"Come on in,...Mrs...Lee, is it?"
The young head of HR was seated on a sofa. He pointedly did not offer her a seat.
"Yes sir...Alexandria Lee."
He looked at her appraisingly, his eyes roaming over her body. He licked his lips. "pretty name," he said. "Mrs. Alexandria Lee... You're married, I take it?"
"Thank you, sir, and yes, I am married."
"Tell me what, did your husband think when you told him that you had a job interview in an airport hotel room?" he asked with a somewhat wolfish smile.
"He wished me luck. He said, 'whatever it takes, babe...'"
"Really. Now that IS interesting. 'Whatever it takes...' You know that you are older than any of the other applicants that I have seen today. And you are my last appointment...Just what do you think 'whatever it takes' might mean?"
"I think that it is self-explanatory, sir. When I used to work as a drug rep, sometimes I found it useful to color a bit outside the box...To go the extra mile. I had the highest sales rate in my division."
"Really? Give me an example of the sort of extra mile that used to go..."
"Well, in this very hotel, five years ago I met a Doctor who should have been using our devices. I discovered that he had a certain, ...interest, proclivity, that I was able to exploit. Room 308, if I recall. Right by the elevator. School girls were his thing. If I wore the plaid skirt and knee highs...that was all he could see. He would have signed anything..."
"Hmm. Now we are getting somewhere...tell me did you dress with any special consideration today?"
"Yes sir," she replied softly, looking down at her shoes.
"If I demanded that you hand me your panties would you comply?"
"No sir. I wouldn't be able to do that, sir."
"Oh, so, you would don a plaid skirt to sell a few heart valves, but you won't give up your panties to gain a job..."
"I can't because I am not wearing any, sir."
"Commando? You came to a job interview commando? Oh, you're wearing pantie hose, is that it?"
"No sir. Thigh highs. I just feel more comfortable in thigh highs. And I didn't want any panty lines with this skirt."
"Turn around, let me see. Lift up your jacket... Yessss, I see what you mean...No lines. No stay that way. I like this view. Why don't you take off that jacket, now."
She complied, unbuttoning the three buttons of her blazer. When she slipped the jacket off of her shoulders, she heard a sharp intake of breath, as he realized that she was wearing only a bra underneath it.