Power Play (4 page)

Mary smiled coolly. “Only if it works.”

“What would you like done?”

Mary flashed her card. “The deluxe special.”

The attendant’s eyes widened at the sight of the card, and she gasped as though she was taking in her last breath. “Oh, my God! Cathy, come quick and look at this.” Another woman rushed over and stared at the card. “Wow. I’ve heard about this, but I’ve never seen one.” She looked at Mary, amazed. “How did you get it?”

Her friend nudged her. “You know she can’t tell you that.”

“You are
so
lucky.”

The attendant looked at her computer. “Cynthia will be free if you can wait ten minutes. She’s one of our best. You’ll really like her.”

Mary could barely hide her excitement. She’d gone from weeks to days to minutes. This card had power. “Certainly.”

The attendant directed Mary to a waiting area. Mary sat, amazed that the card could open doors for her. Within moments an attractive woman with high cheekbones and her hair tightly cornrowed came out, introduced herself and ushered Mary into a private room. The room was grander than the entrance and waiting area. She took Mary’s coat and handbag and offered her a choice of tea, coffee or hot chocolate with whipped cream, which Mary declined. “Cynthia will be right with you,” she said, then left.

Still feeling out of place, Mary began looking around at all the amenities the salon offered. At the push of a button, the foot pad of the chair offered a five-minute massage, and skin-softening gloves were within reach along with massage oil. She had her own personal music player, with an enormous collection of songs, and the salon chair offered a full ten-minute hot back massage for free. Mary fought not to be overwhelmed.

Suddenly an imposing young lady, wearing a bright blue embroidered jacket, entered. “Hi, I’m Cynthia. It’s Mary, isn’t it? Nice to have you here today.” She extended her hand while simultaneously looking over Mary’s hair. “Wow, you have thick hair—what kind of shampoo and conditioner have you been using?” At first Mary was taken aback. She had gone to a salon only twice in her life and had never been asked any questions.

Cynthia drew up a chair, pulled out a clipboard and started going over a list of questions. Did she take vitamins? How many hours did she sleep? Was she on any medications? The questions were so extensive, for a moment Mary thought she was in her doctor’s office for her annual physical.

“You may wonder why I’m asking all these questions, but in addition to looking at your hair, I want to make sure I use the right products that will be best for you.” Mary thought for a moment,
I wonder how much this will cost.
Cynthia answered, without being asked.

“You don’t need to worry about the cost of the products. They are included with the fee.” Mary didn’t dare ask what the fee would be.

Two hours later Mary looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair had been cut into a short crop, with a softening cream added to bring out her natural curls and reddish-brown highlights were added to liven up her dull hair color.

“What do you think?” Cynthia asked.

“Wow. Is that really me?” Mary asked. She had always wanted to try something different and liked what she saw.

“Yes, that’s the new you. Now I’m going to send you off to Toni—she’s our makeup artist.” Mary wasn’t in the habit of wearing makeup because she had never been taught. She could hear her mother’s voice now, “You’re plain. With makeup you’ll just be plain in Technicolor.” But today she would ignore that voice. She was eager to learn.

The session with Toni went well. Instead of applying the makeup herself, she showed Mary how to do it. After several tries, Mary was able to use the eyelash curler, but not without first pulling out a few lashes. Because Mary wanted a natural look, Toni introduced her to a line of makeup that accentuated her features and natural skin tone, instead of covering it. But what Mary enjoyed most was selecting the right colors for her full lips. Her lips were two-toned, and she always had trouble finding the right color. Toni showed her the secret—use two colors! At the end of the session, Mary went back to Cynthia to show her the finished product. She looked nothing less than stunning.

“You look fantastic!” Cynthia said.

“Now about the cost…” Mary said as she began looking in her handbag for her credit card.

“It comes with the membership. Didn’t you read everything?”

“I did, but I thought it meant the items I received in the package. I didn’t expect it to cover this, too.”

“You’re part of the Society now. Everything’s included with your membership payment and your life is going to change in ways you never expected.”

