The Business Trip, Chapters 1-5
Author’s Note: Commissioned by Nicegent42. Thank you for your pledge, and for all the ideas that are making this story possible!
Chapter One
Elizabeth Harris had a plan.
Though she got the well paying manager job at the tech company thanks to her family’s connections, all of her successes since then had been due to her own talents. Mostly by being a hard ass, and sometimes deceptively exploitative depending on the situation. Leading with a stern demeanor and harsh criticisms for the smallest mistakes was how she believed she needed to act in order to get respect.
Due to her youthful visage, Elizabeth had struggled to be taken seriously for most of her life. Her mother was quite conservative from a fiscal standpoint, and would often make little ‘Beth’ pretend to be younger in order to get cheaper movie tickets, meals, and any other discount offered for those twelve and under. Once in high school, she had been walking past her old middle school on the way home; she was flagged down and pulled inside for skipping school–due to bus rotations, the middle school students were released an hour or two later in the day than the high schoolers were–and had to deal with nearly half an hour of them chastising her and trying to figure out which class to return her to before finally listening to her and looking her up in a different section of their system.
Obviously, she started taking the long way home. More importantly, that was when she put her foot down. It was one thing for someone to mistake her as younger; it was something else entirely for it to cause such a frustrating and humiliating ordeal. Ever since then, she started spending an extra half hour in the morning carefully constructing a more mature image of herself. Better make-up work than the simple applications she used to do, push-up bras with a hint of padding, and at least two inch lifts or heels to boost her height. Her bitterness over the middle school office treating her like a lying tween caused her to act a little more jaded and bitchy the next day, which only snowballed from there.
Fast forward to the present.
Elizabeth’s size hadn’t changed in the slightest, although her clothes and her personality had escalated plenty. The 23 year old wore professional business attire, and was not afraid to chew out anyone who looked at her wrong. She was also quite thirsty for money, and was more than happy to spend it as well. Especially since she had a company card and very little oversight, meaning she could treat herself on their dime and then treat herself with the personal funds she saved by using that card.
She was poised to get a fat bonus as well. All she needed to do was fire June at the opportune moment.
Due to some restructuring after a couple of promotions, the company had gone with Elizabeth’s suggestion to bring in June as a combined assistant/admin role. It was quite cost effective, as the 24 year old hire could just do all the admin work whenever she wasn’t tending to whatever Elizabeth needed. Poor June had tried so hard to negotiate a salary that was comparable with her old job, but Elizabeth had known she had been laid off from her former place of employment due to budget cuts. It had been easy enough to lie and say the lower figure was the best they could offer at the time. Between the young woman’s desperation for the job, as well as the vague hope of a future raise that had been dangled in front of her, June had accepted.
The problem was, June was annoyingly good at her job. No matter how much busy work Elizabeth offloaded on her, she always managed to get all of her admin responsibilities completed in a timely manner as well. And then some. June really was making the best of her situation, and it wasn’t long before she lucked into being included on a large project that was going to be presented to an investor in the coming weeks. Instead of keeping her mouth shut and handing out coffees like a good assistant, June made some offhand suggestion that someone higher up the food chain than Elizabeth ended up liking.
It was such bullshit. June was clearly busting her ass to come up with ideas for both the project itself and the impending investor meeting, and her assistant role gave her an unexpected edge as well. Since she was the one making the copies and putting the documents together, there was a degree of visible credit whenever she handed out packets and binders as things became more and more finalized. When all was said and done, it had been decided that June and Elizabeth were going to fly out for a week to try and pitch the idea.
Elizabeth was still going to be heading up the meeting, while June would merely be present to communicate any of the finer details. Her fucking assistant, being sent on a business trip instead of one of the actual higher ups in the company. It was ridiculous. So, Elizabeth quickly concluded that the best course of action would be to fire June. At minimum, it would get rid of the girl who was dangerously close to being promoted from the subservient role she had been hired to fill. If Elizabeth played her cards right, maybe she could do the deed before the investment was fully processed and, ideally, do some creative accounting and take June’s project bonus for herself. On top of Elizabeth’s own bonus, of course.
What she didn’t plan on, however, was June catching wind of her scheme. Firing someone without cause would open the company to a potential lawsuit, so Elizabeth had started laying the groundwork here and there. She never thought June would actually find out before being called into Elizabeth’s office for the bomb to be dropped.
The last thing Elizabeth expected was for June to go down swinging.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
June was hit with so many emotions when she learned that Elizabeth was setting the stage to fire her, probably the moment they returned from their trip.
Shock, considering how she had learned how to anticipate Elizabeth’s every need as an assistant, all while basically doing a second job by being the admin for their branch of the company. Despair, in that she could barely afford the ever increasing bills; living in the city was expensive, and inflation certainly didn’t help. And frustration, because her boss was clearly doing this out of jealousy or something adjacent. ‘June, the assistant’ was being noticed by someone who had the power to give her a higher paying and more fulfilling position in the company. Rather than letting June climb the ranks, however, Elizabeth was going to block her in the worst way possible.
At first, she considered trying to somehow save her job. Without any real clout in the office outside being an up and coming player, however, there wasn’t anyone she could turn to that might defend her against Elizabeth. So June decided to take matters into her own hands. If she was going to be fired and potentially lose the promised bonus she was expecting, then she really didn’t care if the deal with the investor went through or not. Rather than putting her energy into further preparations for the meeting, June started brainstorming ways to humiliate her boss throughout their travels. It wouldn’t be the same satisfaction as a huge bonus check, but she figured that she might as well get what she could under the circumstances. The beauty of being an assistant was that it was just as easy to make things go wrong as it was to ensure that they went right.
June started by convincing Elizabeth to stay at her place the night before the two of them were supposed to fly out. She lived much closer to the airport than Elizabeth did, and it made more sense for the company to pay for a single car to be parked over the long weekend. Playing up the role of generous host and submissive assistant, June went so far as to prepare her own bedroom for Elizabeth. June could suffer through an evening on the sofa if it meant Elizabeth continued feeling like she had all the power. She also made sure to pick up a brand of wine she knew that her boss loved. But just for fun, she drank the expensive wine herself over the week leading up to their trip and proceeded to fill the bottle with a much cheaper alternative. Sure enough, June’s stuck up boss couldn’t tell them apart.
Smirking to herself as she prepared dinner for Elizabeth, June made sure to constantly refill her boss’s glass like a good waitress throughout the night. By the time it was getting late, little Elizabeth had polished off the entire bottle. June could have easily handled that much alcohol, as she was taller than Elizabeth, which statistically made her tolerance higher. She wasn’t just relying on probability, either. June kept a careful eye on Elizabeth throughout the night, and could clearly see when her cheeks were flushed and her words had a faint slur to them.
To Elizabeth’s credit, she kept up her overly proper posture and judgmental attitude despite how tipsy she became. At some point, she must have realized the wine was catching up to her. Announcing that she was turning in for the evening, Elizabeth got up from where she had been lounging in the living room after her meal and headed for the bedroom.
June guessed that her boss wouldn’t be amenable to being seen after stripping out of her business attire, so she made her move before Elizabeth reached the hall. “Miss, wait,” June said. Though they were no longer at the office, she was still in full assistant mode for the sake of her amusing scheme. Not that it was an official scheme by any stretch of the imagination. June had only planned things out through the following morning; from there, she’d have to play things by ear. She did plan on tanking the investor meeting, naturally, but there was a lot of time between then and now. For now, it was still ‘Ms. Harris,’ or ‘Miss’ for short.
“What . . . ?” Elizabeth asked. She paused, but barely glanced over her shoulder.
“Do you want something to stave off a hangover? Just in case?” June asked. Tacking on the follow-up to avoid fully implying that Elizabeth couldn’t handle her wine, she partially answered the question herself by heading to the left-most kitchen cabinet. “I want your flight tomorrow to be as comfortable as possible, Ms. Harris.”
It worked. Of course it did, since June had been handing her things for the last six months. In fact, she had been sent on a couple pharmacy runs, as Elizabeth didn’t want to waste her own time after work running such an errand. June had proven time and time again that she was a perfect assistant. Since this was the first time she had ever considered sabotaging her selfish boss, there was no reason for Elizabeth to distrust her. Besides, June was technically telling the truth. One of the pills would combat the hangover. The other, however, was a sleeping pill that was safe to take with alcohol. In June’s opinion, a full bottle of wine wasn’t enough to knock Elizabeth out. She wanted to be sure that her boss didn’t wake up until June wanted her to wake up.
Elizabeth downed both pills with zero hesitation, then proceeded to turn in for the night like she had been trying to do before June interrupted her.
