by Alice Ward
There was a knock on the door and Piper slipped in to my office. She tapped the face of her antique silver watch and I realized it was time for our weekly meeting.
“I’m so proud of you, Ollie,” I said, using the nickname I’d given him before I could pronounce my R’s. “I’ve got to get to a meeting, but I’ll see you on Friday. Love you.”
“Love you too, peanut. Talk to you soon.”
I tossed my phone on the desk while Piper looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Friday?” she asked, peering over her rimless glasses. With her long blonde hair, blue eyes, and business suit that covered her skin but accented her curves, she looked like every teenage boy’s bad teacher fantasy.
I rolled my chair away from my desk and grabbed my tablet as I rose to my feet. “How do you feel about the Hamptons?” I asked as I followed her out the door.
***
During our short walk to the conference room, Piper reminded me that she already had plans that weekend. Disappointed that I’d be in foreign territory without my best ally, I sunk into a chair and set my tablet on the table in front of me.
Our boss, Pete, cleared his throat but didn’t comment on our late arrival. Unlike the rest of our colleagues, he wasn’t seated. Instead, he paced the floor, gesturing with his hands while he spoke.
“The opening of the Monet exhibit is coming together on schedule,” he announced. “And a small museum in Cairo has contacted us about an exchange. They’d like to display some of our Native American artifacts and in return, they’ll send us a large selection of early Egyptian artwork. We’d like to open the Egyptian exhibit the week after Monet closes so Charles, I’ll need you to start cataloging our artifacts. I’d like to ship them by the end of next week.”
“No problem, boss,” Charles agreed in his usual ass kissing tone. “Can I pull anyone away to help? Chelsea, perhaps?”
Every cell in my body groaned, but I kept a pleasant smile on my face. Charles was in his early thirties and took every opportunity to leer at me. I worked for the society’s public relations department, but I normally jumped at the chance to assist the museum curators. My anthropology degree made me the obvious choice to help out when they needed an extra set of hands. My dream was to one day join their ranks, but I was in no hurry to report to Charles. He was the kind of man who caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand up, though I could never pin point exactly why.
Pete turned to me, his face lined and serious. “Keep in touch with all of the donors, but delegate the rest of your duties among the interns. If you and Charles have the artifacts packed by next Wednesday, I’ll let you examine the papyrus tablets coming in from Egypt.”
It was an offer I couldn’t pass up. I found the evolution of the written word fascinating and hoped to one day get my PhD in forensic library sciences. “I’d love to help,” I agreed, straightening up in my seat. “I’ll hold a meeting with the interns tomorrow morning and give them their new assignments.”
Pete nodded and moved on. I let my mind wander while he discussed a Stradivarius acquisition with Brandon, the resident musical instruments expert.
I felt Charles’s eyes boring holes into me and instinctively raised my hand to my chest to reassure myself that my blouse was buttoned. Charles wasn’t the first man to stare at my ample chest, but I’d never felt comfortable with the kind of attention I got from men.
I’ve been told more than once that I was born in the wrong body. Some people said it with a sense of awe, others with frustrated disappointment. In addition to my 36 D bra size, I had curvy hips, a slender waist, wildly curly red hair, and what Piper always referred to as a ‘healthy backside’. Most women would love to have my body but with it, it was almost impossible to be taken seriously. And while I had the body of a vixen, my brain was nothing if not serious. I’d once gone so far as to gain weight, trying to hide the features that caused men so much distraction. Twenty pounds later, I felt swollen and sluggish, but the attention didn’t subside. I gave up, dropped the weight, and hid myself as best as I could in loose clothing.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want a boyfriend. I just wanted someone who appreciated my mind more than my body. And for some reason, most men didn’t find my brain so attractive. At twenty-four years old, I’d never been in a serious relationship. I attracted the kind of men who like to party, not the type who were content to sit at home and watch the History Channel. None of them lasted very long once they realized I was the perfect example of a book that didn’t match its cover.
