Dancing Queen: 20

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New responsibilities at work

Ballroom dancing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, but I didn’t realise just how important it would become in shaping my future until I had to take the place of one of my bosses following an accident.


Dancing Queen


A novel


by Louise Anne Smithson

Copyright© 2013 Louise Anne Smithson
All Rights Reserved.

Image Credit: Picture from Wikimedia Commons. Free for commercial and personal use with restriction under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported licence.


 

Chapter 20 New duties

Sarah seemed to be happy but not particularly surprised when I announced on Monday morning that I was willing to accept the additional responsibilities offered, and straightaway asked me to deal with the Johnsons when they came in that afternoon. Rob, had had to go out to meet a client first thing and so she told him later. By this time the others were all out of the office so he asked to have a word with me in the back office whilst Sarah dealt with anyone who came in to the shop.

‘I’m glad that you’ve accepted our offer, Michelle. I believe that Sarah has mentioned, we would like you to take over as liaison between the vendors and purchasers for the Houghton Regis sale.’

‘Yes, I’m looking forward to it and will be seeing the purchasers when they come in later today.’

‘You will also have to deal with any issues raised by the vendors’ legal department.

‘I know, I understand from Helen that the best way is to get on friendly terms with their secretaries, that way you will tend to get things done more quickly,’ I replied.

‘I hope you don’t mind remaining as Michelle whilst it is all happening. The vendors are important clients who could give us more business which might keep us going during the recession. I want to give them the impression that we are an efficient company with a ‘professional’ staff.

‘So you think that Michelle is likely to be more ‘professional’ at her job than Michael was at his?’ I asked, teasing a little.

He looked a little embarrassed.

‘Well you said it, not me. I’m sure that Mike would have grown into the job in time, but somehow Michelle seems more ready to take on additional responsibilities. The main thing though is that I wouldn’t want them dealing with Michelle one week and then Michael the next.’

‘I understand, and you don’t need to worry Rob. It has been my decision to remain as Michelle; nobody has been pressuring me and it isn’t only because of work. I feel that Alan and I have done quite well so far with the demonstrations. I’ve had a long talk with Louise who would be more than happy for me to take over responsibility for her dances as well, so I would need to remain as a girl until early December, in any event.’

He smiled.

‘You and Alan haven’t just done ‘quite well’, you have both been brilliant and make an excellent partnership, so I’m pleased to hear that you are now offering to take over the remaining dances. I had wondered whether Sarah had strong-armed Louise into taking them over in the first place,’ he replied.

‘As she did with me,’ I replied smiling. ‘But please don’t worry. Of course I am sorry about Sarah’s accident but in the event I’m quite happy with the way things have worked out for me. In fact my decision to continue may even give Alan and I a chance to earn ourselves a little extra money before Christmas, if the Bristol group decide they want us to repeat our demonstration for them.’

‘What you do at weekends is up to you, but I think that you should also begin getting out of the office a little more to see how things are done. To begin with this will probably involve you going out with myself, Richard or Helen until we can send you out on your own.

‘What about my existing clerical duties?’

Sarah will do some of them as she is going to be tied to the office for the next few weeks. We can also leave some tasks for the weekend staff, but I hope we will all muck in and do whatever needs to be done.’

‘Yes, of course. I’ll be happy to do so.’

‘Sarah, Helen and I are all going to be in the office tomorrow, so how would you feel about going out with Richard for the day? He has to survey a house and some farm buildings near Leighton Buzzard and could do with an assistant to hold the tape and take notes. It will give you more of an idea of what he does.’

‘I would enjoy that very much.’

‘You may need to dress in a trouser suit and some sensible shoes, if you have some.’

‘I’m sure I can borrow one, and I keep a pair of flat heels at work in case I ever need to drive the car,’ I replied.

~o~O~o~

I told Mum about the latest developments at work over dinner that evening, and she offered to loan me her dark grey trouser suit which she said would be equally suitable for a girl my age to wear to work.

