Prologue
"You understand, Mr. Fredericks, that both you
and
your wife will have to sign the release forms," I said, using my best professional voice.
He was one of those men that just exudes power and authority. As he should have been. He was, after all, the Regional Vice-President of Seven Boring Things for a Fortune 50 company. But this was my domain and, after all, he had come to me.
But he just smiled and said, "she'll sign. I'll sign right now if you want me to."
I grinned and said, "all right, then. Would you like the tour?"
He stood and offered his hand.
"Absolutely," he said, as we shook, sealing the deal.
I picked up the telephone handset and punched the button to connect me to my secretary.
"Send her in for the tour," I said.
The door to my office opened before I put the handset back, and Jeanine stepped in, looking like she had just stepped off the set of the
Donna Reed Show
or, maybe,
Leave it to Beaver
. She was in a calf-length dress with an A-line skirt, and a wide belt cinching her waist tightly giving her a bit of an hourglass figure in spite of her matronly, 50-something body. The dress had a notched collar, a nice touch from the 1950s I thought. The dress was pink with a delicate pattern. Her pumps had a moderate heel, three inches or so, that did good things for her legs and her walk, and I noted that the seams of her nylons were ruler-straight. She had a simple strand of pearls necklace, her nice lady's watch, and her engagement and wedding ring set.
Her makeup was perfect of course. A tasteful eyeshadow, delicately arched eyebrows, a hint of eyeliner, and scarlet lips.
Her nails were done in matching scarlet, and manicured to a nice oval shape.
Her hair was a light cap of curls without a hair out of place.
"Jeanine, this is Mr. Fredericks, Mr. Fredericks, Jeanine," I said, making introductions formally.
She stepped to him, as she had been trained to do, eyes suitably downcast, and took his hand.
"Very pleased to meet you," she said, formally, again reflecting our training.
Fredericks smiled. That was usually the reaction when a potential client saw the results of our program.
"Jeanine," I said, using only her first name as we always did here at the school, "what classes are in progress right now?"
She thought for a second and said, "housework."
"That's a good one," I said, "take Mr. Fredericks to the classroom please."
She moved to Fredericks, taking his arm with both of her hands, looking up at him with a properly adoring expression, and said, "come with me, please, dear."
His smile spread.
"How long have you been here, Jeanine?" he asked.
She looked up at him, giving the impression that nothing existed in the world except him and that nothing was more important than pleasing him.
"I graduated from the 12-week course yesterday and my husband will pick me up on Saturday," she said, again giving the impression that being certain to answer him was the most important thing in the world right then. Her back was arched slightly, an almost subliminal offer. Her lips were slightly parted and her eyes never left his.