Pippa held out Jennie's hands with her own outstretched arms whilst studying her from head to toe. "Very professional in a sexy way," she declared with a devilish grin, "go get him and zap him between the eyes!"
Jennie laughs. "You're mad! I'm not after anyone, honest."
"Give me a break," said Pippa, "for the last six months you have dressed for work like an old prude and suddenly today you are wearing a mini-skirt up to your ass?"
"We are not all like you," Jennie replied teasingly, "you were with me when I bought it and...if I remember correctly...you chose it!"
Fighting back Pippa said, "That's irrelevant. I'm gonna give you a call at lunchtime and see what you're up to and check you out," she winked.
They kissed each other on the cheek and bid each other a pleasant day as Jennie left the apartment for work.
And as Jennie sat on the downtown train on her journey she reflected on the chance luck she had been given. She was an upstate girl, new to the city and knew nothing about city life. She had responded to the advertisement on the internet - "Young and feisty girl seeks similar to share accommodation in suburbs."
Jennie and Pippa exchanged emails and photographs until they trusted each other enough to make that first tentative phone call. They bonded instantly. Jennie was now ready to accept the promotion to the city that she had been offered within the company.
Jennie suddenly burst into laughter as she thought about the first time that Pippa had taken her out to show her the city nightlife. She took no notice as the other travellers on the train looked at her strangely, almost as if she was insane.
They had been walking home when a flasher jumped out in front of them. Jennie's first instincts were to turn and run. She had heard of them but had never seen one before and had no idea how to tackle the situation. Then Pippa spoke to him; and within seconds his flashing candle was reduced to a floppy wick. And from that night on Jennie trusted Pippa implicitly. She was not only street-wise but knew the score and how to handle it.
Arriving at work Jennie settled into the office that she shared with her boss. But today she was alone in the room on the 25th floor as he was out of town on business. "The working day would be the same," she chuckled to herself, "but with an added dimension."
For Pippa had been correct in her assumption, Jennie was making an attempt at catching the eye of Mark in the accounts department. She didn't want to reveal this to Pippa in case she failed. She had heard on the grapevine that he didn't have a girl and, with her boss away she could wear the uniform of ritual courtship.