by J. S. Brent
“Oh, Adam lighten up, jeeze,” she sighed as she leaned over the receptionists table and began to try to chat with the young girl. The poor thing, she tried to talk to Misty, tried to keep up with her banter, but I could see her shaking in her chair as her eyes darted back and forth from Misty to Adam.
I stood there, suddenly feeling protective of the young girl, and not wanting to leave her alone, wanting to act as cannon fodder between her and the mysterious two-well one.
“I was just telling Beth here this today!” Misty grabbed my arm and yanked me over to her, almost making me let out a yelp, “honestly, you girls really do not have your finger on the pulse of where you live!” she laughed and threw her head back as Adam rubbed his eyes and looked at his watch, “You really need to get out more, why when I was your age-“
“Well maybe they have better things to do than go around sticking their noses where they don’t belong” Adam barked at her.
The place went silent as Misty and Adam stared at each other, her steady brown eyes flaming. There was a long silence between them before her twisted grimace turned into a wicked smile. She grabbed him by the shoulder and flung her head back, laughing into the sky.
“Oh god Adam,” she snorted, slapping his massive chest, “you always know how to call me on my bluff.”
Adam rolled his eyes and jingled the car keys in his pocket, eager to leave. His eyes darted back and forth nervously, as if her were scared of being seen. I stood with my head to the floor, not wanting to make eye contact with him. I could feel, what I could only describe as, a heat coming off of his. His presence made my hands numb and my feet tingle, kind of like the way you feel before you go on a rollercoaster of have to give a presentation in front of a large group; I felt cornered, scared of this strange man. Misty gathered herself as she wrote a note down for our boss on some of our paper with the company name at the top. She handed it to the receptionist, who took it eagerly and stuffed it in the top shelf of her des.
“All right, Amanda darling, thanks again,” Misty said as she turned for the door.
Amanda! I though, that’s it, I knew it was something with an A. As they made their way for the door I felt an instant wave of relief wash over me like rain. He reached for the large glass door and opened it for her as she strolled out. I hurried back over to my desk, wanting to take shelter, still feeling threatened. I was almost in the safe zone when I heard the sound of Misty’s voice calling from behind me.
“Beth!” she yelled. I felt a shiver go down my spine as I froze, almost falling over, “Oh Beth, dear!” Her voice both kind and shrill at the same time.
I didn’t want to turn; I didn’t want to have to face him. I don’t know what it was, but Amanda was right if she was having the same feelings about him as I was. I clenched my fists and pulled a long smile over my face, I turned to see Misty walking towards me, dragging Adam behind her.
“Sorry darling,” she said letting go of him and digging into her purse, “I didn’t want to forget this,” she pulled out two, crisp, 100-dollar-bills out of her purse and pushed them into my hand, “I think I’m going to make you my regular,” she said winking with a smile.
I stared at the money in my hand, my jaw open.
“Oh, no Misty, I really can’t- “She cut me off by placing her fingers to my lips.
“Don’t ever say you can’t Beth, it means you don’t deserve what you want…and you can always get what you want.”
Misty pinched my chin in her hand and looked me up and down. I glanced over at Adam, expecting to see him grimacing, but to my shock, he was just staring at me through is eyebrows, his beautiful blue eyes drawing me in. He lifted an eyebrow at me and I felt my knees turn to jelly. Misty released my face and headed towards the door, I stood there frozen as he continued to look at me.
“Adam, come now, don’t bother the nice girl!” Misty yelled as she made her way for the door.
Adams eyes darted back to Misty and I heard him grown as he jogged up to the door, pulling it open for her and rolling his eyes.
“And Beth!” she yelled before she went through the door.
“Y-yes!” I said, my voice cracking.
“Same time next week, yes?”
I nodded back, gripping the now sweaty bills in my hand.
Misty winked at me and walked out, Adam in tow. Adam opened the passenger door as her curvy frame slipped into a different, get equally expensive looking, black car. Adam got behind the steering wheel and the car roared to life, pulling out into the street and screaming through the neighborhood. I stood in the middle of the salon until I could no longer hear the engine of the car. Slowly the conversations began again around, my head was swimming, their voices just sounding like mosquitos in my ears.
I looked down at the money in my hands and laughed, I had found my first returning customer. I thought about Adam, thought about the look he gave me, his deep blue eyes. I wondered if I would ever see him again and my heart sunk.
Amanda! I remembered, she would know if he comes in here regularly, maybe I could get some information out of her. I casually walked over to her desk, feeling confidant now that I knew her name.
“Hey Amanda,” I said, placing my elbows on her desk and running my fingers over a stack of business cards, “so that was Misty huh?” I laughed, trying not to sound nervous, “man, she seems like a hoot and a hal-“
“He comes in here with her once a week,” she said cutting me off.
“Oh no, that’s not what I was-“ I started, but couldn’t come up with the right words.
Come on Beth lie, just lie damnit, for once in your life just lie, I screamed at myself.
Amanda looked at me through her eyebrows, just the way he did, then stated laughing as she tapped a stack of papers on her desk.
“You’re a lucky girl Beth,” she said, her young voice sounding full of wisdom, “just be…..careful with him.”