Pete cleared his throat again, interrupting the slideshow of ex’s running through my head. I snapped my attention back to the present as Pete crossed his arms over his chest.
“I’m afraid I have to wrap up with some bitter sweet news. After thirty-seven years of service to the society, Leonard Brooks has decided to retire.”
I can’t believe he didn’t tell me!
While everyone else offered their congratulations, I met Leonard’s eyes from across the conference table. He was the head of our public relations department, the boss directly over me and under Pete. He’d hired me straight out of college and served as my unofficial mentor and surrogate grandfather. The society wouldn’t be the same without him. He gave me a sweet, slightly apologetic smile and shrugged his shoulders.
“Leonard will be here for two more weeks. I’ll be considering outside applicants as well as current employees to fill his position and will announce my decision before he leaves.”
I couldn’t be positive, but I thought I saw Leonard give a slight nod in my direction.
He’s recommended me to replace him. I could finally afford to go to grad school. But would I have time? Leonard’s always the first in the office and the last to leave. And in the two years I’ve been here, he’s never once taken a vacation.
I took a calming breath and decided there was no point in worrying about something that hadn’t happened yet. Chances were good that Pete would find a more qualified applicant anyway.
Piper turned to me as the rest of our colleagues gathered their things. “Ready to get out of here? If we leave soon, we can make the five-twenty train out of the city. I want to go home and scrutinize our wardrobes. I have a feeling we’ll need to fit in a shopping trip before you leave Friday.”
Oh shit, the trip.
After hearing Leonard was leaving, I’d completely forgotten about my upcoming weekend plans. I grabbed my tablet and turned down my lower lip as I followed Piper into the hallway.
“I don’t even want to go this weekend. I certainly don’t want to spend a small fortune on clothes I’ll never wear again,” I pouted.
“For God’s sake, Chelsea,” Piper sighed impatiently. “You’re being whisked away to a million dollar home to drink free liquor and lie on the beach. I wish I had your problems. You’ve got to lighten up and enjoy yourself.”
“I’ll try,” I agreed half-heartedly. I rolled my eyes, but Piper didn’t catch it.
***
“Chelsea, you’ve got to work some color into your wardrobe,” Piper insisted as we browsed the racks of Emmy’s Designer Consignment. She motioned to the two black dresses slung over my arm and shook her head. “You’re going to the beach, not a funeral. You need to wear something more…springy.”
“You know I look terrible in pastels,” I reminded her. “Besides, if I’m going to spend this much money on clothes, I’m buying stuff I can wear again. These would work for museum events.”
“They’d work as tents,” Piper scoffed. Before I could move out of her reach, she pulled the dresses off my arm and hung them back on the rack. “You can buy a black dress, but only the right black dress. It has to fit and it can’t be something my grandmother would wear. And the rest of your clothes have to have color.”
“I’m just buying a dress,” I insisted. “I have a couple pairs of nice jeans I can pack. I’ll throw in a few blouses and t-shirts and I’ll be set.”
Piper shook her head again. “No, I can’t let you do that. Yo
u know Stacey won’t let you get away with sitting in the beach house all day. There are so many sights to see in the Hamptons and you need to look your best. Lucky for you, I know the labels that are hot right now. And some of this stuff is from this season. I bet it’s all from the same woman, some spoiled trophy wife who never wears the same outfit twice.”
She held up a pale yellow blouse and I reached for the price tag.
“I’d hate to see what this cost new,” I said with a whistle. “I can’t afford it used.” I tried to put the blouse back on the rack, but Piper stopped me.
“You’re forgetting that I know your bank balance,” she reminded me. “You’ve got ten percent of every check you’ve earned squirreled away in that emergency fund of yours. And I’m officially declaring this an emergency. I completely understand why you keep that body covered up around people like Charles. But seriously, Chelsea, this party is definitely a time that you should flaunt what you’ve got. Drake Waters is a billionaire and I bet most of his friends are too. And they didn’t get that way by being stupid. You may actually meet a man who can match wits with you.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Piper cut me off, thrusting a black silk cocktail dress into my arms.
