Sheila was lying on the sofa with a cool damp cloth covering her eyes when the phone rang. It was her friend, Jim, calling to see how her afternoon was going. "Hey Baby, How are you?" he shouted. Jim always shouted. He was bouncy and exuberant and was the perfect person to sell real estate to wealthy yuppies, which is what he did during the day. At night, he sang three times a week with a band that specialized in covering Beatles songs.
"Jim, I do NOT want to talk about it," Sheila replied. She still had the cloth over her eyes, even though it was dark outside and she hadn't turned on any lights in the house yet.
"OH, c'mon baby! Tell me, didn't you have drinks with that contact you made last week? How did it go? Did you get any leads?" Jim peppered her with questions until Sheila sat up and pulled the wet rag from her face. Her eyes were sore and tired and she had a mild headache. She did not want to recount the afternoon to Jim; she just would rather forget it ever happened, in fact. But, Jim was Jim. He would not let her rest until she spilled the whole story, top to bottom.
"Yes, I had drinks. No, I didn't get any leads. I got hit on. Over and over and over. It was a nightmare."
"Well, baby, you should have expected that. You're much too pretty for any man to let an opportunity to get you into the sack go by. I try it all the time with you - why are you so upset with this guy?"
"Because, Jim - I thought he wanted to meet me to talk business. Hell, he knows I'm just starting out and could use all the clients I can get. Besides, I know the guy. I've known him for years. I've met his family, his kids. I just was blind sided by his motives, that's all."
"Tell Perverted Uncle Jim all about it, sweetheart. I want details. Start from when you arrived at the - where did you go? Gallaghers? Start there," Jim said encouragingly.
Sheila thought she better fix herself a drink before telling the story to Jim. She probably would need it when she told him what happened and how she fixed this guy from ever hitting on her, or maybe on anyone, ever again. She told Jim to go get himself a glass of wine too; it was going to be a long story.
Sheila began. "I arrived first, about 15 minutes ahead of schedule. You know how I am, Jim. I hate to be late. I sat at the bar and ordered a drink. The place was pretty empty for early afternoon. Only two other people in there besides the bartender and me. I was kind of excited to be out doing something social for a change.
You know how it's been for me lately. I don't really talk to anyone unless it's business related. That's why I agreed to go in the first place. I knew this guy from way back. I was looking forward to chatting and catching up and, I don't know, just having a drink! The fact that he works for a place I've been trying to get my foot in the door was really secondary."
Jim interrupted her, asking, "What were you wearing?"
Shelia described her outfit. "I had on a simple business skirt - white - and a green knit twin set. You know, a tank top and little sweater over it. Nothing flashy or seductive. I didn't even put on any perfume."
Jim laughed. "Honey, everything you wear is seductive. You could have shown up in a housecoat and looked good enough to eat!" He thought for a moment, then added, "well, except that red thing you insist on wearing around your house. I won't even approach you in that rag."
"Shut the hell up about my robe, will you? Do you want to hear this or not?" Sheila demanded.
Jim immediately became contrite. "I'm sorry, darling. Please continue. Tell me what happened next."
"O.K. He got there right on time, and ordered a drink. Bourbon and coke. We talked about work and my new business, and our kids, homes, families. You know, the usual catch-me-up-on-life shit. He sat very close to me, but I didn't really think much of it, the stools were kind of squashed together anyway. When he started touching my back and my neck, though, I began to realize something was up."
"Oh, yeah. Something was up all right! It was in his pants," Jim exclaimed.
"After he downed 4 bourbons, he suggested we move to a booth because his ass was getting tired of the hard bar stool. Well, I agreed to that and we moved over to a booth. Jim, when I sat down, he practically sat in my lap!"
Jim laughed again. "Damn! He didn't waste any time. So, what does this dude look like, anyway? Is he handsome like your old, unwanted friend Jim?"
Sheila though for a moment. "He's ok looking. Medium height, trim, not heavy. Nothing compelling about his features, but nothing overly repulsive. Light brown short curly hair." "He sweats a lot though," she added with a wicked giggle.
"Oh, pitted out, eh? That's from you, my girl. You made his antiperspirant fail him."
Sheila was feeling better. Jim's upbeat mood always lifted her spirits. She became more animated and began telling him the story with eagerness.
"So, here we are, sitting on the same side of the booth, and I refuse to move over. He's pushing me to scoot in, and I'm pushing him to get out. He starts to beg. Come on; please let me sit here, please?? I said NO, get on your own side! Go, Go, Go! It took me five minutes to push him out of the booth and I had to kick his leg to do it. All the while, I'm looking around thinking, oh my god; someone's going to see me with this guy sitting on me!
He is all over me, Jim. Hands everywhere on my leg, my neck, back. He tries to kiss me and insists that he'll leave me alone if I kiss him. So I purse my lips up real tight and peck him on the face. He looks at me for a minute, and, finally, he moves over and takes my hands. He starts telling me how sexy and beautiful I am, and how hot he is for me. I'm just sitting there, my hands trapped across the table, stupid smile frozen on my face. I do not know what to say except, "Thank you. I'm flattered. Please let go of me." Then, he drops the bomb. He says I want to have sex with you. I've wanted to for a long time."
"Oh dear girl, this is a great story! He was really hitting you hard. What did he think you were going to do, tell him that's a great idea, let's go back to my place and get it on?" Jim laughed delightedly at his own joke. His laughter stopped abruptly when he realized Sheila was not laughing along with him. "Don't tell me you did, Sheila. Don't tell me. You'll break my heart. You don't need the sale that bad, honey. I'll GIVE you the money if you're in dire need."
Sheila remained quiet for a moment. "Jim, you know that having him as a contact was really, really important to my work. I had to make a decision. If I flat turned him down and was rude about it, he could ruin me from ever getting a sale at his company. If I say yes, well, what would that say about me and my business?"
Jim was serious now. "What did you do, sweetheart? Did you take him back to your place?"
"Jim, I just snapped. I am so tired of these men, wanting me for one thing. They don't give a shit about me. They just want to fuck me just to say hey, I did THAT chick. I'm tired of being a body and a face. I decided to teach him a lesson, Jim. I told him I would sleep with him."
Sheila could hear the disappointment shadow Jims voice when he spoke next. "Baby girl. Honey, why did you do that? You didn't need to do that. Besides, I'm crushed. You haven't even slept with me, and I've been asking you for years."