Freja and Jeanie Ch. 04

"Swell," grunted the pianist, folding his arms and scowling. "Anybody bring a pacifier for me to suck on?"

"Oh, wait," Jeanie said, looking for her purse. "I heard L.A. had great raves, so I brought my neon paci. You can borrow it if you like."

Alex resolutely did not laugh as Pax groaned in despair, thunking the back of his head against the headrest behind it. He decided to change the subject. "Who's up for some music?"

"How 'bout more of that earthquake dude?" Jeanie asked. "The piano guy Paxi likes."

"She must mean Richter," Alex mused. "Got any on your iPhone?"

"What, just because I'm studying to be an elite concert pianist, I must have Richter on my Spotify?" Pax almost demanded.

"Tell me you don't," Alex countered, keeping his eyes on the road, but smirking.

Pax was silent for several seconds, scowling but saying nothing. Alex tapped the sound system between them. "There's a Bluetooth function, go ahead and hook up to it."

"I can't, Apple hasn't replaced the stupid phone I lost at the winery yet," Pax groused. "Every time I turn around, these two are there to make things crazy and worse somehow. I can't escape it."

"Well, Steve Brodie jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge for that exact reason," Alex said agreeably. "Here, I'll put something on for us..."

Alex fiddled around for some seconds, and then piano music began filling the cabin of the van. Pax listened intently.

"The waltz from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty, four hand piano," he observed. "Who's playing?"

"Mom and dad," Alex said simply.

Pax turned in his seat and looked at the driver, blinking. "They're really that good? I thought they were physicists."

"They could've been concert soloists, but they wanted physics more," the young man driving answered. "I dunno if anyone'll ever have their synergy, but they think you could be better than they are."

"If..." Pax said in a leading tone.

"I dunno," Alex replied. "Never really came up."

"I like how your mom sits on your dad's lap and plays the inner two parts while your dad plays the outer hands," Jeanie said, swaying as she listened to the music. She'd come to appreciate ballet music since getting to know the DeBournes. "I mean, that's really difficult, right?"

"Mild understatement there, Earl Uxbridge," Pax said, his eyes wide with disbelief. "You mean they're playing two different parts each, with her in his lap?"

Alex shrugged again. "Probably took some practice, but if anyone could pull it off, it's my parents."

"The boys, they can talk, but we must talk as well, yndling," Freja said, moving closer to her wife in the back seat and taking her hand. "Do you feel ready for today?"

Jeanie shook her head. "Not one bit."

Freja smirked. "I do not either. But we must simply do our best, yes? We want this for ourselves, and I have devoted my entire being to making you the happiest woman alive. Your happiness, it is mine also."

"Aw, me too, Fre," Jeanie said, smiling warmly. "I want you to be so damn happy every moment of every day. I live for it."

This made Freja blush. "I am not deservings of your love, Jeanette, and I know this. But since I have it, I promise you now, I will not fail you. We have gone over our game plan that the profs helped us with. You are presenting the fun side, and we encourage the people to ask technical questions that I may answer. And we both put on the makeup, ja?"

The Napa Valley was behind them, and Frisco lay ahead, just an hour away.

An hour later...

"That's the Golden Gate Bridge we just went over, right?" Jeanie asked, turning around in her seat and pointing at the world-famous landmark as it receded.

"The one and only," Alex confirmed as he drove.

"Wow, they did a great job fixing it up after Godzilla trashed it back in 'fourteen," the brunette mused, impressed. "I literally couldn't tell."

Pax's head almost turned one hundred and eighty degrees to stare at her in a morbid hybrid of horror, astonishment, and exasperation.

"What colour is the sky in your world?" he asked.

***

That afternoon...

They were sitting in a comfortable waiting room with Mike and Karen, trying to not look too nervous. Jeanie doubted she could look as nervous as she felt, because that would require her body to literally be twisted up like a pretzel, if her stomach was any indication. She wondered of that rhythmic breathing thing women did when giving birth would help, but decided to not chance it. Sitting next to her wife on the long sofa, Freja was kicking one knee back and forth absently, wishing she could keep her palms from sweating. She only wished she felt as composed as her lovely wife looked. Nothing seemed to faze her Jeanette.

