Finally, six o'clock came.Finally, six o'clock came. Punctually on time, I stood at Richard's front door and rang the bell. The door was opened immediatedly, and I saw Richard standing in a long hallway, wearing an impecable Italian-cut suit. His shoes gleamed and his tie was such luxurious silk, I could almost feel it with my eyes. The expression on his face, though, wasn't happy. "Come in," he said curtly, then stepped aside for me to comply. He motioned me to enter a living room that was just off the hallway. I entered and stood in the center of a beautiful room, as he closed the door, then turned to face me. "You are almost two minutes late!" he growled at me, glowering. "Is this the way you begin your service with me?" I quickly showed him my watch and explained that I had actually gotten there early, but he brushed aside my explanations. "You should have thought to ask me what time it was by my watch when we made the agreement to meet at six o'clock. That is the most basic agreement - one of time - and one of the most important. If you can't keep that, how can I rely on you to do anything right?" I was devastated! I had been standing on the sidewalk, nervously trying not to meet the eyes of the men who had been staring at my clothing, at the swell of my breasts over the low-cut neckline of the dress. I had ignored the whistles, the "Hey, Baby!"'s and the gestures. I had swallowed my embarassment - feeling overdressed for the hour, on a summer evening, and uncomfortable to be just standing and waiting. All of this I had put up with so I would make a good impression on Richard - and now I was late! "Perhaps we should forget this - or at least put it off for another day," he said. I immediately cried out, saying I had so looked forward to this meeting, and begging him not to put it off! "I will be punctual in the future, I promise!", I said. "Please don't send me away, now! I've gone to such pains to get things I thought you would like, and...." "And that is no more than I would expect you to do, Michelle! That is your job, your part of this relationship. Mine is to evaluate how well you have done what you were supposed to do, and to help you to explore frontiers you have not had the courage to approach before. |