Chapter 1: Reaching Out for Help

“Would you help me be more like you? I’ll pay you five-thousand dollars.”

I’d worked myself up for two weeks in order to even talk to Sheri Bremmer. She was the most popular and outgoing person that I knew. I could tell that she loved life and that life loved her. So did about two dozen of the men and women in our marketing department, and in the case of the men it didn’t apparently matter whether they were married or not.

Sheri studied me and carefully said, “You’re Brianna, right?”

I nodded and forced a smile. “Brianna Ashley Porter.”

“And you want to PAY me to help you to be like ME?” There was great disbelief in her voice.

I nodded again. “It’s all I can afford. If it costs more, I can pay it off over time.”

Sheri held her head in her hands for a moment while thinking. This apparently was not an easy sell. I wish I’d had more money to offer.

Sheri finally said, “Why me?”

“You’re so happy all the time. You smile and have something fun to say with everybody. I’ve watched you. You’re smart, too. People like you and even love you. The guys all want to date you. You’re popular. You have a fabulous wardrobe, although some of the clothes are pretty risqué. You use makeup to perfection. I know you use the company gym, so I started to do that, too. Your body is like perfect, whereas I need some reshaping. You’re my idea of a perfect woman.”

Sheri studied me. I didn’t think I was all that bad. I wasn’t badly overweight or anything. I thought I looked all right. I just lacked confidence and all sorts of social skills.

Sheri shook her head again. “What prompted this?” She gestured to the chair next to her desk. She had one of the larger cubicles in our office and was leading one of the hot marketing projects for Knightsbridge, our company.

I sat. “My mom and dad have always tried to get me to be more outgoing – an extrovert, and to take bold steps. They just sent me a framed picture of a scared turtle hiding in its shell. Above the turtle is the slogan ‘No Guts, No Glory’. I decided that at my age it was now or never; I’m twenty-four. I have to be bold. I need help to do that. It’s scary and I should have done something way before now, but I didn’t. I’ve been very shy and introvertive. I haven’t been social at all, and certainly not done anything sexual. I’m not even sure what to do, and I just know you’ll have thousands of suggestions. I need your help.”

“Brianna, I’m not sure you want to do what you’re asking. I am far from a good role model. Some might consider me a terrible example to emulate. I do have my own insecurities, but I’ve learned how to hide them.”

“Will you teach me how to do that?”

Sheri sighed. “Brianna, what is your background?”

I said, “The short version is that I’m from Middleton, Kansas, age twenty-four, valedictorian in high school and college where I graduated summa cum laude, the latter in business and marketing. I interviewed here at Knightsbridge and took the job because the money was good and it looked like I could keep my head down and disappear. Now, I know that’s not what I should be doing if I want to be happy.” Tears came to my eyes and I choked up, “I HAVE to change. I don’t want to die a friendless old maid.”

Sheri studied me and said, “I was a B-minus student in school. I was too wrapped up with social things and cheerleading. What did you do beside study?”

I cringed slightly and got hold of my emotions, “I was in the chess club, and studied about computers and their application to marketing and sales. I built several websites for my friends and helped the college with theirs. No one really taught that kind of stuff in my college; I learned it on my own.”

Sheri swore under her breath but I heard her, “Shit. I’m dumb as a stump compared to this girl.”

Sheri looked at me and I kept quiet to let her think. She finally said, “I’ll do it, but hold onto your money. If you really want to keep up with me, you’re going to need it for other things we’ll be buying. You should know that my close friend Maryann will help.”

I smiled, “Thank you. I know who Maryann is. How do we start?” I figured I was a sympathy case for her.

“We start by me thinking about how to start. In the meantime, confirm to me that if I tell you to do something, that you’ll do it.”

“I promise.” I would do anything, too. I just had to change, and if my role model had an idea, I’d try it. No guts, no glory.

Sheri said, “All right, meet me after work – five o’clock here, and we’ll talk over a martini at Epoch. My roommate and best friend Maryann will probably join us. As you may know, she works in finance.”

I nodded. Epoch was a cocktail lounge about a mile down the road from our offices. Many of the people in the company stopped by there after work, but I’d never even been in the place. I only knew about that by hearing others mention it at lunch.

I may as well have not worked for the rest of the day thinking about what Sheri was going to have me do. On an impulse I’d agreed to do anything that she suggested. I kind of guessed that she could be a little wild, but I hoped that didn’t extend to her helping me. Then again, I was just too conservative and maybe that was what I needed. I probably needed ‘wild’.

At five o’clock, I found Sheri in her cubicle wearing only panties and a very thin bra that revealed everything. She seemed unperturbed at my arrival and her state of undress. “Hi Brianna. I’m just changing my clothes so I’m dressed the way I want to be for the Epoch. You need to dress for the environment you’re going to be in. I’ll show you, but tonight you have on what you have on.”

I looked down at my own clothing, in this case a simple mid-calf dress with tiny flowers randomly scattered around as the design. I was wearing dull, black, almost-heelless flats. They were comfortable. My mom called them sensible shoes. Sheri was dressing as though she were going out on a serious date.

I asked, “Do you have date? We could do this another night if you do.”

“No, no,” she insisted. “Tonight, this is fine. You know this place. I want to look my best for the guys that show up there. Who knows what might happen?”

I said in a near whisper, “I’ve never been inside Epoch. I only know where it is.”

Sheri paused and studied me. She muttered about starting to see the scope of the problem. She spent five minutes on makeup after having me follow her to the ladies’ room. She told me what she was doing to her hair, eyes, lids, cheeks, and lips, which ended up highly glossed. She used a little of her cosmetics on me. I thought I was beyond hope and almost cried at my insecurity. I was to do the same after that day. I was also to get contact lenses, but I was ‘allowed’ to wear large sunglasses, even pushing them up into my dark hair.

In the end, she had on a very short skirt, very high heels, a nearly see-through blouse, and a black sequined vest to actually hide her nipples – sort of. She looked really pretty. I wondered whether I could ever look so good.

I followed Sheri in my car to the Epoch. As we walked in, I asked, “Are you sure you even want to be seen with me? I’m so Plain Jane.”

“I think you and I are going to have fun, and soon enough you’ll have your own look to be in a place like this. I’m fine and as of today you are my protégé.”

As the door to the place opened, we were assaulted by a blast of music. I knew I’d have to yell to be heard. We strolled in, and while the music was very loud, I did get used to it and even found that we could talk rather than yell at each other.