Excited for the first day of her internship, 18-year-old Candace considered all the possible outfits she could wear to make just the right impression. A melange of skirts and jackets and shoes were scattered on her bed Sunday night.
After much deliberation, Candace set out a navy blue skirt and matching one-button jacket, with a pale pink chemise blouse. She tossed and turned that night, excited for the day to come.
Monday morning, Candace primped and dressed. She stood in front of the full-length mirror and admired her look. The skirt rode fairly high on her slender toned thighs and her strappy navy sandals gave her calves that tapered look. Her pale pink mani-pedi matched her chemise quite well. Her large bosom was camouflaged by the chemise when the jacket was worn; when it came off, she looked disproportionately top-heavy considering her slender waist and hips.
She had been sure to fix her white blonde hair just right, combing it with a perfect part in the middle. She pulled her hair into a high ponytail. It was a futile effort to seem professional and serious when her body screamed with sexual appeal.
After applying some makeup on her cheekbones, and mascara on her lashes to highlight her ice blue eyes, she applied pale pink frosted lipstick to her lips. Silver studs in her ears and her Tiffany silver chain necklace finished off her accessories.
She took a deep breath and uttered out loud to herself, "Well, here's to an exciting summer!"
After fighting moderate traffic she arrived at the office building, parked in the garage and took the elevator to the top floor to the office of Sommet Partners, arriving precisely at 8:30 a.m.
Ashanti was first to greet her. The 6-foot French African amazon said, "Good morning, Candace!" and looked her up and down. "You look fantastique! First day, non? Let's take you down to Danielle."
Danielle appeared before they had even moved from the office lobby, looking as stunning as always in a green sheath dress with black closed-toe pointed pumps. Candace thought she saw a glimpse of red sole, indicative of Louboutins. Her long hair was tied in a french braid, and she smiled a wall of teeth.
"Candace, it is so exciting to have you!" Danielle exclaimed. "Let me give you a tour. Come!"
She led Candace through the sleek office once again, only this time she stopped to show her the break room, the handful of staff offices, and Candace's office, which was next to Danielle's.
After showing Candace where she would sit, Danielle took her past two dark doors. "What are those doors?" asked Candace.
"Those are the offices of Monsieur Bienfait and Monsieur Diarra. When they are here, it is imperative that you do not linger near their offices. And you may never enter without permission. They are not here, so I think there is no harm in showing you them.
Danielle opened Charles Diarra's office first. Unlike the main office decor, it was darker, with closed blinds. It had a number of carved wooden statuettes; many seemed to have a phallic theme to them, to which Candace was oblivious. "Monsieur Diarra is very well-traveled. He is originally from Cote d'Ivoire and has many interests that bridge France and Africa. He also collects sculptured woodwork from tribes in francophone Africa. It's quite the collection.
Candace got a bit of a chill as she stood in the office. It was unlike anything she had seen before. It felt almost sinister.
"Come, we can get a glimpse of Monsieur Bienfait's office, too. He should be back tomorrow afternoon," said Danielle.
"Can't we just go that way?" said Candace, pointing to a subtle door that would seem to go to Manuel's office.
"Oh no, dear." said Danielle. "That's a private room that only the two founders have access to."
"What is in there?" asked Candace.
"I'm afraid that's very private and only the founders can disclose that. Just pretend you didn't notice that door, ok?"
"Sure, ok," said Candace, now intrigued.
They exited Charles' office and walked a few paces to the door to Manuel's office, which was more consistent with the rest of the office's modern look. Candace noticed the Le Corbusier chaise longue in front of the window.
"What a view," she exclaimed. "You can see downtown Washington from here!"
"Yes," Danielle agreed. "You can. It's even more spectacular at night... Well let's sit down and talk about work, shall we?"
Over the next hour or so, Danielle explained the company's mission and the roles expected of Candace, orienting her to the business.
At one point, Candace said, "Danielle, I'm confused about a couple things - we say we are traders, but what is it we trade? And, also, we say we provide services, but that's not really explicit either. Is there more I can read up on?"
"Well, Candace, we trade in many things, and we provide lots of services. Our clients are very rich, but also very discreet, and very exacting - so we don't share more than we have to. Our company gets by on word of mouth."
"I see," said Candace, still unclear.
"I know a great little place we can get salads for lunch. Let's do your onboarding luncheon at this little cafe I know in Tysons - maybe we can sneak in a tiny bit of shopping."
Candace grinned. "Okay, sounds like a plan!"
"Let's shoot for 1 p.m. then. It's a date, non?
Danielle drove Candace over to the cafe adjacent to the Tyson's mall in her convertible 2-seater Mercedes. As she drove she got quite an eyeful of Candace's slender, toned thighs as her tight skirt rode up her legs as she sat. At the light, she said, "I like your pedicure. It matches your chemise. You have such pretty feet you should always show them off like that."
"Oh thank you, Danielle," said Candace, equal parts proud and embarrassed.
Upon arrival they settled into a booth and conversed over Thai salads.
"So, Candace, let's get to know each other a little better, off the clock as it were. What do you think so far?"
"I'm just kind of overwhelmed it's so much to process - but I'm really excited - the company seems really cool. I'm really curious to meet Monsieur Bienfait and Monsieur Diarra. I tried to look them up on the internet but there are no photos of them. Do you have any?"
"I'm afraid not, Candace. The founders prefer to keep their profiles quite low. Discretion is valued by our clients as much as it is by them. But I assure you, they are very smart...and very handsome!" Danielle laughed at the end of her sentence. "Oh yes. Very handsome."
"Really? Can you describe them?"
"Well, I think you will meet them soon enough and you will see for yourself. I think it's nice to have a surprise, no? They are very eager to meet you, I know."
"So, Candace, tell me...you are so beautiful, if petite. You must have many boyfriends!"
"Oh, gosh, yeah, just one boyfriend, actually."
"Just one? My goodness you must have had many lovers, non?"
"No, not really. My current boyfriend is pretty hot though."
