Flirting with the HR Girl

Chapter 7

"Cynthia!" Destiny said cheerily, warning Jennifer before she turned around.

"Destiny," Cynthia's voice easily sliced through the din of the cosmetic department. "I couldn't find my assistant and Blanche thought Jennifer might be down in cosmetics."

"Good morning!" Jennifer said as she turned to face her boss.

"My, don't you look fancy this morning, Jennifer," Cynthia said taking in her assistant's new appearance. She was old enough to be Jennifer's mother and was much more glamorous than any HR manager she'd ever met. Cynthia was tall and wore her hair swept up to add to her imposing height. She always had on a rich suit with matching heels that Jennifer would have to save for months to be able to afford on her salary. Cynthia's nails were also impeccable along with her makeup. Jennifer usually felt frumpy next to her but not today. "Imagine my surprise when you weren't in the office, but I didn't expect you were down here getting a makeover."

"It wasn't a makeover exactly," Jennifer said not knowing what to say. The warmth of the cosmetic department was dispelled by the grey cloud Cynthia's displeasure brought. The bag of cosmetics felt heavy in Jennifer's hands.

"It's my fault!" Selena said appearing next to her. Selena had worked with Cynthia the longest of anyone in the Galleria store. They had been on the floor together in women's and Selena counted on that stale camaraderie to get her by with the Dragon Lady a lot. "I asked Jenny to come down because I knew her skin would be perfect for this new line. Plus, her birthday's coming in a couple of months, and I thought she could use a little fun. I'm sorry if I took her away from her work too long, Cynthia."

"Oh, how kind of you, Selena!" Cynthia said smiling broadly at her old friend. "I'm sure Jennifer will make up the time over lunch. Jennifer, are you ready to come back up?"

"Yes, of course," Jennifer said flashing Selena a grateful look while her friend mouthed, "Sorry!"

Cynthia walked away, her heels clicking loudly on the tile floor. Jennifer had to racewalk to keep up in her own heels. She fell in beside Cynthia and felt conscious of employees noticing them clomping by. They headed to the up escalator and Jennifer could see back into men's. Her toes wiggled in excitement when she saw Austin talking to one of his employees. She suddenly became aware of the makeup on her face again. Would he think it was too much? Well, who cares what he thinks? She felt wonderful. Even riding beside her pissed-off boss, waiting for Cynthia to yell at her behind HR's closed door.

Austin suddenly glanced up at the escalator. Jennifer saw recognition come over his face as a broad grin lit up his features. He nodded to her, and she smiled back just before the wall blocked her view. She sailed to the top floor on a cloud just above the escalator.

"Jennifer!" Cynthia said snapping her out of it abruptly. "Hurry up. I still have to head over to the Chesterfield store in an hour. I'm just here to make sure Todd set up the training for Friday as he promised."

"Yes, Cynthia," Jennifer said trailing after her boss through a sea of nightgowns back to the executive offices. She could hear Todd energetically talking on the phone in his office as they passed Blanche, who gave Jennifer an apologetic look before pantomiming that she liked the younger woman's face. Cynthia marched into Todd's office and Jennifer scurried off to the HR office. She quickly reached into her bag and pulled out her new hire paperwork and started preparing for her next appointment. She had her head down when Cynthia returned from Todd's office. Luckily, he pissed her off so much she forgot all about Jennifer's foray into the beauty world.

"Well, Todd did not schedule the training for Friday, so we are doing it on Monday," Cynthia said stomping around to her side of the desk. She grabbed the phone and pounded in the numbers. She picked up some of Jennifer's papers and moved them to make room for her own. "I know you're supposed to have Monday off, but you have to be here for the training."