The Business Trip

Chapter 8
The Business Trip, Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Elizabeth hadn’t considered the possibility that they might end up running into their boss. 

He was only there for some face time with a couple of their larger clients who were attending the conference. Since Elizabeth and June were solely responsible for bringing in new business over the weekend, they would have very little overlap with his own schedule. It’s why they had spent time with him the previous week, going over each pitch and affirming what they were allowed to offer in terms of giving potential clients a deal in order to sign them.

The whole ‘vacation’ excuse June had come up with had initially only been troublesome due to how the people they were meeting with would perceive their future point of contact. Since pretending to be June’s niece was supposed to be a clever concept that would impress the director, Elizabeth hadn’t stopped to think how it might look if he caught wind of the recent lie June had been throwing around. Or, worse, if he heard it directly from the source.

“June,” he said, “How was Elizabeth’s big pitch? And who is this?”

So he hadn’t heard that she was ‘absent’ for their meeting with Ruth. And apparently he didn’t recognize her. Elizabeth wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Was the man she frequently reported to seriously fooled by her disguise? It didn’t really matter. Now that they had landed the client, they could come clean about why she looked like this.

Or not. 

“Good morning, Mr. Evans. This is my niece,” June said, “Lizzie, aren’t you going to introduce yourself?”

Why was she still committing to the fake roles? The important pitch with the family-focused company was over. Taken aback for a moment, glancing towards June in confusion, Elizabeth then turned towards their boss and took a breath. She definitely wasn’t prepared to explain why she and her assistant had taken this approach. It was important that he thought it was an intentional plan, rather than one that came about due to what looked like irresponsibility on her part.

“I’m not-” Okay, but it was dumb to state that she wasn’t ‘Lizzie,’ when technically that was a version of her name. Pivoting, she said, “I’m Elizabeth. As in-”

“Right, ‘Elizabeth,’” June cut her off, “She recently decided that she wants to go by her full name. But she’s going to have to accept that all of us have been calling her ‘Lizzie’ for her whole life, and some will continue to do so.”

He chuckled. “Yes, there’s no getting away from nicknames when it comes to family. Well, she and I just met. We can go with ‘Elizabeth’ if that’s her new preference. Though speaking of that name, what are you doing with this Elizabeth rather than your supervisor?”

Not even her actual name was enough for him to connect the dots? Elizabeth also somewhat felt like the child she was dressed as the other two talked about her right in front of her. Trying again to explain, she chimed in, only to immediately get interrupted, “I’m-”

“It’s kind of a long story,” June said, “There’s probably a better way to say this, but I used her as a prop for the pitch. I met Ruth last night when I was networking, and learned that their company puts an importance on family, work/life balance, and the like. So I called my sister and offered to spend some time with her niece today while I’m in town. I get some quality time with Lizzie, our soon to be client sees that we have ‘mutual values,’ and Lizzie gets a head start on her future as a promising young businesswoman. I’d call that a win/win for everyone.”

It definitely wasn’t the first time their company had stretched the truth in order to connect with a potential client. Though this was more involved than their usual methods to find common ground, Mr. Evans didn’t so much as blink when June put a subtle emphasis on the values that their two companies didn’t actually share. “Elizabeth closed the deal, then?” he asked.

June chuckled. “Little Lizzie isn’t that experienced yet. But yes, I should be getting a call on Monday, and I’ll be drafting up a contract in the meantime so we can get things moving as quickly as possible with them. Not bad for my first solo pitch, right?”

If he had forgotten about his question from a minute ago, that certainly brought him back to it. “Solo pitch?” he repeated, “Where was Elizabeth?”

“She didn’t tell you?” June tilted her head in false confusion.

“Tell me what?” he asked.

Before Elizabeth could fully process that June was about to commit to the same lie as before, this time with their boss, her assistant said, “Elizabeth is on vacation. I thought you knew; aren’t you the one who approves those requests?” It was an innocent enough question, as there was a somewhat complicated web of authority at their company, and nearly everyone reported to at least two people due to the multiple facets of most positions. In terms of time off, June needed Elizabeth’s approval, but knew for a fact that he was the one that Elizabeth needed to go to for such things.

He didn’t say a word at first. Elizabeth wasn’t the only one who was having trouble processing, apparently, though she completely understood his stunned reaction. This conference was something that had been on the books for months, not to mention something a number of them had been preparing for over the last two weeks. If Elizabeth had actually requested time off, it probably would have been taken as a joke. The suggestion that she did so without asking for permission? Absolutely unreal.

Finally, he just bluntly asked, “Elizabeth isn’t here?”

