”Phil pondered the parting exchange with his mother on the way up the elevator.After her heartfelt statement, he had readied himself to leave. He st...opped at the door and looked back at her. She was still sitting and smiling at him.“When Joe Pepper calls you tomorrow to ask you to intercede, you tell him this from me,” he said. “I want the man fired. He is not permitted to retire. He is not permitted to resign. He is fired. I’ll let Joe pick the reason but let him know that I think maybe it’s. "You know what Imean, three men in three weeks, that's some record. Did you think Ididn't know? You know how nosy I am, ha ha." I was glad my hair was solong and hiding most of my face. "Who told you?" "Nobody told me," shesaid, "I set you up with all those men. I made up the story of youhaving a nasty boyfriend and you were missing feeling loved. I toldthem you were out of the playing field for so long that you lost yourfeminine charms, ha ha. They fell for it, all of them. One by one. God,men. It clung toevery curve and with the high slit in the skirt, revealed a lot of leg.Frankie liked the way the front was cut, allowing her to reveal hercleavage without seemingly showing anything off. I don't want to appearlike I'm selling it.Frankie liked the way the dress moved with her body allowing her to danceor maybe even lie down in it. Wrinkles were the only potential problem.Silk, being a natural fiber didn't look as sharp after it had been wornfor too long.Well, maybe I won't have to. “You suck!” shouted someone from the back of the audience.The man smiled and waved as he mounted the platform. “Thank you, sir. All feedback is welcome and appreciated, constructive or not.”Up close, the creator gave off a palpable aura like the one Tanvi sometimes felt coming off of Nick when they were deeply in sync. He nodded warmly to her and she headed back behind her desk. As he settled in and the crowd quieted down, Tom leaned in and said quietly, “To make this go more smoothly, I’m.