Gamora

Sheila comes to work in my home based business.

It took me three months of daily struggle with time management before I realized my goal of succeeding in a start-up home based business was not going to work. That is, unless I hired someone to help me. I was young, over confident, probably arrogant, and thought I could do all things mightily. Five years of experience in the corporate world provided a great foundation of knowledge in the area of data visualization and graphic arts. I was sure I could do all of the analytical work, but I couldn't get it done in a reasonable time to secure enough customers needed in order to survive. I spent too much time working on the graphic side of the customer solutions and it always delayed my project completions. It was also complicated by the fact that I was not visually creative and the results showed as much. My strength was in the numbers and the spreadsheets. I simply underestimated the need for a skilled graphic artist. My proposals were very sound but the presentation itself needed a more creative tone. Therefore, the decision I made was to post a job offer on one of the internet's skilled worker job websites looking for a graphic artist proficient in Photoshop, Illustrator, and other web graphic solutions.

The response was enormous. My email folder was instantly filled with over fifty applicants seeking more information about the position and many sending actual resumes and portfolios. Within a few hours I knew I would not keep up with the continued responses so I pulled the job offering off the website to gain traction on the submissions I had already received.

Many of the requests asked for more information on the position. Most of which was already included in the listing which led me to believe the candidates didn't read the posting thoroughly or were not qualified for the position. This allowed me to quickly remove them from the screening process. If they couldn't take the time to read it, I couldn't take the time to call them back. Concentrating on the responses that sent a correctly formatted reply along with a portfolio were moved to the top of my consideration since I had been specific in how I asked for the information. Three of the proposals stood out above the others. The example of the work the three candidates submitted was very good and definitely proved they had an advanced skillset that I just didn't have.

One issue that did come up was the location of the people who responded to my offer. Since this person would be coming to my home to work alongside of me I had to eliminate many of the applicants who were not located close enough to my home to have reasonable expectations for attendance or longevity of employment. However there was one that stuck out to me and it came from a young girl named Sheila. She certainly demonstrated the skills I wanted in her examples and she even happened to live the closest to me but asked to be allowed to work remotely as well. If I would consider this request she felt that she would be able to meet the needs of the position. This was not an unreasonable request for candidates in this field and many people now worked from home during the pandemic as I was trying to do.

After taking another look at her resume, I was feeling good about her and it became important that I worked through her request and understood more about her needs. Our first conversation on the phone was interesting. I liked the person on the other end and found her to be very intelligent and charming. Her personality and poise seemed to be just what I needed. However, her reasons to work virtually turned out to be not so good.

As a young child Sheila had gone into the kitchen were a pot was on the stove boiling. Temptation caused her to reach up and grab the handle of the pot spilling its scalding contents directly onto her upturned face burning the left side of her face and shoulder severely.

Her face had been damaged and the discolored pigmentation drew repeated stares and ridicule as she grew up. For the end of her elementary years and all through high school Sheila was homeschooled by her mother. Guilt on her mother's part for leaving her un-attended left her doing everything she could possibly do to protect her daughter. Keeping her home and safe from the cruelty of the world by deciding to homeschool Sheila was the decision she made at the time.

Sheila did not have any work experience but had mastered Photo Shop and other graphic arts software and judging from her portfolio could be considered a skilled professional. However the requirement of having customer contact prevented her from succeeding on her own in the free-lance environment. Our first conversation lasted over an hour and by the time I was finished questioning her I was left with an easy decision. If I could get her to consider working out of my home she was my first choice.

Sheila listened to my request and promises which included allowing her to leave or go to another area of my home on the rare occasion when a client was present. She voiced a reluctance for even me to see her and lost some of her spirit as I pushed to have her here with me. Sheila promised me that she would call me with an answer to my offer the next day after she thought more about it. Unfortunately I felt that in order for us to successfully work together it would be necessary to have her in the next room while we worked and hoped she would consider it.

There was an obvious distraction in my work the next morning. I had never hired anyone and thought I had an ideal candidate in Sheila. Disappointment grew however as the time passed and the hands on the clock neared noon. She hadn't called. Maybe she decided my demands to work in my home were too much for her or maybe she thought I would change my mind. Our conversation yesterday was that good, but I had to keep my priorities and have an in-house designer. The job just required too much interaction and I felt it was not something I wanted to do over the phone or via email. As a team we would succeed together, I was confident about it.

Just when I was resolved to pick up the stack and pick another candidate the phone rang.

"Good afternoon, thank you for calling Blade Business Services." I answered.

"Hello, this is Maggie Winston, Sheila's mother."

"Oh, hello Ms. Winston, it is nice to talk with you." This wasn't the call I was expecting.

"Dan, I am calling to talk to you about my daughter. I have some questions." She asked with a very demanding nature.

"Ok, ask away?" I asked her.

Ms. Winston reiterated the reason behind Sheila's request and went on about how she was to make sure she protected Sheila from all harm and ridicule and her longing explanation would have kept going if I didn't stop her.

