That’s not what I saw when she came into the lobby. She was taller than I expected, honey-blond, blue-eyed, and pretty. If she wore make-up, it was subtle. Dressed in a conservative skirt and jacket, she spoke with a soft but confident voice laced with the sweeter parts of a southern drawl. She looked like a woman you could enjoy taking to dinner, or helping with a project she’s doing as a Sunday school teacher.
My first impression was to see her in the role of trusted executive secretary or elementary school principal, but this assignment called for more than that. I needed a rabid badger.
She took me to her office to discuss the case. Following her down the hall, I played with the idea of those long legs in a much shorter, tighter skirt, with dressy heels replacing the sensible office shoes she wore. I wondered what her long hair would feel like in my hands.
“You’re disappointed, aren’t you, Don?” she asked, after she had closed the door and taken her place behind her desk.
“Excuse me?”
“I get that a lot. Being a woman is a handicap in business. At least it seems that way to me,” she said.
“I don’t look down on women in business, Sarah. I’m not that kind of guy.”
“You’ve read my curriculum vitae, I assume,” she said.
“I did, and I was impressed.”
“Would you have been as ‘impressed’ if I were a man? Or did you just think my qualifications were good for a woman?”
“Where is all this coming from?” I asked.
“Look, I know what your employers do. They screw people out of money in divorces. They’re very good at it,” she said.
“I try not to think of it that way. Are claims exaggerated? Sure. On both sides. Are mistakes made? Yes, unfortunately. We’re all human. My job is to make sure that all assets are accounted for, and that my employer’s client gets compensation for the value of the couple’s shared holdings and for the pain and suffering of a failed marriage.”
Sarah got more animated. “Marriage is sacred, as far as I’m concerned. People stand there in front of whatever they consider to be God, and swear an oath to each other. That’s one of the things that ticks me off. This country has become all about getting someone else to pay through the nose for your dumb mistakes. In a marriage, unless you’re completely stupid, you should have known what you were getting yourself into.”
“I’m not completely stupid,” I said. “I’m smart enough to have stayed single. Look, if you’re not comfortable working with someone who does this for a living, I’m sorry I wasted your time.” I stood and turned toward the door.
“Wait!” she cried. “Please. Oh, dammit, I’m not good at this.” Suddenly, her bluster was gone. “Won’t you sit down?”
I did. I looked at her, waiting for her to continue. She was staring at the screen-saver on her computer monitor, playing absent-mindedly with a wisp of her hair that was draped over her chest. She took a deep breath, and then broke into a weak smile.
“That’s probably the worst job I’ve done introducing myself since I was about twelve,” she said. “May I start over?”
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