MASTERED: (The Novel) (9 page)

She hadn't budged since she
begun
reading Missy the riot act. She stood directly in
front of the locked office door with her hands on her hips; well and truly
pissed. “
This
is unacceptable!”
She concluded.

The tears that had been threatening
spilled over unchecked. Seemingly of their own accord, words tumbled from
Missy's mouth; similarly unchecked. Without the benefit of forethought, she
blubbered, “Oh, Teresa, can you
ever
forgive me? I truly couldn't be sorrier and you have my word that it will
never
happen again! It's just that I
met this strange man yesterday and didn't get home until almost four in the
morning and then I fell asleep without setting the alarm and my car wasn't
there when I woke up, and...”

Her mouth snapped shut the
instant she noticed the astonishment spreading across Teresa's face.
What am
I saying?
She rarely if ever
opened up about her personal life.
Yet, here she was crying like a baby and spilling her guts all over her boss's
ornate mahogany desk!

Mortified, Missy hung her head,
silently awaiting the inevitable…

Chapter
25

“You met a
man?
As in; a
living breathing male?”
At last, Teresa moved from the door and took a seat behind her desk. She rolled
her plush leather chair close to Missy's, who sat desolate and bracing for the
worst.

Ignoring the defeated expression
on Missy's drawn face, Teresa challenged, “Had I known yesterday that you had a
date, I'd have made damn sure you were at least properly dressed for the
occasion!” There was no way to discern whether Teresa was less, or
more
, pissed off. Missy would have
been delighted to share with her boss the historic tidings of a rare date.

Had there been one.

She glanced up; amazed to find
Teresa sporting a grin the Cheshire
Cat
would be
envious of. Dumbfounded by the one hundred and eighty degree turn in mood and
tone, Missy swiped at the tears staining her cheeks. She was unable to resist
Teresa's infectious enthusiasm, and offered a small smile of gratitude in
return.

She tried again. “Can you forgive
me Teresa? I'll work overtime for a week straight.” Not easily dissuaded,
Teresa cut her off. “Well, my dear, I’ll definitely take you up on that overtime.
At the moment, however, I'm far more interested in hearing all about this new
man.
So?
Do tell!”

Sighing heavily in order to buy
time, Missy scrambled to think of what to tell this kind woman who cared so
much about her well-being. While she loathed being dishonest, she certainly
couldn't be expected to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth.

She could just imagine the look
on Teresa's face turning from captivated to
repulsed
as she recounted the finer points of her so-called 'date'.
“
Well, it's like this don't
ya
see, Teresa. I went from meeting a complete stranger in
a grocery store to spreading my legs on his toilet in order for him to better
observe my urinating. And, oh yes, did I mention that it was the most
incredible experience of my entire life?”

She didn't want to give poor
Teresa a coronary. Wasn't it sufficient that one of them was suffering heart
palpitations? She uttered just two garbled words before the shrill buzz of the
intercom interjected. Stephanie was ringing for reinforcements. There were too
many customers to manage single-handedly.

Missy was quite literally saved
by the bell! As they exited the office, she wondered if Teresa noticed her lips
moving in a silent prayer of gratitude. She sighed with relief even as turmoil
raged within her.

Persons of an 'alternate' nature
tended towards extreme privacy. After all, they sustained within them a
socially-incorrect secret. Like any
sub
culture,
they were terrified to come out of the proverbial closet. Historically, the
back-lash towards those who dared to 'deviate' from the norm - has been a bit
of a bitch!

Thus far, Missy and her secret
had survived that over-crowded, claustrophobic cubbyhole. On the other hand,
the accompanying psychological effects were becoming a matter of concern. Meticulously
guarded secrets take their inevitable toll. The trade-off had become
burdensome, detrimental to both her health and quality of life.
Why can't
people just mind their own business?

In
short order, each of the three customers was provided the
personalized, patient, and deferential service that was expected from the staff
at Boutique
Ebony&Ivory
. Once the coast was
clear, Missy literally bear-hugged a surprised but laughing Stephanie. Steph
was her favorite co-worker, even if they did come from completely opposite
sides of the tracks.

She looked to be about twenty
years Missy's senior, but looks could be deceiving. The age of plastic surgery
made it virtually impossible to gauge accurately. Missy was well aware that the
shops clientele indulged as liberally in tucking, sucking and 'enhancing'
,
as they did designer shoes and
bags. In any case, Stephanie was a beautiful person, with an endearing
combination of easy laughter, sparkling green eyes, and compassionate soul.

She worked because she got bored
sitting at home. She certainly didn’t
need
the money. Steph was married to George Weatherly, one of the most highly
esteemed judges in the state, if not the country. She traveled in the same
social circles as many of the highfalutin' customers she so graciously attended
to. While their net worth may not compare with some in their social sphere, the
respect her husband garnered opened doors that perhaps would have remained
closed otherwise.

Missy wondered if it might also
have a little something to do with his wife's sophisticated bearing and sweet
disposition. In any case, she had grown very fond of Stephanie, and she knew
the feelings were mutual. Steph's hysterical insight into the hallowed lives of
the 'uppity' class, as she called them; kept Missy in stitches and made long
hours fly by.

Taking over the task of
processing the wrinkled Vera Wang frocks, she again thanked her lucky stars for
the small mercies granted her. Working with Stephanie on the slowest day of the
week and Teresa's unexpected clemency were definitely blessings that needed to
be counted.

She wasn’t at all convinced that she
could survive this day without a nap, at the very least. It was a day that
followed a night like no other. Seamlessly, her thoughts turned immediately and
wholly to James.

