Office Bet

By Melanie Brown
Copyright © 2006

Part 4

When I got back to my desk, I was still shaking.  I expected any moment for Ms. Rogers to walk into my office to tell me I've been fired for some trumped up reason.  Murphy scared the crap out of me.

A stray thought struck me.  Since I'm a woman today, should I cry? I sure felt like it.

I was lost in thought and I jumped when there was a knocking sound on my name plate stuck on the wall of my cubicle.  I turned around to see Ms. Rogers standing at the entrance.  My heart leaped into my throat.

Her smile faded to a look of concern when I turned around to face her. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

Should I say anything? Probably not.  Murphy has a lot of clout.  “No.  No, I’m fine.  Really.”

Ms. Rogers pulled a guest chair away from the wall a little, sat down and said, “You sure about that?”

I don’t think she believed me. I’d better let out a least a small dose of truth.  “I think I pissed Murphy off a little.”

Ms. Rogers smiled ruefully and said, “I’m sure you did.  In fact, that’s what I came to talk to you about.”

Wow, that was fast.  I guessed she got raked over the coals by Murphy and was going to lower the boom on my head.  “Yeah, I kinda figured that, uh…”

“I wanted to come by and give you an atta-girl.  Good job.  Mr. Keys told me he was very impressed.  He also told me that Ms. Hoden was impressed as well.  Not bad for your first time out.”

I felt a wave of relief wash over me.  “Thank you, Ms. Rogers!  I was worried that, well, I…”

Frowning, Ms. Rogers asked, “Did Mr. Murphy threaten you?”

I'd better not say directly.  If I escalated this, even though I didn't do anything wrong, it could turn really ugly.  And when you're low man on the totem pole...

I said, "Well, it's clear Mr. Murphy doesn't like being upstaged."

Ms. Rogers smiled knowingly.  "I pretty much figured that.  He hates it when someone outshines him.  Especially a new person.  It goes double if you're female."

I was about to mention the fact that technically, I wasn't female when Ann popped her head through the doorway.  "Oh! There you are, Ms. Rogers.  There's a Ms. Hoden waiting to see you."

"Thank you, Ann," Ms. Rogers said as she stood up.  She stood there a moment, and then said, "Come on, Heather.  I want you in this meeting.  You might want to bring your notes."

I gathered up my folder, stood up and then followed Ms. Rogers back to her office.  Sitting in a chair near Ann, sat Ms. Hoden, who stood as we approached.  Her assistant was nowhere to be seen.

After exchanging pleasantries, Ms. Rogers invited Ms. Hoden and myself into her office.  After we were all seated, Ms. Rogers asked, “Well, Ms. Hoden, what can we do for you?”

“Please, call me Laura,” Ms. Hoden said.  “It’s just us girls.”

“Of course, Laura,” said Ms. Rogers.  “You may call me Cynthia.”

Smiling nervously, as I was unsure how informal I really could be, I said, “Laura and I are already on a first name basis.”

“Yes, I was very impressed with the way Heather asserted herself,” said Ms. Hoden.  “She knew her design was better and she asserted herself even though it seemed the pressure was to accept whatever Mr. Murphy had come up with.”

Ms. Rogers smiled at me and said, “Yes, I’ve been impressed as well with Heather.”

“I look forward to working directly with Heather through-out the whole project,” said Ms. Hoden.  “I’d like to have at least one phone conference once a week to go over the progress and to discuss any issues.”

“I think that would be a good idea,” said Ms. Rogers.

Ms. Hoden continued, “Also, I had a very nice chat with Mr. Keys.  I asked for and he agreed, to having Heather be the project lead, not just lead programmer.”

This was terrible!  This project was going to take at least four months to complete! There wasn’t just the system design, but writing the specifications documents, designing the databases, testing then QA, and then more testing.  I sure as hell didn’t want to be Heather for four months!

“I appreciate your confidence in me, Ms. Hoden…” I started.

“Laura,” said Ms. Hoden.

