jour and asking Nicola to step into his office.
The fact was this: she was second in command here and she hated it. Alia, the nominal boss, was too busy looking after her spiritual condition to do much, so Guy made the decisions and had Nicola carry them out. In Nicola’s favorite fantasy, Guy was forced to move to New York City and find work as a house cleaner. She liked to picture him wearing a mesh hairnet.
“Nicola, could I see you a minute?” Guy asked from the doorway. “Jesus, the air in this room could kill you.”
As Nicola left, Audrey gave her a thumb’s-up and Carlos said, “Be brave, young soldier.” Nicola followed Guy to his office. She felt her short suede skirt rub against her legs as she walked. That morning she had looked through her closet feeling strong and smart and wanting to look fantastic. She chose the skirt and a tight brown top and a black silk camisole, which was only just visible. She knew she looked great, but all of it was wasted on Guy. He sat down at his desk and barely even glanced at her.
“About Fred,” he said, looking at his computer screen.
“Yes,” Nicola began. She had given this a lot of thought on the muni this morning. “You know, I was thinking about what you said last Friday, and I agree, you should definitely sit in on the meeting.”
“Oh, I should?” Guy was surprised. “Why is that?”
“We could do a little good cop bad cop. I tell him the bad news, you tell him the good.”
“There’s good news?”
“I outlined it in that memo, the goNetURI solution.”
Guy was dismissive. “Oh right. Like I said on Friday, I don’t think that will work. Don’t waste your time.”
Nicola pulled her chair closer to Guy’s desk, then swiveled his computer so she could work on it. “I put up the test site this morning,” she said. “Watch.”
Images fell from the screen. Nicola clicked on one at random, and a new window opened.
“Huh,” Guy said.
“Just what Fred wanted. He’ll want to know how it worked, and as the good cop you can explain it. I put it all in my memo. Just spell it out in layman’s terms.”
“I didn’t get a memo,” Guy said.
“Here’s a copy.”
Guy looked it over. “Huh. Huh. Huh,” he said, frowning. “Okay. Well, since you got it working, okay, but it seems overly complicated.”
Nicola looked at him steadily. She was not afraid of him, not anymore. Had she really been afraid of him?
“Oh Fred loves that,” she said. “He likes to think he’s hiring rocket scientists to work exclusively on his site. Just explain it in detail.”
“Is that right,” Guy said. He was still looking at the memo. Then he looked at his computer screen. Awkwardly, he moved the mouse over and clicked one of the images.
“It seems to work,” he said.
“It’s beautiful,” Nicola told him. She shifted a little in her seat and pulled at her skirt. Guy looked down at her leg.
“But I have an idea,” he said. “Why don’t I be the bad cop? That way you could explain all this in detail and as you do it you could flirt, smile with him a little. Remember how you were going to smile? Butter him up. Make him feel, you know, wanted.”
“Wanted?”
“Well just a little.” Guy smirked.
Nicola pretended to consider it. “We could do it that way,” she said.
“Good. Okay, then.”
“We could do it that way except for the obvious problem.”
“What’s that?”
“Fred’s gay.”
“He’s gay?”
Nicola smiled. “So really it should be you smiling and flirting.”
“Me?” Guy laughed. “Oh I couldn’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Well why do you think?”
“I have no idea.”
“Because I’m not gay!”
“Does that matter?”
“Of course it does! He won’t believe me. You should do it,” Guy said.
Nicola raised her eyebrows; this should be interesting, she thought.
“You’re the woman, ” Guy explained, “so you should flirt. It’ll be more effective.”
“A woman flirting with a gay man is
The fact was this: she was second in command here and she hated it. Alia, the nominal boss, was too busy looking after her spiritual condition to do much, so Guy made the decisions and had Nicola carry them out. In Nicola’s favorite fantasy, Guy was forced to move to New York City and find work as a house cleaner. She liked to picture him wearing a mesh hairnet.
“Nicola, could I see you a minute?” Guy asked from the doorway. “Jesus, the air in this room could kill you.”
As Nicola left, Audrey gave her a thumb’s-up and Carlos said, “Be brave, young soldier.” Nicola followed Guy to his office. She felt her short suede skirt rub against her legs as she walked. That morning she had looked through her closet feeling strong and smart and wanting to look fantastic. She chose the skirt and a tight brown top and a black silk camisole, which was only just visible. She knew she looked great, but all of it was wasted on Guy. He sat down at his desk and barely even glanced at her.
“About Fred,” he said, looking at his computer screen.
“Yes,” Nicola began. She had given this a lot of thought on the muni this morning. “You know, I was thinking about what you said last Friday, and I agree, you should definitely sit in on the meeting.”
“Oh, I should?” Guy was surprised. “Why is that?”
“We could do a little good cop bad cop. I tell him the bad news, you tell him the good.”
“There’s good news?”
“I outlined it in that memo, the goNetURI solution.”
Guy was dismissive. “Oh right. Like I said on Friday, I don’t think that will work. Don’t waste your time.”
Nicola pulled her chair closer to Guy’s desk, then swiveled his computer so she could work on it. “I put up the test site this morning,” she said. “Watch.”
Images fell from the screen. Nicola clicked on one at random, and a new window opened.
“Huh,” Guy said.
“Just what Fred wanted. He’ll want to know how it worked, and as the good cop you can explain it. I put it all in my memo. Just spell it out in layman’s terms.”
“I didn’t get a memo,” Guy said.
“Here’s a copy.”
Guy looked it over. “Huh. Huh. Huh,” he said, frowning. “Okay. Well, since you got it working, okay, but it seems overly complicated.”
Nicola looked at him steadily. She was not afraid of him, not anymore. Had she really been afraid of him?
“Oh Fred loves that,” she said. “He likes to think he’s hiring rocket scientists to work exclusively on his site. Just explain it in detail.”
“Is that right,” Guy said. He was still looking at the memo. Then he looked at his computer screen. Awkwardly, he moved the mouse over and clicked one of the images.
“It seems to work,” he said.
“It’s beautiful,” Nicola told him. She shifted a little in her seat and pulled at her skirt. Guy looked down at her leg.
“But I have an idea,” he said. “Why don’t I be the bad cop? That way you could explain all this in detail and as you do it you could flirt, smile with him a little. Remember how you were going to smile? Butter him up. Make him feel, you know, wanted.”
“Wanted?”
“Well just a little.” Guy smirked.
Nicola pretended to consider it. “We could do it that way,” she said.
“Good. Okay, then.”
“We could do it that way except for the obvious problem.”
“What’s that?”
“Fred’s gay.”
“He’s gay?”
Nicola smiled. “So really it should be you smiling and flirting.”
“Me?” Guy laughed. “Oh I couldn’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Well why do you think?”
“I have no idea.”
“Because I’m not gay!”
“Does that matter?”
“Of course it does! He won’t believe me. You should do it,” Guy said.
Nicola raised her eyebrows; this should be interesting, she thought.
“You’re the woman, ” Guy explained, “so you should flirt. It’ll be more effective.”
“A woman flirting with a gay man is
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