Shaking her head in a hopeless
attempt to banish him from her mind, she scooped up an armful of Vera. She left
Stephanie to mind the shop while she went to the back room to begin steaming
wrinkles
.
If only I could steam the wrinkles from my own treacherous nature as
easily!

Submissive...

Chapter
26

At the moment, Teresa remained
shut away in her office. However, Missy knew it was only a matter of time
before her very direct line of questioning would resume. Teresa was a die-hard
romantic who couldn't resist a good piece of gossip. Hoping for it to somehow
slip her mind was a waste of precious energy.

It was seven years since Teresa
took a giant leap of faith and hired Missy straight off the street. In all
those years, she’d never heard a whisper about any men in Missy's life.
Other than her son and too often; his deadbeat father.

Missy politely but steadfastly
declined her well-meaning boss's countless attempts to set her up. That is,
with one noteworthy exception. When Teresa refused to take no for an answer,
Missy hadn't the heart - nor the stamina - to rebuff her yet again.

After all, Ethan Montgomery was
rich, rich,
rich!
As a wealthy
and eligible bachelor, he was relentlessly
pursued by every ambitious debutante in town. Yet, for some
reason Missy couldn't fathom, Ethan remained fascinated with her. Teresa was
bound and determined that she be as equally fascinated with him.

And
fascinating
, as well!
She was
dragged into the 'samples' closet; where an array of fashionable trends for the
upcoming season was secreted. When they emerged, Missy felt like a cross
between a
Stepford
wife, and Cinderella.

She had to admit; she felt pretty
princess-y. Dressed in a stunning white-on-black Stella McCartney cocktail
dress matched with scarlet Christian
Louboutin
heels,
she was breathtaking. Admiring herself in the three-dimensional mirror, she
began to feel decidedly more optimistic about the possibilities of the upcoming
evening.
Maybe Teresa's right. Maybe I should date more often.

The ensemble was completed with a
scarlet Louis Vuitton clutch and sexy chandelier earrings. Missy was teetering
stylishly around in no time. The five inch heels would take some practice, of
that there was no question.

Long story short; to call the
evening abominable would be a blatant under-exaggeration. There could be no
denying that Ethan was handsome in the traditional tall and dark sense. He was
also expensively tailored and extremely well-heeled. Unfortunately, Missy spent
the majority of the evening deflecting his diamond-laden, perfectly manicured
hands!

Her eyes
teared
from holding her breath. There was a nearly visible cloud of hybrid cologne
which enveloped him. Imagines of Charlie Brown’s Pigpen danced through her
oxygen-depleted head. Dabbing at her mascara, she did her best to feign
interest in Ethan's multinational financial exploits. To Missy, they were two
things: Grandiose and boring.

Not once did he pause to inquire
as to herself or her life. It was only out of respect for her boss that she didn’t
run screaming from the swanky restaurant - five inch heels
be
damned!

Never again had Teresa attempted
to arrange a date on her behalf. Nonetheless, Missy knew that she genuinely
cared, and felt she owed her at least some sort of explanation today. What that
explanation might consist of, she had no idea.

She almost giggled when a line
from
I Love Lucy
popped randomly into her befuddled head. It was one of
her favorite shows on cable. No matter that it had seen it's heyday before she
was even born.
Like Lucy, I'm
gonna
have some '
splainin
' to do.

A lot of '
splainin
',
in fact.

Existing in a pea-soupy fog, Missy
had no clear concept of how she survived the remainder of the day. She evaded
Teresa by serving the occasional customer or by hiding in the back room
processing merchandise.

Normally over the lunch hour, she
would be ensconced in the staffroom partaking of a paper bag lunch. However,
there had been little time for anything resembling 'normal' that morning. Her
tummy growled its displeasure. She kept busy, ignoring it.

When the majestic door chimes
announced the arrival of a customer, Missy looked at the clock. She was elated.
There was less than two hours remaining in this most arduous of days. Knowing
that Steph was up front, she completed the last batch of steaming. As she gathered
the dresses up to get them on the floor, she almost collided with a very pale
Stephanie. “What's wrong, Steph? You look as if you've seen a ghost!”

Stephanie was just about bouncing
out of her shoes. Words tumbled from her mouth. “James Colton is here and he's
asking for
you
! Do you
know
who
James Colton is?
He used to
play golf with George, but I haven't seen him in years
.”

“James
Colton?”
Missy mouthed the name. Her face drained of color, coinciding perfectly with
Stephanie's flushing pink. One was succumbing to shock whilst the other was recovering
from it. Recognizing the formal name from his business card, she threw the
dresses in Stephanie's general direction.

She stumbled from the back of the
boutique as if suddenly afflicted with a serious case of vertigo. She had all but
convinced herself that she’d never see James Colton again. The very idea had left
her feeling queasy and anxious.

Attempting to regain a modicum of
balance and some semblance of composure, she lingered at the threshold of the
main showroom. Her eyes locked immediately upon James, as if laser focused.

The sight of him confidently
selecting frilly items from the intimates section did nothing to facilitate
Missy's equilibrium…

Chapter
27

James sensed her presence innately,
glancing up to meet her startled eyes. Smiling, he spoke intimately and
soothingly, as though they were the only two people in the world, “Come to me,
little one.”

Missy obeyed immediately.
Pleased, he noted the absence of hesitation as she moved hypnotically towards
him. Coming to a graceful halt, her shoulders cinched back and her eyes lowered
instinctively. Delighted, James reached out and affectionately stroked her
cheek. His eyes darkened ominously, however, when he noticed her neck. It was bereft
of the silver choker.