Free Chocolate Girls with Golden Hair by Carrie Carr Page B

thought
that he would. She had successfully captured the attention of
Camina's prized possession and that was reward in
itself.
    The excitement soon died down and
everyone vanished and returned to work, all except Michelle.
Michelle seemed to still be in shock by Bianca's new
persona.
    Bianca plucked her compact mirror from
her purse and studied herself. She then twirled the ends of her
hair around her finger as if to doll herself up. Next, she added
another coat of her glossy lipstick.
    All the while, Michelle continually
studied her as if Bianca were a science project. "Since you weren't
here yesterday, I'd like to take you to lunch for your
birthday."
    Bianca was so wrapped up in the
reflection of herself in her compact mirror that she didn't hear
Michelle.
    "Bianca, did you hear me?"
    Bianca's face was locked with the
compact mirror as she wiped the smudged eyeliner from her face with
her pinky finger. "I'm sorry, something about lunch. Of
course."
    "And don't worry. Camina isn't coming
with us this time."
    It was as if Michelle knew of Bianca's
plan to never have lunch with Camina again. But things were
different now. Bianca was no longer intimidated by Camina's crass
words.
    "She can come with us. I can handle
Camina."
    "Are you sure?" Michelle asked
her.
    "Trust me. I can handle
Camina."
    "Well. I better get back to work."
Michelle was about to walk away when Bianca called to
her.
    "Does your friend still want to meet
me?"
    "I'm sure he does. I'll get back with
you."
    "Don't take too long," Bianca said
while she fiddled with her hair.
    After a short silence, Michelle crept
away silently.
     
     
    Barely at her desk long enough to
answer the phones, Bianca made three trips to the ladies room to
fuss over her hair, which needed to always sit perfectly on her
head. When she returned to her desk, the documents in her in-box
from her boss were piling up. This was a telltale sign that it was
time to do some work. After all, that was what they paid her
for.
    Most of the morning had elapsed so
quickly, and the only thing that Bianca successfully completed was
booting up her computer and positioning her desk radio to the
perfect station.
    Finally, Bianca got around to revising
one of the five documents from her in-box. Right in the midst of
printing the document, she glanced up and saw her boss, Lillian,
standing at her desk. Lillian was a chunky woman who always wore
black, no doubt, to hide the bulge that lurked underneath her
expensive dresses.
    "Do you have that letter I left for you
this morning?"
    Bianca failed to see Lillian all
morning. She found it interesting that Lillian had yet to
acknowledge her new appearance, but Bianca couldn't concern herself
with such minor occurrences at the moment. She was more concerned
about the whereabouts of the letter in question.
    "Letter?" Bianca questioned.
    "I left a tape for you to transcribe in
your chair."
    Bianca frantically fished for the
missing tape. She searched underneath the scattered papers on her
desk and through the documents in her in-box. Then mysteriously on
the floor, she spotted the mini-cassette tape and felt as small as
the ballpoint pen on her desk. She immediately reached down and
picked it up. "This must be it."
    Lillian exhaled what seemed to be a
breath of frustration and a tinge of annoyance. "You think you
could get that to me right away?"
    "Of course."
    When Lillian disappeared into her
office, Bianca quickly transcribed the tape. So preoccupied with
her new look, new hair and flattery from everyone, she forgot why
she was there. In her mind, the morning seemed more like a social
festivity than a workplace.
    Upon completing the letter for her
boss, Bianca delivered it to Lillian's office. She then grabbed her
purse from her desk drawer and made another famous trip to the
ladies room to see what her new double-breasted pantsuit would look
like without the jacket. Not to mention it was time for another
coat of her favorite glossy lipstick, which she adored