"Relax, you two," Mike said easily, smiling at them from the seat he was occupying next to their couch. "You made the right choice, I think. You can only sell exclusive rights to one industry, and this will be a game-changer in many ways."

"Well, you and Lady Prof did the hard part, swinging this little meeting on such short notice," Jeanie replied, wishing she had any clue whatsoever how this was all happening. It still stunned her that selling such a groundbreaking product could be so technical and difficult. Why did it have to be? She'd been told absolute fortunes were made in the late Nineties during the so-called 'dot-com revolution' and people didn't have to do more than have a barely viable idea. Why had she missed out on that? "I just hope I remember everything you told us to say."

"It will be easier than you think, darling," Karen assured her, smiling as she sat beside her husband in another chair. "You will lead the conversation. That means they'll ask certain questions that you already know how you want to answer. You can keep control of this meeting. Yes, they're big and powerful suits, but you have something they'll want. You just need to make them admit it and give you what it's actually worth."

Jeanie ventured a faint smile. "Y'make it sound like we're Bene Gesserit sisters or something, manipulating these guys to our own ends."

"That's a good mindset for it, in fact," Mike agreed, nodding. "You're in control. Make it happen."

The two girls sighed and nodded in tandem, holding one another's hands. They didn't have long to wait now. These guys no doubt knew who was waiting and wouldn't keep the DeBournes on hold. Silence reigned for another few minutes before an assistant came into the lounge and asked them to follow her. Jeanie and Freja looked at one another and rose, walking after the woman while Mike and Karen brought up the rear. The took them through the corridor, past many photographs and golden records before arriving at a meeting room. She opened the door and gestured for them to enter.

The long room had a long table, with ten seats spaced around it. At the far end, four men and two women in business suits were waiting, and they all stood when their guests entered. Freja hadn't expected that- it was a much different reaction than they'd gotten from those awful makeup execs earlier in the week. Then again, maybe they were standing because Mike and Karen were in the room and it had nothing to do with her or Jeanette.

Doesn't matter. Fake it 'til you make it. This is our big chance. Make your wife proud.

Introductions were made and hands shaken before they invited the four guests to sit. Karen sat next to Freja, while Jeanie took the seat at the end of the table. Mike sat opposite his wife and Freja. Jeanie frowned and spoke to her wife, indicating that she should pull her chair around the corner and join her at the end, which Freja did. If this seemed unusual to the executives, they didn't say anything to that effect.

The man at the other end of the table, with his back to the window facing downtown San Francisco, nodded to them and began their meeting. "So we understand that you wish to speak to us about some new product or technology you think would interest us?"

He was looking back and forth between Mike and Karen. Mike made sure to correct them. "If I might amend your statement quickly, the young ladies here have the proposal that you'll want to hear about; my wife and I are merely here in an advisory capacity to them. Please address Mrs. Kjaer-LeTourneau and Mrs. LeTourneau-Kjaer directly about it."

It was certainly unusual, given how commanding the presence of the older couple was, but also that was how things were to proceed. The man looked at Freja and Jeanie, nodding and continuing. "So then, please continue."

The brunette steeled herself and began speaking. "It's makeup. A new kind of makeup. I guess you could call it high-tech. It shines and glitters in a new way that you've never seen before."

One of the women executives spoke up. "Can you elaborate for us, please?"

Jeanie looked at her wife, who took over. Freja stood and looked at them, somewhat self-conscious in the pantsuit she was now wearing. It made her feel like k.d. lang. Not the look she was hoping for. Oh well.

"It is true, this makeup is unlike other types you have seen or used before," she began. "It has microparticles that react under the influence of a weak electric charge, aligning themselves in whatever way you apply them. Since they refract light, the effects one can achieve are only limited by the imagination of the applicant."

"Are the results really that different from what other makeups can give us?" asked a man.

Freja nodded, knowing she was right. After all, she could demonstrate the results. "Ja, I mean, yes. We call it 'kinetic makeup' and I can prove to you beyond a shadow of any doubt that there is no comparison."

"And you two invented this?"

Freja smiled. "I am the one who has made it perfection. I am an engineer."

