Carolyn Lord knew it was going to a bad day the moment Mr. Brandon, the senior law partner, walked into her corner cubical at Nine that Friday morning. He was one of the original founders of the law firm where she worked for the last five years as a paralegal secretary, Brandon, Fields, and O'Connor. In his late seventies, he now spent most of his time wandering aimlessly around the various offices, and talking of old times at every opportunity. He had been quite good in a courtroom in his day, but his courtroom days were long past. At the moment he was parked in the chair located in front of Carolyn's desk, a very bad sign indeed, because that meant her morning was just about shot.
It was obvious that the old man had taken a liking towards her and was always looking for an excuse to be around her. Not that he tried to get "fresh" or anything; she had problems enough with the younger partners and associates about things like that. No, Carolyn was sure that Mr. Brandon was far too much a gentleman of the old school to try anything like that, or even think of it for that matter. He just liked to talk to her for extended periods of time and that always played havoc with her well-planned work schedule.
She liked the old gentleman and wouldn't think of hurting his feelings by asking him to leave, even if he wasn't the senior partner. So, as Mr. Brandon droned on, Carolyn put an attentive look on her face and tried to sneak in as much work as possible. She thought about her main concern for the day, getting ready for a major client conference this Saturday (it figures). Then there was her upcoming evening with Tiffany. She couldn't decide which was going to be worse: being at work on yet another weekend or going to a party with Tiffany.
Carolyn Lord first met the 18-year old Tiffany Goodbody when she appeared as if by magic in front of her desk six weeks ago. Tiffany was part of a freshman job orientation program the firm had arranged with a local college, and Carolyn, to her horror, had been designated as her sponsor. Her schedule was busy enough without having to baby-sit someone.
It did not help matters that Carolyn disliked her at first sight. She was everything Carolyn was not: a classic American beauty, outgoing and friendly as anything, undisciplined, and stupid as a rock. If she wasn't a cheerleader she should have been, with a full head of long, golden hair, innocent big blue eyes and pert, athletic figure. To cap it off, her family was extremely wealthy. She was driving a car (18th birthday present) that, Carolyn noted sourly, would have taken her years to save up for, if ever.
Carolyn Lord was a 30 year-old, olive-skinned Greek beauty who was from a poor family, with parents who were much older than others of her age group. She had straight blue-black hair, which she carefully maintained at just-above shoulder length with a slight inward curl at the ends. She was a delectable 5'6", with a firm 34C bust and a beautiful body which she took care of with the same amount of care that she used when taking care of her car or her apartment, and for the same reasons. It was hers, it was needed, and that was all that mattered. She had worked herself through legal secretary school, was extremely intelligent, and always maintained an impeccable appearance. She also maintained a very cool if not icy reserve that was very hard for anyone, man or woman, to break through, although many tried. As a paralegal, she was considered by those in the firm to be the best they had ever seen, and quite indispensable to their operations.
Tiffany, after a few weeks at the firm, began to hang around with another of the paralegals who worked there, a young, full-figured Latin girl named Maria. Carolyn had a problem with Maria. She had been with the firm for only a year, and Carolyn had been her sponsor as well. From the beginning Maria had gone out of her way to cultivate a friendship with the reserved Carolyn, which, after several months, Carolyn had finally responded to and they spent time together at the occasional weekend lunch or movie. Carolyn returned to her old ways, however, when Maria made a certain invitation to her. It was then that Carolyn ended their friendship. Maria had told her that she was part of an unusual group of friends who met every Friday for a weekend of "girl-games", and that she had told them all about her, and now Carolyn had a standing invitation to join them when ever she wanted. Carolyn thanked her and, outside of work, tried to avoid the young woman as much as possible from then on. She wasn't really sure what games Maria was talking about, but Carolyn wanted no part of them, whatever they were. She always thought it best to maintain a certain distance from those around her and this incident just served to confirm what she already knew to be true.
But now there was Tiffany. She of course couldn't wait to join Maria's group of party animals, and was in fact going to the group's "initiation" this Friday. It was a party at an apartment belonging to a Japanese exchange student named Tamiko Suzuki. But for Carolyn, the maddening thing about it was-- Tiffany didn't want to go alone. She wanted Carolyn to go with her! She told Carolyn that she was really a shy person (Ha!), and had trouble meeting new people. She needed Carolyn along for moral support. Not normally a vindictive woman, Carolyn Lord took pity on the insecure teenager and, against her better judgment, agreed to attend at least a short part of the party with her.
She looked at Mr. Brandon still talking away in front of her, and she sighed. It was going to be a very long day.
*****
It was 6:30 that Friday evening when a reluctant Carolyn Lord finally arrived with a very nervous Tiffany Goodbody at the modest-looking apartment complex where they were to spend the evening. Inside the lobby, Carolyn was surprised to see that it really was a very plush affair, complete with health spas, pool, recreation rooms and security. Not bad for an exchange student, she thought.
As they waiting to gain permission from the front desk for entry into the building, Carolyn noticed that all of the people she saw there passing through the lobby were rather young, at most in their 30s, and rather expensively dressed. She was also surprised to notice that, despite the heavy lobby traffic going past the front desk, there weren't any men. It was only women whom she saw walking past her. Even the staff, including security, were all women as well. How strange.
They quickly gained permission for entry and proceeded up the silent elevator to the 10th floor. After walking down the thickly carpeted hallway, they finally came to the door of the apartment. Carolyn, naturally, had to do the knocking.
The door was opened by a short but very attractive young Japanese girl with long black hair cascading down her back. Carolyn was surprised to find the girl was wearing a very short silk robe and not much else. We must be early, she thought. She's not even dressed yet.
"Con Nichi Wa," the girl said, bowing slightly at the waist. "Good evening and welcome. I am Tamiko. You must be Tiffany and her good friend Carolyn. We've been waiting for you. Please come in."
"Thank you," Carolyn finally said, to cover for Tiffany's nervous silence.
They entered the large apartment to find the party in full swing. It was evidently a theme party of some kind, because everyone seemed to be wearing just very colorful (and brief!) bathing suits. Everyone that is, except Carolyn and Tiffany. Carolyn had gone to Tiffany's dorm directly from her job at the law firm, so she was still in one of her office suits. Tiffany was in her usual tight jeans and pullover.
Carolyn felt ridiculously overdressed. Tiffany had not said a thing about the proper attire. If she had known it was going to be like this, she probable wouldn't have come at all. Well, she'd just leave even earlier than she had planned. She gave it an hour, and that's all. She wondered if the scatter-brained Tiffany had known about the bathing suits.
They were soon surrounded by nine semi-dressed young women, including Maria from the firm. All present were greatly excited about their arrival and greeted them warmly. After looking at all the bare golden flesh in front of her, Carolyn noticed with grim amusement that, at 30, she was definitely the oldest woman in the room. And, after watching how everyone was dressed (or rather not dressed) it was clear that she was also the only responsible adult as well (although even the oldest girl there didn't look much over 20)! It was just one more thing to thank Tiffany for on Monday.
After introductions had been exchanged, Carolyn found out to her dismay that it was in fact a "pool party" (even though the pool was located in the basement of the building and the apartment was on the 10th floor), and that the pool had been reserved for their exclusive use later on that evening, from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. But pool or no pool, the girls were all quite insistent that bathing suits were obligatory for tonight's festivities.
