Chapter Five

Taking the girl’s comment as an invitation, Kathy Carlson accepted it. Very slowly she walked around Candy, studying her body as she did. Gently, she moved her away from the table so she could get a good look from all angles.

Finally, she pronounced, “Lady, you are utterly fantastic!” Then shaking her head in feigned sadness she added, “If my husband, Ken, were here, he wouldn’t even see me. All he could see would be you!”

Although she had initially been petrified, by now Candy had relaxed enough to function again. “Get serious!” she exclaimed. “Mrs. Carlson, you are the most beautiful creature God ever created.” Having spoken, she looked more closely at Kathy and added, “But as beautiful as you are on the outside, that’s just a minor fraction of the total, isn’t it? Your beauty within just shines from your eyes and floods out the place!”

“See, partner?” Sandy Harris exclaimed. “We’ve been telling you that for months, but you just don’t listen ... No! That’s wrong. You do listen. You just refuse to believe. Well, partner, you’ve just heard it again from a young woman who has just met you for the first time. She doesn’t know anything about you, but she does know what she sees. And what she sees is incredible beauty.”

“Enough of this,” Kathy declared. Turning to Iris Kaplan she said, “Iris, you’re the professional mediator. What do you think of Miss Kane’s body? It’s clear that my partner and I think she’s incredible. Miss Kane thinks she’s a stick. As the mediator, what do you think?”

Improbably, Iris showed a very youthful grin and replied, “Miss Kane, I have very bad news for you. As a mediator, I normally find myself trying to split the difference between opposing parties. But I’m afraid I’ll have to make an exception in this case and side with opposing counsel. Candace Kane, your body is stunningly beautiful, and if your teeth could be fixed you would be one of the world’s great beauties.”

Candy was so stunned by the comment, she was speechless.

“Okay, that’s settled,” Kathy said. Still naked — and apparently totally unaware of the fact — she padded over to the corner where a telephone sat and proceeded to make a series of calls.

As she did, Sandy just shook her head at Kathy while she dressed and indicated to Candy that she could, too. With Kathy still on the phone, Sandy picked up Kathy’s clothes from the floor and deposited them in a heap on top of the telephone.

Without a break in her conversation, Kathy proceeded to dress. Finally, hanging up the instrument she said to Candy, “You have an appointment with Dr. Donald Matthews at three-thirty this afternoon. Does that fit with your schedule?”

Candy was stunned. In her research regarding her teeth, she had encountered Dr. Matthews’ name. He was the finest oral surgeon in California and one of the very finest in the world at jaw reconstruction. Unfortunately, she had also learned that his fee for a single tooth rivaled her annual gross income. When she said as much, Kathy merely said that it was all taken care of.

“Taken care of?” she exclaimed. “What on earth does that mean?”

“It means it’s taken care of,” Kathy repeated. Then she said, “Since it’s almost noon, and Dr. Matthews is downtown, I hope you’ll join us for lunch.” Then with a grimace she added, “I’m cooking, unfortunately.”

“We eat!” Sandy nearly shouted. To Candy she added, “Kathy Carlson is the finest cook west of the Mississippi, anyway, and possibly the finest cook in the nation. Miss Kane, you really lucked out.”

When she extended the invitation to Iris Kaplan, the woman begged off, having a prior engagement.

The three adjourned into the firm’s large conference room. Kathy proceeded to open up a wall revealing a fully equipped restaurant-scaled kitchen. Minutes later, others began to appear. Candy was introduced first to Ginger Jamison Conrad, then to Judy Morris, and finally to Joan Frederick.

When Joan looked like she was about to cry, Ginger said, “Okay, Joan, I give up. You can wear your uniform while you take drink orders.”

The lovely girl grinned and a moment later had stripped bare. Taking a tiny lace apron from the closet, she carefully put it on — it didn’t come close to reaching her bare crotch — and began to take drink orders. When Kathy announced they were having the classic French meal, steak frites, Joan stopped and just served a lovely dry sherry to everyone, explaining that wine would be served with lunch.

At that point Ali Clifford came into the room. Looking at her, Candy was utterly stunned. Never in her life had she seen such a beautiful woman. Her misshapen jaw was still hanging open when Ali came up to her. “Wouldn’t you feel better with your mouth closed?” Ali asked with a warm grin.