"At your age?" the other woman asked. "You're barely out of your teens, to look at you."

The Danish girl nodded. "I am happy to demonstrate, if you will accommodate."

"I won't say we're not intrigued," the man at the head of the table mused. "But why are you not selling this to the established makeup industry? Isn't that more of the market you're looking for?"

The mood of the two girls darkened noticeably. Jeanie spoke. "We tried. They were jerks about it, because we're young. They treated us like idiots and the offers were a literal joke. So to Hell with the makeup industry. We're trying you guys. Now who wants a demo?"

"This is one of our biggest and brightest offices, I'm not sure it's exactly the right environment to demonstrate to full effect," the man pointed out. He couldn't help but notice that the two other guests were quietly observing.

Jeanie shrugged. "Well, you've gotta have a smaller and darker place around here somewhere, right? I don't care if we use a bathroom and the strobe function on my Samsung, I wanna show you guys the future. Let's do this."

The executives all looked at one another in puzzlement for a moment before looking back at the two girls, who seemed be waiting expectantly. The stunning woman and the giant man with them were looking at the pair in barely contained amusement. Apparently this was about to happen. Less than a minute later, employees looked up, seeing the bigwig suits wandering down the hallway somewhat confusedly, seemingly being herded by two young women and followed by a stunning woman with golden eyes and a huge blonde man with an infectious grin.

"Ooh, how 'bout this?" Jeanie said eagerly, pointing to a small office that had one small window with was already covered by a stout blind.

"That..." the senior exec said, looking perplexed. "I think that's just one of the offices for a junior accountant or something."

"Wow, you guys need to be nicer to him, it's a total cave," Jeanie remarked before gesturing for them all to shuffle in. "But for our purposes, it's perfect. He's not here, so let's go. Anybody claustrophobic? C'mon..."

With Mike coming in last, it was a bit of a tight fit, but they all crowded into the office and Jeanie shut the door before squeezing through the crowd to stand with her wife. In the dim room, Freja asked Karen to shine a light on Jeanie's face, which the matriarch did willingly, using her phone. She rubbed the brush against her wrist to build up a small charge.

"It is like I said earlier," she explained as she began to use the brush to draw patterns on Jeanie's face. She was nervous, and she wished Alexandra was with her, but that was her old anxiety talking. She needed to not need her precious Alexandra anymore. "These particles, they behave like polyacetylene under even a mild current, simple static electricity from my wrist was enough. So if you know what your light arrangements will be like, then you can tailor the effects of the makeup..."

She put down the makeup kit and used Karen's phone now, shining the light on Jeanie's cheeks while the brunette turned her head left and right, letting everyone see.

"Now stand back a little," she instructed while she turned on the strobe setting. She could hear whispers behind her as she let the stuttering light play off the makeup. She had barely finished the demonstration before one of the women spoke up, asking if she could put some on her.

"Just don't snort a bunch of it," Jeanie said helpfully.

There was some laughter around the room when one of the men tried some on, making sure everyone else promised it couldn't be seen under regular overhead light. They were all stunned when Freja applied some to Karen's face. Jeanie finally turned on the lights so that they could talk again.

"So yeah, this is a li'l sample of what we've got," she announced, packing the kit away. "An' I hope you don't mind, but Fre'll come around and use a wet-wipe to clean the makeup off you two. Y'seem nice, but we don't want our product stolen out from under us."

"You don't need to worry about that," Mike laughed, making everyone look up at him. "You did patent it last year, after all."

It may have just been a reminder to Freja and Jeanie, but it was also meant as a statement to the executives, and one they took note of. These two were obviously along to make sure the younger pair were dealt with fairly and not taken advantage of.

"But I don't expect you guys to just make a decision based on this demo in a cramped, stinky office," Jeanie continued, looking excited. "I have another demo planned, an even better one. A practical one. Tonight, you all come with us to some club downtown, a karaoke club, and you can watch my friend Lexi sing while she wears it."

She looked at Mike and Karen now. "I know we had dinner plans, but I think this is a really good idea. Can we, please?"

"You want us to come with you to a karaoke bar?" one exec asked, somewhat perplexed.

