Comfort Girl No. 4

Chapter One-2

Janice placed the letter aside and completed her ablutions in the bath. After drying herself, rubbing some of that deliciously smelling powder on her intimates, and a long session with the dryer on her hair, she was ready for some dinner. She donned a silky robe and went to the kitchenette off of the small dining room. The apartment was typically small, as New York rents were atrocious. But she loved the view from her living area and the unusually large bedroom. And, oh, closets, there were closets.

After broiling her small filet of skinless chicken (no frying for the weight conscious), steaming a small piece of broccoli and boiling a smattering of whole wheat noodles, Janice sat at the small dining room table and flipped on the television. The news was boring, the talk shows were boring and the movies were boring. Well, it was just background noise anyway. She remembered then the envelope she had tossed in the waste can. “Open Immediately!” Janice wondered if that was the envelope that Denise had talked about in her letter. Well, if she wanted to know more about what Denise was up to, she should read it.

Janice retrieved the oversized brown envelope from the hallway trashcan and returned to her dinner. She opened the envelope and read its contents as she carefully masticated her “diet delight”.

Inside was a single 8 ½ x 11” page of glossy paper, oversized to match the envelope. Across the top in a banner headline was the words “ONCE IN A LIFETIME…..” There was a picture of a trio of happy women holding hands and marching towards the viewer. All of the women were beautiful with long, flowing hair, wearing short colorful clingy dresses that showed off their long and tanned legs.

Underneath the picture, again in banner headlines “FINANCIAL SECURITY CAN BE YOURS!” Janice read the blue-colored text that ran below the banner:

“Yes, lifetime financial security can be yours! An international company is seeking talented and vibrant young women to act as representatives in worldwide trade. Lifetime financial security guaranteed. Our client demands the most loyal and personable employees to assist in the marketing of its worldwide products and services. Significant training provided at our modern facilities. Call today.”

The advertisement went on for a few more paragraphs touting the benefits of financial security and lamenting the need for absolute confidentiality. No substance though. Not even the name of the company. Just an “800” number to call “day or night”.

Janice pondered the ad and wondered what the hell this could be all about. It was hard to believe that it was a legitimate offer. She was all too aware of the implications of things too good to be true. Nothing was as simple as this ad suggested. And oddly, there didn’t seem to be any company name in the ad. But then again, if Denise was doing it and had written to her about it, wasn’t it worth a little phone call? The ad stated that, “All calls are strictly confidential.” And, “All it takes is one phone call.” Well, maybe tomorrow.

The next day was a more than typical day at the office for Janice. The telephone was ringing off of the hook, her boss, that asshole, yelled at her for screwing up an appointment and it rained all day. When she got home to her apartment, she was beat and depressed. More bills in the mail, more ads. She hesitated before taking her normal four-story trek. The weight of the day seemed to bore down on her and she decided to forgo her regimen this day. Tomorrow, she’d do the stairs, but just this once, she needed to rest and recuperate from the day’s depressing events.

Janice walked off of the elevator and lunged into her apartment. This was her sanctuary, her walls like the battlements of a castle. She could recuperate here.

Again, somewhat out of character, Janice decided to have a small glass of wine before her bath. Better than tea, she thought. She pulled the cork from a bottle of Merlot she had been saving for a special event and poured herself a nice glassful. Walking the short distance to her small living area, she plopped herself down on the sofa/futon she had bought many months ago to serve a dual purpose as furniture and guest bed. After taking a long drink from the delicate stemware, she sat back and just sighed. This f*****g job is going nowhere fast, she thought. One more day like this and I’ll open one of these windows and leap out.

Janice picked up the remote and clicked on the stereo. A nice soothing CD, the mystical notes of Emmett Charles on the sax, wafted out to her. Mmmm, she thought, that’s more like it. She put down the glass and reached behind her, lifting her hips. Grabbing the elastic waistband of her pantyhose, she pulled it down over her hips and then down her long, well trimmed legs. She hated pantyhose, but garter belts and such were such a pain. And the nylons did accentuate the shapeliness of her legs well. “What self respecting girl would go out without good stockings,” she thought.

She tossed the pantyhose aside and reached for another pull on the wine. She was beginning to feel human again. She closed her eyes and drifted as the music washed over her. Those high saxophone notes seemed to pierce her. She was beginning to feel that warm and fuzzy feeling. Rubbing her hands over her thighs, and between them, she looked forward to her bath. Two days in a row? Well why not, she thought.

After about twenty minutes, long enough for several cuts off of Emmett Charles’s latest and long enough to finish off the Merlot in her glass, Janice arose from the couch. She was slightly tipsy from three glasses of wine and edgy from horniness, the result of an absentminded, but steady, caress of her s*x. The combination of a wine buzz and a s*x buzz made her laconic, but with a heightened awareness.