“Go try this on,” she instructed, her ‘don’t argue with me’ face firmly plastered on. “It’s Dior and perfect for you. I’m going to browse and pick out a few outfits for the rest of the weekend. I promise I’ll stay away from red and pink,” she added as I opened my mouth to protest again. She gave me another firm look and I knew that she wasn’t about to back down. With a sigh, I carried the dress to a fitting area and pulled the curtain closed.
“I’ll be close. When you get it on, come out and show me,” Piper called from the other side of the thick canvas fabric.
“I will,” I called back as I unbuttoned my white collared shirt and let it fall down my arms. I kicked off my grey pinstriped slacks and stepped into the dress. I had to admit that the silky material felt amazing as I slid it up my bare skin. I pulled the spaghetti straps over my shoulders and looked at my reflection. To my surprise and relief, I looked fantastic.
This is why women spend so much money on designer labels. There really is a reason they’re priced so high.
The dress accented my curves, but it wasn’t glued to my body like spandex. It was short, but elegant. I looked classy and sophisticated instead of trashy and desperate like I had in similar but cheaper clothing. When I stepped out of the dressing room, I actually had a smile on my face. I cleared my throat and Piper turned around, her mouth dropping open when her eyes fell on me.
“So… maybe you were right,” I reluctantly agreed.
A smile crossed Piper’s mouth as she regained her composure. “You look amazing, Chelsea. I found some super cute tops. Do you want to try them on too?”
I shook my head. Piper had made it pretty clear that she wasn’t letting me leave without a new weekend wardrobe and I was tired of being in the cramped store. “No, you know my size and I trust your taste. I’ll get dressed and we can get out of here.”
I stepped back into the dressing room and studied myself for a few more moments before changing back into my work clothes.
“Do you want to pick up some Vietnamese food on our way back to the apartment?” Piper asked as I zipped up my slacks.
“Sounds good.” I rubbed my stomach, realizing I was starving. “If you call it in now, it should be ready by the time we make it to Tran’s. Just order me my usual.” I put the dress back on its hanger and pushed the curtain open. Piper tossed me the tops with one hand while she swiped her cell phone with the other. I carried everything to the register without bothering to examine her selections.
“Did you find everything all right?” the distracted cashier asked as I dropped everything on the counter. She had rainbow dyed hair, a nose piercing, and seemed very distracted by her computer monitor.
“Yes, thank you.” I pulled out my credit card and completed the transaction in silence. It wasn’t until I saw the receipt that I realized how much money I’d spent.
It’s okay. Piper was right. I deserve to spoil myself every now and then. I wonder if she was right about the other thing…
I hadn’t considered that I might actually meet a man who wasn’t intimidated or turned off by my mind. But after Piper suggested it, it was all I could think about. She noticed my introspective silence as we started our nine block walk home.
“Buyer’s remorse?” she asked softly as we navigated down the busy sidewalk.
I shook my head, my lips curving up in a reassuring smile. “No, not yet at least. I was just thinking… do you really think there’s a chance that I might meet someone this weekend?”
“I think it’s a certainty that you’ll meet plenty of people this weekend,” she laughed. “But do I think you’ll meet ‘the one’? Maybe. You’ll definitely have plenty of options to choose from. I wish I could come with you. Of all the weekends my parents could visit, they had to choose this one,” she groaned.
Piper grew up in Shawnee, Oklahoma, a small agricultural town just outside of Oklahoma City. Her parents still worked their farm there and were only able to get away one weekend a year.
“I wish you could come too, to buffer Stacey if nothing else. But I’m a big girl. I’ll survive without you,” I promised. I glanced down at my watch as we neared Tran’s Vietnamese Deli. “Why don’t we just eat here? I’m starving and the food’s better when it’s hot.”