The second the bedroom door clicked shut, June grinned. So far, everything was going according to plan.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Miss Harris . . . Miss . . . ELIZABETH.”
Elizabeth was jostled from her slumber by someone using her shoulders to shake her. Even something that forceful wasn’t enough for her to snap awake right away. “Mmm . . . ” she half hummed, half groaned. Her eyes felt glued shut, and it took an extraordinary amount of effort for her to will them open. The guest bedroom was dark save for a dim lamp by the door that had been switched on. As she came to, and blinked her blurry vision away, she saw that June was standing over her with a worried expression.
Her assistant was wearing a blouse and a pencil skirt, and had clearly already showered and groomed herself for the day. “Elizabeth, you slept through your alarm!” June said, “We need to go. Like, NOW. We can’t miss our flight.” Rather than waiting for Elizabeth to realize the gravity of the situation, June yanked the covers off the still fully horizontal girl. “Come on, get up!” In case the sudden wave of cold wasn’t enough, June grabbed one of the young woman’s wrists and yanked her upwards and towards the edge of the bed.
It wasn’t until Elizabeth’s feet hit the floor that everything caught up with her. “Hey!” she snapped. “Back off, June.” Amidst the rough way she was being handled, she hadn’t caught the fact that June had addressed her normally a couple times.
For the first time since she started her subservient role at the company, June didn’t hesitate to talk back. “No,” she flatly said, “Making sure this weekend goes smoothly is my job. That means getting to the airport on time. Now go pee and brush your teeth, Elizabeth. I’ll throw our stuff in the car.”
“But-”
“Elizabeth. NOW. And hurry! We’re already running behind.”
It was way too much to handle at once. She was still barely awake at this point. Freezing, too, with bare feet and with the abrupt loss of the comforter. Elizabeth was also several inches shorter than she was in public, including her time in June’s apartment yesterday, and wearing nothing but her silk pajamas. They were classy enough, but didn’t remotely compare to the professional ensemble of her assistant. Plus June was wearing heels, making her tower over Elizabeth as she bossed her around.
Elizabeth reluctantly did as she was told. She headed into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, letting out an annoyed sigh. How had she overslept?! And how dare June talk to her in such a way? Elizabeth made a note to reprimand her later, but she had to admit that the slightly older girl was right. Missing their flight would look really bad to her superiors.
There was really no rebelling against June’s directives when they were exactly what Elizabeth would do first thing in the morning. She relieved herself and brushed her teeth more quickly and erratically than she would do under normal circumstances. There definitely wasn’t time for her usual extensive make-up routine, though she could at least spare a minute for some foundation and concealer where necessary.
About halfway through the process, June opened the door without knocking in the slightest. “Almost ready, Elizabeth?”
“Miss Elizabeth,” she replied, finally catching the too-casual way she was being addressed.
“Right. Sorry, Miss. Just a little frazzled right now.” She stepped into the bathroom, once again not waiting for any sort of permission. “Here, let me do your hair real quick. It’s a total mess.”
“I can do it myself,” Elizabeth said. She had already seen her reflection, and was well aware that the pillow hadn’t done her long locks many favors overnight.
June sighed. “I know you can. But you’re doing your make-up right now, and we’re way behind schedule.” She positioned herself behind Elizabeth and ran her fingers through her hair to work out a couple of the tangles she could see.
“Wait, what are you-”
“Hold still, Miss Elizabeth. This will just take a minute.”
Not taking ‘no’ for an answer, June proceeded to separate Elizabeth’s hair out into three strands for a basic braid. Innocent on the surface, as it was an easy way to tame messy hair, but she was also well aware that Elizabeth preferred more mature and complicated styles. Her boss had never once worn braided hair to work.
Elizabeth’s abridged beauty routine was done about the same time June was tying off the tightly braided strands, and then she was being rushed out the door. First, June told her to leave the make-up bag and her toiletries. Every second counted, and there was no time to pack up the bathroom. Plus airport security would be easier if there were absolutely no liquids in Elizabeth’s suitcase. June explained that they could buy the essentials once they got there, and Elizabeth could borrow anything else from June’s stash.
It wasn’t until they were standing by the door to June’s apartment that Elizabeth brought up another issue. “Wait!” she exclaimed, “I need to change.” Not only was she still wearing her PJs, but it was also just dawning on her that she was currently bra-less.
“Change into what?” June asked. “Your suitcase is in the car. Come on, Elizabeth. Put your shoes on.”
Elizabeth bit her tongue about the lack of a title. Now wasn’t the time to chew out her assistant. That could wait until they were in the car.
She felt absolutely ridiculous as she stepped through the threshold and out into the public hallway. Wearing heels with pajamas was awkward enough, but her designer purse was also meant to go with the outfit combinations she had packed for the trip. It didn’t pair nearly as well with her sleepwear.
Thankfully, no one was around to see her. It was quite early in the morning, so she and June were able to make their way down to the underground lot without running into anyone. Temporarily back in submissive assistant mode to balance out everything from the last ten or fifteen minutes, June opened the back door of the car for her. “After you, Miss,” she said.
Elizabeth got in and buckled up. She let out an exaggerated huff when June closed the door. This was definitely not the way she had envisioned the business trip starting.
Meanwhile, June was circling the car and resisting the urge to smirk at how unprofessional her boss looked compared to normal. So far, so good.
If June played her cards right, Elizabeth would be stuck as she was until at least the end of the flight.
Chapter Two
The second they were parked at the curb, June popped the trunk and hopped out of the car. She hoisted both of the suitcases out and promptly wheeled them over to the outside check-in counter. Per the arrangements she had already made, she also handed her keys to the valet. June normally would have parked at a nearby place and taken a shuttle to the airport, but she didn’t particularly care about saving the company money when she was about to be laid off anyway. Might as well treat herself to the executive travel experience. It also worked out in her favor once she settled on her plan to have a later start to the morning.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth was more delayed in her exit of the vehicle. After finishing up an email she had been drafting, then hesitating at the thought of being seen in PJs and braided hair, she eventually mustered the energy to open the door and step out onto the curb. It’s not like a couple of low-paid airport workers were going to care about how she looked when they probably saw hundreds of people every morning.
By the time she saw what June was doing, it was too late. Both suitcases were already on the conveyor belt; short of leaping over the counter with lightning speed and likely getting security called on her for doing so, there was nothing Elizabeth could do but watch helplessly as the bags disappeared from sight. “June!” she snapped, “What the fuck?!”
“Language, Miss,” June replied, “And please step away from the car. The valet needs to take it, and we need to get moving.”
The contrast of being called out for cursing while being addressed like the superior she was made it difficult for Elizabeth to figure out how to get on her assistant’s case in regards to the correction. Instead, she chose to ignore that bit and get to the more important matter. “I need to change,” she reminded June, sharply gesturing to the awkward PJs/heels combo, “How am I supposed to do that without my suitcase?”
June calmly replied, “And you will change. When we land. But right now, we’re late, remember? We need to prioritize making our flight, Miss. If we have extra time at the gate, maybe you can find something from one of the shops to tide you over.” She didn’t mind offering up the partial solution, mostly since Elizabeth likely would have come up with it herself upon walking past one of those places. It wasn’t going to happen, regardless. June had timed out this whole sequence ahead of time. To the best of her ability, of course, as airports were always unpredictable to some degree. They were flying first class, which meant they were boarding earlier than most of the other passengers. Maybe her boss would have a couple minutes to grab an overpriced coffee, but not even the cushion June had baked into the morning would be enough for Elizabeth to go shopping for clothes.
While it was a solution, it didn’t change the fact that Elizabeth’s appearance was a far cry from her usual look. “Why didn’t you just wake me up earlier?” she scowled. Her silk pajamas were thick enough that her nipples probably wouldn’t show through, but kept an arm firmly crossed over her chest anyway. June couldn’t have at least grabbed a bra from the suitcase before handing it over? “The whole point of staying at your place-”
“Elizabeth, what did I just say? Come on, we need to get moving.” After cutting her off, June grabbed her hand and gave a forceful tug towards the nearest set of sliding doors.
Slightly stumbling forward, as she hadn’t been prepared for the sudden momentum shift in her heels, Elizabeth quickened her pace to match June’s while yanking her hand free at the same time. Amidst everything else, she once again failed to register the direct use of her name. She was too busy being appalled at the invasion of her personal space via the patronizing gesture, yet ultimately bit her tongue about the whole thing. At some level, June was right. They needed to hurry if there was a risk of missing their flight, and reaming her assistant out in the middle of the airport was hardly a productive use of her time. Elizabeth just had to file away a number of thoughts for later; she also couldn’t make a scene on the plane, but she’d be more than happy to yell at June once they arrived at their hotel.
