Boss Agreement

Money for a new suit

Stephanie didn't take much time to write the document. She based it on a format she found among the documents Mary had given her to present to Michael.

"Be careful with the details," Mary warned her when she passed the files to her Drive. "You saw how he's keeping an eye on you, and he doesn't like you even a bit. So, he will be watching for any mistakes you make to let you know... and not in a very nice way."

Stephanie nodded, still with the morning's embarrassment very fresh in her memory and on her skin, which bristled at the thought of going through it again. So, she reviewed the document ten times before considering it finished. Looking at the computer desk clock, she saw that it was past ten thirty. Stephanie stood up from her cubicle and walked over to Mary's desk. Although Mary was a woman in her fifties, she was the only person Stephanie knew in the office and perhaps she could suggest a clothing store where she could buy a better suit than the one she was wearing.

"Two blocks from here, across the avenue, there is a street of boutiques where you can get a good dress," said Mary. "That's where the executives of the firm go."

Stephanie nodded and thanked her for the indication, while swallowing because she had an idea of the place Mary had indicated to her. It was a runway of shops where any scarf could cost a month's salary. She had no idea what she was going to do to pay for what she needed because she didn't have a credit card, much less a checking account or any means that would allow her to make the purchase and pay later. While she was returning to her cubicle, she crossed paths with Xavier, who seemed to be returning from the coffee station and had one in his hand.

"Do you want me to serve you one?" Xavier asked when his eyes met Stephanie's.

"No need, don't worry," Stephanie replied, who was actually dying for one, but was concerned that the coffee might make her nauseous. So far, it had been a quiet day, and she hoped it would stay that way.

"Do you need anything?" Xavier insisted, "You look like something is worrying you, although I understand because of the boss you have..."

"Do you happen to have a credit card?" Stephanie asked, biting her lips, but she was desperate. She had only exchanged a few words with Xavier, whom she had only known for a few hours and was already obliged to ask him for a favor that involved money. She was very embarrassed, and if the circumstances had been different, she would never have dared so much.

"Uh, yeah, why?" Xavier asked, taking a sip of his polystyrene cup.

Stephanie felt her cheeks on fire. If she didn't control her blush, she would soon cause a fire. She took Xavier's hand and took him to her cubicle. She did it so quickly that she almost made him spill the coffee.

"This makes me very embarrassed, Xavier, really it does, but if I weren't desperate, I swear I would never, ever ask you for something like this, seriously. Don't think I'm one of those girls who..."

"Your boss told you that you had to change your clothes or you would be fired, is that it? And since they haven't paid you because you've only been here for a few hours..."

"How do you know?" Stephanie asked, fearing that Xavier had psychic powers and already knew that she was pregnant too.

"I met the girl who worked with your boss before you," Xavier said.

Stephanie remembered what Michael had told her about the last junior lawyer who was his assistant and only lasted two months. It had to be her to whom Xavier was referring.

"Did he tell her the same thing too?"

After taking another sip of coffee, Xavier nodded.

"Even though she wore a much finer suit than yours, he still demanded that she dress in something more expensive, and poor thing was just like you, without her salary and no means to pay for such an expensive outfit."

"So, what did she do?" asked Stephanie.

"She asked me the same thing you're asking me now," Xavier replied.

"And...?" said Stephanie, pressing her lips together and taking her hands as if she was about to pray.

"I can lend you whatever you need, don't worry," Xavier responded with a smile. "You can pay me back when you get paid."

Stephanie felt tempted to jump up and hug Xavier, and she would have done it if she weren't in the office and risking spilling coffee all over his shirt.

"You're an angel, Xavier. Thank you. I don't know how to thank you enough. Seriously, you're getting me out of a huge predicament."

Xavier smiled again as he looked at Stephanie and thought of several ways he would like her to thank him for the favor he was doing for her, but whatever came to mind, he kept it to himself and only asked Stephanie to be careful with the card as he handed it to her.

"Take my ID too, in case they ask you for it," Xavier said after giving Stephanie the credit card.

"Oh, but I thought maybe you would want to... accompany me," Stephanie said when she received Xavier's credit card.

"Accompany you? Seriously? Wouldn't it bother you?"

Stephanie shook her head.

"Bother me? No, why would it bother me?"

"Well, I don't know..."

Stephanie noticed that now Xavier was the one who seemed embarrassed.

"Come on, I'm not going to buy underwear, just a suit for work," Stephanie said, amused at the thought of what might be going through the young man's mind.

"Oh, well, I just thought you might not want a man to accompany you, but, well, I don't know..."

Considering it, Stephanie thought that it would have been much better to go shopping accompanied by Anny or some other girl she had already gotten along with in the office, but for now, she only knew Xavier and, as she herself had said, she was not going for underwear.

"Have you ever accompanied your girlfriend to go shopping for clothes?" Stephanie asked, taking advantage of the question to learn something more about Xavier, although she already suspected what the answer would be from his reaction.

"My girlfriend?" Xavier said, turning several shades of red. "You know, I have to go to my cubicle now, or my boss will start wondering where I am, and that's never good."

"Okay, then see you for lunch? And will you come with me to buy clothes?" Stephanie asked.

"Sure, of course," Xavier replied before turning around and returning to his workstation.

With a huge sigh, Stephanie was grateful to have solved the clothing problem. At two o'clock, an hour before the meeting with Michael's clients, she would go to the store, pick out the first thing that fit, and return in time for the appointment, or at least that's what Stephanie hoped would happen.