I’m offered more responsibilities at work Ballroom dancing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, but I didn’t realise just how important it would become in shaping my future until I had to take the place of one of my bosses following an accident. Dancing Queen A novel by Louise Anne Smithson Copyright © 2013 Louise Anne Smithson All Rights Reserved.

 
Chapter 17 Progress at work

I allowed myself the small vanity of wearing my dark red dress with the low cut neckline and mum’s pendant into work on Monday morning. It was just low enough to be noticeable but not so low as to cause a riot in the High Street.

‘Very nice, Michelle, your new boobs are just right,’ commented Helen. ‘Don’t you agree Rich?’

Richard looked distinctly embarrassed and muttered his agreement, before getting on with his work. However I did notice him peering down my cleavage at one point later on, when we were supposed to be discussing the details of a new property.

When we were alone later Sarah later whispered to me that I looked very smart and my boobs looked nice but maybe I should avoid creating too much of a distraction at work. She said it in such a nice way that I didn’t feel embarrassed but decided not to repeat the experiment, all the same. In all other respects I continued to do well at work and increasingly found that I was the one dealing with most of the customers who came through the door. One significant development also took place during that second week in October. It began with a suggestion made by Rob on the Wednesday afternoon.

‘Helen, would you be able to drive out to Harpenden tomorrow morning to measure up and take details of that new commission in Overstone Road, as Sarah is now unable to do so?’ he asked.

(Harpenden is a small town about four miles south of Luton, which seemed to be becoming a useful source of new business for us.)

‘Yes, of course, I could drive over first thing, if you like,’ she replied.

‘Sarah and I are planning to be in the office for most of the morning, so maybe you could take Michelle along with you, to show her how it’s done,’ Rob continued.

‘Fine, with two of us it should only take an hour or so.’

‘I should like that,’ I replied pleased to have another opportunity to get out of the office and to undertake a new task.

‘Shall I collect you directly from your mother’s house at 9.30am tomorrow, to save you the bus ride into work?’ Helen asked.

‘Yes, if that will be alright with you, Rob?’

‘Yes, you go ahead, it will make more sense that way.

As a result of Helen’s suggestion I had an extra ninety minutes the following morning and used the opportunity to de-fuzz my legs, arms and armpits, and paint my toenails ready for the weekend. However, Helen arrived ten minutes earlier than she’d originally intended, before I had time to finish putting on my makeup. I called out to Mum to answer the door for me and let her in to my bedroom whilst I hurriedly finished putting on my mascara.

‘Don’t worry, Michelle, we’ve plenty of time, the traffic in town wasn’t as bad as I’d thought,’ said Helen as she came in.

‘I’m almost ready,’ I said as I put the finishing touches to my eyes, brushed my hair and did a final check in the mirror.

I was quite happy with the way I looked so I put my lipstick, mascara and powder compact into my handbag, together with my keys, and some tissues and went to get my coat.

‘Your daughter’s becoming quite an expert at getting herself ready, ‘Helen commented to Mum as we went out the front door together.

‘Yes, I’m very pleased with her progress,’ replied Mum.

During the course of the morning Helen showed me what had to be done when taking down the particulars of any house that was about to go on the market, and what questions needed to be asked of the prospective vendors. We also took a number of digital photographs of each room. As she did so she explained to me what to look out for and how to get the best possible pictures which would make the room seem larger or avoided highlighting any potential problems.

‘There seem to be a number of these houses coming on the market recently,’ said Helen. ‘I suggest you ask Rob if you can deal with the next one on your own.’

‘I should be happy to do so, if they’re willing to trust me,’ I replied.

‘I don’t see why not. We all seem to have got busier over the last few weeks, especially since Sarah has been out of action.’

It occurred to me as we drove back to Dunstable that not once during the course of the morning had Helen made any reference to my past identity. As with Mum, it was almost as if Michael had never existed. She was simply showing her junior colleague, how to do the job.

Helen and I arrived back at the office at about midday, to find Rob and Sarah both looking quite pleased with themselves.

‘Michelle, the Johnson’s have made an offer on that house in Houghton Regis, thanks to your good work last week,’ he said as I entered. ‘As you know they’ve already sold their existing house, so, it looks as if you’ve made your first house sale - congratulations!’

‘That’s wonderful,’ I said, feeling really pleased with my day.

‘May we both have a word with you in the back office?’ he continued.

I followed them in and closed the door.

‘I’ve been in touch with the vendors and they have accepted the offer. The Johnsons will be coming in to our office on Monday morning to sign the relevant forms and let us know who will be handling the legal aspects of the sale for them.’

He now began to look a little awkward.

‘Under normal circumstances Sarah and I would have asked you to deal with them and then to liaise with the solicitors for both the buyers and sellers to ensure that the sale goes through without a hitch,’

‘But not on this occasion?’ I said, feeling a little disappointed not to be given yet another responsibility.

