by BrettJ © 2012
Tom Porter watched as Carla Bennett closed out another sale. Most of the time, if Carla focused her attention on a client, she made the sale. This was her second today. She was always friendly and engaging and had built up a bond with several of the customers at Porter Chrysler. She had more repeat business than any salesperson working there. At times, Tom wondered why his father hadn't sold the business to her or at least made her a junior partner.
Tom observed as she smiled at the young couple. He could tell that they were newlyweds and that this was likely their first major purchase together. Carla wasn't steering them towards one of the higher-end cars with a lot of add-ons. It was one of the things he admired about her, customers could trust her. She had a great sense of people. Carla could look at a customer, size them up and get a feel for what they wanted. She never took advantage of anyone. If this young couple would not have been able to afford a new car, Carla would have sold them a pre-owned vehicle. If there wasn't something at their dealership she thought was right for them, she would send them somewhere else or suggest they look around. She went the extra mile to arrange financing and very few of her clients missed payments. Tom considered Carla the biggest asset that Porter Chrysler had and her pay reflected that.
It didn't hurt matters a bit that he'd been head-over-heels about Carla since she was 15 and he was 20. Even when she was 12, he thought she was pretty. She was bright and personable and had a good work ethic. She was their papergirl and he often bought her an ice cream if it was hot. When he idiot date canceled on her senior prom, he escorted her. Dancing with her was a wonderful night and Tom was sure glad his parents had insisted that all 3 of their kids should know how to dance. "You'll thank us someday," Marie Porter had told her kids. All three of them had done just that.
Watching Carla move was an experience in itself. She was 5'8" of grace in motion, sexy but not consciously so. She knew she was pretty and that fact was undeniable. Carla had begun working for Don Porter two years after high school and was making as much money as some of the top Porter salesmen in a just a bit over 2 years. At first, some of the guys resented it and complained to Don that it was her flirty manner of dress. Don had countered that yes, Carla dressed like a girl and loved being feminine. Her blouses showed a bit of cleavage, her skirts a nice bit of leg – but nothing too extreme. She wore heels and she smelled nice and always was made up nicely. Carla knew that she was eye candy – but that's where she had you.
Early on, some of her customers underestimated Carla. She had a good eye for people and she knew her cars. If a customer tried to pull a fast one on Carla, she caught them and gently worked things back to her advantage. She never paid too much for a trade-in but also had done her homework and had a good sense of what another dealership might offer. Most times, she made the sale. She grudgingly earned her co-workers respect and if she had too much on her plate, she shared the wealth and passed off the sale to another salesperson. Again, it didn't hurt that Carla was gorgeous and had a kind word for everyone.
Just 2 years earlier, Tom had entered the business. His father surprised him by retiring at 57 and offering Tom the chance to buy him out over a period of time. "You need a change, son," Don had said, slapping his son on the back. "You're stagnating in that office and we both know it."
It was true. He now hated all the day to day bullshit of office work and his relationship with Betsy, a co-worker, had ended badly. He had enough in the bank to buy in to the business, although he knew little about cars in the early days. "Stick close to Larry and especially to Carla," Don had told his son. "Larry's been with me for 40 years, since I joined with your grandfather. As for Carla – I doubt that will bother you too much, eh son?" He laughed. Don had never missed the way his eldest son felt about Carla Bennett.
Tom liked the business and he found customers liked him and accepted him as Don's replacement. He earned their trust and never pulled the "boss" card when Carla gave him advice. In truth, he looked forward to their "business lunches". Over the past several months, those had changed a bit – he thought.
Carla sighed one leisurely afternoon over lunch. "Boss," she asked him after finishing a mouthful of her club sandwich "Are you ever going to ask me out on a date?"
During work, Carla was all business but at lunch, she had flirted every so often. Tom had chalked it up to years of familiarity; he'd known her for several years.
"I didn't want to screw anything up at work, you know, my being your boss and everything," Tom smiled as he had another mouthful of his pizza.
"You didn't hire me, your dad did that and I earn every nickel I make," Carla told him in a matter-of-fact manner. "No one there would believe I was doing anything wrong if we dated. Haven't you noticed that I'm interested?"
"Uh – no," he chuckled nervously.
"You always were a bit obtuse," Carla laughed with him. "Even when I was 12, I had a thing for you. When we have lunch, hasn't it occurred to you that I'm not quite business-like in my attire? I change into my stilettos. Sometimes I hike my skirt up. I unbutton my blouse a little more. What does a girl have to do Tommy, sit in your lap?"
"Well, that definitely would get my attention," Tom smiled. To his surprised, that's exactly what Carla did. A few people in the diner chuckled.
"I know you've had a thing for me for years and if you are the smart man I think you are, you will ask me to dinner tomorrow night," Carla said to him. Then she whispered in his ear "Not only that, if we go out, I promise to wear something that will make this look like a nun's habit."
Tom's parents hadn't raised any stupid children and his father had told him to listen to Carla. He took the pretty blonde back to work and felt in a very good mood the rest of the day. He decided that he'd try to show her a lovely evening tomorrow night and see if the magic he had felt all of these years was real.
When he picked her up in his classic Chrysler 300L, he thought she was more impressed by his car than his new Brooks Brothers suit. "Why didn't you ever tell me you owned this?" Carla raved as she walked all around the dark blue convertible. "This thing is a chick magnet," she teased.
The only chick Tom cared about was scoping out his car. "I did all the restoration myself, although my uncle Bill kept it in great shape," Tom told her. "I also have a 1965 Newport but I'm only 25% through the work on that."
"You're going to let me help you with that," Carla insisted as she got into the passenger's side. "I love this car but I should say the owner looks very nice in his new suit."
"We both look great; did they have to pour you into that dress?" He smiled.
"Almost," Carla smiled as she slid into the seat. One side of the black evening dress had a nice high slit. Tom could have looked at her legs for hours and knew for a fact she was in stockings. She sure had the legs for them. "Where to, good looking?"
"I thought we'd hit the Ali Baba and have something decadent like Chateaubriand, if you don't think it'll be too much," he said as he got the car in gear.
"Not at all, I love good food," Carla beamed and put her hand on his knee. "I've been waiting for this date for 10 years, we could have gone to Pizza Hut and I wouldn't have complained."
"I'll keep that in mind for future reference, but I haven't been out on a fancy date in ages," Tom smiled as they pulled close to the restaurant. Betsy felt uncomfortable if he spent too much but Carla didn't seem to mind. He gave the valet a $20 and told him to take care of the car. Walking in with Carla on his arm, Tom felt like a million bucks. Everyone fussed over them and a few people walked over to say how much they liked the cars Carla had sold them.
