Free One Bad Day (One Day) by Edie Hart

Chapter One
    Tessa hurried from the parking lot to the hotel, taking tiny, deliberate steps in her two-inch, black, strappy stilettos. She hated being late and really needed this job.
    She stumbled and caught herself before she fell. She knew she shouldn’t have worn these shoes. She’d left the apartment in a hurry and figured since Irene had her working the check-in table the shoes would be fine. And, they were really cute.
    Tessa rushed through the hotel’s automatic doors and headed for the Light Bulb Convention check-in table. Who would have guessed there was a whole convention dedicated to light bulbs? But, according to her boss, Irene, sales reps from all over the country came together to see the latest and greatest in light bulb packaging and technology.
    Irene waved her over with a smile. “There you are. I was starting to worry you wouldn’t make it.”
    “Traffic,” Tessa gasped, trying to catch her breath.
    “I need a huge favor from you.” Irene put her arm around her and gave her a tight squeeze.”Claudia is supposed to be the mascot and she hurt her ankle.”
    Tessa noticed a tall, willowy blonde seated at the table. “Okaaay.”
    “You’ll have to wear the mascot costume for the convention and work a little longer than originally scheduled. But that means more money. And all you have to do is walk around.” Irene gave her a hopeful smile. “You don’t need to talk or anything.”
    “Um...” A mascot? What kind of mascot would a light bulb convention have?
    “I’ll give you a bonus on top of the extra hours.”
    Tessa thought about the stack of unpaid parking tickets in her glove box. “I’ll do it.”
    “Great! Claudia will take you to the locker room so you can change into the costume.” Irene waved to get a nearby waiter’s attention. “I’ll come by and check on you later,” she said, walking off toward the waiter.
    Claudia limped over to Tessa. “Bring your stuff,” she said, gesturing to Tessa’s giant bag that she’d looped over one shoulder. “You can hang it up in the locker room.”
    Tessa followed a hobbling Claudia. They shuffled their way through the hotel atrium and into the gym. Passing the workout equipment, they headed for the locker room.
    Tessa set her bag on a long bench and hung up her coat. She looked over at Claudia’s bandaged foot. “How did you hurt it?”
    “Oh, I twisted it on the stairs this morning.” Without looking at Tessa, she grabbed a bag off a hook and rummaged around inside it. She pulled out a pair of nylons, white gloves, a tank top, miniskirt, and a pair of white boy shorts. “Here’s what you need to wear. There’s a big light bulb head that goes over everything. I’ll show you once you’re dressed. Thank goodness you’re wearing heels,” she said, looking at Tessa’s feet. “We can make the costume work, but shoes would be harder.” She handed Tessa the clothes, pushed her in a dressing room, and pulled the curtain shut.
    Tessa stood on the other side of the curtain and looked at the tiny outfit. When Irene had said mascot, Tessa thought maybe a cute kitty cat or bunny costume. She had no idea the mascot would be dressed like a bulbous Rockette.
    “Hurry up!” Claudia called out. “The convention will be starting soon.”
    Tessa hadn’t even had time for her usual morning coffee before Irene had called her, begging her to come in as soon as possible. Now she was standing in a locker room stall, trying to figure out how the hell she was supposed to squeeze into a pair of hot pants. She could forget about sneaking one of the bear claws she spied at the buffet table.
    Tessa quickly removed her clothes and put on the ones Claudia had given her. Because of her short frame, she had to roll up the nylons to make them fit. The shorts covered her ass—barely—and the skirt covered the shorts, ending just below her rump. Shit! She looked like a hooker.
    The curtain rustled moments before Claudia pushed it open, grabbed Tessa,