“…Laura.  But really, I’m still pretty new here.  Almost everyone is senior to me.  I don’t want to rock the boat.”

Ms. Rogers said, “This is an excellent opportunity, Heather.”

“I agree.  But Mr. Murphy…” I started.

Ms. Hoden interrupted saying, “Mr. Murphy was in the meeting with Mr. Keys.  He wholeheartedly agreed that you should be given sole responsibility for this project.”

That’s just great.  He’s expecting me to go down in flames, I thought.  What an arrogant SOB.  This is a relatively small project, but I bet he doesn’t think I can manage it because I’m new here.  And a woman.

I smiled weakly and said, “Okay, Ms. Ho…Laura.  Looks like I’m your girl.”

Ms. Hoden started to stand, saying, “Great!  I’m glad that’s all settled.  I have every confidence in you Heather that this project will be completed on schedule and within budget.”

After a few more pleasantries and weak, girlie handshakes, Ms. Hoden left Ms. Rogers’ office.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for you, Heather,” said Ms. Rogers again when we were alone.

I just stared at her a moment before saying, “You know Murphy is expecting me to fail.”

Ms. Rogers smiled and said, “Probably.  But you’re not going to let that happen, are you?”

“No, I’ve handled more complicated projects before.  But Ms. Rogers…I have to be Heather for at least four months!  Possibly longer,” I exclaimed.  “Doesn’t this terminate the bet?”

She shook her head and said, “Not really.  We still don’t know if you can survive a month as Heather yet.  It’s only been two days.”

I walked back to my cubicle feeling very much alone. I didn’t want to have to pretend to be a woman any longer than I had to.  Now it was going to be four months!  I don’t think I can go that long.

I sat down at my desk, and then reached over to grab my purse.  I pulled out my compact and checked my make-up.  I searched a few moments through my purse to find my lipstick.  As I pressed the waxy stick against my lip, I stopped for a second and just stared at the reflection of me applying lipstick.  I just looked at myself wearing mascara, liner, eye shadow, blush and of course, lipstick.  Do I really want to put up with this crap for four long months?

As I put the lipstick away and was checking the mirror again, Candace, Ann, and Joyce entered my cubicle. 

Candace smiled and said, “Congratulations, Heather!  We just heard the news.  That’s pretty brave to go against Mr. Murphy like that.”

“So I’ve heard,” I said as I put the mirror away.

Joyce said, “It’s unlike Murphy to just roll over like that.  Be careful, Heather.  I think he has something up his sleeve.”

I nodded and said, “Oh, I’m sure he expects me to fail.  I guess he doesn’t realize I’ve handled much larger projects all by myself before.”

Ann let out a snort.  “I’m sure he wants you to fail, all right.  But not because of your experience.  It’s because you’re a woman.”

“Well, technically, I’m not…”

Interrupting, Ann said, “As far as he’s concerned, you’re a woman.”

Candace asked, “How does that affect the bet?  I mean, now he has to be a woman.”

Ann said, “It doesn’t affect the bet at all.  He still has to make it a full month as a woman.  It’s only been two days.  He has a long way to go.  Anything over a month is strictly his business.”

Candace said, “Well, anyway, you need to celebrate!  Several of us girls are going to go out dancing tonight.  You should join us.  I bet you’d love it!”

“I don’t know how to dance,” I said.  “Even just wearing sneakers!  Let’s don’t even talk about heels!”

Joyce said, “Come on, Heather.  You deserve a girls’ night out too.  Who knows?  You might even meet Mr. Right!”  She giggled.

I started to say something when Candace said, “Oh, don’t scare him off.  I think he’ll have a good time. 

Ann said, “Anyway, there’s now more to this than just your bet, Heather.  This is a test on women in general.  If you fail, then the rest of us will suffer for it.  Murphy’ll make sure of that.”

I frowned and said, “Thanks for the extra pressure, Ann.”

*   *   *

 

I was lost in thought as I walked towards my apartment and didn’t see my next door neighbor until it was too late.  We both arrived at the base of our stairs at the same time. I need to start being more careful.