The PreCheck line was annoyingly long, no doubt due to how so many people had wisened up to making the investment of time/money to travel more efficiently. Elizabeth and June still got through everything decently quickly, only to be faced with their gate being almost completely at the end of their terminal. There was no time for coffee or shopping. When they finally made it, the gate agent was in the middle of announcing that they would begin boarding shortly. From June’s point of view, they were right on schedule. Had security taken longer, they would simply have gotten in line with one of the coach groups halfway through the boarding process. One way or another, they certainly wouldn’t be straying from the area now.
If Elizabeth was thinking more clearly, she might have realized that there was a way to do some speed shopping. Their bags were already checked, so it would simply be a matter of getting on the plane last and taking her first class seat without any worries about not having enough space for her things. Except she was a young woman who was used to certain privileges, and a concept like that didn’t remotely cross her mind when she was accustomed to being at the front of the line and settling into her spacious seat right away. Already accepting her fate as she and June took their places behind the first few groups that out-tiered first class, Elizabeth also started feeling more self conscious about her attire now that she was standing still and not rushing through the airport.
In an ideal world, Elizabeth would be enjoying the perks at the front of the plane while June was crammed in the back with all the other coach passengers. Unfortunately, a trip like this called for their time on the plane to be spent reviewing everything for the upcoming conference. Though Elizabeth was determined to take all the credit for herself, she would still need to fall back on June for some of the finer details of their presentation. There was just too much information for one person to memorize. Or, perhaps, too much for Elizabeth herself to keep organized in her head on top of everything else she had to deal with at the company.
Of course, there was only so much preparation Elizabeth could handle. Thirty minutes into the flight, she was done going over talking points. Between an early morning, a slight hangover, and the perpetual embarrassment of traveling in her pajamas, she felt a lot more interested in a power nap to rest up for the coming day than to hear another minute of June’s endless stream of presentation notes.
June was just as prepared to anticipate her boss’s needs as she was for their big pitch later. “Something to relax?” she asked, pulling out a small bottle of pills. They were more for the sake of relaxation than sleep, but June assumed that Elizabeth was tired enough that it would more or less have the same effect.
“Whatever,” Elizabeth muttered. She held out her hand. At this point, she was well accustomed to June being a diligent assistant. Noting the brand on the bottle, and not thinking anything about the offer beyond the general purpose of the tablets, she popped back two of them and resumed browsing the morning’s emails on her phone.
It didn’t take long for her to drift off.
June remained quiet and still for a few minutes after seeing Elizabeth close her eyes. Once her petite boss’s breathing settled, June murmured her name and gave her shoulder a gentle nudge to ensure that she would be out for a little while. With a faint smirk, June picked up Elizabeth’s phone from the tray table and placed it in an outside pocket of her own bag. Next, she slowly and carefully reached down and retrieved Elizabeth’s purse. Though she was tempted to pilfer through it, there was always the risk that a passenger or flight attendant would notice what she was doing. June was clearly traveling with Elizabeth, but a poorly timed comment could easily mess up her latest idea. So instead, June merely opened her larger bag and stuffed Elizabeth’s purse inside.
Without her more personal possessions, it would be difficult to do anything without June’s help. ‘You can’t go on a shopping spree without your credit cards,’ June thought to herself in amusement. And without a phone, there would be no online rush orders sent to their hotel out of desperation. Elizabeth could try to compel June to do this or that in order to rectify the situation, but June had plenty of excuses locked and loaded. She was just a lowly assistant, after all. Elizabeth was the one trusted with the company credit card, and June’s personal card was reserved for emergencies. No, this didn’t qualify as an actual emergency. It would be so easy to play dumb while still doing her best to ‘help.’
She let Elizabeth sleep for the remainder of the flight. At this point, it didn’t matter if her boss was well rested or not. The necessary pieces were in place for Elizabeth to have a terrible business trip, and June was quite looking forward to seeing her attempt to make a professional presentation in the most ridiculous outfit. If June played her cards right, maybe the braid could even stay in.
The rumble of the plane landing was enough to make Elizabeth stir. Right away, June lied and said there would be a minor delay on the way to the gate, and Elizabeth could keep resting if she wanted to. It didn’t take much convincing. Elizabeth was still groggy from her extended nap, and ended up closing her eyes and dozing off again until it was actually time to deplane.
Then, it was only a matter of rushing Elizabeth out of there. “We have to hurry, Miss. I already ordered us a ride; there’s barely enough time to grab our luggage.”
If Elizabeth were more awake, she would mention how it didn’t make sense to get a ride while they were literally still on the plane. When being rushed by her pushy assistant, however, all she could do was get up and leave the aircraft. As soon as they reached the new terminal, Elizabeth realized that she now just had her PJs. Her purse was still under the seat, and her phone? She couldn’t remember if it was in the pouch of the seat in front of her or if she had put it in her purse before falling asleep. “Wait!” she exclaimed. Stopping in place and nearly causing a collision with the person who was briskly walking behind her, she blushed and stepped to the side before telling June, “My purse.”
June cocked her head to the side, feigning confusion for a moment. Then, glancing down at Elizabeth’s midsection, she said, “Oh! You forgot it on the plane?”
“Because you practically shoved me out of my seat!” Elizabeth snapped, “I need to-”
“Elizabeth, wait.” Grabbing the shorter girl’s arm to stop her from fully turning back towards the jet bridge, June said, “You can’t just go through the gate again. Security won’t allow that.”
“But-”
“It’s fine. Do you at least have your phone?”
“No!” Elizabeth exclaimed. Gesturing to her silk-clad body in a similar manner to before, she said, “I don’t have anything, June.”
June sighed. “There’s no reason to freak out, Elizabeth. Why don’t you go sit down for a minute? I’ll ask the gate agent what she can do.”
“It’s ‘Miss Elizabeth.’”
“Uh huh. You’re not exactly dressed for a title like that, Elizabeth. We can worry about the professional stuff once we’re settled at the hotel and not on a time crunch, yeah?”
It might have been the first time her assistant had ever ignored her. Rather than apologizing or submitting, June fucking dismissed the blunt correction. And reasoning the reply by referencing the pajamas? That was hardly Elizabeth’s fault. And it didn’t matter. This was a business trip, and she was still June’s superior.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth didn’t have a chance to express any of that. June was already walking towards the counter to speak with the agent behind the desk. Awkwardly tagging along to listen in wasn’t an option, though Elizabeth also didn’t want to helplessly sit down. Splitting the difference, she merely stood a few meters away with her arms crossed, impatiently waiting for the situation to resolve itself.
After a minute or two, June returned to where Elizabeth was standing. “No one saw anything like your purse left behind during the initial cleaning sweep of the plane,” she said, “The gate agent is going to double check with the crew, but every minute we spend here interferes with our itinerary. I have all the necessary contacts in my cell, and I think the hotel charges the company directly? It may be best to keep moving for now. When they find your possessions, I’m sure one of their shuttle drivers would be able to deliver them to where we’re staying.”
“And trust some random person with my stuff?”
“At this point, some ‘random person’ is going to be handling your purse no matter what. That’s what you get for leaving it on the plane, Elizabeth.”
Scowling in frustration, Elizabeth said, “I told you-”
“That it’s my fault? You had plenty of time to collect your things after we landed, and you really should have noticed your purse down by your feet. Honestly, it’s a bit immature to blame everyone but yourself for something like this. Now, let’s go. By the time we get to Baggage Claim, our suitcases should be ready to pick up. Or, if you really want, we can wait around and you can explain to the higher ups why you missed the first meeting of the trip?”
Elizabeth didn’t know what to say. Obviously they couldn’t miss that meeting, but they also weren’t on that tight of a schedule. At the same time, their itinerary hadn’t accounted for her current appearance. She definitely needed to shower at the hotel the moment they got there, as she hadn’t gotten the chance earlier, and the lack of a watch or cell phone was going to make it difficult to keep tabs on the time.
When Elizabeth didn’t respond right away, June decided for them. “Come on. I already gave the agent my business card. She’ll call me the second they find your purse. You, of all people, should know that I always answer my phone in a timely manner.” It was a subtle way to reference her assistant status to contrast the recent way she had been speaking to her boss.
