Leaving Serenity (17 page)

His handshake felt firm, yet gentle
.
I smiled at the irony, and said, “Nikky Harris!”

Tom
had a tanned face and a bright smile
. “How about that? We could be related!”

I
brushed my hair back, nervously
. “I don’t think so. I’m from North Carolina.”

Tom sipped his coffee, thoughtfully. “I’ve watched you for quite
some time
, Nikky. I like the way you handle yourself, especially with those rowdy chaps.
Tell me a little about yourself. What are your plans?”

I felt like I was back in Mr. Karriker’s office. Part of me wondered what h
e
wanted
from me
.
Part of me felt
discouraged
and
wanted to
talk
to anyone
, even a stranger. “I have no plans at the moment. I’m just here to do my job. Why do you ask?”

Tom leaned closer. “I’d like to offer you a
better
job.
Like I said, I’ve been watching you, and I like what I see. I have a sixth sense about people. My intuition tells me that you have great potential.
”

I saw a gleam in his eye
that
lit a spark in me. “Doing what? What do you do?”

“
I’m a
r
ealtor. And I
don’t mind
say
ing
that I’m
a
very successful
r
ealtor. My association is forming a new alliance called the Multiple Listing Service.
This service will give our members access to each other’s real estate listings. The listing
service
will be a terrific tool. As president of the association, I’m looking for someone to create
and maintain
the listing
datab
ase.

“
I want you, Nikky, because I see something in you. A bright, energetic woman like you can have a
promising
future in
r
eal
e
state.”

“Mr. Harris…”

He held up his hand
,
and the diamond ring flashed again. “Call me
,
Tom.”

I managed an unconvincing smile. “Tom, I don’t know what to say.”

At forty years old, Tom stood
about
five feet tall, and
weighed
no more than a hundred and t
wenty
pounds. But the energy and power that exuded from
his dark, curly head
and near black eyes
was gigantic. As he crossed his legs, I wondered what he paid for his beautiful suit and gorgeous shoes.

He held his chin in his hand
and studied me
. “Say yes. When will you be finished with school?”

I was caught off guard and studied him
,
too. “How did you know that I was in school?”

“Look, Nikky. Don’t assume that I’m playing a game here. The only game I play is the money game, and I’m inviting you to play. Now, you don’t think that I would invite you to play if I hadn’t checked you out, do you?”

S
omething
clicked
inside me
.
I realized that his invitation held the key to my future.
H
e
was
offer
ing
me
a
way out of
Primmosa and opening the door
to
the
life
I’d always dreamed of
.

“
Forgive me.
Of course
you wouldn’t
. I’ll finish
in t
wo
weeks.” I hesitated. “Tom, thank you for the offer; I promise I won’t let you down.”

Tom nodded. “I know you won’t, Nikky. You stick with me, and I’ll
show you how to become
a very rich woman. Rich enough to ruin that guy at the table this morning, if that’s what you choose to do.”

Rising
t
o
t
he Top

I was twenty-one years old
in May of 1975
when
I
began my career with Harris Realty. I left Goldie in the parking lot next to a beautifully manicured lawn
. The modern building
with skylights gleaming from a slanted roof
was framed in
tinted windows
down one side
.
I felt the soft fibers of the plush red carpet on my toes as
I stepped inside
. I
wore
high heeled sandals and
a simple,
white,
sleeveless
polyester
dress
with a dropped waistline.
My new contact lenses allowed me to wear my hair swept up in a topknot on my head without looking like a total geek.

The
bright
, airy front office
had an abstract painting on the back wall
and
a large Schefflera in the corner
.
The modern workstation included a switchboard telephone system,
a typewriter,
an IBM word processor, and a Xerox photocopier
. A hallway ran
along
the outside windows
with
office
door
s
on the opposite side
.
Tom
came out of
the
first office.
I
towered over him like a giraffe as I
reached for his hand.
His statue may have been small, but his voice boomed
with enormous force
.

“Good morning, Nikky
!
”

My ankles wobbled a little
in my high heels
as I greeted him
.
“Good morning.”

“Come into my office. We’ll talk.”

I immediately thought of money when I
walked in Tom’s office
. Everything about the room sent cash registers ringing in my head. I sat in a leather chair that felt like it was too big for me. The small voice of insecurity whispered that maybe the job was too big for me, too.
Tom sat in a tufted leather chair behind his massive desk that looked like it was made especially for him.