“Hello, again!” smiled Jerry.  “It’s nice to see you again.”  He was blocking my access to the stairs.

“Hi,” I said.  All I wanted to do was get to my apartment, get in the shower and wash this day away.

“I didn’t properly introduce myself yesterday,” Jerry said, extending his hand.  “My name is Jerry Weiberheld.”

I offered him a limp handshake and a smile.  I said, “My name is Heather Stephens.”

“Stephens?”  Jerry gave me a questioning look.  I wish now I had also chosen a different last name.

My face reddened and I said, “Yes, I’m Harry’s sister.”

Jerry laughed and said, “I thought you two looked alike.  Harry never told me he had a sister, that rascal.”

“Harry is very protective of his little sister.”

“Speaking of Harry, when is he coming back?” asked Jerry.

I frowned. My feet were really starting to kill me and I knew if I stood here long enough, Jerry would probably ask me out.  I said, “I’m afraid Harry is going to be away longer than he expected.”

Jerry smiled broadly and said, “Poor Harry.  If you talk to him, tell him ol’ Jerry said to take all the time he needs.”

“I’ll tell him.  He’s anxious to get back though.  But right now, I really need get out of these clothes.” I regretted saying that the moment the words left my lips.

Jerry smiled again and said, “Need any help?”  He laughed at his little joke.  Before I could answer, he stepped out of my way and said, “Would you be interested in joining me for a few drinks later?  I know a great place not far from here…”

I smiled and said, “Thanks, but I already have other plans this evening.”  Even if I didn’t, I would make something up.  I started climbing the stairs.

Jerry called up to me, “Another time, perhaps?”

“Maybe,” I said as I closed my apartment door.

Once inside, I kicked off my heels, tossed my wig on the floor, took off my bra and collapsed into the easy chair. What a day this has been.  I’ve probably made an enemy out of Murphy and managed to get myself into a high profile situation with a new customer that’s going to lock me in my role as Heather for much longer than I cared for.

With a groan, I got up and dragged myself into the shower.  I felt better afterwards and then I put on my old comfy sweats to relax.  When I walked into the kitchen to look for something to make dinner, I noticed the light blinking on the answering machine.  I looked at the caller id and saw that Candace had called while I was in the shower.

I pressed the play button and Candace’s voice from the answering machine said, “Hey girl!  Don’t forget we’re all meeting tonight around seven thirty at the Sunset Lounge.  Wear a dress and meet us out on the patio. See ya!”

Oh, man!  I didn’t really want to go out. That means putting make-up on again and getting back into a bra and probably wearing heels.  I know they plan on dancing…in high heels, which is, of course, insane. I was surprised that Candace didn’t go to a bar with Country music. I guess she likes variety.

I don’t have to go, even though the women from work would want me to experience night life as a woman as part of the bet.  It felt so good to not be wearing any women’s clothing.  Do I really want to ruin my evening by getting all dressed up again and going to bar?  I decided that I’d just skip it tonight.

I opened the freezer and started trying to decide which frozen dinner sounded the most appetizing when the phone rang.  I looked at the caller id and saw that it was Jennifer, our receptionist. 

I answered the phone and Jennifer said, “Hey, Heather!  I was wondering if you’d mind giving me a ride to the Sunset Lounge tonight?”

“Well, I’m not sure yet if I’m going or not,” I said. “Don’t you have a car?” I pulled out a frozen dinner and started to open it.

“Oh come on, Heather!  You should go.  It’ll be fun!” Jennifer hesitated a moment, then continued, “And no, I don’t have a car tonight.  My sister had to borrow it. I might need a ride to work tomorrow too.”

Jennifer was very pretty and wasn’t in any relationships at the moment.  Maybe I could work this to my advantage.  I’m not going to be a woman forever.

I said, “Okay.  I guess I can give you a lift tonight.  And, if you need it, I can pick you up tomorrow too.  Where are you?”  I shoved the frozen dinner into the microwave.

“Oh, thank you!” sighed Jennifer.  “I’m up here in Frisco, but I’m not that far from where you live, I don’t think.”