"Ms. Winston, I submitted a posting for a graphic designer. I didn't post an ad looking for someone to torment. I had an incredible conversation with Sheila and felt she belonged with me working on the same projects. I have a vested interest in her success the minute she accepts my offer, and that is if she accepts my offer. I believe she is the perfect fit to what I need in my business right now."

"Does she really have to see you in person?" Ms. Winston asked.

"Yes, this would have to be in person but I assure you we will work it out. I am looking forward to the person I met on the phone yesterday." I said and then waited for a moment in silence.

"Ok, then yes." She said.

"Yes? What?"

"Yes, she will take the job."

I thought about pressing for Mrs. Winston to hand Sheila the phone but instead felt I needed to add more assurances to her and let the seriousness of the conversation mellow. I explained my reason for launching off on my own and how the lack of a qualified graphic artist was hurting me. Sheila would be kept busy and together we would work hard.

When my day started the following Monday I was wearing one of the nicest pairs of dress pants I owned along with a pressed white shirt. I didn't know why but for some reason I wanted to impress a girl I never met who had personal appearance issues. I wondered if I was messing up this protocol. Would she be intimidated by my appearance?

It didn't take long for me to relax when I saw a young lady exit her car and reach into her back seat for her bags. She was dressed impeccably in a short gray skirt and a light blue blouse with very high collars allowing for a pretty scarf around her neck. With satin stockings and heels she looked beautiful. From a distance as she approached my door she was very pretty.

We greeted each other awkwardly once inside my foyer and she removed her large sunglasses while looking at me for a reaction. Her skin was not as bad as she had led me to believe. There was no scarring or skin damage to her face, the color was just blotchy and spotted on her left cheek running down her neck. She actually had a very pretty smile and her bluish eyes were made up perfectly with her lashes and eyeliner in blue to match her eyes and blouse.

As we looked at each other briefly I decided for some reason to reach out and offer a hug which she tentatively accepted. Her reaction to this was kind of stiff, but then again, she didn't know me and probably had reservations about my intentions. This type of contact was most likely new to her.

"Come on in, I will show you what I have planned for our working arrangements." I offered.

Sheila followed me as I showed her my office first and then the dining room that had a large table directly across from me. She could have the whole table to lay out her things the way she wanted. We already had discussed scanners, MACs, and printers that she would require and they would arrive during the week. Up until today, I had been a PC guy which she had laughed at. In the meantime I showed her some of my completed projects and one that I was in the middle of.

"You don't plan on sending this to a client, do you Dan?" She asked as she held one of my projects. "This document needs a lot of work."

This was exactly why I needed her. I knew my creativity was lacking, she knew my creativity was lacking, but most importantly she knew she could fix it and wasn't afraid to say so. Yes, I was confident that this would work out.

Each day things improved to the point where Sheila was able to come to my desk and ask questions or show examples without either of us staring at each other. Over the first few days I also noticed that Sheila was in great shape and had an incredible figure. Each blouse seemed to fit her perfectly and showcase her chest while tightly wrapping her narrow waist. Her skirt length was always just approaching the line between business and unacceptable but stayed long enough to remain out of any conversation I had to have. But I have to admit, I began to have trouble concentrating with her around because of constantly seeing her legs and calf muscles being shaped daily by her three or four inch heels. I would have asked any other person to tone it down, but Sheila was trying to enhance whatever part of her appearance she could to pull one's attention away from her face.

During the third or fourth week we were together I was lost in thought when I looked up and across the hall to see her sitting behind her desk/table crossing and uncrossing her leg as she moved items back and forth in her workspace. This girl was unaware of how beautiful she actually was in spite of her skin blemishes.

We didn't cross any lines but started out each day with a hug during our greeting and gradually entered into a friendly comfort zone in our day. I caught up on my work and the completed projects with her amazing graphics continued to improve and soon afterwards we started accepting more work. I would ask for her input before accepting contracts and our relationship became more of a partnership.

About six weeks in to her tenure I jumped the gun and accepted a project that was well beyond the scope of anything I had done. It was for a large company's shareholder investment prospectus and was slated for a fairly fast delivery window. My first glance at the project was lacking input from Sheila and by the time we outlined the work that was required we realized we may be in over our heads based solely on the time requirement. We started working longer days, worked on the first Saturday, and then ended up working twelve hour days on both Saturday and Sunday of the following weekend. For any outsider looking in we would appear to get along great and a lot of our communications settled into assumptions and also the fact that we were getting to know each other very well.

As we shared our individual progress with each other we would often find ourselves looking over each other shoulders at the computer screen or at the paperwork on our desks. We were at a point where without realizing it one or the other would rest their arm or hand on the back of the other while leaning forward. It was on one of these occasions where I inhaled her perfume and lost my focus. I was standing behind her on her right side where her face was still angelic and it stamped an image into my brain. I had my arm across her back with my left hand on her shoulder. Sheila was beautiful in every way. My sudden silence and the fact that I had closed my eyes while completing the mental image of her caused her to turn back and look at my face. When I opened my eyes we were staring at each other just inches away. Frozen in each other's eyes we snapped out of it when the phone started ringing.

"Good afternoon, thank you for calling Blade Business Services." I answered.