That was it. Using it as an excuse was bad enough when it came to Ruth, and Elizabeth had braced herself for a repeat of that for the coming meetings. But she wasn’t about to put her career in jeopardy just for the sake of maintaining the false identity June had given her. Especially since they had established that Elizabeth would be the one taking credit for this idea. Now that the trick worked and the deal was more or less a sure thing, there was no reason to pretend any more. “I’m right here,” she said, “June and I-”

“Not you, Lizzie,” June cut her off, “He’s talking about a different Elizabeth. I told you about her earlier, remember?”

“No, June. This isn’t-”

“Lizzie! You’re being very rude. I’m talking with Mr. Evans right now. It’s not polite to interrupt an adult’s conversation, particularly a professional one. You did so well in that meeting, too. Just give us another minute, okay? Or, if you want, you can go wait over there. This shouldn’t take long, I promise.”

“But, I’m-”

“Actually, I’ll decide for you. Go sit over there.”

The fucking audacity! Elizabeth could barely get a couple words out before June was talking over her and treating her like a child. This is not what they agreed to! The sofas and armchairs off to the side of the lobby were the last things she wanted. If she did what June was demanding of her, Elizabeth wouldn’t be able to stand up for herself at all, or even hear what her coworkers were talking about. “No. Mr. Evans, I-”

“Lizzie.” June turned to fully face her and placed her hands on Elizabeth’s shoulders. Looking her dead in the eyes and firmly holding her in place, she said, “Enough. I’m going to count to three, and you better be on your way to a seat by the time I’m done.” She paused for a moment, then began counting. “One . . . ”

It was the second time Elizabeth had been hit with the patronizing count. She still wasn’t sure how to handle this side of June, when the girl had been nothing but subservient up until this weekend. This situation was beyond frustrating, too. Elizabeth wanted to scream. Her boss literally didn’t recognize her, not that she blamed him. With dyed hair and a youthful outfit, she had barely recognized herself in the mirror. Her instinct was to chew her assistant out like usual, which directly conflicted with the professional way she carried herself whenever Mr. Evans was around.

Trying one more time, she insisted, “June, tell him-”

“Two . . . ” Unfazed by Elizabeth’s frustrations, June simply kept counting.

“June, that’s not FAIR.” Elizabeth stomped her foot. She didn’t mean to. There were just so many emotions racing through her at the moment, and the immature gesture was a way to get them out without totally blowing up at the girl who wasn’t listening to her at all. It was the complete opposite of their normal dynamic, which is why it wasn’t fair.

“And now you’re throwing a tantrum. Real mature, Lizzie,” June said. Rather than going with the classic ‘two and a half,’ she leapt on the opportunity given to her. “For the last time, it’s ‘Aunt June.’ Go sit down. Right now. The next words out of your mouth better be ‘Yes, Aunt June,’ or you will be in serious trouble, young lady. Do you understand?”

Elizabeth hesitated. Going on vacation without permission wasn’t a great look, but neither was being spoken to like a difficult little girl right in front of him. That, and she really wasn’t used to being berated, period. As badly as she wanted to keep pushing, she was unsure that Mr. Evans would even believe her at this point. “Yes, Aunt June,” she muttered, cheeks crimson at this point.

“That’s what I thought.” She pointed towards the side of the lobby. “Go. Sit. And you better behave yourself over there.”

The petite redhead looked between the two of them one last time, not sure what she was hoping for. Mr. Evans to finally recognize her? June to back off and actually tell the truth? Neither of those things happened. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Elizabeth begrudgingly walked away, feeling both confused and thoroughly humiliated.

Once it was just the two of them, June shook her head. “Sorry about that. She’s in that bratty tween phase, where testing authority feels mature when it’s actually the opposite.”

“It’s fine,” Mr. Evans said, “Elizabeth. She’s not here?”

“I think she’s at the beach,” June lied, “I only book her flights for professional trips; I’m not exactly sure where she went. She just told me that her phone would be off, and that she wouldn’t be checking emails until Monday.”

“And she sent you here alone to do all of her pitches?” he asked.

She shrugged, “I’m used to her making me do all her work. Plus I was the one who put together all of the presentation materials, so I already knew most of the information. I just had to prepare for the meeting itself. I’m sorry you’re only hearing about this now. If I had known she made this decision without any approval, I would have informed you myself.”

“It’s not the first time she’s made a unilateral decision,” he frowned, “I normally let such things slide, provided they benefit the company and don’t cause any problems. What other work does she pawn off on you, June? You know what? Never mind. I can’t be thinking about this right now; I have a client meeting to prepare for. Are you available this evening?”

“Of course,” June nodded, “Other than another round of networking, my schedule is open. I’ll be checking my messages regularly, so please let me know when works best for you and I’ll be there. Shall I reserve a table for us, or would you like to meet somewhere more private? I could check with the event coordinator and see if there’s a meeting room we could use.”

“Let me worry about that,” he replied, “You’re not an assistant this weekend, June, or an admin for that matter. For all intents and purposes, you’re a sales manager. Focus on the rest of your pitches today; I’ll take care of the rest.”

