The door opened to the smoker's room, my head immediately went up to see who walked in and much to my delight it was her. She walked over to her group and sat down. Pulling a cigarette from her pocket she placed it between her lips, with her other hand she deftly flicked her Zippo, lit her cigarette and inhaled deeply. Sliding down in her chair stretching her long legs she tipped back her head and exhaled slowly.
I loved to watch her smoke. There was something almost erotic about the whole process. It wasn't a bad girl thing, more like a European thing. When she spoke her voice had a slight accent I couldn't quite place. I wasn't sitting close enough to hear the conversation and even though our departments work hand in hand I had never been given the opportunity to speak to her directly.
In the six months that I’ve been with the company, small as it is, I had never been able to get close to her. We were a specialty company that designed costumes and period pieces for theaters and promotional events. She headed the design team; I worked on the team that sewed the final product. The job was no more than an apprenticeship, but it was great. Everyone was fun to be around, even when there was a disagreement it was handled with creative criticism and humor.
One afternoon I finally had my chance to meet her face to face. I had to take a cape I was working on to meet with final approval; it was her design so I would have to go directly to her office.
She was sitting at her drawing table when I knocked on her doorframe.
"Hi, Come in please. Is that the cape?" Her voice was deeper that I had expected, almost sultry.
"Yes, I need to ask you about..." Suddenly her phone rang.
"Excuse me one moment," she said,” Yes? I'm finishing the last one now. Yes. You'll have it tomorrow." She then grabbed a file and flipped through it giving details to the caller.
I took the time to look around her office. It was very eclectic, with drawings on the wall, or any flat surface for that matter. Her desk had an array of pencils, markers, inks as well as fabric swatches, coffee cups and a large jar of candy. Not quite what I expected but sort of offbeat and artsy.
She looked at me and held up her index finger indicating that she would be just a moment.
I smiled and nodded back.
She hung up the phone and turned to me. "I apologize for that, the sales department tends to get a bug up their ass every now and then so I'm forced to be complacent against my own will. You swear that they actually do all the work. Now what can I do for you?"
Her smile distracted me and I stuttered out, "I..Um..I have the cape and..." Then the phone rang again. Rolling her eyes, she let out a sigh and picked up the phone. "Hello." Her voice was tinged with aggravation. "You're kidding me! Alright, I'll get them." She slammed down the phone, rising from her chair, she instructed me to drop the cape and follow her. "I have to get a few dresses from storage and I need your help." I threw the cape over a chair and followed her out the door, down the hall and into the elevator.
“It seems the powers that be have a new client and they want to see a sample of our work. I wish they would let us do some sketches first, but they do things the way they feel will make the sale.”
The elevator paused and the door opened to the basement. I had never been in this part of the building before and I could see why no one else would want to go down there. It wasn’t so much dark as it was maze-like.
“Is this your first time to the “Labyrinth?” she asked. “Yes, I didn’t even know this place existed.” I was hoping she wouldn’t notice how nervous I was, not because of the basement, but because I was alone with her for the first time.
“Don’t be frightened, we have yet to have anyone go missing down here. “ She looked at me and smiled. “You’re a quiet one aren’t you? “
“Not really, I just didn’t expect to go on an adventure into the unknown today.”
“Ah, you have a sense of humor. Good. I hate serious people. I find them to be draining. Well, here we are.” She opened the door to a small room and we walked inside. “Oh by the way don’t let the door…” Behind us came a slam and a click. “…Close. Shit!”
“Is there something wrong? “ I asked.
“Yes, we are locked in here. Damn. “ She was obviously pissed. “Damn, damn, damn. I’ve told them to have this door lock fixed.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. What do we do now?” I felt like an idiot.
“We are stuck here until someone realizes that we are missing.” She walked over and kicked the door. “The worst part is that I forgot my cigarettes!”
“I have mine. I smoke menthol if that’s alright?” I pulled my pack out of my pocket and offered her one.
She looked at me for a moment and then smiled. “Menthol is fine. Sorry about the outburst. It’s not your fault, I should have said something earlier.” She took one of my cigarettes and leaned in to let me light it for her, and then I lit one for myself. “Thanks. Well, since it looks like we are going to be cell mates,” she stuck out her hand, “ I’m Luce.”
I took her hand and squeezed it back, “I’m Jess. Is Luce short for something?”
“Yes, Lucine. It’s Armenian. Mama is Armenian and Papa is French. I guess we should make ourselves comfortable, Jess.” We found an old couch that was a prop covered with boxes. We removed them and sat down.
“So Jess, how do you like working here?” She exhaled in that slow, sexy way that I loved. I had to control myself. “It’s great. Everyone is so nice.”
“You are one of Tom’s girls, right?”
“Yes. He’s a great teacher but a little…” She finished my sentence. “He’s a big poof! It’s okay, I tell him that all the time. He can be a bigger bitch than I am but he is a master at his craft. Your very lucky to train under him.”
“I’m hoping someday to get into costume restoration and perhaps work in a museum.” I was beginning to feel more relaxed around Luce. She was known to be very intimidating and temperamental. I learned to walk past her office carefully as she was known to throw things out the door that displeased her.
“Well you’re definitely taking the right direction” She shifted her position to face me better. We talked a little bit about each other. I found that she lived most of her life in Europe but the States was now her home, she even became a citizen.
“Tell me Jess, are you seeing anyone?” The question took me by surprise.
“No not at this time. I spend a lot of time here or at school. Pathetic isn’t it?” I felt a little embarrassed when I heard the truth about my life coming out of my mouth. She must think I’m a big loser.
“It’s good to be dedicated, but you must also make time for yourself. You don’t want to find yourself a fifty year old spinster with a bunch of cats in little outfits that you’ve created for them now do you?”
“No your right.” I laughed back. “ I should carve out some time for myself. I’m still new to the city and I don’t know a lot of people. I know that’s not an excuse.”