‘So who is this Richard?’ she asked.

‘He’s the guy you saw with my friend Helen on Saturday, the one who made a video of us dancing. He’s a qualified surveyor.’

‘Oh yes, he didn’t say much.’

‘I suppose not, but he is an excellent cameraman.’

‘I’m pleased that you’re being given more opportunities and responsibilities.

‘Yes; me too.’

‘They must think highly of you, after all you are still quite young to be representing the company.’

‘I guess so,’ I replied, conscious that Helen had been twenty-one before she’d been given such responsibilities, but I suppose Sarah’s accident had created an unexpected opening for me, albeit a temporary one.

Mum now seemed anxious to move on to another subject.

‘As we’ve finished dinner we can sort out your costumes for the next demonstration, if you like, Michelle.’

‘Alright,’ I said ‘I was wondering if you were planning to do so.’

‘You will find my black flapper-style dress hanging in your wardrobe. Why don’t you put it on and I’ll go and get the other accessories?’

It was a three-quarter length, sleeveless dress and so it was just as well that I now defuzzed my arms and armpits as a matter of course. The dress had a tassled hem, and 1920's art deco style beadwork, front and back. It had rather a low neck and I wouldn’t have been able to wear it without my latest breast forms, which I was now quite used to wearing. I put on the dress together with Mum’s black tap shoes, and she arrived with a matching headpiece with a feather, a feather boa and a long black bead necklace, which I also put on. I looked at myself in the mirror and felt like a character attending one of the The Great Gatsby’s famous parties. I couldn’t wait to show off the outfit to Alan and the other dancers.

‘The dress comes with a pair of elbow length black gloves, but I doubt if you would want to wear them when you’re dancing.’

‘I suppose I could start off with them, and then get Alan to pull them off for me during the course of the dance,’ I said half in jest.

‘You’re supposed to be dancing the Charleston, not doing a striptease,’ said Mum, fairly primly.

‘Alright, but do you mind if I wear this dress and the accessories to the rehearsal tomorrow night so I can show the others what I have in mind?’

‘Yes, go ahead but make sure it doesn’t get dirty as it is the devil to clean with all that beadwork.’

‘So that is my costume for the Charleston sorted, what do you have in mind for the Tango?’ I asked.

‘Come through to my bedroom, I’ve something to show you.’

Mum opened her wardrobe and took out a dress which she hung on the door so that I could inspect it. I’d not seen it before, or at least I’d only ever seen it in the photograph that Mum showed to me on the first occasion she had met me as Michelle. It was the full length deep carmine red dress which she’d worn when she won her first championship. It was backless, but with a halter-style neck and the front decorated with silver and rhinestones to represent a bird’s feathers. It also came with a matching net underskirt, and two matching floats attached to rhinestone armbands and two rhinestone bracelets. (It is the dress that I’m wearing in the picture attached to this story.)

‘This used to be my favourite dress and has many happy memories for me. I think it should be ideal for you when you dance the Tango.’

‘Wow, Mum, it looks really gorgeous,’ I said.

‘Yes it does and moves well whilst you are dancing as well. Would you like to try it on?’

‘Are you sure that you want me to wear it?’ I asked.

‘Of course I am. Once I stopped dancing for a while when I was pregnant with you I began to put on some weight in my hips and was never able to wear it again. I was intending to alter it but never got round to doing so. I think it should be alright for you to wear, though.’

‘Shall we see whether or not it fits me?’

‘As it is backless you won’t be able to wear a bra but there are bra cups sewn in to the bodice which will keep your boobs under control whilst you are dancing.’

It no longer seemed odd to be discussing my boobs with Mum.

‘Alright,’ I said removing my bra and stepping in to the dress.

‘It might have been made for you and seems apart from the fastening at the back which requires a little attention,’ said Mum. ‘I’ll have to use a safety pin for now but I can easily fix that for you.'