It took everything in June’s power not to smirk. “Thank you, Mr. Evans. I’ll see you tonight. Good luck at your meetings.”

“Likewise,” he said, offering his hand for her to shake.

June hadn’t planned that interaction, but it went a lot better than she expected. If Elizabeth had been more assertive, or blurted out any number of things before getting shut down, it would have been more difficult to navigate. By managing to send her visually (and somewhat emotionally) regressed boss away, June had the opportunity to thoroughly undermine her. The vacation looked bad enough, but June had also casually pointed out that she did most of Elizabeth’s work, that she was a natural at both preparing for and leading pitches, and that she was a loyal rule-follower. 

It was unlikely that Mr. Evans had internalized all of that, or even latched onto everything June had subtly thrown at him, but hopefully the seeds had been planted. On top of the fact that Elizabeth had skipped the business trip without permission, their company had spent money on plane tickets for her, as well as the suite that she and June were staying in. Wasting money and shirking her responsibilities? Not a great look. Once their boss had cooled down from the shock of all that, June could start nudging him in the direction he already seemed to be leaning.

Elizabeth was sitting on an armchair in the corner, looking absolutely livid. Normally, such an expression would be bad news. That is, if she were wearing her business attire and sitting behind a desk. When wearing youthful clothes and with her hair up in twintails, however, it looked way more like ‘Lizzie’ was pouting. She opened her mouth to say something, no doubt to launch into a tirade about all the things she had been biting her tongue about recently, only for June to take the initiative. 

“Ah, ah. Don’t speak.” She held up an index finger and walked right up to the seated girl. Their height difference had already been notable with June in heels and Elizabeth in sneakers. With June being the only one standing between the two of them, however, she towered over her boss. “You wanted to be my niece today. You promised to behave. So, why are you acting like an immature little girl? You’re twelve years old, Lizzie, not five.”

“I- I’m not! I mean, I didn’t-” Even without June actively cutting her off, Elizabeth ended up stammering out an awkward attempt at a reply. She was still focused on the bad information her assistant had just given the director of their department, and had been ready to demand that June tell the truth. That left her completely unprepared for a recap off the ‘niece’ nonsense they had gone over both last night and this morning, most of which was now blurry in Elizabeth’s mind when faced with the gaslighting being thrown at her. 

“Use your words, Lizzie,” June said, “Like a big girl.”

Embarrassing as it was to hear that, more so because June sounded more authoritative and articulate when her response was such a contrast to what came before it, Elizabeth knew she was right. Failing to put her thoughts into words wasn’t going to get her anywhere. “I’m your boss, June,” she said, “And what you just did with Mr. Evans was bullshit. We need to-”

“Lizzie!” she exclaimed, “That is not appropriate language. And in public?! Come with me.” With that, she grabbed Elizabeth’s wrist and gave a sharp tug.

Elizabeth was barely able to stand up in time. If she had waited a moment longer, her arm might have been pulled out of its socket from how June was striding forward while maintaining a vice-like grip. Though June was wearing heels and a business suit, she was still easily capable of speed-walking forward while dragging the other girl behind her. “June! What are you- Wait!” Stumbling forward and nearly tripping over her own feet, Elizabeth quickened her pace in order to keep up. June’s legs were much longer; it took Elizabeth at least two steps for each one of her assistant’s.

Without turning around or slowing down, June said, “It’s Aunt June. I cannot believe you’re being so difficult, Lizzie.” Punctuating the point with a pointed yank, she walked Elizabeth all the way across the lobby and around the corner to the main hall.

At first, Elizabeth thought she was being taken to the elevators, back towards their small suite. Instead, June stormed towards the bathroom with the ‘tween’ redhead in tow. Once again trying to speak up for herself, Elizabeth exclaimed, “I’m not! This was just supposed to be for the meeting. You- OW.”  As they walked through the swinging door and around the corner, Elizabeth’s arm was jerked in a way that uncomfortable pulled her shoulder forward. Not quite in a painful way, though it was enough to make her desperately follow for the sake of avoiding anything else like that.

“Inside voice, Lizzie!” June snapped. At this point, she was using the nickname as often as possible in an attempt to get Elizabeth used to it. After all, it had really only been a few hours, not counting the brief discussion about it last night. June walked her right up to the sink, where she used her other hand to dispense a small pile of foamy soap into her palm. “Open your mouth. This is what happens to bad girls who use bad words.”

No. That was not happening.

Elizabeth was both surprised and furious that her fucking assistant thought it was appropriate to wash her mouth out with soap. She wasn’t actually a little girl who needed to be disciplined!

She started to express that out loud. The problem was, talking required opening her mouth. And the second Elizabeth did that, June immediately shoved in the handful of soap.