Chocolate Girls with Golden Hair (15 page)

Why was everyone resisting her
change?

Didn't they want her to have fun and
enjoy herself?

One thing was for sure. Bianca knew
exactly how her boss found out about her coming in late that
morning. It only took two words to tell the whole story.

Camina Givens.

Though Bianca's boss had not long ago
reprimanded her for coming in late and leaving early, at four
thirty that afternoon, Bianca was tempted to leave anyway. Her boss
having left for the day, she was without anything to do.

She shut down her computer, grabbed her
coat from the closet and headed for the elevator. To her surprise,
Camina stood there waiting, her coat hanging over her arm. This was
the first Bianca saw Camina since Camina trampled past Bianca's
desk earlier that afternoon. Their wait together would certainly
prove to be an interesting one, and the timing could not have been
more perfectly arranged.

Bianca stared straight ahead and saw
Camina glance over at her.

To avoid an even more awkward moment,
Bianca said "Hello."

The elevator arrived and instead of
Camina returning Bianca's greeting, she stepped inside the
elevator. Bianca was about to step on behind her, then decided not
to. She wasn't ready just yet. Just as the door was about to close,
their eyes locked into each other and Bianca stopped the door
before it closed, happy to witness the annoyance on Camina's
face.

In the back of the elevator, Bianca
stood, Camina's back to her. Bianca couldn't resist the urge to toy
with Camina as she found great pleasure in agitating her. Only
because it was so easy.

When the door closed on the
forty-fourth floor, it was obvious Camina was not talking. In an
effort to garner Camina's attention, Bianca pretended to cough to
see if Camina would turn around. But it warranted no attention from
Camina. This was Bianca's strange way of letting on that she was
aware of Camina's report to her boss. Soon Camina would know
exactly how Bianca felt about people who fibbed.

Again Bianca coughed, this time longer
and louder. Camina soon turned around, peered at Bianca. It was the
moment Bianca awaited.

"Do you have a problem?" Camina
asked.

As Camina was about to turn around,
Bianca reached out, grabbed Camina's earlobe and pulled her
backwards. A shallow scream escaped from Camina's mouth and she
dropped her coat.

Very calmly, Bianca placed her ear to
Camina's. "Did you really think I wouldn't find out about that shit
you told Lillian about me?"

Camina yanked Bianca's hand away from
her ear, then smacked Bianca in the cheek, knocking Bianca to the
floor. With the wind knocked out of Bianca, she remained calm. She
was not intimidated, and not the least bit threatened. Bianca
picked herself up from the floor, her hand against her bruised
cheek. So much she wanted to pull the blonde hair from Camina's
head, but just when Bianca's heated eyes met with Camina's, the
elevator stopped on the twenty-ninth floor, and two businessmen
stepped on. Bianca composed herself and straightened her coat, not
giving much attention to the two men in the elevator. Instead, she
was more concerned with the price Camina would pay for striking
her.

When the elevator reached the lobby,
Bianca and Camina headed towards the revolving doors. Bianca paced
herself several feet behind Camina, her hand still against her
bruised cheek. Once on the outside, Bianca was surprised to see Lee
waiting for her in his double-parked Jeep. Bianca hurried towards
him and quickly climbed inside. "This is a nice surprise," Bianca
said.

"I got off a little early, thought I
would surprise you."

Stopped by a red light, Lee glanced
over at Bianca who still nursed her bruised cheek.

"What's wrong?" he asked
her.

Just as Bianca was about to speak, she
saw Camina crossing the street in front of them.

"Lee, do me a favor. Run her
over."

Lee eased his foot off the break, moved
towards Camina's direction.

"I was just kidding, Lee."

Lee chuckled. "Me, too."

They shared a smile as Camina
disappeared down the street.

"Is she giving you trouble at
work?"

"Nothing I can't handle."

Bianca hadn't expected Camina to
retaliate in the way that she did. It came as a major surprise. She
had definite plans to get back at Camina for sure and teach her a
lesson in respect, the same way that she schooled that jerk at
Excalibur. And not because it was something her sister would have
done, but because it was something she needed to do. And she knew
exactly how. Only two words sprung to mind.

Bruce Colby.

Bianca stepped through the clutter of
shoeboxes, shopping bags and designer hangers as she came through
the door of her apartment. After listening to her phone messages,
she splashed cold water on her wounded cheek. Camina's swat to her
cheek hit with more force than she thought originally, and she
found herself constantly reminded of it. And to top it off, the
soreness in her left breast after having purchased a butterfly
tattoo the previous night was wearing on her as well. The beautiful
red butterfly that symbolized her new persona was the metamorphosis
that occurred inside of her.

Bianca stood in her brightly lit
kitchen, still wearing her silk blouse and mini skirt, and enjoyed
some Chardonnay from the refrigerator. Though not hungry, a potent
craving for chocolate cake came over her. That could only mean one
thing. It was time for a visit from her little red friend, a time
when she craved sweets.

With dirty dishes in the kitchen sink,
on the counter and on the kitchen table, housework had become a low
priority. Her concerns were focused more on her wardrobe and all
the cute things she could do with her straight blonde hair. After
mixing the chocolate cake mix in a large bowl, she heard a knock at
the door and her first thought was that it was Lee, but to her
surprise, it was not Lee, but Michelle wearing a hooded
coat.

"Hey," Bianca said.

Only once before had Michelle visited
Bianca, the day after the funeral of her sister and Bianca found
her visit unusual, yet intriguing.