There wasn’t any more arguing or complaining to be done. June was already walking towards the nearest sign pointing towards Baggage Claim, and her parting words had made it sound like things had already been decided. Even though Elizabeth was supposed to be in charge. By the time she decided to follow, she was lagging behind. Being separated from her phone was the biggest blow; not only was it a really personal device, but it’s also where she did most of her work from when traveling. And, on top of that, she wouldn’t be able to communicate with June or anyone else if they were separated. Elizabeth didn’t have anyone’s numbers memorized, which left her completely reliant on her assistant at the moment.
As for their luggage, June was right. By the time they reached the carousel, the area had mostly cleared out save for the few that took their sweet time getting through the airport. Their ride had been waiting for quite some time, and June nonchalantly chastised Elizabeth for the late fees that had stacked up. Again, who orders transportation while still on the plane? At that point, Elizabeth was too annoyed to comment on the blame. She just threw her suitcase in the trunk and got in the car.
Thankfully, both the hotel and the conference were rather close to the airport. Their drive was quick and painless, as was the check-in. While June would have been taking care of that under normal circumstances, it felt way less like a boss/assistant dynamic when Elizabeth had to awkwardly wait around behind her in PJs just like with the gate agent. Once their reservations were found and they were given the set of card keys, Elizabeth made a beeline for the elevators before anyone else staying there for the conference saw her.
She was beyond ready to actually get ready for the day, and to look like the professional young woman she was supposed to be. The good news was, she and June were sharing a suite, rather than a simple hotel room. Separate bedrooms, as Elizabeth wasn’t about to sleep in the same room as her subordinate. Of course, she didn’t mind splurging on such things when this whole trip was on the company’s dime.
A quick skim of the space showed that the bedrooms were nearly identical. Seeing as it didn’t really matter, she picked one at random and tossed her suitcase on the bed and unzipped it in order to find something suitable for the first evening of the conference. When she flipped open the top, however, her eyes widened in shock.
Elizabeth didn’t recognize a single piece of clothing.
Chapter Three
“JUNE.”
At work, Elizabeth would expect her assistant to appear within seconds when calling her in such a harsh and pissed off manner. Usually such a shrill tone was reserved for when something went wrong with a client’s order, regardless of how major the issue or whose fault it was, or if there was any kind of complication that messed with the status quo Elizabeth had come to expect. Since June was such a diligent worker and quick study, it hadn’t taken long for her boss to get accustomed to having an underling who was not only at her beck and call, but who provided a rather personalized service in terms of being able to anticipate Elizabeth’s needs and solve just about anything in a timely manner.
This time around, however, Elizabeth couldn’t even wait the twenty seconds or however long it would take the girl to come running. She stormed out of her room, only to find an empty suite. Right. Because June was getting settled in her own room. Elizabeth immediately crossed the shared common area and burst into June’s bedroom, not bothering to knock or call through the door first.
June was standing there in the same skirt she had worn on the plane, but only had a bra on above the waist. It was rather simple and plain, yet still showed off plenty of natural cleavage. Far more than Elizabeth had, even in her best push-up bra. “Elizabeth!” June exclaimed. She didn’t cover up, as it wasn’t that big of a deal for another female to see half undressed, but she absolutely got on the petite woman’s case about walking in on her, “Boundaries. Next time, knock. Well? Are you going to apologize?”
Already somewhat flustered from the fact that her suitcase was full of a young girl’s clothes, probably belonging to a tween or possibly younger, Elizabeth was not exactly in the best headspace to deal with such confrontation. Especially from the girl that was normally so polite and submissive. “You can’t-”
“I told you to apologize, Miss,” June cut her off. Placing a hand on her hip as she intentionally included the smallest dose of ‘respect’ along with her demand, she said, “This is my bedroom, and I didn’t give you permission to come in. Now, do the mature thing and apologize.”
“But-”
“Right now, Miss.”
The slightly older girl’s tactics were confusingly effective. She was technically addressing Elizabeth properly with the abbreviated title. At the same time, she was also speaking in a way that was uniquely stern compared to what Elizabeth was used to. Between that and the impressive bra-clad chest that put hers to shame, this was not a situation Elizabeth was prepared to handle. So she averted her gaze and muttered, “Sorry.”
“That’s better,” June said, “Now, is this a work emergency?”
At that, Elizabeth flushed. In her haste to bitch June out for the latest complication that was starting to become a pattern due to the ripples from what was a simple alarm issue–at least, that was the impression Elizabeth was still under–she hadn’t considered how a more calm approach might have been more appropriate. Of course, Elizabeth’s default was rarely ‘calm.’ Still, June’s clarifying question was enough to make her hesitate. “No. Well, yes,” she replied. It wasn’t a professional fire they had to put out, but Elizabeth did need her nice clothes for the conference. That made it an emergency of sorts, considering how they had to head downstairs relatively soon. “It’s-”
“Sounds like it can wait a minute or two,” June said, cutting her off again, “And probably wasn’t worth barging into my room like that. Why don’t you go wait in your room for me, Elizabeth? Or the common room, whatever. I’ll join you once I’m dressed.”
Elizabeth frowned. “It’s ‘Miss Elizabeth,’” she reminded her. How many times had she been called ‘Elizabeth’ since the last time she brought that up? Her mind had been preoccupied with the silk pajamas everyone at the airport had seen her in, the lost personal items, and the latest mix-up with her suitcase.
June repeated her response from the gate area. “I told you, we’ll worry about all that once we’re settled in for the conference. You’re not even dressed, Elizabeth.”
“That’s because-”
“Enough, Miss. Please get out of my room. I’ll be with you in a few minutes.”
If they were at the office, Elizabeth would have reamed her assistant out for speaking with her in such a curt way. At the moment, however, there were just too many variables working against her. It would also be much easier to speak with June when June was actually dressed, as that’s the only way Elizabeth was used to interacting with the girl.
Elizabeth begrudgingly turned and left the room. She wasn’t used to the one being dismissed, so she failed to think of anything to say on the way out. Waiting around in the common area felt stupid when the problem lay with her suitcase, so she returned to her room instead. Leaving the door wide open, so June could come right in, Elizabeth sat down on the edge of the bed and huffed in annoyance. Not only was the renewed sight of the open suitcase a pain, but she also didn’t have her phone. Normally she could busy herself with personal apps or professional busywork that could be done on mobile. Elizabeth hadn’t brought a laptop, either, as most of the weekend’s business was going to be face to face. Per Elizabeth’s instructions, June had packed up all their presentation resources, which meant literally everything useful was in the other girl’s room. At the time, it had made sense, as Elizabeth had wanted to travel light for the sake of personal convenience. Now that her purse was missing, however, she felt a lot more helpless in terms of dealing with this latest problem. If she had her phone and credit card on hand, she’d probably be halfway out the door and rushing to the closest designer store. All Elizabeth really needed was one outfit for the evening; she could figure the rest out tomorrow.
Then again, she probably wouldn’t be leaving the hotel in her PJs for such a mission. Maybe there was something tolerable in the suitcase? That is, if the clothes even fit. Her mental plan still worked with June’s company card, but just about anything was better than walking around in her current ensemble. Elizabeth scooted over a couple feet and hesitantly started looking through the folded clothes.
There was a painful amount of pinks and purples in terms of both shorts and shirts, as well as a few unattractive oranges. The few white tees looked good at first glance, until Elizabeth unfolded one of them and saw the pink letters spelling BARBIE on the front. Maybe her pajamas were better. She’d draw a few looks, sure, though at least she wouldn’t be dressed like a little girl.
“Elizabeth.” June’s voice cut through the quiet room as she stepped through the doorway. The young woman was wearing the same skirt as before, with a fresh blouse that looked more sharp and form-fitting than the usual conservative tops she wore at the office. “You’re still not dressed. You do know we need to be in the ballroom in thirty minutes, yes? We should also review the itinerary before heading out.”
“You packed the wrong suitcase!!” Elizabeth snapped. Her assistant was acting like everything was normal. Mostly. June was providing the kinds of reminders she gave on a daily basis, albeit with a subtle amount of judgment and impatience in her voice compared to normal. It irritated the hell out of Elizabeth, as she would have been dressed forever ago if June had just put the correct luggage in the car. “How could you screw that up?! Mine was literally in your guest room.” She gestured to the immature clothes to her left, “These aren’t mine.”
“Huh. Those are my niece’s clothes,” June said. She sounded far more calm by contrast, “She accidentally left her suitcase when my sister visited. I guess it does look kind of like yours. Where did you put yours before bed, again?”
Elizabeth hesitated. “I, umm . . . ” After all the wine she had consumed the previous night, her bedtime ritual had been a little hazy. Obviously she remembered brushing her teeth and getting into bed, but her suitcase? That wasn’t something she normally thought about at night, which meant it wasn’t something she could recall as clearly. Especially when June was cleverly sowing the seeds of doubt.