Eager to add a new wardrobe to match her new look, Mary went to the Boutique Nouveau on Sunday and was disappointed to find that it was closed. Instead, she bought herself a bouquet of flowers at the local market, then decided to stop by her office. Like her, it needed a face-lift. No more boring walls. Mary spent the entire afternoon moving things around. She put up several framed pictures and put the bouquet of flowers in a slender crystal vase and placed it in a prominent spot on her desk. She replaced an old calendar with a brightly colored one filled with the artwork of contemporary black artists.

That Monday morning, Mary woke up two hours earlier than usual and carefully applied her makeup and styled her hair. Her suit was still the same—a dull brown—but the woman wearing it was different.

“Wish me luck,” she said to Cammie, patting her on the head and letting her out to roam.

The whispers started the moment Mary entered the office. Jean rushed over to her. “You look wonderful!”

“Thank you.”

“And I love your office. I wish I could make my area look like that.”

“At lunch I can take you to a nice shop I found that has lots of lovely knickknacks at affordable prices.”

“I’d love that. See you at one o’clock.”

Most of the morning, Mary was too busy to notice the glances and looks directed her way. She didn’t even observe that Brad, the office hotshot, had walked by her desk at least three times trying to catch her attention. There was one person she wanted to see react, but James had his blinds shut due to an important meeting.

After an extended lunch, Mary and Jean came back carrying several large bags and a growing friendship. Mary helped Jean decorate her office. Once satisfied, Mary returned to her desk. Before she could sit down, Dianne popped her head out of her office and called to her.

“I can’t believe it. Is that really you, Mary?”

Mary turned. “Yes, it’s me.”

“Can I talk to you?”

Mary resisted a sigh, stood up from her desk and followed Dianne into her office. She sat and saw a picture of Dianne’s boyfriend prominently displayed on the oak-stained desk.

“I need a favor.” She rested a large stack of papers on the desk. “I need you to go over these reports for me. I have so much to do—”

“No.”

“What?”

“No. I can’t help you.”

“Why?”

“Because I have plenty
I
have to do.”

“Like what?” Dianne challenged.

“The assignments my predecessor on The New Day Senior Living Community did not do in addition to my other existing projects.”

“Put those aside for now. I need these done.”

“That will not be possible.” Mary stood, ready to leave.

Dianne flashed a cool smile. “I’m your supervisor now. I could get you fired.”

“I’d like to see you try. Edmund Davis specifically asked for me to work on this project. I think he’d be pretty upset not to have me begin working on it immediately.”

“We’ll see about that.” Dianne marched out of the room and headed for James’s office. Mary returned to her desk. Ten minutes later James phoned and requested she see him.

James’s face froze when he saw her. Dianne stared at her with a look that said
“You may look good, but I can still put you in your place.”

“Yes?” Mary said.

James continued to stare.

“James!” Dianne demanded.

He collected himself and tugged on his tie. “Yes, uh, Dianne said you and she had a disagreement.”

Mary took the empty seat next to Dianne, ignoring her. “That’s right.”

“Mary, it’s not like you not to get on with others. You’re a team player.”

Mary adjusted her skirt.

James shifted in his seat. “Can I resolve this issue?”

“It
is
resolved. Dianne asked me to do her a favor and I refused.”

“Why? You do favors for others all the time.”

“I don’t do favors anymore. I need to focus on my work, not on others’.”

“But you always used to—”

“That’s never gotten me promoted.”

“Is that what this is all about?” Dianne sneered. “You’re trying out this new look and attitude because you’re upset I was promoted?”

Mary ignored her, looking directly at James. “May I leave now?”

“Don’t try to ignore me.”

James held up his hand. “Dianne, I’ll talk to you later.”

Dianne stood, glared at Mary, then left, slamming the door behind her.

Once she was gone James sighed in resignation. “Don’t do this, Mary. I really wanted you to have the position, but I couldn’t. Just help Dianne this one time and smooth things over.”

“Okay.”