"I called earlier," Michelle said,
after closing the door behind her. As she removed the hood of her
coat, she trailed behind Bianca. When Bianca reached the kitchen,
she assumed Michelle was right behind her but she wasn't.
"Michelle?" Bianca called.

Bianca headed back into the living room
and found Michelle standing before the hall mirror, the same mirror
where she usually receives visits from her sister Sandy.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Bianca asked
her.

Michelle studied herself in the mirror.
"This mirror is strange. It has an odd, creepy feel to
it."

"Don't use that mirror," Bianca said.
"Use the one in the bathroom."

"Why? What's wrong with this
one?"

"I would just rather you
didn't."

That mirror was sacred to Bianca. It
was the only mirror in her apartment where her sister, Sandy,
revealed herself. Bianca didn't know if she would ever see Sandy
again, but she definitely didn't want to stifle any future
visits.

Michelle and Bianca convened in the
kitchen at one of the two bar stools at the counter. Michelle was
still wearing her coat as if she were in a hurry.

Michelle looked around the room.
"Somehow I thought your apartment would have been more
organized."

"It usually is. I've just been busy─You
know, you can take off your coat."

"Thanks, but I can't stay
long."

"Suit yourself."

Bianca licked the back of the spoon
which was covered with cake batter and studied Michelle, wondering
about the true meaning of this highly irregular visit. "My mother
used to make cookies and cakes for my sister and me all the time,"
Bianca said. "And the cakes were always my favorite."

"You miss your mother and sister a lot,
don't you?"

Bianca chose not to answer that
question for fear that she might be reminded just how much she did
miss them both.

After a short silence, Michelle said,
"Anyway, Camina called me and told me what happened in the
elevator."

"That was fast. Did she tell you that
she struck me?"

"She struck you?"

"And I might sue."

"I know you don't mean
that."

"I might."

Bianca dipped the spoon into the cake
batter and moved it in Michelle's direction. "You want some of
this?"

"No, thanks." Michelle smiled. "I want
to apologize for Camina. She had no right to hit you, and she
certainly had no right to say all those mean things to you in the
restaurant."

This was odd, Michelle apologizing for
someone else's transgressions. "What, you're acting as her mother
now?"

"No, I just don't think she has been
very nice to you. Actually, she has been very nasty, and it might
be better if you didn't have lunch with us anymore."

"Oh, really." Bianca could not have
been more nonchalant if she were dead. And she found it odd that
Michelle would make this decision as if she were some angel or
something. Bianca emptied the cake batter into the
rectangular-shaped pan and put it into the oven. "Why is coming
over here telling me all of this so important to you?"

"Because I like you, Bianca. I've
always liked you."

"How sweet?" Bianca said with a
straight face, as she was not buying a word of it. Something else
was going on here, and it was Bianca's mission to find out exactly
what. "Okay, Michelle, what's this all about?"

"Camina is jealous of you. Did you know
that?"

"Jealous? Why?"

"Everyone likes you, Bianca, and Camina
is threatened by that, and when you bleached your hair and started
dressing and behaving differently, it didn't rest well with her,
and it still bothers her to this day."

"I don't see the big deal. So what, I
bleached my hair, changed a few outfits. Big deal. I don't know why
she's jealous of me. She is the one fucking the finest man in the
firm. What more does she want?"

"I can't believe you just said
that."

"Said what?"

"You said fuck. I've never heard you
say fuck before."

"Well, get used to it, because I might
be using it a whole lot more." Bianca paused. "That reminds me. You
were going to tell me about this animosity between you and
Bruce."

"It's really nothing."

Bianca pushed her hair behind her left
ear, smiling. "Does that mean you're not going to tell
me?"

While Bianca waited for Michelle to
answer, it seemed Michelle was at least thinking about
it.

"I'll tell you if you tell me
something," Michelle said.

"What do you want to know?" Bianca
asked, intrigued.

"Are you a virgin?"

"Michelle, I'm thirty years old." This
conversation was getting odder by the moment.

"So. Are you?"

Bianca didn't know whether to be
flattered or insulted. "No, I'm not. Would you like for me to share
the details of my past sexual encounters with you?"

"Only if you want to."

A shocked look raced over Bianca's
face. Was Michelle serious? "I didn't know you had so much freak in
you."

Michelle smiled and didn't say a
word.

"Your turn," Bianca said. "Tell me
about Bruce."

Michelle hesitated for a moment, then
sat forward and crossed her legs. "Okay, this goes no further than
this room."

"Of course," Bianca stated with baited
breath.

"I mean it, Bianca. This is for your
ears only."

"Okay already, now will you tell me
already? I know this is going to be good."

"I slept with Bruce, but only once.
Just one time."

"Nooooo. Really?" This was as good as
gossip got.

Michelle nodded her head yes. "Bruce
and I used to play tennis and we used to work out at the gym
together. This was when I thought he was separated from his
wife."

"But he wasn't?"

"No, he wasn't, but when I learned of
it, I had already gone to bed with him. He's a smart man, Bianca.
He knows exactly what to say to get exactly what he
wants."

Bianca reeked of wonder and enthusiasm
and rubbed her hands together. "Don't keep me in suspense. How was
it, or should I say, how was he?"

"Honestly?"

"Yes, please."

"I'll put it to you like this. If I
could buy what I experienced with Bruce, I would have no money
left."

"That good, huh?"

"The best sex ever, never experienced
anything like it before."

"Why? What was it?"