“Well, we should probably focus on the matter at hand,” June said, “You need to wear something, don’t you? I don’t mean any offense by this, but you and Maggie are around the same size. I mean, her clothes might be a little snug on you . . . Still, it’s better than nothing for the time being, right?”
Was June being serious? Granted, Elizabeth’s idea had been vaguely similar when she started looking through the options. Except she had mostly settled on the conclusion that her pajamas were better in the short term. “I’m fine how I am,” Elizabeth asserted, “We just need to find the nearest store, and-”
“Elizabeth, there’s no time for that,” June said.
“Then we can make time!” Elizabeth insisted. Tonight wasn’t that important compared to the rest of the conference, and it surely wouldn’t be the end of the world if they arrived fashionably late to network. Better than being punctual but dressed noticeably worse than everyone else present. It would be a terrible first impression, considering that Elizabeth was scheduled to pitch to any number of the people that she would be meeting tonight. How was she supposed to be taken seriously in either situation when she wasn’t in her usual business woman battle armor?
June just sighed. “Are you at least willing to try, Elizabeth? Here, I’ll give you a minute. Put on the best option you can find in Maggie’s suitcase, and come out when you’re dressed.”
“What? Why?” Elizabeth asked. That was quite literally time they could be spending on a walk to the elevators and beyond.
“Now, Miss. It’s important. We only have one company card, since you lost yours, and mine has a lower limit.” June went on to explain that because it was now officially the weekend due to it being late afternoon on a Friday, they wouldn’t be able to call the office and adjust anything where June’s credit card was involved. And until the airline found Elizabeth’s missing purse, they couldn’t risk maxing things out when June would be solely responsible for paying for business lunches and dinners, drinks, travel expenses for their return trip, and anything else that came up.
Elizabeth tried to counter with the point that June could always just use a personal card if it came to that, but her assistant waved that idea off right away. For starters, their company preferred using its own card unless absolutely necessary, as it was both simpler in terms of red tape and avoided people abusing the system for the sake of getting some extra points for themselves. And if June did end up using her own credit card, there was a good chance she and Elizabeth would have to explain why that was the case when there should have been more than enough on Elizabeth’s alone for the whole weekend.
If Elizabeth was in a better headspace, maybe she would have realized that ‘I lost my card’ or ‘I left my card at home’ was a simple and reasonable explanation. The latter would have been perfectly acceptable, and wouldn’t look that bad in the grand scheme of things. However, she ended up falling victim to the embarrassing images that flashed through her head thanks to the way June framed things. The higher ups learning about how she spent all day in her PJs, left her phone and wallet on the plane, brought the wrong suitcase along, etc. etc.
And, though speaking rather sternly and directly, June still made it sound like she was on Elizabeth’s side as she countered each of her boss’s points. “Maybe I can manage to find you some clothes that won’t disrupt our budget. But in the meantime, we need to work with what we have. So are you going to keep complaining about it and wasting time, or are you going to try on some of my niece’s clothes?”
June didn’t stand around waiting for an answer; she simply turned and left the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Elizabeth was left feeling a bit flustered, and failed to recognize the trick that was being used on her. It sounded like she just had two options, one of which would only make her look bad. Plus she and June could agree on one thing–time was a limiting factor. If Elizabeth kept arguing, the clock was going to be ticking all the while. Without her phone, she wasn’t exactly sure when they were supposed to be downstairs, though she knew from her previous conversation with June that it was less than thirty minutes if they wanted to arrive at the proper start time.
Going through the suitcase a lot less meticulously than before, Elizabeth eventually found a plain white tank top that would serve as a cami if she wore it underneath a nice outfit. And, for the time being, was a preferable top compared to the more childish and girly colors that she had perused. June had been wrong about the clothes not fitting perfectly; upon trying on the tank top, Elizabeth blushed as she realized that it was exactly the right size. She knew she was small, of course. Still, being able to effortlessly wear something that was clearly meant for a child was a lot to handle.
Thanks to how rushed she had been in the morning, Elizabeth wasn’t wearing a bra, and all of her personal undergarments were apparently back at June’s apartment. The good news was, her assistant’s niece was old enough to need bras, as evidenced by the small collection of underwear packed in the suitcase before her. The bad news was, the bras and panties were painfully cheap and plain compared to the expensive ones Elizabeth normally wore.
A white tank top meant she didn’t really have a choice. It was either underwear she’d never be caught dead wearing, or a shirt that was outwardly immature. At least the former would be hidden.
Unfortunately, the borrowed bra didn’t fit nearly as well as the tank top. Elizabeth frowned in discomfort at the tightness on her chest, as well as how her already small mounds were flattened to almost nothing. She was about to abandon the undergarment when June knocked on the door. “Elizabeth? Almost done?”
“Just a minute!” Elizabeth snapped. Begrudgingly putting the white top back on, and rounding the outfit out with a pair of jean shorts that were easily the most mature option she could see, she gave herself a once-over in the mirror. It was not a good look. From the neck down, she looked more like a tween than an adult. And with the way her hair was still braided, along with the simple make-up job she had sped through that morning, her appearance was not nearly as mature as she normally went out of her way to achieve.
It was too late to try on something else, plus Elizabeth was almost certain what she was wearing was the best combination that she could have managed under the circumstances. Besides, it wasn’t about looking good; it was about showing June that this was completely unacceptable for a business trip. So, although she really didn’t want to, Elizabeth strutted over to the door and swung it open. “See? This isn’t going to work.”
June gave her a quick once-over, then agreed. “Hmm, probably not. You are supposed to be the face of the company this weekend. But now we know that you have something to wear whenever we’re not busy with the conference.”
“When are we not busy with the conference??”
“Whenever we’re back in the suite, or shopping, or traveling. I told you, Elizabeth. We don’t have enough credit to replace everything you need. From here on out, you can wear Maggie’s clothes when it’s just the two of us. No underwear shopping, either. You’ll be fine in hers for a couple days.”
Elizabeth had so much she wanted to say. That June needed to use the proper title when addressing her. That underwear shopping was indeed necessary, as a push-up bra that accentuated her not so impressive curves was far preferable to the borrowed one that did the exact opposite. However, a shopping trip, no matter how quick, was already going to make them a little late. Elizabeth needed to focus on the big picture so they didn’t get bogged down in a conversation that would only stall them more. “I can’t wear this tonight,” Elizabeth said. She could suck it up and wear it down the street, as she had to admit it was less out of place than a young woman walking down the sidewalk in pajamas, but she would never in a million years step into the hotel’s ballroom looking like a middle schooler on summer vacation.
“About that . . . ” June trailed off.
Elizabeth scowled. She placed a hand on her hip, and glanced up at her assistant. “What? Spit it out.”
“I’ve been thinking,” June said, “Maybe it makes more sense for you to just stay up here tonight. Hear me out. We can say your flight was delayed, and that you’ll get in later this evening. I can network and lay the groundwork for our big pitch, and you can seal the deal tomorrow.”
“And what am I supposed to do up here?” Elizabeth scoffed.
“Order room service?” June suggested. She knew her boss well enough to nudge her in the right direction. “Instead of wasting your time brown-nosing potential clients, you can have the whole night to prepare for our meetings. Trust me, Elizabeth. It will be better if we divide and conquer.”
Chapter Four
June didn’t really have a plan.
Ever since Elizabeth had been invited to spend the night at her apartment, June had only been motivated by doing whatever it took to inconvenience and embarrass her boss. So far, things had gone well. Better than June had initially expected, as she was now in control of Elizabeth’s wallet and cell phone. And with only a suitcase full of juvenile clothes, Elizabeth probably wouldn’t be showing her face outside their hotel suite.
It wasn’t until June stepped out of the elevator onto the main floor that she realized the possibilities now that she was the only one from their company present for the first evening of the conference. For the next few hours, she could quite literally make herself the face of their department. Initially, this had been all about screwing with Elizabeth’s career. But, what if . . .
Instead of going with her original idea to apologize for her boss’s absence, and letting slip that Elizabeth had missed her flight due to oversleeping, June could quite literally pretend that she was the one who had been sent for the various pitches that Elizabeth was supposed to be in charge of. Long term, that was so much better than simply dropping comments that made Elizabeth look irresponsible, untrustworthy, etc.
If she played her cards right, June might actually be able to save her career. Elizabeth wouldn’t be capable of firing her if everyone saw how much business June had personally succeeded in bringing to the company. Or, best of both worlds, they would also see that Elizabeth wasn’t nearly as hardworking as she pretended to be. ‘One step at a time,’ June told herself. That was how everything had worked out well up until this point. Rather than some long term scheme, she would continue focusing on the present and adapting along the way.
