When the doorbell rang, I thought I was going to explode.
I stamped on the power switch for the vacuum cleaner and strode to the door, flinging it open with enough force to bend the metal door stop. "What the hell do you want?"
The woman standing on the doorstep just stared at me for a moment, blinking her perfectly mascara-ed eyes at me. "Hello, sir. I'm looking for the lady of the house."
"She's not here." I barked. "She left for Acapulco two weeks ago and I haven't seen her since."
"Oh. I see." She paused for a moment. "Well, my name's Aubrey Simmons and I sell … "
"Yeah, I know what you sell. I've seen you guys in your pink Cadillacs, tooling around town."
"Then you know that we make good products."
"Lady, I don't give a fuck what you make. Now if you will excuse me, I have a house to clean."
"Please, sir." The sadness in her voice made me pause. "I haven't sold anything today and I really need a sale. Can I make a bargain with you?"
I looked her up and down for a moment. She was short, about 5' 2", probably weighed no more than 100 pounds soaking wet and had dark blue eyes that had me leaning closer to find where the color ended and the pupil began. "What kind of
bargain
are we talking about?"
Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment and she offered me a shaky smile. "I'll help you clean the house if you'll buy fifty dollars worth of products from me."
"You'll help me clean if I buy products from you?"
She opened the screen door and stepped in, setting her briefcase down. "If you have a clean pair of shorts and a shirt that I can change into, I'll get started."
"You're serious?"
Aubrey took off her pink suit jacket, putting her fisted hands on her hips, her slight Southern twang sliding off her tongue. "Try me."