she stammered. “I
remember the position.”
“So, do you want the job?” Denny
could almost imagine Larson raising an eyebrow and looking at her quizzically.
“Yes. Yes!” Denny clamped a hand
over her mouth to keep from screaming into the phone. She had a job!
“Good. I need you to come by the
office tomorrow, bright and early. Dress professionally. Lola will fill you
in on what you need to be doing.”
“Yes. Yes, sir,” Denny said, then
heard a click on the other side. Larson must have hung up. She blinked,
confused. Was this a prank or a trick?
But no, that just must be how
Larson was.
She had a job.
*****
The next morning, Denny was up with
the songbirds. At least, what few of those there were in the city. She tried
to make herself look presentable, she really did, but she was still feeling
nervous about this so-called job. What if Larson had made a mistake and called
the wrong person? But no, he addressed her by name. Unless he somehow got the
files mixed up, she was the right girl.
So she made her way back to the
extravagant office building back up to Larson's opulent office.
She blanched at what she saw.
As she stepped off the elevator and
pushed her way through into the reception area of his office, she saw Lola
perched behind her own smaller wooden desk, glaring daggers at her. “He's
right inside,” she said coldly, pointing with one thin, cruel finger. Denny
already didn't like her.
She pressed her much pudgier hands
against the double doors, and pushed, opening them to find Larson literally
surrounded by bikini models.
“Are you serious?” she blurted
out. This was ridiculous. This was worse than the worst Lifetime movie she'd
ever seen. She felt like some enormous, elaborate prank was being played on
her, and she just wanted to turn around and go straight home.
“Hmm?” Larson said, barely tearing
his gaze away from the obviously much more attractive girls. “Oh, you're
here.” He stood and smiled at each girl in turn. There were twelve, and even
though the office was expansive, it felt more than a little cramped at the
moment. “I'll see you girls in the photo shoot.”
“Photo shoot?” Denny asked,
crossing her arms over her chest. What was going on here?
“Oh yes, I decided this year that I
should put out a calendar. For charity, of course.”
Denny couldn't help but wonder at
the timing of everything. She couldn't help but wonder if she was here as some
sort of joke on herself. It was some prank against fat girls, it had to be,
and she wasn't going to stand for it. She's endured this kind of teasing her
entire life, and she wasn't going to put up with it through adulthood, or
through this job.
As her new boss approached her, she
only stared at him coldly.
“Is something the matter, my dear?”
he asked as he abruptly turned away, approaching an elaborately trimmed
mahogany sideboard and pouring himself a drink of a rich amber liquid.
“Brandy?” he offered.
“At eight in the morning?” Denny
retorted.
“Of course. I need a little fuel
in my tank to get me going.” He downed the drink easily, then laughed. “I
suppose you shouldn't be drinking. I have a company car set up for you, and I
need you to do some errands for me.”
So this wasn't a prank, or a joke.
She really did have the job. With that knowledge, Denny's anger deflated, and
her arms dropped to her sides. “What do you need me to do?” she asked.
“Sir,” he said.
“What?”
“You'll address me as 'sir',” he
said lightly, though his expression was anything but light. His square,
handsome features looked a bit dark, a bit intimidating. Denny wondered
briefly if it was just the lighting, but no. He really did look angry.
“What do you need me to do, 'sir'?”
she repeated, emphasizing the added word. She wasn't going play around with
him. She might need a job, but that didn't mean she was going to let