I looked at myself in the full-length mirror but didn’t say anything.

‘I always found the dress was good to dance in, and never hampered my movement in any way,’ she continued. ‘So what do you think?’

‘I think the dress is lovely but the colour is rather bright. Are you sure that it looks alright on me?

‘Yes of course I’m sure. It is called American Rose,’ she replied. ‘If you are going to wear the dress we will have to get you some lipstick and nail varnish to match.’

‘What about shoes?’ I asked.

‘I used to wear this dress with a pair of black high heeled dance shoes,’ she replied.

‘In that case I’ll do the same.’

I retrieved a pair from my room and put them on.

‘What do you think?’

‘They look great. There are some rhinestone grips to wear in your hair and a red ribbon to match the dress.’

She made a few final adjustments and then I got up and again walked over to the full-length mirror.

‘I think you should look pretty eye-catching dancing the Tango in that, what do you think?’ she asked.

‘Oh Mum, I should love to be able to wear it.’

‘Good, I would love you to wear it as well,’ she said smiling. ‘So that is your two costumes for the next demonstration decided.

‘Fine, I’ll take your flapper dress to a rehearsal, but I intend to keep this one a secret until the day of the demonstration and surprise everyone.’

‘Maybe you had better tell Sarah what you are planning.’

‘Alright but it will be a surprise to all of the other dancers.’

~o~O~o~

If I’d learned one thing during the two and a half weeks that I’d been living as Michelle full-time, it was how important the right outfit and grooming were to how a woman feels about herself, whether at home, at work or when she was in some social situation. As Michael, so long as I was wearing clothes that were clean and reasonably smart, that was all that I thought about the matter, but things were somewhat more complicated for Michelle. I now gave thought to what clothes were going to be appropriate in terms of look, style, and practicality. I was now more conscious of how I looked and regularly glanced in the mirror to make sure that my hair was tidy and to check whether my makeup needed refreshing. In some respects this was a bit of a chore, but was more than compensated for by the pleasure one felt at looking good. This was equally true on the dance floor, at work and at home.

~o~O~o~

Next time: Working with Richard.

I am now back from my travels and so I will endeavour to resume weekly postings at weekends. Thanks to Bronwen for editing and to everyone else for comments and kudos which are always appreciated.Louise

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Comments

More fun Dancing

well getting ready to dance. Michelle is really doing welland seems to be loving life good luck to her.

Thank you for another excellent chapter

Goddess Bless you

Love Desiree

I'm enjoying your story

but you've talked a few times about pictures which are supposed to come with the story. Like this installment where you talk about a red dress. But I don't see any photo. Is it my computer? (I use a MAC) Or am I missing something?

Suzij

Pictures

There should be a picture of a couple dancing in the title box with the girl wearing a red dress. They appear OK on my PC and Nexus tablet.
Louise

Story

I love the way the story is going, it's well written. ,I only wish the chapters were a little longer and they were published closer together. I know it's difficult but it is still a wish

Peepsters69

Length of chapters

I'm glad you are enjoying the story. I have experimented with chapter lengths ranging from 1500 to 3500 words in different stories. These are about 2200 words which took me to a natural break in Chapter 1 and I then stuck to that. I try to keep to a weekly posting as I have never been able to finish a story without an imminent deadline hanging over me. It is just the way I seem to work best. I know that some readers prefer to wait until a story is finished before starting to read it.
Louise

I see Michelle's not.....

Thinking about being Michael anymore. Spending the next day out on the road with Richard awed to be interesting. I wonder how he'll handle it. Louise dear, nice chapter hon! Loving Hugs Talia

' So, who is this Richard?' Mothers always know.

Wearing Dad's tuxedo would be sooo boring ! Wow ! Jean has an endless closet, as more and more dresses come out of the closet every day ! Must be a Big Closet!! Bet mom is going to be really emotional when her daughter wows them in her Dress.
Cefin