“Okay.  I’ll pick you about seven. I’ll call you on my cell for directions when I’m near Frisco.”

We hung up and I looked at the kitchen clock.  It was ten minutes to six already.  Crap.  I wasn’t going to have much time.  While the microwave counted down, I walked into my bedroom and opened the closet door.

It was still a shock to open the closet and see about a third of my closet taken up with women’s clothes. It would have been cool if they belonged to a girlfriend.  It was kind of depressing they belonged to me.  And I had a feeling that with the unsolicited help from the women at work, my collection was only going to grow.

As I quickly looked through the dresses, I spotted a dark blue, shiny dress.  I pulled it out.  I guess this is what I’m supposed to wear.  It was too dressy for the office, but it wasn’t exactly formal wear.  The skirt was a little short and I had no idea if it would be called ruffled or pleated, but it had some folds and didn’t fit tight around my legs like the skirts I’ve been wearing to work.

I laid the dress on the bed and as I started to remove my sweats, the microwave dinged.  Before getting my dinner out, I went ahead and slid into my pantyhose and put my bra back on.  Then I hurried into the kitchen to wolf down dinner.  When done I hurried into the bathroom to put my make-up on. What a pain and a lot of extra work just to go to a bar

*   *   *

 

I arrived at Jennifer’s apartment complex a little after seven.  I called her on my cell phone to find out which building she was in.  I drove around to the other side where she said she’d meet me.  I found a place to park and waited a few minutes. 

Finally, I saw her coming towards me between two rows of apartments.  She was stunning!  Her dress was much the same style as mine, but in a pink color that I don’t think I could get away with.  The dress fit her so much better than mine fit me.  When I saw her at work, I always thought she was cute.  Tonight, she was downright beautiful.

Upon seeing her, Mr. Happy began to feel uncomfortable against the restraints that kept the front of my dress smooth and flat.  I thought, down boy!  You’re a girl.  I tried to refocus my attention, but I couldn’t take my eyes away from Jennifer.

As she got into my car, Jennifer smiled and said, “Hi Heather!  Thank you so much for picking me up!  You look very pretty tonight!”

I smiled back at her, trying to ignore the discomfort Harry Jr. was causing me.  I said, “Any time!  And thank you.  And you…you look absolutely beautiful.”

We left Jennifer’s apartments and headed towards North Central Expressway.  We drove in silence for a few minutes.

“Are you nervous?” asked Jennifer.

“What about?” I replied, not sure what she meant.

“You know, going out,” said Jennifer. “You’ve been to work as a woman and to the mall, but this is the first time you’ve gone out dancing and stuff.”

“A little bit,” I admitted.  “I’m still getting used to dressing like a woman, but it’s not as foreign to me as it was.  I could ‘hide’ being in a group of women at the mall.  Going to a nightclub is kind of different.”

“What are you going to do if some guy asks you to dance?” asked Jennifer with a smile.

“Tell him ‘no’,” I said flatly.  “Besides, I don’t think I have to worry about that anyway.”

Jennifer looked at me with surprise.  “What makes you say that?”

Incredulous, I said, “Because I’m a guy!  I mean, look at me!”

Jennifer shook her head and said, “I’m looking at you now, girl, and you look wonderful.  I mean, it’s totally amazing how good you look.”

I frowned and said, “Get out of here!  That’s nuts!”

“I’m serious, Heather!” Jennifer exclaimed.  “Now, you may not be as pretty as me…” she laughed. “…But I guarantee that you’re going to turn heads when you enter the room.”

I laughed and said, “More like turn stomachs, you mean!”

Jennifer gently whacked my shoulder with her purse.  “Seriously, girl.  Don’t be surprised if some guy asks you to dance, or offers to buy you a drink.  Men are going to be all over you if you’re not careful.”

I laughed again and said, “Okay, in the remote chance somebody asks me to dance or offers to buy me a drink, I’ll just politely decline.  Easy.”

