***
“Good morning, Mrs. Thompson. There’s a visitor for you in the lobby,” Natalie said over the intercom. I frowned. I wasn’t expecting anyone. There was nothing on the calendar for noon.
“I don’t do walk-ins, Nat. Who is it?” I questioned.
“Shareese Williams, she said that she wanted to see you specifically,” She responded.I cleared my throat and then adjusted myself in the chair. I could only hope that her popping up at my job was business, not personal.
“Uh, sure. Can you walk her up, please?” I asked before we disconnected the call, straightened the papers on my desk, and started putting them in their respective folders while I waited.
It didn’t take long for Natalie to enter with Shareese on her heels. Her smile told me she came for pleasantries, so I returned it.
“Thank you, Natalie. Good morning, Shareese. What brings you by?” I questioned as I nodded toward my receptionist, who turned to walk away.
“I was referred by my son’s aunt. When I googled your dealership and saw you and your husband on the website, I figured I’d come to the source, if that’s okay,” she said politely.
“Of course,” I motioned for her to have a seat.
“Tell me what you’re looking for,” I asked and waited for her to answer. She came up with a mile-long list of specifics. Inside, I laughed because she was just like me; none of them had anything to do with the quality of the car itself. There were just random things she would like, like a third row, heated seats, no sunroof, etc.
I took notes as she continued to ramble through her list of must-haves, then scanned the online vehicle catalog for matches and gave her five options.
Eventually, she picked one of the most expensive models of the Cadillac Escalade. I wasn’t in the business of watching how anyone spent their money, so once she assured me that was what she wanted, we started the customization process. She was throwing in all the bells and whistles without a care in the world.
Every time I asked about another feature, she said, “What do you think?” It was the worst thing to trust someone at the dealership with, but I didn’t oversell her anything and actually gave her an amazing deal that saved her almost ten thousand dollars.
She was personable, even more so outside of the office. Subconsciously, I wondered why she and Q broke up. They both seemed nice, but I knew that even if you knew a person, you didn’t know them when they were in a relationship. So just as quickly as I had the thought, I pushed it to the back of my mind.
“I just need your signature on a couple of papers, and your telephone number again,” I said as I waited for her to sign the documents that I had printed.
She leaned forward toward the desk, lips pursed in mock seriousness as she scanned the pages that I had printed. The perfume that greeted me once she walked in now invaded me again. It was something light, powdery, and smelled very feminine. Her eyes skimmed each line with precision, reading everything that I had entered.
“You’re thorough, I like that,” She complimented before she flipped the paper to the next page.
“Thank you, I try.”
“Hmmm,” she said, nodding. “I think it’s your personality. Anyway, I’m glad I asked to see you. I feel like I’m in good hands.It makes the experience more personal.” Her eyes met mine. Something in her tone made me tense.
Now it was me who had to put on the smile that we practiced with the clients. So that’s what I did. I was the first to break eye contact as I looked down at the clipboard.
“Ms. Williams, the signatures,” I smiled.
“Right,” she laughed, signed, and initialed in the places that I needed her to.She slid the clipboard back in my direction.
“And your number?” I asked, prepared to just write it myself. She recited it to me slowly and deliberately. When I repeated it to her, she laughed softly.
“Yes. Commit it to your memory,” she said as I began writing it down. At that moment, I was unsure what was happening. Was she being overly friendly or flirting with me?
She sat back in the seat and gave me a little room as I scanned the documents one last time, making sure she had signed every space. Suddenly, the air felt a little thicker between us, and I didn’t know what to make of it. I stood, smoothed my blazer, and cleared my throat.
“Alright, Ms. Williams, I’ll personally oversee the process and keep you updated as I get them.” She nodded and stood as well.
“I’ll keep in touch,” I added. She started toward the door but stopped. “I was hoping you’d say that.” She smirked.
“Have a great day,” I said as I opened the door and waited for her to exit.
She stopped just shy of the threshold and looked at me. “And Breeze?” she stepped closer, making the interaction more personal by using my first name, which she hadn’t done since she knew me.
I raised my eyebrow and waited for her to finish. “Next time, maybe we can talk without the paperwork.” She suggested, then walked out the door without waiting for a response.I was taken aback because now I knew for sure that Shareese was definitelyflirting. I had never been hit on by a woman before. But over the last few months, I had been hit on more than I had in my entire life. It was like one encounter outside of my marriage, and now the stench of “whore” was oozing from my pores. I chuckled to myself as I walked back over to my desk.