"Yeah!" Jeanie said, nodding eagerly. "Y'get out of your suits, dress down, and come see the makeup in action. Aside from a concert, it doesn't get better than that, right? Beers, wings, an' karaoke. Y'wont be disappointed."

There was silence for some seconds before one of the women nodded. The fact that she happened to be looking at Mike was beside the point. "Okay, I'll be there."

"So will I," the senior man said, nodding. Before long, there was a consensus of everyone attending, and against all odds, they seemed to be looking forward to it. Jeanie squealed in excitement and hugged her wife.

Maybe, just maybe, things were turning around.

***

A karaoke pub, later that night...

"My ex-man brought his new girlfriend, I'm like oh-my-God,

I'm just gonna shake it!

To the fella over there with the hella good hair

You can come on over baby, we can shake shake shake!"

"Didn't I tell you?" Jeanie said exuberantly as she wiggled and bounced in her seat while Alexa belted out the long note that followed onstage. Not only was the makeup sparkling and glittering in patterns on her beautiful face, but Alex had given Freja and Jeanie the brilliant idea to streak it through his wife's hair as well. The long, golden-blonde tresses that hung down to the small of her back also glittered amazingly under the focused lights. "Isn't that the most amazing stuff you've ever seen?"

The executive sitting next to her was nodding while he stared at the goddess onstage. Not only was Alexa singing, but she was bopping and dancing around energetically, which really highlighted the properties of the makeup and what it was capable of. "It's amazing stuff, that's for sure. Your wife was really on to something there."

"I know, she's so smart, right?" Jeanie squeaked in excitement. She may have been nervous earlier, but now she was just enjoying herself. She took a drink from her Rainbow Amigo (why didn't everyone know how to make this drink?!) and sang along with the music. Lexi was killing it up there tonight.

"You said that girl is your best friend?" the senior executive asked Freja, sitting at the opposite end of the giant table they were sharing. As requested, they had all come in suitably casual clothing, and everyone was eating wings, mozzarella sticks, nachos, and drinking beer. Even the incredibly elegant woman was, and she seemed to be a pro at it. He knew the older couple owned the Bellerophon Estates winery, but who were they?

Freja nodded. "She is my best friend, and she was my girlfriend when we lived in Denmark together. She is so very talented."

"Why is she not already a professional singer?" he asked, a little bewildered. "She'd be an international sensation in no time with her looks and those pipes."

"Because she is a brilliant linguist, and that is how she is happiest," Freja said, agreeing with the man but knowing her soulmate better than just about anyone. "She is married, she is happy, and she has a bright future doing what she loves. And right now, she is here to help Jeanette and I. My friends are simply the best people."

The man looked around the table and had to agree with the Danish girl- from the huge and commanding blond man, to the hauntingly beautiful and imperious woman who was his wife, the charismatic son sitting next to her, the short brunette who was apparently their assistant, or the young Asian man who apparently was an up-and-coming piano virtuoso and prodigy, he had to admit he couldn't think of a more impressive group. And they were all here to help these two sell a product that was, in his estimation, no less than revolutionary. True, it was odd that the product was being advertised to them, but apparently the cosmetics industry had blown its chance somehow.

Alexa finished her song she was singing to great applause from around the bar and trotted back to the table, sitting down next to the young blond man who was seemingly her nephew. She hugged him and Jeanie before draining a glass of water and then ordering a radler. One thing the executives noticed was how readily and easily the four put away their drinks. The young Asian man with them was trying to keep pace, even when doing the shots, but had clearly reached his limit. The tiny brunette seemed to have cut herself off after two, and she now had the hiccups, along with the giggles.

Some more time passed before Freja, Jeanie and Alex conned Karen into going up and singing with her sister. After much blushing and protesting while Jeanie put makeup on her, she finally acquiesced, and everyone watched, spellbound, as the duet sang ABBA's Super Trouper, with Karen taking the solo vocals. The resulting roars and loud applause indicated they were a hit, and the sisters sat down again.

"You should go up and do a song, Paxi," Jeanie said, giving him a nudge. "Y'look like you could use the exercise."

"I don't do karaoke," he grunted, shaking his head before scowling at the empty shot glasses in front of him. "That and now I'm too drunk. What're these shots called? Helen Kellers?"