Amethyst headed straight for the restroom after stepping off the elevator. She passed a few employees on the way and exchanged polite greetings, but no eyebrows were raised or glances too long so she could only assume she still looked halfway presentable.
Amethyst entered the restroom and was relieved to find that she was alone. She quickly took her appearance looking for any signs of the exchange that had taken place in the elevator. Aside from uncommonly flushed cheeks and a few wisps of loose hair she looked normal. Damn Damien for taking her panties. Now she had to walk around all day feeling exposed. Damn, damn, and double damn.
Amethyst smoothed her hair down, quickly washed up, and returned to her office. No sooner had she sat down than one of her junior employees appeared, Cameron. Amethyst had received a short bio on each of the staff members in her department and knew that Cameron had begun working at Perucci Industries soon after graduating college. He was very bright, but was still on a junior level because he had much to learn as he worked the corporate ladder. He could spot a problem in a minute, but was rarely able to solve it independently.
Amethyst turned an easy smile on Cameron, inviting him to come in. Cameron came over to her desk with a smile of his own, which was somewhat more personal than professional, but open and welcoming all around.
"Amethyst, I know it's your first day, but Damien only hires the best, and I have a slight problem," Damien started, laying a mock advertisement on her desk. "This is our latest ad for the 'Oooh' campaign," he started. "'Oooh' is our latest perfume that we--," Cameron stopped abruptly as Amethyst raised her hand.
"I know what 'Oooh' is," Amethyst informed him. She never took a job without learning about every aspect of the company and the products and services it offered. "Oooh" was geared towards vivacious women of all ages who wanted to proclaim to the world through scent alone that they were something special to be "Oooh"ed and aaaahed over.
Amethyst smiled up at Cameron to lighten the blow she had dealt him. It was a minor putdown, but still she wanted to maintain as pleasant a relationship with the staff as was possible during her short time there.
Amethyst turned her eyes back to the advertisement and studied it with a practiced professional eye. "Looking at this ad, you probably are wondering why the colors aren't melding well together and what you can do to fix it, yes?"
Cameron looked at Amethyst with new respect and awe at her summary. Amethyst could see the glint of professional admiration tingeing in Cameron's eyes and smiled to herself. Junior staff were so easy to read.
"That's it exactly," Cameron admitted, just as Amethyst had assumed he would.
"Well," Amethyst began, "The two shades of pink and light cream are trademarks of the product so they can't be pushed aside, and the eye catching orange is a diversion tactic to draw the eye to the billboard and page, but as you've already surmised, the two cannot go together, so something has to give and it must clearly be the orange."
"I agree completely," Cameron insisted, "But what can replace it that is both eye catching and complimentar?"
"Nothing," Amethyst summarized. "So I would propose dropping the orange background, changing it to cream with a matte undertone to contrast with the gloss, and blow the bottle up to a life size image and wrap a naked woman around it with a piece of lavender cloth blowing off her exposed thigh. That way we won't have to worry about the background catching the eye, we can do it with the bottle and the woman, plus that has the advantage of putting the product in your face."
Cameron looked at Amethyst in amazement. What she was suggesting was perfect, but he hadn't expected a woman to go for the sex sells sales pitch, or to come up with a feasible solution so quickly. "Perfect," Cameron sighed, almost drooling over the perfection that was Amethyst. Cameron turned to leave.
"And Cameron," Amethyst entreated, catching Cameron's attention, "Make sure she's golden and curvy. No sticks," Amethyst finished with a wink.
"No problem," Cameron insisted, leaving her office looking as though he had been granted the sun.
Amethyst turned to log on to her computer, wasting a few minutes thinking about Cameron as she waited for it to load. She loved dealing with people like Cameron, so easy to control and non-threatening.
Amethyst immediately accessed Microsoft Word and began typing her resignation. It was such a shame too, she thought to herself. The money was great, she liked the staff she had met so far, and the work would prove to be both interesting and challenging. Amethyst sighed and continued typing. She reviewed her letter twice, made a few changes, and printed it. Amethyst signed the letter and sent it via confidential inner office to Damien.
Amethyst turned away from the computer, determined not to think of Damien again, and tucked down into the pile of awaiting work in her inbox. Some of it proved self explanatory, and she knew enough from her research to complete it on her own, and some of it she had to confer with her assistant on. Amethyst finished up shortly after three and stopped to take a lunch break.
Amethyst wandered across the street to a coffee shop and sat down with a Danish and a cup of coffee. She pulled out her cell phone to call Rose about her wok schedule. Rose picked up on the second ring. "Hello," Rose answered.
"Hi Rose, it's Amethyst. I appreciate your interference last night. You were right about it being easy money, and I'm glad I took it." Amethyst hastily stopped talking, and Rose didn't feel any need to fill in the silence, so remained silent and allowed it to stretch.
"Is there something else you want to say, Amethyst? It's not like you to call me and waste my daytime minutes breathing in my ear."
Amethyst laughed at Rose's candidness. "Yes, I guess there is," Amethyst started, taking a deep breath before continuing. "That guy from last night, Damien, he just so happens to be my new boss. I've handed in my resignation, and will therefore be available full time again in two weeks. In the meantime, lets just stick to Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, okay?"
Amethyst waited quietly, praying all the while that Rose wouldn't ask any questions about Damien. Amethyst's prayers went unanswered as Rose filled the silence with a dozen questions at once.
"What kind of boss hires his own employees for a lap dance? And why was he at a strip joint if he is so wealthy? He is wealthy isn't he? You did say on Thursday that you were working for Perucci Industries, right? They haven't gone bankrupt have they?" A slight pause. "No, that's silly. If they had gone bankrupt then they wouldn't be hiring new staff, but honestly, how can you be so calm about it? Afterall, he is your boss."
"Yes, he is my boss," Amethyst began hesitantly, less than anxious to plunge into the aforementioned conversation. "He didn't know I was his employee when he bought me, and neither did I know he was my boss. It doesn't really matter; I'm serving my two weeks notice, and I'm leaving. End of story."
"Yeah right," Rose scoffed down the line. "If he actually lets you leave then I'll buy you a house for Christmas. A man doesn't ask as many questions as he asked me about you last night after you left when he isn't interested. And rich people don't let their interests walk away, they pursue them and conquer. You're playing with fire Amethyst. Let today be your last day."