“Welcome to Harris Realty. I have four associates here, all male. As a strong advocate of the women’s liberation movement, I welcome you wholeheartedly. You will have no limitations here. You can go as far as your dreams will take you.”

He
paused
, and I felt like it was my turn to talk. “I’ve always had big dreams. I even practice visualization to make my dreams come true.”

Tom’s
dark
eyes sparkled. “That’s fantastic
,
j
ust what I like to hear
.
A
s you believe, so shall it be.”

I felt a sparkle in my own eyes
when I heard the familiar phrase. “Yes sir. I believe that, too.”

“Nikky, I look at today as the beginning of a long partnership. You don’t have to ‘sir’ me or hold back any punches with me. I want you to feel like you are among friends. You
’
ll be breaking new ground as a woman in this business. The realtors in my organization are men. I chose you because I feel like you have the ability to pave the way for other women.”

Tom opened a drawer and tossed a bundle of banded bills on the desk. “Here’s five hundred dollars. It’s your clothing allowance
for the summer quarter.
There’s a little shop called Gigi’s over in Belle Meade. Do you know the place?”

I shook my head. “
No
.”

Tom laid a map on the desk. “
The address is in the phone book.
The first thing on your agenda today is to
meet with
Gigi. Then I want you to st
udy this map until you know every nook and cranny of South Nashville. Our business is all about location. I want you to have a firm picture of the area plastered on your brain. Oh, and take a phone book with you. Keep one in your car.”

***

I found the address and headed toward the exclusive section of town. John Denver sang
“
Rocky Mountain High
”
on the radio as I worked my way toward a new high of my own. I pulled into a parking space in front of the exclusive shop. The trim suited mannequins displayed
fashions that
reminded me of television stars
. I
stared blankly at
the gorgeous women floating behind the large pane window
and told myself,
Okay, Nikky. You
know what they say; you
can either fly with the eagles or scratch with the chickens.

Vivaldi’s
“
Four Seasons
”
greeted me as I opened the cottage type door with crisscross window panes.
The floor was carpeted in
pink champagne
that matched the
feminine pieces of
furniture scattered
around
the shop.
I had never been in a clothing store that didn’t have racks of cloth
ing
to choose from.
A petite, immaculately groomed
woman
with Italian features
walked toward me.

“Hello, I’m Gigi.
Y
ou must be Nikky.
Tom just called to say that you were coming.
”

I managed a pleasant expression and a nod.

Gigi clasped her
hands
together. “Shall we get started? Please, let’s sit. I’ve put together a few
ensembles
for you. Let’s take a look.”

“Okay,” I said
meekly,
as I
sat
among the large pastel pillows scattered
on
a
soft, white
sofa.

“Wendy and S
arah
will be your models today.
I hope you will like what I’ve chosen for you.
Just let me know if you’d like to see anything else.
”

I
nodded and
greet
ed
the two beautiful women there to serve me. Wendy was tall, dark, and sleek. Sarah was an auburn-haired, fair-skinned beauty. I stared at them and felt like I was
living a
dream.

Gigi called out, “Wendy, you will be first.
”

Wendy circled in front of us
on
the parquet floor,
while
Gigi
described what she wore
. “Wendy is wearing
the preferred colors for business wear this season—
red, white, and blue. The red and white
diagonal
striped dress
is
accompanied by a
solid
navy
jacket
.”

Sarah
replaced Wendy on the floor
,
and
Gigi continued
.
“S
arah
is wearing a white cotton A-line skirt
,
a
red
striped bow-tied blouse
,
and pin-striped navy jacket
. The
first
two selections are
perfect for any business occasion.
”

After a slight pause, both women returned to the stage without a prompt from Gigi.
“
Here
i
s Wendy
,
wearing a
sleeveless
navy blouse with
fully lined white trousers and
a
matching white
jacket
.
S
arah
is wearing the same trousers with the
red striped
bow
tie blou
se
and a navy blazer. Th
is is a nice ensemble for trave
ling or weekend attire.
”

Gigi walked over to a mannequin and ran her hand along the smooth lines of the display.

“
Finally, we have a simple, belted sheath dress. This
dress
comes in
beige or black and is suitable for daywear or informal evening wear
.”