“It’s not as easy as you might think.  Some guys are very insistent,” said Jennifer.  “But if you’re not going to dance, why go to a dance club at all?”

I frowned and said, “I was pretty much told I had to as a condition to the bet.”

“Who cares about that?”  Jennifer laughed.  “Come on, girl.  Have some fun while you’re there.  If a guy asks you to dance, then dance!  Dancing with him doesn’t mean you’re going to marry him.”

“I can’t dance.  Not to mention I’m wearing high heels.” I grimaced.

“So am I.  I think you’ll do fine.  When you’re dancing, it just feels like everybody is watching you.  Really, nobody cares.”

“So if some strange guy you’ve never seen before asks you to dance, you’re just going to say ‘yes’?” I asked.

“Well, yeah…if he’s cute.  Isn’t that the point?” Jennifer sighed.  “It beats just sitting there staring at the wall.  I could stay home and do that!”

We finally arrived at the Sunset Lounge.  As we went inside, there were several people in a line in front of us.  I wondered why the line was being slow.  Then I noticed the guy checking ID.  My name and picture on my drivers’ license doesn’t exactly match my current appearance.

I whispered to Jennifer, “I forgot about getting my ID checked.  I normally don’t worry about it.”

“Oh crap!” said Jennifer as she took her drivers’ license out of her purse.  “Try to cover the picture up when you show it to him while I try to distract him a little.”

Jennifer flashed the guy her ID then stood there and started to say something to him as I walked up.  They guy was looking down Jennifer’s ample bosom. I covered my picture with my fingers and just raised the drivers’ license up quickly but casually as Jennifer asked him what time it was.  He just got a quick glance at my license before quickly looking down at his watch.  As he did so, I just walked on inside.

I waited just inside the door for Jennifer.  As she came in I said, “Thanks Jennifer!  The last thing I wanted was a bunch of questions.”

Jennifer shrugged and said, “You’re welcome.  But you know what? I bet he wouldn’t even care unless you were here for Ladies’ Night.”

I looked around.  For a bar, I thought the walls were painted a little too brightly for my tastes.  I tried to spot Candace, but I didn’t see her.  It didn’t take long before my eyes started to sting from the tobacco smoke.  I was going to have to wash my wig tonight.

Jennifer took my hand and said, “I know where everyone is. They’re probably on the patio. Come on.”

As we wound our way through the bar, I felt eyes staring at me. It made me uncomfortable. 

When Candace spotted us coming her way, she shouted to us, “Hey, you guys finally made it!  Joyce and Ann are already dancing.”

Incredulous, I said to Candace, “Ann is dancing?  With a guy?”

Candace laughed and said, “Of course, silly!  What’s odd about that?”

Shrugging, I said, “I didn’t think she liked guys.”

Shaking her head, Candace said, “You silly!”  Then she pointed at an empty chair and said, “Hey, sit down. Get yourself a drink.  They have great daiquiris here.”

Jennifer looked over at me and said, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

With the music playing and people talking, there was no way I could whisper so I just said loudly, without shouting, “Men are looking at me.  Those two guys over there are just staring at me.”

“Annoying, isn’t it?” asked Jennifer.  “Bet you used to do the same thing to some girl you thought was cute, didn’t you?  Don’t stare at a girl and make her think you’re stalking her.  Go talk to her, ask her to dance.  Don’t be surprised if one of them doesn’t ask you to dance.”

I shuddered.  “No thank you!”

Jennifer shook her head and said, “Lighten up!”

Before I could say anything the music stopped briefly.  As another song started back up, Joyce and Ann returned to the table.

As they sat down, Joyce said, “Heather!  Jennifer!  Glad you could make it!”  She looked around the bar and said, “Good crowd tonight.  Should be able to get a lot of dancing in.  I think Ann has already found a keeper.”

Ann took a sip from her drink that was already on the table.  She laughed as she said, “What?  Are you kidding?  He’s kinda short, don’t you think?”

“I thought he was kinda cute, actually,” said Joyce as she finished her drink.

