly be. And I know that’s how you feel, because you told me that.”

  Libby again narrowed her eyes. “And now it’s your job to make me… better?”

  Clay nodded slowly with a smile that infuriated Libby. “I guess you could say that… yes.”

  Libby literally hissed as she responded, “I don’t think I’m going to like working with you.”

  If Clay’s previous expression had enraged Libby, his laugh when he spoke again nearly sent her over the edge. “I find that to be unfortunate… but that’s all it is to me… unfortunate. So, I do indeed intend to work with you.”

  Libby turned sideways on the lounge chair as she glared at him. “You intend… to… work with me? As in improve me?”

  Clay did not say a word. He simply nodded with a smug smile that made Libby want to jump from the lounge.

  “And what if I don’t like the way you want to… as you say… work with me?”

  Clay laughed once again. “Perhaps I didn’t phrase that correctly. Maybe I don’t need to work… with you. Maybe I need to work… on you?”

  Libby’s eyes widened in anger. “And just how would you intend to work… on me?”

  Clay crossed his arms, and he suddenly looked as if he could burst out of the form-fitting shirt. “You do seem to have earned your reputation for having an abundance of attitude. Perhaps instead, I should work you over.”

  Libby leaned toward him so that she could look directly into his eyes. “Work me over? And just what could you possibly mean by that?”

  Clay suddenly looked her up and down in a way that made her blush. “Well, if I decided that I needed to take you over my knees and tan your hide, that bikini would make it easy. It may do you some good to have somebody spank your cute behind until it’s the same color as your hair.”

  Libby found that her voice was frozen, but she also felt her cheeks blushing along with a sensation of butterflies in her midsection. As much as she wanted to respond, she felt too stunned by his comment. Not knowing what else to do, she leapt off the lounge and headed for the deep end of the pool and plunged in.

  She held her breath and began to swim underwater to the other side of the pool, away from the brash and arrogant Clay Harris. Still in shock from what he had said, Libby held her gaze level at the water’s surface so that she could not inadvertently make eye contact with anyone.

  She stayed in the water until the crew began to go back to their hotel rooms to change and shower and be on their way to the next performance. Most of all, Libby made sure that Clay Harris was gone from poolside before she got out of the water.

  Still fuming, Libby stalked angrily back to the room she had shared with Veronica. Not only was she angry with Clay, she was unhappy with the fact that Veronica had joined with Max in telling this stranger that her attitude needed adjustment. In fact, when she reentered their room, Libby stormed past her cousin who was getting dressed, and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

  She hoped that standing beneath the soothing and warm streams of water would help her to calm down. But after she shampooed her hair and began to soap the rest of her body, she was reminded of the crass threat from Clay Harris when her fingertips reached back to her bottom.

  Against her own will, she closed her eyes and began to wonder what it would feel like if this handsome and muscular egoist, who had just entered her life, would follow through on such a threat. It drove her nearly mad to realize that she was not finding the prospect to be totally disgusting.

  Clad in a towel, she reentered the bedroom to find her forty-year-old cousin standing with arms crossed and displaying an amused expression. Looking at Veronica, a pout came over her face. “What?”

  Veronica began to laugh. “I could not help but watch your poolside conversation with Clay. Those expressions on your face were priceless. Care to fill me in?”

  Libby began to speak, but to her astonishment, began to cry instead. “He… he… that awful… he threatened to… spank me.”

  Veronica tried to contain herself, even covering her mouth with one hand. Nonetheless, she began to giggle as Libby continued to cry. “Lib… I’m sorry. But I just can’t help…”

  Libby threw her towel to the floor angrily and began to pull on her clothes. “I see nothing funny about this at all, Veronica. My own parents never even spanked me.”

  Veronica walked around to the side of the bed where Libby was sitting and putting on her shoes. “Lib… your mother has always been my favorite aunt, and maybe it’s because she’s not that much older than me. But she always talked to me a lot about you. And one thing that she told me was that she was afraid that your attitude would cause you problems when you grew up and went out into the real world.”

  Libby wiped the remaining tears from her face. “She talked to you about my attitude?”

  Veronica smiled and put her arm around her younger cousin. “And I know she talked to you about it a lot. But she felt that you weren’t listening very well. That seemed to be the problem.”

  Libby looked at Veronica with a shocked expression. “It seems that I have had this conversation before… like earlier today with our arrogant new business manager.”

  Veronica shook her head. “Lib… I think you can be really great in this job. But you can’t try to intimidate security
at an arena. You can’t tell an arena manager that his facility lacks class. You don’t want to let your mouth override your good qualities. And Libby, you have a lot of good qualities.”

  Libby threw her hands up in exasperation. “He… he… didn’t you hear me? I said that he threatened to spank me. And I’m twenty-two years old and a college graduate!”

  Hearing Libby say those words while watching the indignant expression on her face only made Veronica begin to giggle once more. “One more thing your mother told me, Lib… she regretted that she didn’t do that to you a few times herself.”

  Libby stood up and faced Veronica, her hands on her hips. “I woke up this morning minding my own damned business, and before it’s even lunchtime I have everyone telling me that I need a spanking.” Libby’s words only made Veronica laugh harder. Without another word, Libby threw her remaining clothes into her suitcase and began to wheel it toward the door while Veronica continued to giggle.

  Just as she reached for the door handle, Veronica called out to her, “Libby… I just have the suspicion that you may have a crush on our new manager.”

  Libby dropped her hands to her side, stiffened her arms and balled her hands into fists. “Oooh!”

  Chapter Two

  When Libby boarded the bus, she spotted Clay seated in the back next to Max, so she sat as close to the front as possible, pulled out her sketchpad and buried her face in it. To her own chagrin, however, she would find herself turning slightly in the swivel seat and looking around the edge of her work at the new manager. As angry and embarrassed as he had made her feel, she could not deny that she also found him very attractive.

  As the bus headed west and lunchtime neared, the aroma of barbecued beef began to make its way from the kitchenette in the back. Soon plates holding shredded beef sandwiches, chips and fruit were being passed through the bus. As Libby glanced upward to receive a plate being handed to her by one of the band members, she saw Clay looking at her; he nodded with a smile.