Janice walked by the dining room table and retrieved the Merlot bottle for recorking. As she did, she spotted the circular from the day before. It lay half hidden on the table, covered with today’s disappointing mail. Janice picked it up. Looking again at the smiling face of the models on the brochure she said to herself, “Well, why the f**k not?”

After a day like today, Janice was willing to grasp at straws. Maybe a new opportunity is just what she needed. She was going nowhere fast at Grayson’s Advertising. Her boss, Mr. Jennings was a pain in the ass, always coming on to her. He had piled tons of work on her, even forcing her to sign and submit his expense vouchers. He did all the traveling and each time he returned Janice had to trot down to bookkeeping, turn in his voucher and bring the $300 or $400 dollars in expense cash back to him. Why the company still dealt in cash was a wonder to her, but it was a symptom of its backwardness. Enough was enough.

Summoning up her courage, Janice dialed the 800 number on the cover of the brochure. Janice didn’t like speaking to strangers, especially on the phone. She felt a little bit better about calling since she thought that she would probably get a recording instructing her to call during business hours. She was surprised when she heard an operator’s voice answer the third ring with “Enterprises”.

The voice was almost mechanical, possibly even a recording. This was not a good start. Janice almost returned the telephone to its cradle. She looked at the happy women on the brochure and determined to proceed. “Hello, I’m calling about the circular on the employment opportunity…” Janice didn’t really know how else to describe it.

The voice seemed to respond to her question, “Please state the name of the person who referred you”.

Janice felt funny about giving information to what seemed to be a machine. Well, Denise had written about the job and they obviously already knew about her since she worked there. Janise answered, “Denise Thrombly”.

The machine responded, “Please hold”.

There was a whirring sound in the phone and several clicks. This time a male voice answered. A male voice with a slight accent, perhaps Japanese or Chinese. Anyway, this voice was live. “Is this Ms. Janice Peterson?”

Janice was somewhat taken aback. But then again, if it was an efficient company, they would have a record of who had been referred by Denise. They would even probably have caller ID. Well, so much for privacy. Janice hesitatingly said, “Yes”.

The male voice continued. “Do you desire to apply for a position?”

Janice again, surprised at the directness of the question, hesitated. Did she want to apply? Well, she had called, hadn’t she? But…. Janice spoke softly into the telephone, “Well, I read your brochure and I…”

“Please Ms. Peterson, I need to know whether you wish to apply for a position with our organization.”

Janice replied, “I don’t know, what jobs are available?”

“Please, Ms. Peterson, all that information will be made available to you. What I need to know is do you wish to apply for a position?”

Janice let a few moments pass. There was silence on the line. She reviewed briefly in her mind the consequences of saying yes. If they searched her references it might get back to her boss and she could be fired. Well, who gave a s**t about that? There were plenty of dead end jobs in this town. And she could always turn down anything that was offered to her, couldn’t she?

“Y-yes, okay, yes, I’d like to apply.” Janice said hesitatingly.

The voice quickly responded. “Your application is accepted. Please review the notice that will be sent to you for receipt tomorrow. Please comply with its instructions.”

“No, no, you don’t understand…I…,” Janice stammered into the phone. But the voice had already disconnected.

Well, that was weird, Janice thought. The voice said that her application was accepted. Did that mean that they were acknowledging her application and would get back to her or did it mean that she was accepted into the job? But how could either be true if she didn’t give the voice any information?

Anyway, she thought, who would want to work for a strange organization like that? And it was creepy that they knew her name as soon as she called. Another one of those offers too good to be true.

The next day, Janice followed her daily routine without deviation. Off to work, back to home. As she brought in the mail, she noticed a small envelope addressed to her with a New York postmark. Holding the envelope up to the light, she saw that it contained a small card. Janice pretty much knew what it was. It was that awful job thing. She tossed the envelope into the garbage.

In the morning, Janice was just leaving her apartment building to walk to the subway stop two blocks away when she saw a limousine parked just opposite her doorway. A slight, Asian gentleman was standing there. He wore a limo driver’s getup, cap and all. He seemed to recognize her as she stepped onto the sidewalk.

“Missy, I am driver, please get in car,” the man said politely.

Janice stopped and looked at him strangely. Then it hit her, this was from that odd company. The envelope last night probably told her that someone would be by to pick her up. She really should have called them and told them to forget it, but who would have expected this?

“Ah, no thanks” Janice told the driver. “I’m not going, but thanks anyway.”

The driver seemed disturbed by Janice’s statement. He stepped forward to her. Janice noticed that the man’s slight build hid a well-muscled and well toned body. The man moved like a cat. He got just a little too close for Janice’s comfort. “You must come. You have been accepted. I am to take you for your training.”

Janice stood back a step. “Training?” she thought, “What training?” She stepped back again, more nervous now. “N-no thanks, I said.” Janice blurted out. “Please leave me alone.”

The man looked around at the heavy pedestrian traffic and then back at Janice. He shrugged his shoulders and turned to walk back to the limo. Janice, relieved that he had backed off, quickly stepped away.