the high beams. I used my mental powers to will my nipples to stay put.
Bubba bumped into me again, sending me bouncing.
Bigwood snapped his fingers. ‘ I’ ve got it! You’ re wearing flat shoes. So you look shorter.’
Since I was, as always, wearing flats, I nodded.
‘ See,’ he boasted, ‘ I told you I’ m good at figuring this sort of thing out.’
Bigwood’ s gaze then shifted to something behind me, and he suddenly looked alarmed. ‘ Is that clock right?’
I turned around. One-fifteen. ‘ Maybe a minute or two fast,’ I said.
‘ June, I need your help,’ he said urgently. ‘ I’ m due at a meeting in Long Beach in thirty minutes. I can’ t be late. I need you to come with me so I can use the carpool lane.’ He turned without giving me a chance to reply and nearly sprinted down the hall. Bubba barreled after him. ‘ At the elevators in two minutes!’
Talk about being wanted for your body.
The meeting, he explained as we climbed into his convertible, was at S.C. Electric, whom he hoped to bring on as a corporate funder. ‘ It’ s a long shot-those cheap bastards. But I’ ll do what I can to squeeze a few bucks out of them.’
I held a notebook I’ d grabbed off my desk clutched to my chest-why hadn’ t I brought a backup bra? This would surely qualify as an undergarment emergency. I could’ ve tried another day for my task.
We cruised along in the carpool lane at speeds reaching a hundred miles per hour. ‘ Look at that!’ Bigwood exclaimed, tipping his head toward the regular freeway lanes. Even in the middle of the day, they were packed with traffic. ‘ This is why we do the good work we do!’
I’ d sort of taken it as a sign that we weren’ t doing such good work.
We arrived in one piece and parked. Bigwood led me into the offices of S.C. Electric with seconds to spare. I expected him to deposit me in the lobby to wait, but instead he insisted I join him. ‘ This is how you learn,’ he said in a tone that I suspected he often used with his daughters.
Two women and two men already sat at a conference table. Bigwood introduced me as his associate in charge of marketing-a lovely, albeit temporary, promotion to Lizbeth’ s job-and went on to bluntly explain why S.C. Electric should give us money.
The proposition, for all its snappy delivery, went down in flames from the beginning.
And then, surprisingly, came my moment.
Even looking back, I couldn’ t say if it was Bigwood wanting to give me an opportunity to prove myself or him deciding, as long as he was leaping from the plane, that he’ d grab me to cushion the fall.
The S.C. Electric people had responded plainly that they couldn’ t fund us because they had limited dollars. Bigwood thanked them, and I expected we were going to leave. But then he turned to me and said, ‘ June, do you have anything to add?’
In real life-that is, my old life, in which I wouldn’ t even be here because I wouldn’ t have been jiggling down the hall and attracting Bigwood’ s notice-I would have made a benign remark such as ‘ I’ m good to go.’
Instead, I set down the notebook I’ d been clinging to. Lizbeth was never going to listen to my pitch. This was my chance. If I blew it, what was the worst that could happen? I’ d never see these people again, and Bigwood could hardly fault me for failing when he’ d done exactly the same thing moments before.
‘ I do have a way we may be able to partner that would be low-cost,’ I said, aiming to keep my voice steady. ‘ It’ ll help you get your feet wet. Once you see the good work we can do, I’ m confident you’ ll want to continue the association at a higher level.’
Then I pitched the hell out of my free gas idea. I was so focused on what I was saying that I didn’ t even worry that I was braless. Without the graphs and charts I’ d been working on, I knew I was the main show, so I did my best to make giving away free gas sound like the next step in reality TV. I painted a mental picture of happy motorists screaming with glee as we told them they’ d won free gas-of how they would surely thank their generous sponsors for this honor, perhaps even wipe away tears of gratitude. All on TV. And all for the low, low price of, say, a few thousand?
They loved it-they loved me! Although they couldn’ t commit on the spot-they first had to run it by the powers- that-be-they assured us they’ d do everything they could to make the project happen.
Later, as we walked back to his car, Lou Bigwood gave my shoulder a squeeze and told me I did a great job.
‘ Thank you, Mr. Bigwood.’
‘ Call me Lou.’
That was when it hit me: I was now one of Charlie’ s Angels. Susan was going to keel over laughing.
I suspected that Lizbeth, however, would be less amused-leaving me to fret the entire way back to the office over how much she’ d try to make my job a living hell.
Chapter 6
I woke to the phone ringing. Seven forty-five on a Saturday. Who’ d be calling this early?
I let the machine pick up, but when I heard it was my mom, I grabbed it. ‘ It’ s not even eight o’ clock!’
‘ It isn’ t? Oh, sorry. Go back to sleep.’
‘ No& ‘ I rolled out of bed and ambled to the kitchen to start the coffee. ‘ I needed to get up anyway. What’ s up?’
‘ I wanted to let you know that Vons has those bags of frozen shrimp on sale for $8.99 a pound.’
As if I knew how to cook shrimp? ‘ Okay& thanks& don’ t think I need any.’
‘ I know, but your father wanted me to call you and tell you to pick some up. They have a limit of five bags. He’ s already been to the store twice, and he’ s afraid if he goes back again, they might catch on.’
I smiled-my dad loved to find the bargains. ‘ Okay. No problem.’ After my mom warned me that the sale ended