‘Well, we haven’t decided as yet,’ said Rob.

I looked at him, puzzled.

‘It usually takes about four to five weeks for a sale to go through where there is no mortgage required, which could take you beyond your promise to remain as Michelle. There are also sometimes hold ups and in a few cases the process can take two months or more. What would happen if you’d started dealing with the matter as Michelle, and then there proved to be a delay?’ asked Sarah.

‘It would be embarrassing for all concerned,’ added Rob.

‘If you were willing to trust me to take on the job I would have to continue as I was until everything was satisfactorily completed,’ I said.

‘Are you sure about that?’ said Sarah.

I was about to answer but Rob spoke first.

‘Before you say anything more, let me put to you a suggestion from Sarah. One reason why I sent you both out this morning was that we needed to talk together about the business and also sound out the opinion of Richard. As you know, our business seems to have picked up quite well over the last few weeks, which is very good news, but it has coincided with the time when Sarah has been confined to the office because of her accident. We are going to need some extra help until the end of the year, but we are not in a position to make a permanent appointment. Sarah has suggested that we should offer you a temporary promotion for three months, as a trainee negotiator and offer the two weekend staff additional hours of work to take on some of your clerical duties. We would backdate the promotion to 1st October and pay you at the higher rate until the end of December. By that time Sarah should be fully fit once again.’

‘You are quite young for such a promotion, but we think that you have shown yourself capable of doing the job, and Richard agrees,’ added Sarah. ‘But it would be on the understanding that ‘Michelle’ is available until the end of the year.’

‘So what do you think?’ asked Rob.

‘I’m not sure. I would like the work and the extra responsibility but it would almost double the amount of time I was remaining as Michelle.’

‘It would also mean that you get out of the office much more,’ added Sarah.

‘I’ll need a little time to think about it and perhaps talk to Mum, as well.’

‘Yes of course. The Johnsons are not due to come in until Monday afternoon, so we have until Monday morning to decide what to do. See how you feel after Saturday’s demonstration before making up your mind?’ suggested Sarah.

There was no question that my life had become somewhat more interesting and eventful since the advent of Michelle just over two weeks ago but I didn’t know what to think about Rob and Sarah’s offer. I didn’t feel ready to discuss it with Helen until I’d had time to think it through and so I was relieved to find that she had left for her lunch by the time I emerged from the office. I delayed going for my own lunch break until she had returned, and by the time I got back the office was again quite busy and so we had no time to talk.

As we were closing for the evening Helen came up to me.

‘I’m having a day off tomorrow, shopping in London with my sister so I won’t be able to wish you good luck, but I’ll see you dancing on Saturday afternoon. I am meeting up with Richard tonight who will show me how to operate a second video camera.’

‘Oh yes, I remember,’ I replied.

‘I doubt if I’ll be much good but he thinks I should be able to get some reasonable shots which he can mix in with his own to create a better video.’

‘I hope you have a good time then, both tonight and tomorrow,’ I replied.

I wasn’t jealous of Helen, who’d been a good friend to me over the last two weeks. I was, however, surprised to discover that I felt just a touch of envy because she could go out clothes shopping with her sister and had plenty of boyfriends. I was also slightly sad that Richard had thought nothing about asking her out, but would never do so to me.

During the ten days since Mum had known me as Michelle, she was true to her word and treated me as if I were her daughter, only ever referring to me by my new name and acting as if she’d never had a son. At first this seemed a little strange, but I gradually got used to the idea. In some respects, I found that my relationship with her had become closer as a result of the change and so I was happy enough to go along with the fiction. It wasn’t that we hadn’t got on well together before so much as we seemed better able to understand and relate to one another as mother and daughter. I wasn’t sure whether it was me or Mum who had most altered or perhaps a combination of the two of us. She often made helpful suggestions about the clothes that I wore for work or how I might deal with my hair.

Mum seemed more than willing to take over the responsibility for my costumes and grooming at the forthcoming demonstrations and Sarah was equally happy to leave the matter in her hands. Mum made sure that the dresses were clean and packed so that they would not become creased. On Thursday evening she also helped me to wash and style my hair ready for the dress rehearsal on Friday evening and the performance on Saturday. I had intended to mention the offer of a temporary promotion to the end of December to her, but in the end decided that my main preoccupation should be the dancing, and that discussion of my future plans could wait until later, after I’d had more time to consider the implications of the offer. I’d been having a great time as Michelle, but I was still unsure whether it would be right for me to remain living as a girl once I was no longer required to do so for my dancing.

Next time: Our second demonstration dance

Thanks to Bronwen for editing and to everyone else for comments and kudos which are always appreciated.Louise

The reason why this chapter has so fewer reads, kudos and comments compared to the other chapters of the story is that the original posting was lost when the BigCloset servers crashed.