Brooklyn looks at herself in the mirror disappointed, “another obligatory company party,” her best friend, Jessa, slides on her silky shine pantyhose as she rolls her eyes.
Jessa, “you act like this every year until we get a martini in you.”
“I wish you could just go ahead.. tell Mrs, McClaren that I’m not feeling well, and its’ not untrue,” Brooklyn pulls at her misshapen blouse. It’s been in the closet since the last company party, that was last year, and the fine fabric has been smushed and pulled. Brooklyn stands to the side, as if that is how she will greet people at the party, surely they won’t notice. She huffs as she listens to her sweet friend, and her never-ending advice.
“You can ‘not’ play sick, not when you’re in the running for Martin’s old job, and besides you always say you don’t want to go, then we get there and you have a great time. I think it’s just social anxiety.”
Brooklyn looks at Jessa with her amber brown doe eyes, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I tried on all of my dresses, three of yours and this is all I could come up with is this old thing from last year.”
Jessa considers it, looking at Brooklyn’s reflection in the mirror, “I think it’s very posh, the problem isn’t with your dress, it’s what’s underneath it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Your lingerie.. silly”
Brooklyn scrunches her brow in confusion, “my underwear?”
Jessa scoffs, “underwear, pfft– yeah, that’s a perfectly frumpy word that got you in this frumpy mindset.”
“No one is going to see my ‘lingerie,’ Jessa. I haven’t been on a date since the position opened up.”
“Hm. that’s been how many years?
The girls look at each other and say in unison, “8 years”
Brooklyn feels her knees start to buckle in embarrassment, “oh no.. you’re keeping count?! No doubt everyone else notices too, they probably laugh at me behind my back. The Hopelss Brooklyn Chase chasing a position that has never been filled by a woman.”
“Stop it, It’s not the 1950’s, you could easily be VP, even CEO of McClaren Sales. You work harder than anyone, you know the job inside and out, and now that you’ve learned the trading side of things, you’re basically a shoe-in. Buuut..”
Brooklyn interrupts Jessa eager for an answer, “but what?”
“But you’ve got to get an attitude check, you need a boost of confidence. You need to feel beautiful and power and it all starts with what you wear underneath,” Jessa slides her stiletto nails under the button of Brooklyn’s blouse.
Brooklyn looks at her hopeless and exhausted.
“We’ve got a lot of time, let’s stop by the little lingerie boutique on 4th and Broadway.”
Brooklyn scoffs, “seriously.. lingerie is going to make me more confident?”
Jessa nods, “never underestimate the power of good lingerie on a bad day.”
Brooklyn, “Omgosh Jessa.. I haven’t wore anything but a sports bra since college!”
Jessa laughs, “well I will play fairy Godmother. I’ll turn you into Cinderella at the ball today with a push up bra.”
Watch the story unfold.