Still, June had to think quickly. She couldn’t tell any outright lies that would later be contradicted. The thing about Elizabeth’s flight was fine because June knew she’d be able to sell that as an excuse to her boss later. Of course, she would have left out the oversleeping part of it, leaving Elizabeth to apologize for her delayed arrival while their potential client would know why she missed the flight. Now that she was speaking for herself, however, June had to be careful. She couldn’t just make up some job title for herself, as the people she’d be talking to tonight would eventually be meeting her higher ups. Plus keeping track of lies was such a chore. She’d be better off weaving clever half-truths and letting her expertise speak for herself. After all, June knew the presentation material better than Elizabeth did.
It turned out that pulling that off was a lot easier than expected. All June really had to do was talk about her experience at the company. How she originally started in more of an admin capacity, but was currently in the process of transitioning to more of a business associate role. It might have been a slight stretch, as no one had officially offered her such a position, but she could always claim that someone must have misheard her if someone back at the office ever called her out on it. Because for the most part, it was true. She started more as an admin/assistant, had recently been looped into a number of important conversations, and was now quite literally being flown halfway across the country to assist with securing a major client. For all intents and purposes, she had a promotion coming, as long as Elizabeth was out of the way.
Being burdened with most of Elizabeth’s paperwork also ended up giving June an enormous edge as she continued networking throughout the evening. One of their current clients asked about her, and June was quick to clarify what actually was the truth. “Oh, Ms. Harris mostly handles communication. I’m the one responsible for managing most of her accounts. Didn’t I just work on a project that streamlined the way your company does inventory the other month?” June made a point to downplay the memory, while also casually giving herself all the credit. Meanwhile, she aimed to make Elizabeth sound like one of those middle managers who only delegated without actually doing any work herself. That was more or less what Elizabeth was like, anyway. Though Elizabeth contributed at some capacity, June was more than happy to take all the credit for a job that Elizabeth had only done maybe 15% of compared to June’s 85%.
There was also no need for June to abandon her first idea. Whenever she had the chance, she innocently mentioned that Elizabeth overslept and missed her flight. Since tomorrow was a completely different battle, June decided to cover her bases. Ideal world, Elizabeth would be trapped in the hotel suite all weekend. However, June really doubted that her boss would take that lying down. Somehow, someway, she would need to figure out if it was possible to solo the weekend.
Then a crazy idea presented itself to her in the form of the very same potential client she and Elizabeth had been sent there to land. There were a few other meetings with current clients they would be responsible for, but all of those paled in comparison to the business they were charged with bringing in. After purposely avoiding the female CEO for a good hour or so, as she didn’t want to come across as too desperate or eager, June finally found a window to introduce herself when the two of them were ordering a new round of drinks. In reality, it was June’s first actual cocktail, as she had been drinking tonic water thus far in order to stay on her game while appearing as if she was socializing over drinks like everyone else.
All the other conversations had been with people she had either met before or already heard the names of. That’s why it had been so easy to nonchalantly talk herself up while simultaneously putting Elizabeth down. This was different. Taking a completely different approach, June opted to simply be genuine and not play any games. That was where June was nothing at all like Elizabeth. Though June was more than capable of playing the professional role, she was also more down to earth and direct than most people in her department. It was probably why she got noticed, as she simply got to the point with her good ideas, rather than circling for five minutes in corporate speak like she witnessed all the time in various meetings.
She and Ruth only talked for a few minutes, during which June got the chance to hear about Ruth’s company. It was a good way to both break the ice and to glean a bit of information that might help with their pitch the following day.
Apparently Ruth’s company was rather family oriented, and put a major focus on work/life balance. It could have been bullshit, considering how countless companies claim such things on the surface while actually taking advantage of their employees left and right. The more Ruth talked, the less that seemed to be the case. To her, after rising through the ranks while also being constantly stressed about juggling family commitments, it only seemed fair to not burden anyone else with such challenges. As long as everyone got their work done in a timely manner, Ruth didn’t mind people leaving halfway through the day to pick up a sick child from school, or working remotely when they had responsibilities at home to tackle as well. In fact, there were often times where individuals would come to work with their kid, provided their presence wasn’t disruptive to everyone else.
The more June heard, the more the gears in her head started turning. She definitely didn’t want to blindside Ruth at the pitch tomorrow, but also wanted to test the waters in case she could get Elizabeth on board. “That sounds like a really healthy work culture,” June said, “I’m responsible for my niece here and there this weekend, and scheduling has been a nightmare with all the meetings I’m going to be involved with.”
That’s all it took. “You’re more than welcome to bring her tomorrow if it makes things easier for you,” Ruth shrugged, “As long as she’s not a distraction, of course.”
“Thank you for the offer. I’ll keep it in mind,” June said, “And I really appreciate it. Her parents still have to get back to me about a couple details, but I can call ahead and let your office know in advance if I end up deciding to do that. It’ll certainly be easier than dropping her off somewhere, or commuting back and forth across the city all day.”
Ruth went on to explain how that’s exactly why she makes a constant effort to avoid such complications. Instead of wasting time and money on this or that, she’d rather everyone do what’s simplest and easiest whenever possible.
By the time she shook Ruth’s hand and expressed how she was looking forward to their meeting tomorrow, June was just barely able to focus on the woman before her. Her thoughts were solely on whether or not she would be able to convince Elizabeth to go along with something like that. June was too young to pass a girl Elizabeth’s size as her daughter, but maybe the ‘niece’ concept would work out. The clothes already did wonders to make Elizabeth look younger, especially with the messy braid. If June had thirty minutes to really put in the effort, Elizabeth might actually be able to pass as a tween girl. A more immature outfit than the one Elizabeth had chosen, a clever combo of hair/make-up, rounded off with how dramatic the contrast would be when June towered over her in business attire? It definitely wasn’t the half of a drink that made it sound like a good idea. June was still completely sober, yet pretty convinced she could pull it off.
There was just the matter of getting Elizabeth on board . . .
Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s time upstairs hadn’t been nearly as productive as June’s.
For nearly thirty minutes, she just sulked. Instead of networking and putting her face to all the projects she had taken full credit for, she was sequestered to her hotel room. Now that June was gone and there was no time pressure, Elizabeth more thoroughly perused the suitcase her assistant had incorrectly grabbed. By the time every single outfit piece was sitting on the bed, Elizabeth was confident that she was wearing the only decent combination available. Most of the tees and tank tops were brighter and girlier than the colors she wore on a daily basis in both her personal and professional life. Huffing in annoyance, she stuffed everything back into the suitcase without any rhyme or reason. She didn’t plan on wearing anything but what she had reluctantly tried on to shut June up. First thing tomorrow, they were going to skip breakfast and go shopping instead.
As for the ‘divide and conquer’ strategy June mentioned, Elizabeth found that it didn’t actually make any sense. All their materials were in June’s room. Since Elizabeth had already memorized all of her presentations, there was really nothing else to prepare. She had already gone over the information again and again throughout the last week or so. It took all of ten minutes of pacing back and forth and speed talking through the first few meetings for her to verify that she still knew everything backwards and forwards.
Without a phone or laptop, Elizabeth was bored within the hour. Taking June’s suggestion, as she was quite used to her assistant anticipating her needs at this point, Elizabeth picked up the phone and ordered herself a small feast via room service. She would have spent the funds at the bar this evening anyway, plus she was used to treating herself on the company’s dime. On top of that, June had been the one to make the reservations, which meant it would be June’s company card that was charged for whatever Elizabeth ordered. Showing that her assistant was being irresponsible with her credit card was yet another thing Elizabeth could add to the list in terms of getting the girl fired.
Elizabeth was a little bit worried about ordering herself wine. Thanks to her size, she was carded quite often, even when dressed more nicely than any college student could afford. If that happened at upscale bars in expensive clothes, she could only imagine what would happen in her current get-up. She was still tempted to change back into her PJs, if only because that’s what her more adult self would wear. However, she decided to stay in the jean shorts and white top on the off chance that June returned early enough that they could head to a nearby store. Things were open later in the city, though Elizabeth’s current lack of technology meant she couldn’t check out the surrounding area.
As for drinking, that would be fine, since they reserved the room as young adults. Just to be safe, Elizabeth even requested they leave the tray outside the door. She would often do that anyway, as retrieving her food was preferable to dealing with tedious small talk.