“Careful?” I asked, “Is there any reason?”
Beth shrugged her shoulders and looked away from me.
“A lot gets said around here,” she said placing the papers in a draw behind her, “that is if you listen.”
Chapter Two
I stood between the rows of delicately handcrafted clothing listening to the gentle pop music playing over the loudspeakers. When I first landed the gig at the boutique, which I am proud to say, was my first day back in my city, I thought I would surely would have walked out on my first day. But I found, as with all jobs, that you can train yourself to drown out the background noise, same as I did with the salon. One noise fades in with the other, and before you know it, you are entering the dark recesses of your mind, not even bothering to look or listen to those around you. Everything becomes mechanical; wash, rinse, repeat. It’s just that simple.
I looked around at the women with their personal assistants, carrying their clothing and scurrying around them like scared field mice. In the two weeks I had worked there, I had looked at the price on a clothing tag only twice. The marks on the hard cardboard tags made my chest hurt. I found myself shocked as to how these women seemed to buy with wild abandon. They would simply give one item the good once over, and then shove it into the assistant’s arms.
I wondered how much those workers must have hated them.
Yet, it was a well-paying job, much like the salon, so the money was enough to keep me around. I thought about how I couldn’t have landed a job at all upon returning home, the thought alone turned my stomach. I found myself feeling lucky that others seemed to find me attractive enough to work in such places. My long, curly brown hair that I had to wake up early in the morning to maintain, my curvy body, that with the right clothing held everything in place perfectly, dark brown eyes that, when I was home were shielded by a pair of thick, black-rimmed glasses, and a few out of place freckles that splashed over my alabaster skin.
Yes, I looked like your all-American nerd.
That morning I had woken up with that all too familiar, sinking feeling of know
ing I had missed my alarm. Before even opening my eyes I knew how late it was. I lept from my bed and reached around for my phone and found it lying underneath my pillow. I squinted my eyes to focus on the screen and found it reading 8:25.
I had 35 minutes to get to work.
“Oh no, oh no!” I shouted as I lept from my bed and pulled on yesterday’s clothing. I tried to fix my hair as quick as possible; the boutique prefers it when you wear it down so you can recommend all of our hair products to the customers, even though no one who works there could ever afford them, nor would the store ever give them to us. I scrabbled around, searching for my contacts and realized I had forgotten to put them in their solution the night before. They sat dry in their case, much to my horror.
Third whammy of the day and I hadn’t even been awake for 5 minutes.
I ran back to my bedside and pushed on my oversized glasses. I examined myself in the full length mirror and sighed.
Well, I said out loud, just tell them you’re going for nerd-chic, that look is big, right?
I rushed out of my apartment, into the street and started to sprint, trying not to exuberate myself too hard, god forbid I stink of sweat around pieces of $1900 clothing.
I reached my job just as the doors were opening. I saw my boss glance up at me as I rushed down the street, nearly dropping my brown leather bag as I saw her. She closed the door as I approached her and lifted her red-framed cat-eye glasses. I tried to slow my breathing and gain my composure as I walked up to her, trying to make my entire appearance look intentional, like I didn’t just roll out of bed and run to work a glamorous boutique.
“Hello Ms. Pawler,” I said, still nearly gasping, hoping she wouldn’t notice.
She stared at me, her hard Hungarian eyes seeing right through me. She was an older woman, in her mid-70s, and could smell a lie from a mile away.
“What is this,” she said in her thick accent, pointing her long, rigid, finger at me.
I looked down and noticed my tattered uniform; the blue denim jeans that were pressed far beyond perfection, my wrinkled, white, tank top poking out beyond a black suit jacket I had thrown on, the large metal button sticking out of the wrong holes, and my heavy, brown, leather harness boots that were beaten to the point of unrepair. A swift breeze blew past us as her hard eyes looked over me, my hair blowing in my face and catching on my lips. I pushed my glasses up my nose and pulled the tangled locks from my mouth, trying to come up with some conceivable way to seem professional.
“I really apologize about being late, my pipes were leaking and I had to call my building manager….” My voice trailed off as she continued to stare at me, making me feel two inches big.
She pushed her glasses back up onto her hook like nose and continued to unfasten the large glass doors.
“I like it,” she said as she walked in, not bothering to hold the door.
I felt a wave of relief wash over me, I like it? I thought to myself. You like it when your employees dress like slobs? Not that I was about to complain, I would gladly trade rolling out of bed and throwing on whatever I had lying on the floor as opposed to having to wake up two hours early to shower, dry my hair, style my hair, press my clothing, do my make-up, slam a cup of black coffee and usually head out of the door on an empty stomach.
“Thank you!” I shouted through the store as she hurried towards the front desk, her velvet, red high heels clicking on the floor.
She grabbed a stack full of papers and began going through them in a hurry, not bothering to look at me as I began to check the cash register. She was not the nicest women; she never smiled and rarely ever spoke to her employees. She would chat up a customer, and give them a smile that almost looked like it pained her, but that was all. Yet, she was a fair boss and knew how to run a business, you could tell she had to work hard for what she got, and had no intention on losing it.