As exciting as the conversation was, I started to tune it out.  I just sat there and stared at Jennifer for a few minutes.  I’ve seen her a thousand times, but tonight she was just dazzling. 

The waitress was slow in coming around to the table again, so I was going to go the bar.  I was about to ask Jennifer if she wanted me to get her something while I was there, when two guys walked up to her.

“Jenn!” called out the taller of the two guys.  “Haven’t seen you in a while!”

My heart sank as I noticed she seemed to be a bit excited about meeting this new person.  She stood up and took the guy’s hands and said, “Richard!  Hey, it’s great to see you again!”  She gave him a quick kiss.  Richard was tall, about mid-twenties in age, with chiseled good looks.  I wouldn’t stand a chance getting Jennifer to notice me with him around. She then asked, “Who’s your friend?”

“Oh, this is David.” Richard said, pointing. David was shorter than Richard and maybe just a little younger.  His hair was bordering on being shaggy with boyish good looks.  “David, this is Jennifer.  Now, who’s your friend?”  Jennifer could barely take her eyes away from staring at Richard.

Jennifer motioned for me to stand up.  She said, “Richard, this is Heather.  She’s a new girl in our department.”

Richard and David both extended their hands to shake.  I didn’t like the way either one of them looked at me.

Richard turned towards Jennifer and asked, “Doing anything Friday?”

Jennifer tried to look coy as she asked, “I don’t know.  Why do you ask?”

Richard said, “How about dinner and a movie?  I was wanting to go to try that place where you eat while you watch a movie. What’s it called?”

David said, “Studio Movie Grill.  It’s pretty cool.”

Richard asked, “What do you think?”

Jennifer almost gushed, “Sure!  I’d love to!” 

Richard said, “Great!  I’ll call you later with times and shit.”  He hesitated a second and then asked, “Do you know any friends that would be interested in going with David?”

Jennifer looked at David and smiled as she said, “Actually, there’s probably several that would like to…”

David interrupted and said, “How about you, Heather?  Interested?  It’d be the four of us.”

I thought, not only no, but Hell no!  I said, “Thanks.  That’s very nice of you to ask, but I don’t know.  I think I’m washing my hair that night.”

Jennifer frowned at me and said, “Heather!  That’s not nice.  Come on!  It’ll be fun.  I’ve been wanting to go to that theater myself.”

I said, “Well…I don’t know…”

David said, “Hey, that’s okay.  I understand if you don’t want to.  After all we just met.  No big deal.”

I could see the disappointment cross David’s face.  I’m sorry, but dating guys just isn’t high up on my list of to-dos.

Jennifer bent over and whispered as best she could into my ear, “Please, Heather?  For me?  I think Richard will be disappointed if his friend doesn’t have a date too.”

Whispering back, I said, “Give me a break!  Look at him.  Do you honestly think he has a hard time getting girls?”

Jennifer shrugged and whispered, “Maybe he’s shy?  Please, Heather?  It’s just a date.  No big deal.”

I thought a moment.  Here was a way to score some brownie points with Jennifer. But the thought of being on a date with a guy!  Ugh!

I looked at Jennifer, then at David and said, “Okay, I’ll go.  I’ve never been there myself.”  I don’t remember ever hearing of it before either.  “Sounds like fun!”

David smiled broadly and said, “Great!  Thanks!”

Richard said, “Great!  Jenn, I’ll let you know what time we’ll need to be there.  We’ll pick you up first, then swing by and pick up Heather.” He looked at his watch and said, “Hey, we gotta jet.  I’ll call you!  See ya!” 

After Richard and David left, Jennifer looked towards me and said, “Thanks Heather.  David seems really nice.  Hey, don’t look at me that way!”

“Jennifer!” I almost shouted, “I don’t want to go out on a date with some stupid guy!”

Jennifer looked puzzled and said, “Why do you think he’s stupid?”

Ignoring her I said, “Jennifer, he’s a guy.  And I’m not really a girl.”

Jennifer shrugged and said, “He doesn’t know that.”

*   *   *

 

End of Part 4

    since 4/10/06