He smiled with relief. “Good.”

Mary stood and opened the door. “And you can tell Edmund Davis I can’t start on his project until next month.”

James jumped up from his desk and ran after Mary as she headed down the hall. “You know I can’t do that,” he said. “Edmund would—” he ran a hand down his face “—fine. I’ll deal with Dianne.”

Mary calmly sat at her desk. “Good.”

He stared at her for a moment. “What’s gotten into you?”

She only smiled.

That evening, James held a small red shopping basket carrying milk, two bottles of antacid and other items when he suddenly saw Edmund at the end of the aisle tossing a loaf of wheat bread into his basket. His first instinct was to run. After having to deal with Dianne’s temper he didn’t want any more conflict. He thought for a moment, then decided that he had to do his duty and warn Edmund about Mary.

“Hey, Davis.”

Edmund spun around and waved. When James approached him, Edmund reached into James’s basket and pulled out a bottle promising to ease stomach troubles. Edmund clicked his tongue. “You either need to change your diet or get a new job.” He tossed the bottle back into the basket.

“Yeah. Well…speaking of change there’s something you should know.”

“About what?”

“About Mary.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Things are a little different now.”

“Gregory can handle her and so can I.”

“But—”

“You don’t have to worry about anything. You worry too much—that’s why you have to take
those.
” He pointed to the items in his cart.

“No, it’s not that simple.”

“Anything can be made simple.”

“But Mary’s changed.”

“That’s okay. She won’t cause us any trouble.”

“That’s just the point. She—”

“Stop worrying.” Edmund patted James on the shoulder. “Now go finish your shopping.”

James sighed and left.

The following Saturday, Mary woke up early and drove to Boutique Nouveau, which was located on the other side of town. Once inside the store, she fought her way through the display of trendy, thin mannequins and asked for Rania, as directed in the instructions. A woman the length of a pogo stick, and just as wide, looked at Mary’s ample frame and said, “I’m not sure we carry what you need.”

Mary placed her membership card on the counter. “I’m sure Rania can help me.”

The clerk looked at the card as though it were a cache of jewels. She sent Mary an incredulous look, then pushed a button. Within moments, a dark-skinned, full-figured woman of medium height, who walked with a hip-swaying confidence on four-inch high heels, came out. Her hair was worn in thick, large braids swept up on top of her head, with a decorative satin ribbon wound around it. Exquisitely designed earrings hung from her ears and an armful of gold bangles and bracelets encircled her wrists. “Hello, Mary, I’m Rania.”

“How did you know my name?”

“I was expecting you.”

Rania led Mary through a narrow passageway into an adjacent building and then into a large room where a selection of clothing, shoes, bags, jewelry and other accessories waited.

“These are all yours,” Rania said, gesturing to the items. “We are going to spend the majority of today helping you select the right outfits and accessories that will work for you.”

“But these must be worth thousands of dollars!”

Rania smiled. “And you’re worth it. Right?”

“Right. But, how do I…”

“There is no cost to you. You’re now a member of The Society.” She lifted a suede skirt. A dangerous little number Mary would never have looked at before. Rania raised a challenging eyebrow. “Ready to have some fun?”

Mary left nearly seven hours later. She’d gone to the boutique wearing a pair of jeans and an extra large T-shirt but left with four enormous bags full of clothes and dressed in a light blue silk blouse, suede trousers and mid-size red leather heels. She’d also developed a strut she was unaware of that made men turn their heads and elicited two loud whistles.

But it wasn’t only strangers who took notice. When she wore one of her new outfits to work that Monday, one of the program managers she supervised dropped off his report in person, something he rarely did, and stayed an extra half hour to discuss things. Female coworkers were so impressed with her transformation they kept asking for tips on how to apply makeup. Mary tried to help them with the knowledge she’d gained.

“Did you rob a bank or something?” Dianne asked, staring at Mary’s new clothes. “That looks like real cashmere.”

Mary ignored her and continued what she was doing.

“How can you afford all this? I know how much you make.”

“You were right.”