“Beth,” she said in her thick accent as I counted bills and placed them in the draw.
“Yes Ms.Pawler?” I said in my most polite voice, wanting to remain on her good side in light of my indiscretion this morning.
“I will be putting you out front today, we need a younger look in this store. We need to start attracting more youths to our boutique, and I believe this whole,” she waved her hands over my body and scrunched her nose, “look you have going will be just the thing to draw them in.”
“Uh-“ I started, being mildly shocked, she usually only let my co-worker, Melody, work the front, a duty she guarded with her life. “well, thank you. I hope this doesn’t upset Melody though I would hate for-“
Ms.Pawter tisked and rolled her eyes, “Melody is a big girl who can handle herself. She knows our clients and our clients know her, which is good. But we need a fresh face, that will be you. If you are up to the task.”
“oh yes!” I shouted making her jump.
“Very well then, you will get paid for being at the front of the house for the day, even if it doesn’t work out, and if Melody gives you and trouble, which she will tell her to mind her own business.”
I laughed and Ms.Pawlers frankness, she kept a straight face and continued to go through the papers.
“Ok, well if you’ll excuse me I’ll just use the bathroom before we open. The cash register is all set up.”
She waved her hand at me, brushing me off and I ran to the back of the store and into the private employee bathroom. Closing the door behind me I let out a squeal and did a small victory dance. Was it always my dream to work in a boutique, no. But to work the front of the store meant I was going to get a big raise (at least for the day) as well as make a commition off of whatever clothing I was able to sell. There was a reason Melody could only work part time and afford a town house in one of the nicest parts of the city; it was because of the position she held here. I had no intention of taking her job away from her; even though she treated me like common trash and would barely even look at me when I spoke to her, none the less offer to be my friend in the workplace. I knew Ms.Pawler would never let her lose her house. It just felt good to be able to throw it in her face for a day. It was going to feel great watching her behind the cash register as I talked with customers and sold them the most expensive clothing in the store. I usually was not a vindictive person, nor am I now, but I just wanted to watch her squirm for a shift, to let her know I was just as good as she was, I just knew how to treat people with common decency.
I looked in the mirror and ruffled my hair, trying to make it look unkempt, yet fashionable. I had to force myself to stop; it was so odd leaving my apartment, non the less going to work looking like this. Not only that, but to get praise for it.
Maybe things are finally looking up, I thought to myself. You deserve it, I thought as I gave myself one last look in mirror, it’s been two years since your life fell apart. You were strong, held your head high, finished college, got an apartment and not one, but TWO jobs. All of this when everyone thought you were just going to fall apart; this is what you get for all of you hard work.
I thought about what Misty had said to me in the salon yesterday. “Don’t ever say you can’t, that just means you don’t deserve it.”
Hot damn did I deserve it.
I walked out of the bathroom with some extra spring in my step, hoping that Ms. Pawler had opened the doors, I was ready for business, but as I rounded the corner I heard two voices yelling near the front counter.
Melody.
“You’re really just going to trust her to take the reins?” he whiney voice moaned like a child who was being denied a doll in a toy shop. “She won’t know what she’s doing, shell drive the customers away, they don’t even know her!” I peered my head around the corner and looked at her, not wanting to make my appearance yet, I wanted to know what she had to say first. “She’s only been working here for two weeks and your going to trust her to run the store? For the love of god, Katia, I thought you were smart, I thought you knew how to run a business, I thought you-“
“That's enough, M
elody!” Ms. Pawler bellowed, making both Melody and I jump.
I had never heard her called by her first name, Katia, I had never heard anyone dare question her work ethic, and I had never heard her raise her voice above a low grumble. She must really want me to do this, I thought.
“I told you,” she began, her voice becoming low again, “Beth will be running the store today, change is good and we need a change. That’s final. You will be behind the register today and I will not tolerate anymore of this insolence from a grown woman. You act like one of the children sometimes. I didn’t have children because I don’t like taking care of them, I don’t like their yelling and antics.” She placed her long boney hands on the counter dividing her and Melody, lowering her glasses and staring into her eyes, looking like a jaguar about ready to pounce. “And that includes you,” she hissed. Goosebumps ran down my arms.
With tears in her eyes, I saw Melody run towards the dressing room, I’m guessing to throw an even bigger tantrum. I walked out after a moment, acting like I hadn’t heard or seen anything.
“Well Beth,” Ms.Pawler said, not looking up as she staked her papers to take into her office, “What are you waiting for, time to open up the shop.”
I jumped towards the desk and grabbed the large ring of golden keys.
“Oh, yes mame!” I yelped as I began to run towards the door.
“And Beth” she yelled from behind me before I reached the door. I stopped dead in my tracks and turned myself to her like a stern soldier.
“If you run into any problems today, you are to come to me. Melody is,” she looked off towards the dressing rooms and sighed, seeming a little more than annoyed ,” not feeling well today.”
I nodded my head eagerly, “Yes mame, I will.”
For the first time she smiled at me, I felt my heart jump.
“Good girl.” She said, and walked into her large, glass office.
I turned and smiled wide, not wanting her to see how much even her small approval meant to me.