Without any other way to entertain herself, Elizabeth found a decent movie to watch. The overpriced food and wine was helpful in taking the edge off after a frustrating day. Still, it was difficult to relax when she was stuck relying on her assistant even more than usual. Even if the airport had sorted things out with Elizabeth’s purse, June would be the one they called. And at this point, there was a chance June wasn’t paying attention to her phone if she was busy laying the groundwork for their meetings tomorrow.
June was away until almost 10 PM. She let herself back into their suite and found herself face to face with Elizabeth almost immediately. The more casually dressed girl was lounging on the sofa and was more than halfway done with the nearby bottle of red. “Finally,” Elizabeth huffed, “What took you so long?”
“There were a lot of people to talk to,” June said. Getting right to it, she stepped farther into the living room, “Listen, Elizabeth. We need to talk. I have an idea that will give us an edge against the competition tomorrow, but it’s a little bit unorthodox.”
“I’m listening,” Elizabeth replied. Sitting up slightly, she added on, “And it’s Ms. Harris.”
“We already went over this.” Though she had no intentions of falling back to the more submissive language when they were in a private setting and her boss did not look like a professional woman at all, June split the difference by topping off Elizabeth’s glass. “Let’s worry about titles later. Besides, it won’t make any sense for me to call you that if we decide to commit to what I have in mind.”
“And what do you have in mind, June?”
That was part of why June had been later to return. After one or two more conversations by the bar, she had spent a good hour or so in a more secluded area drafting up an outline for how she might approach this concept that was going to be insulting no matter how she spun it. The goal was simple–to make Elizabeth see that the benefits would outweigh the blow to her pride.
Of course, a little wine couldn’t hurt the equation. She also predicted that leaving Elizabeth alone for longer would ensure that she’d be at least a little tipsy. That was only partially the case, as clearly the petite young woman had been working through the bottle a lot more slowly than the previous evening. So, using the same strategy as she had done back at the apartment, June took it upon herself to refill the glass in a way that ensured Elizabeth would keep drinking. Maybe it was wrong to intentionally lower her inhibitions, but June had been pushed to the point where she would do whatever it took to both protect herself and get a bit of justice/vengeance for Elizabeth’s selfishness and laziness.
Intentionally stalling, June started by talking about Ruth’s company. Acting like she was debriefing Elizabeth on the information she had gleaned downstairs, while really setting the stage for what was to come. All while letting Elizabeth sip more wine along the way.
Most importantly, June emphasized how family was something their soon to be client valued. She was certainly stretching the truth, as it sounded like Ruth’s real goal was keeping her people happy from a mental health and work/life balance standpoint, but Elizabeth didn’t need to know that. Children had been mentioned enough times in the earlier conversation, as that had been Ruth’s personal struggle as both a mother and a business woman. The nuances didn’t matter quite as much when it was just June and Elizabeth, as long as the end result could be achieved.
“Anyway,” June said, “I would have cleared it with you first, but you lost your phone. Basically, I floated the idea that I might be stuck with my niece for part of the day tomorrow, and the CEO encouraged me to bring her to the meeting if that simplified my schedule.”
“Your niece?” Elizabeth asked, “This is a business trip. Why the fuck would you have to watch your niece at all? That’s not what you’re here for.”
June took a breath, as if she was hesitant to continue.
Taking the bait without realizing it, Elizabeth scoffed. “What? Spit it out, June.”
Pausing for another second to really sell it, June explained, “I think we should say that you’re my niece. Let me give the presentation, and show Ruth that they’ll be working with people that share their family values.”
“Umm, what? That’s ridiculous.” It was one thing to be mistaken as underage at the liquor store. This was something else entirely.
“It’s not ridiculous,” June simply said, “Here, give it a try. Call me ‘Aunt June.’”
Chapter Five
It took a good thirty minutes to get Elizabeth on board.
June just had to gradually explain that this plan made the most sense. Between the suitcase mix-up and the fact that Elizabeth had ‘lost’ her purse on the plane, they didn’t have many options. There was no time to go shopping for new clothes, and June threw in the point that using the company card for such expenses would then need to be explained back at the office. The only way to keep this between the two of them was for Elizabeth to deal with the youthful clothes she was stuck with.
Once again using Elizabeth’s love of wine against her, June topped off the glass as she explained for a second time how family was a core value of the company they’d be presenting to. She didn’t plan on getting the petite girl drunk; however, a healthy level of inebriation wouldn’t hurt the cause. June had already come down from her single cocktail, and had been playing the social game for hours. She was in prime form to debate compared to her opponent who had done nothing but lounge in their suite all evening.
Finally, she played into Elizabeth’s ego and desire for credit. How it was Elizabeth who came up with the unique business tactic of playing into a potential client’s company values. Their own company was far more profit driven, both at the expense of their employees and in terms of what they would say or imply to secure a client. This would basically turn a weakness into a strength, as if Elizabeth planned this from the beginning. Have June do the presentation, sucker the soon to be clients into a false connection, and then Elizabeth can run the account after all is said and done. “That will make them feel important,” June said, “Closed by someone at my level, but showing them that they’re a priority by letting them work with someone like you.”
Elizabeth was slowly coming around. Except for a few details she couldn’t ignore. “They’ll recognize me,” she pointed out. Even if things would be mostly remote, there would definitely be video conferences. Seeing that their point person was the ‘niece’ who was at the presentation wouldn’t go unnoticed. “Later, I mean.”
“Hmm, you might be right,” June conceded. Sitting back and crossing her legs, she took a moment to feign like she was thinking. She was still a lowly assistant. Anticipating her bratty boss’s needs was one thing, but this would be better if she didn’t have all the answers right away. And, ideally, would somewhat feel like they landed on the plan together despite how June was the one who brought it up and was still selling it for the most part. “Oh! We could dye your hair. Temporarily, I mean.”
“What? No,” Elizabeth said, “That’s too much.”
June just raised an eyebrow. “Is it? They haven’t met you before. And I just mean with something I can buy down the road. It’ll wash right out, Elizabeth. The client definitely won’t recognize you with different hair and professional clothes.”
“Yeah, but-”
“Elizabeth. I’m trying to come up with a solution here. But you’re the boss; it’s your call. Do you want to give the presentation yourself dressed in my niece’s clothes? Or do you want to tell your assistant to handle it for you?”
Elizabeth hesitated. Obviously the former option wasn’t actually an option. It would be one thing to stand in front of a room of professionals with a coffee stain on her blouse, as something like that would be relatable enough that she could play it off. But she couldn’t even begin to imagine trying to explain this series of unfortunate complications. No one would take her seriously, especially when aiming to get them to trust her. If she brought the wrong suitcase, what kinds of mistakes might she make with their account?
When given the either/or, especially after an exhausting day and a few drinks, Elizabeth was not at all in the proper headspace to consider that there might be an alternative that hadn’t been said out loud. “And I get all the credit,” she asserted. It helped that June framed it in the familiar way, where it was an assistant’s job to do as she was told.
“And you get all the credit,” June echoed, “But we don’t have a lot of time. If this is the direction you want to go, we need to do your hair tonight. We’re all booked up tomorrow morning.”
“My hair?” Elizabeth had already forgotten that element. “But-”
“We don’t have to. If you don’t think they’ll remember you later, then there’s no need to dye it. Want to risk it, Elizabeth?”
“I- I don’t know.”
It took a lot of self control for June to avoid smirking. Her boss was usually so arrogant and blunt, at least when it came to underlings. Now Elizabeth was dressed down and faltering to the point where it would only take another nudge or two for June’s most recent idea to become a reality. This niece scheme was so much more enticing than simply making Elizabeth sit in the hotel room all weekend due to a lack of proper attire.
Managing to keep it cool, June simply said, “I can’t choose for you. So, what’s it going to be? Be my niece with your natural hair color, or . . . ”
Elizabeth was too caught up in the decision about her hair to realize how she was being pushed to the side of the fence that June wanted her on. The conversation had subtly been shifted to make it sound like the niece thing had been all but decided, and now they just had to figure out the rest. And since there were already so many ways she could be embarrassed this weekend by leaving their suite in tween clothes, it was natural for her to be just as worried about something similar happening after they closed the deal. “We can dye it,” she mumbled, belatedly clarifying, “It’ll wash right out?”
“Mm hmm,” June hummed, “But seriously, Elizabeth. You need to start addressing me properly. That’s the only way for this to be believable. Aunt. June. Try it, okay? Otherwise, we might as well forget this whole thing and have you lead the presentation in Maggie’s clothes.”
“No, wait!” Elizabeth exclaimed. She couldn’t do that. That would almost certainly get her in trouble back at the office, especially if they lost the sale because of it. If she could spin the negative situation as a positive, however, maybe this could all work out. It wouldn’t be the first time she took one of her assistant’s ideas for herself. “Aunt June. See?”