“That’s fine with me,” Piper agreed, looking relieved. “I just suggested takeout because I thought you’d want to get home and pack.”
I held open the front door of the deli and she stepped through. “It won’t take me long to throw everything into a suitcase.”
Lucy, one of the owners, nodded at us as we came through the door. “Hello girls. I have everything wrapped up for you.”
“Actually, I think we’re going to go ahead and eat here,” Piper explained as we moved towards our usual table. “We’ll just eat out of the to-go boxes.”
Lucy nodded again and brought a white plastic bag to the table. “I’ll go get you tea.”
I opened the bag and pulled out two Styrofoam containers. I popped the first one open, revealing my roast beef Bah Mien. I inhaled half of the sandwich before Piper even started on her dumplings.
“You really were starving,” Piper observed as Lucy delivered our complimentary iced herbal tea. “Are you nervous about this weekend or were things hell at work today?” Piper knew better than anyone that when I was nervous, I ate.
I nodded as I swallowed a large bite of French bread. “Both, if I’m being completely honest. I won’t know anyone at the party, besides Stacey and Oliver. And working with Charles makes my skin crawl. I caught him staring at me six different times today. And every time, he gave me that creepy, lunatic smile of his. I don’t know how I’m going to last another four days working with him.” I took a long drink of my tea and another bite of the sandwich.
“Maybe you should say something to Pete,” Piper suggested with a thoughtful look on her face. “Sexual harassment laws exist for a reason, after all.”
I shook my head. “He hasn’t said or done anything he could be written up for. I’m just going to keep my head down and do my best to ignore him.”
Piper raised an eyebrow. “Okay… just be careful. We have instincts for a reason too and if yours are saying that Charles is bad news, you should probably listen.”
I swallowed the last bite of my sandwich and pushed the container away. “Believe me, if he crosses the line I’ll be the first to say something. I almost wish he would cross the line. It would be great to have him gone when I finally transfer from the PR office to the actual museum.”
Piper nodded and washed a dumpling down with a long drink of her tea. “Speaking of the museum, you know if you take Leonard’s job, Pete will never let you transfer.”
“The Manhattan Historical Society isn’t the only museum in the city,” I remi
nded her. “If I get the promotion, I’m going back to school. And if Pete doesn’t let me transfer once I graduate, I’ll get a job somewhere else,” I answered matter of factly. I signaled for Lucy, who appeared at the table almost immediately.
“Did you make coconut tapioca today?” I asked her with a hopeful smile.
“I sure did, Miss Chelsea.” She grinned. “Would you like a cup?”
“Make it a bowl,” I told her. She nodded and disappeared again.
“Okay, so there’s really nothing we can do about work for the moment,” Piper continued once we were alone. “But surely there’s something we can do to make you feel better about this weekend. Maybe we should do some improv. I’ll play different guys and you can practice flirting.”
Piper’s degree was in art history, but for a while she’d toyed with the idea of being an actress. After we graduated, she took several drama classes at a small theater. She insisted that the classes helped with her social anxiety and, therefore, weren’t a complete waste of money.
“I’m not sure that improv is the key to my salvation on this one,” I told her as Lucy delivered my dessert. The pudding was thick and steaming. I inhaled the tropical aromas while I waited for it to cool.
“You could try method acting,” Piper suggested, refusing to be detoured.
I knew my skepticism was reflected on my face.
“I’m serious,” she pressed on. “In fact, I don’t know why I never thought of it before. You always get so quiet and closed off around strangers. You need to approach the party like you’re playing a character. Someone with all of your good traits, just dialed up a few notches.”
“Everyone there will see right through my act.”
“I bet they’ll all be so wrapped up in themselves they don’t even notice,” she argued.
I felt overwhelmed with confusion and anxiety. I took back to back bites of the pudding and dropped my spoon into the bowl.
