Bird calls echo through the early morning air. The sound, too chipper by half, slowly awakens Janine from her alcohol-induced slumber. Her dark auburn hair is tousled, almost a bird's nest in the making. Groggily, she rolls from the bed and staggers to the bathroom to brush her teeth and get ready for the day ahead.
After a brisk shower, she goes back to her bedroom to get dressed. It only takes a few moments to pick out an appropriate outfit. She clothes herself for a day at the office and applies only enough make-up to hide the previous evening's excesses. Pulling her long auburn hair into a high chignon, she grabs her briefcase and purse and then heads out into the early morning sunlight, wishing briefly for a pair of dark glasses as the sun plays havoc with her migraine.
She arrives at work early, almost an hour before anyone else. Luckily, the guards are used to her early morning arrivals and let her in without too much of a hassle. Walking quickly to the elevator, she presses the up button and waits for a few moments before the doors slide open.
She is seated there, at her desk in the reception area, busily typing up a copy of the latest memo when her boss strolls in. Janine misses a few keystrokes, glancing up at the delicious picture presented by the woman. Her boss notices (as usual) and gives Janine a small smile before heading to her office located a few doors away from the main area. Janine's typing slows and then stops as her mind goes, once more, to the long legs and flawless cocoa complexion of Minerva, her boss. Shaking her head, she pulls her mind back from its entertainment and gets back to the tasks ahead.
At 5 o'clock, Janine closes down her desk and prepares for the drive home and another lonely, boring weekend. It is while she is doing one last walk through before leaving, that she hears sobbing, coming from Minerva's office. Janine hesitates, for only a moment, before knocking and opening the door. Minerva is seated behind her desk, crying as if her heart had been broken.
She glanced up as Janine entered and closed the door. Minerva's big brown eyes focus on Janine, tears streaming unchecked down her lovely face. Crossing the room took but a second, and Janine enfolded her boss in a much needed hug. Murmuring softly, she held her and waited for the tears to subside.
With much sniffling, Minerva soon stopped crying and reached for a tissue to mop away the traces of her crying jag. Janine sat calmly and waited for an explanation.
Her boss's soft alto soon filled the quietness of the office.
"It's not that I don't expect such actions from men, you know? It's just that I did not expect them from him. We were engaged, you see, and while I was at lunch today I happened to notice his car in a little café near here. I went to surprise him, as I usually don't take a lunch. Well, needless to say, the surprise was on me. He was in the café with some bleached bimbo, laughing, kissing and giggling. I overheard him telling her that it wouldn't be much longer before they could be together. He just needed to figure out how to let me down easy."
Minerva gulped down another sob, and continued with her story.
"Well, I couldn't let him get away with that, could I? I walked over to his table, dumped his drink into his lap and proceeded to curse him out. The girl was mortified. Until then, I assume she did not realize I was a black woman. He then told me that his parents refused to have me in the family. If he married me, he would be cut out of the family inheritance. What was he to do? This was a question he asked me. As if I even cared! Well, I slapped him and came back to work. I was doing fine until a few moments ago, when he called me. He says we need to talk. What the fuck for?"
Janine listened. It seemed almost like a sign. Finally, though, she spoke up.
"I know we don't know one another that well, Ms. Johnson. After all, I know how the higher- ups feel about employees mixing after hours, especially supervisors and their employees. However, if you would like to talk or just hang out this weekend, give me a call. I don't usually hang out much and I can always use a phone call."
Minerva thought it over and then nodded, slowly. "I would like that, Janine. Maybe I will call you this weekend."
Janine could tell a dismissal when she heard one. With a murmured goodbye, she got up and left Minerva to her musings. Then it was out of the office, after locking up, and back down to her car to head for home.
Janine decided, after taking a well-deserved nap and shower, to get dressed and head out for an evening at her favorite nightclub. She got dressed carefully, pulling on slim black leather pants and a dark red leather bustier. A pair of red 3 inch heels completed her outfit. Putting on make-up seemed too much of a hassle but she decided to liven up the paleness of her lightly tanned skin by adding bronze eye shadow and lip gloss…along with a light dusting of glitter on her shoulders and breasts. The final touch was to let her long auburn hair fall wild and curly, past her shoulders. Giving herself a final once over, she headed for the door. Just then, the phone rang.
"Hello?" she answered, a trifle uneasily.
"Hi, this is Minerva. I was hoping you would still be in. I find that I do not want to face a night alone in this house. I was wondering if maybe you could come by and visit?" The last statement had a hopeful quality to it, almost as if she expected to be turned down.