Picking up the phone on her desk was probably not a wise choice. I was now in a conversation with the phone cord crossing over her workspace and up to my ear behind her shoulder keeping me seduced in her fragrance. I also noticed that she was frozen in her position and appeared to have goosebumps on her neck and the top of her shoulders. I made a quick excuse on the phone for a need to return to my desk and put the call on hold.

"Sheila, I apologize for becoming distracted earlier. I am sorry." I said before hastily returning to my desk.

That afternoon was the longest four hours of my life. Sheila sat in the dining room with a clear view of me frozen in a forward stare. I could feel her watching me but was afraid to turn and look at her. I also knew she wasn't getting anything done since I could not detect any movement on her part either.

Fortunately on one of my runs to the kitchen for a water she called out from the other room.

"Hey I am going to take off a few minutes early. I will see you tomorrow." She said before I had a chance to return to my office.

Although it removed the awkward pressure we were under for the afternoon. It made the next day even more climatic. When she walked in I had to go sit down. She wore a similar outfit to all other days accept today she had on a sleeveless blouse without a collar and minus the scarf she had worn everyday up until now. Sheila just stood inside the door staring at me watching my reaction.

"No hug today?" She asked as she waited. "Is it that bad now that you see me?"

Without any confidence I got up and walked to her. I took her laptop and purse and set it on her table before I turned to her and pulled her into the tightest hug we had ever shared. The feeling was incredible. I nuzzled my nose into her neck inhaling her perfume, the same perfume that intoxicated my yesterday. Only now I would not let her go.

"I had to know." She said softly.

"What did you have to know?" I asked in confusion.

"If you had feelings for me. I never had anyone that close to me before. So when you looked at me the way you did yesterday I got scared? I didn't know what that look meant. It is just that at times I feel my face is hideous. My mother said she thought you may be developing feelings for me after I told her what happened. Are you?"

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to make this uncomfortable. It is just that I think you are more beautiful than you think and I wish you would allow others to see that. Let people get to know the Sheila I Know!"

"That wouldn't be a good idea. My skin seems to be something that draws attention anywhere I go, so I just got used to not going anywhere. As you see, I am not the alluring beauty you are trying to convince me I am. Thank you for accepting me."

"I find that the beauty of a person is with-in. And once people get to know the person I know, they will find you as attractive as I do."

Sheila didn't respond any further and walked away hoping the conversation was over. She had work to do and quickly settled into her usual morning pace.

I tried to keep busy but once again struggled to get any work done. Sheila never looked up and kept at a fast pace with her mouse and keyboard getting a full workout all morning. As I stared at her the phone rang. Only I didn't hear it. She looked up to find me looking at her and mistook my stare to mean I wanted her to answer the phone.

"Blade Business Services. This is Sheila, can I help you?" She said as she smiled at me knowing I was tongue tied.

"Yes he is, can you hold please?" She hit a button and then looked up at me laughing. "Ok, I have no idea what that look just meant, and even though I would love to find out, your brother is on the phone."

Each week I received at least one or two calls from my brother Eric. He felt the need to include me in all of the plans he made with his wife and kids each week. And this turned out to be no different.

"Hey Dan, we are going to a Halloween party at Sue's work next weekend. It is sort of an open invite and we thought it would be cool if you joined us. But a costume is required."

My first reaction was to blurt out a quick 'no' but for some reason I froze as I looked into my dining room at Sheila staring at me this time.

"That sounds like it may be a lot of fun. Can I bring a date with me?" I asked.

Eric quickly agreed and said Sue would be given the night off of her usual matchmaking duties. I had begun to wonder if all of the accidental meetings with her coworkers weren't set-ups for the girls to check me out. I overheard her once tell a girl we ran into that I just needed some more fine tuning and would eventually be good one? Whatever that meant.

Anyway, I hung up the phone and looked into the eyes of Sheila from the other room.

"You're going on a date?" She asked with a disappointed tone in her voice.

"I don't know. I haven't asked you yet. But I am hoping you will say yes." I said with a huge smile.

"What? You mean out on a date with me? With friends and other people? Like in public?" She asked with a startled voice.

"Yes. Like that. Out with friends." I answered.

"Oh no! No Dan. In case you forgot. I don't do things in public. I don't do things with friends. Actually I do not have many people I call friends. So no. I don't think that is going to happen. I am sorry. Keep looking."

Her voice flowed with a little anger and I decided to not push it for the moment. But I had no plans on dropping it. We both sunk back into the work at hand and soon we in different thoughts. I was staring at a file for Ransidion Finance when I noticed their website had a different graphic than the logo on the proposal we had almost finished. I went back into our files and saw that we used the graphic file they sent us but thought it might be a good idea to revisit it and decided to run it past Sheila.

"Sheila, can I ask you a question?" I said innocently.

"Drop it Dan, I don't want to talk about it." She barked back.

Obviously she hadn't stopped thinking about our previous conversation. And two other things stood out. Number One was that Sheila was comfortable enough in our 'professional' relationship to be able to snap at me that way. And Number Two was that she was also comfortable enough in our 'personal' relationship to snap at me that way. She was no longer just an employee. Whether she would admit to having a friend, she had one in me.