June nodded. “Okay. So it’s settled, then. You’ll be my niece tomorrow. I’ll handle the presentation, and you can observe. Don’t worry, I know all the information, and I can brush up on the finer points tomorrow morning. And what will you call me all day?”
“Aunt June,” she muttered. The question felt so patronizing, especially coming from a subordinate.
Apparently June caught the annoyed tone, and was quick to address it. “You should call me that from now on. There’s not a lot of time to form the habit, and we’ll both look bad if you mess up halfway through. Right?”
“Right,” Elizabeth blushed. She could only imagine how awkward and humiliating it would be for someone to figure out that she wasn’t actually June’s niece after pretending to be for an extended period of time. Although pretending in general was plenty embarrassing in its own way. Rather than doing everything in her power to offset her youthful features, she was going to have to lean into them and look even younger than the older teenager people assumed her to be when she wasn’t dressed up. It was so counter to her usual need to be seen as a professional young woman, yet it felt as if that’s the plan they had landed on.
“Right, Aunt June?” June suggested.
“Umm, sure,” she said, “Right, Aunt June.” The girl was just one year older than her, and her assistant. This new dynamic was going to be difficult to get used to, even if it was all for show. Unfortunately, Elizabeth couldn’t argue with June’s logic. If they waited until it was time for the meeting, there was a good chance that Elizabeth would slip up and act more like the boss that she actually was.
“There you go.” June nodded again, and stood up. “Keep working on that. I’m going to go down and ask the concierge if there’s a walkable place for me to get what I need to dye your hair. Why don’t you find a cute outfit for tomorrow? Whatever best ages you down. Actually, come up with a few options. I’ll help you pick the best one when I get back. Oh, have you tried on Maggie’s shoes yet?”
“No?” Elizabeth tilted her head in confusion. Why would she have done that? She still had her heels, and they were simple enough that they could be worn with casual ensembles. Since her daily image was so important, of course she had footwear that could work for both formal and informal settings.
June gestured towards the bedroom. “Go see if they fit. That suitcase is full of summer clothes; no teenager would wear heels with any of those things.” Maybe that was a bit of a stretch. “Also, it will be better if you’re on the shorter side, I think.” She knew that Elizabeth was self conscious about her height, so she avoided focusing on that more than she needed to. And sticking with the word ‘teenager’ felt best; that would give the clever assistant some wiggle room to decide on her boss’s age after the physical transformation was complete.
Now that they had landed on the aunt/niece idea, there were really only so many battles Elizabeth could pick. Everything June was suggesting was relevant to the false image Elizabeth would be committing to tomorrow, and they had to have most of this figured out tonight due to the time constraints.
Ignorant to the fact that a number of the items in the suitcase had been specifically packed for Elizabeth, like how the shoes were her exact size, she grimaced at the only pair sitting underneath the stack of clothes to the right. White sneakers with light pink soles, along with a few other splashes of pink on the shoes themselves. It was the definition of girly, and not even her teenage self would be caught dead in footwear like that. Knowing that June wouldn’t let her off the hook if she didn’t at least try, Elizabeth reluctantly stepped into one of the shoes. Of course, her petite self ended up fitting Maggie’s shoes perfectly. It briefly occurred to her that she could head back out without the sneakers on and tell June they were too small, except her tipsy self couldn’t shake the concern that she would just be made to prove it and have to go through the whole process again.
June had already seen her barefoot, both back at the girl’s apartment and in their suite. It wasn’t like this would do much to affect her current height; Elizabeth was more embarrassed by the color and style.
Of course, June felt the exact opposite. “Oh, they’re perfect!” she exclaimed, “Okay, good. New shoes would have been a bit out of our budget. Alright, I’m heading out. Anything else you need, Elizabeth?”
Just some peace and quiet to reconcile the fact that she was going to be spending half a day walking around as if she were 5-10 years younger than she actually was. As Elizabeth had already learned, the majority of the clothes in the suitcase were the opposite of the colors she tended to wear in both her personal and professional life. How was she supposed to come up with a few options when she was already wearing the only tolerable combination? Deciding to stick with the jean shorts she had on for all the potential outfits, Elizabeth simply picked out three t-shirts that were the most plain in design, all of which would go with her current bottoms. There. Good enough.
Then she had to wait. Feeling somewhat sleepy after an early morning and a long day of traveling and a myriad of frustrations, Elizabeth roamed back into the common room and poured herself the last of the wine. Though the drink was no doubt contributing to her tired state, she knew that not having more was a surefire way for her eyes to start drooping. Pacing the room for a few minutes, already sick of the limited space she had been stuck in for hours at this point, Elizabeth soon knocked back the rest of the glass and flopped down onto the sofa. This would normally be when she started scrolling social media, seeing if there were any work emails to reply to in order to seem like a dedicated team member who was working after hours, or just killing time with any number of meaningless apps.
She ended up just flipping through channels on the TV until June returned. The last thing Elizabeth needed was to be caught passed out on the sofa when it had been established that they had more to do tonight.
June had decided on red hair dye. According to her, it made sense; Maggie was a redhead, so it would be the most natural if Elizabeth was the same when acting as June’s niece. Normally, the upcoming process would be best if Elizabeth was undressed, or wearing something she didn’t care about getting some color on. However, June knew that she was already pushing some limits with all of this. Besides, the white tank top would be cheap to replace, and staining it would also remove it as a future option. The more colorful tops in the other room would be much more appropriate for a brat like Elizabeth.
As for doing the job herself, June was easily able to convince Elizabeth that she needed help, even when her boss tried to whine about how June was following her into the bathroom. Between asking the soon to be redhead if she had ever dyed her hair before, and pointing out that this is probably something a dedicated assistant would help out with, there wasn’t much wind left in Elizabeth’s sails as they stood together in the somewhat cramped bathroom. After a successful evening of networking, June didn’t mind playing the assistant card; she knew her talents were better served as an admin and a soon to be manager, but she was more than happy to lean into her current role in order to make that happen.
“And how would a polite young lady ask her aunt for this?” June asked. Now that Elizabeth was seated on the edge of the tub, it felt a lot more natural to talk down to her. “Remember, we need to practice for tomorrow.”
Elizabeth frowned in annoyance. She had been this close to snapping something in response to the first half, until June got ahead of it. Sounding more petulant than she realized with an exaggerated huff, she muttered, “Please dye my hair, Aunt June?”
“Of course,” June said, internally smiling while keeping a poker face on the outside, “Now, you are going to sit still and do as you’re told, yes?”
“Umm,” Elizabeth hesitated.
“That’s when you say ‘Yes, Aunt June.’ Remember, Elizabeth. You can’t act like my boss tomorrow. You’re my niece, yes?” With the same leading word as before, all while towering over the seated girl, Jue expectantly raised an eyebrow.
Lightly blushing, Elizabeth conceded, “Yes, Aunt June.”
“Good. Starting right now, you are no longer my boss. You are my well behaved niece named Elizabeth. Actually, no. I think you should go by ‘Lizzie’ tomorrow. What if our future client recognizes your name when she next sees you?”
“What? No! I’m-”
“Lizzie!,” June snapped, “You agreed to this idea, didn’t you? We literally just talked about how we need practice, which means it’s best if you don’t act like you’re anyone’s boss. As long as you’re my niece, I’m the one in charge. Now, are you going to be a big girl and behave properly, or are you going to be a whiny little brat?”
Elizabeth had never felt so small. It was surprising, seeing this side of her assistant. And the last time Elizabeth had been told off in such a way was when she was younger; college professors tended to speak to their students more like adults on average, and Elizabeth had never been reamed out at work due to how she was so clever about deflecting blame and making sure she was only ever praised for the work she may or may not have done all the work for.
Neither option was good. Obviously being a ‘big girl’ was better than the insulting alternative, though she wasn’t actually June’s niece. Except apparently the young woman standing in front of her had decided that they needed more practice than Elizabeth merely calling her by the appropriate name. And she was really too vulnerable and caught off guard to protest.
“I’ll behave,” she mumbled, glancing away with a bit of a blush.
June just sighed. “Was that so difficult? Okay, let’s try this again. You are going to sit still and do as you’re told, yes?”
“Yes, Aunt June,” Elizabeth said.
And that was that. June had Elizabeth turn around, and unpacked the small box of supplies she would need to make her boss nearly unrecognizable. Between the hair, the clothes, and this new dynamic, it was starting to feel like this might actually work. June would be the one to close the big client. ‘Lizzie’ would be twiddling her thumbs and finally experience what it was like to be talked down to all day.