The Business Trip, Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen
“Braces?” Elizabeth asked. She was completely thrown by the suggestion that she might need something like that at her age. They were only here for a chipped tooth, after all. “No. My teeth are fine.” She would know. Brushing them every morning and evening, not to mention how she was so particular about her appearance under normal circumstances, meant that she was well aware of how her teeth looked compared to other young women who took less care of their oral hygiene.
“Are you saying you know more than a dentist?” June countered. She went on to explain how braces weren’t just for girls who had blatant gaps between their teeth. There were smaller corrections that sometimes needed to be done and, while she acknowledged that this would be frustrating in the short term, it would ultimately be better to take care of it now. June didn’t have the expertise to get into the nuances of why braces would be good for her, but she was easily able to hit the broad strokes of delayed gratification. “Also, Paul is offering to do it for free,” she pointed out, “This is a win for everyone, Lizzie. Would you rather pay for braces yourself, have messed up teeth in a few years, or get this sorted out right now?”
Similar to the way one would give a child the illusion of choice, June really only offered one good option. The hesitation was clear on Elizabeth’s face, which was the perfect opening to push forward and point out that she probably wouldn’t even be in braces for very long. Since Elizabeth’s teeth were ‘fine,’ as she said, it was only a matter of fixing a couple little things. By the time Paul returned, the combination of patronizing logic and peer pressure was enough for her to not whine or cause a scene about the impending procedure.
Braces at her age weren’t totally unheard of, and getting them at no cost was definitely a bargain. Elizabeth did have decent insurance through their company, though she would have to pay a decent chunk out of pocket in any other circumstance. As usual, it was mostly her size that was the issue. Still, once she was back in her business attire, she could probably suffer through a few weeks or months of braces. Ideally with more remote work, and calls/meetings where she could keep her video off.
Everything was just happening so quickly. After hours of embarrassment and being mistaken as a tween, including the recent events at the BBQ, Elizabeth only had so much energy left. Before she knew it, Paul was positioning her chair and setting everything up. Elizabeth lost her last chance to belatedly protest, not that she’d have much ground to stand on when the other two had thoroughly informed her that this was for her own good, as soon as Paul began cleaning her teeth before getting started with the bonding agent. Talking with the dentist’s hand in her mouth wasn’t going to get her anywhere, and would only make her sound as awkward and immature as she looked.
June watched in pleasure as the first of the brackets was placed onto her boss’s teeth. At this point, there was no going back. Well, he could take it right back off; she just doubted that Elizabeth would think about it that way. Now that they had started, she was going to lie in that chair like a good girl until the job was done. Normally, a parent or other relative would hang out in the waiting room, especially since putting on braces was quite the process. Since this wasn’t during office hours, and a unique situation on top of that, Paul didn’t seem to mind her presence.
She also took some satisfaction in the noises of discomfort coming from the petite redhead’s mouth along the way. While it shouldn’t hurt, there was still the matter of installing and securing the wires, tightening everything into place, and overall making Lizzie sit there for a lot longer than she was accustomed to for the simple appointments she had as an adult.
Then, for the part Elizabeth hadn’t been consulted on, she was given pink bands. If she had been asked, she would have gone for some neutral color that would subvert the fact that she was now in braces. Instead, she looked more like a little girl than ever.
“She may experience some discomfort for the first few days as her teeth begin to realign,” Paul said. He was talking to June, though somewhat for her ‘niece’s’ benefit as well. “You can give her over the counter medication if she needs it, but hold off until she sees how things feel. Do you have any more questions for me? Either way, I’ll send some informational packets with you, as well as my card.”
“I think I’ve got it,” June said, “She’ll have to live without her chewy candy and adjust her brushing, but I think little Lizzie will be just fine. I’ll make sure to pass along everything to her parents as well. Thank you again for everything! Anything we should know about her tooth?”
He reassured her that the chipped tooth was taken care of as well. She should just avoid hard foods for a few days. Otherwise, it was a simple fix.
Once Elizabeth was on her feet again, June turned her towards the dentist. “Well? Do you have something to say, Lizzie? This was a huge favor.”
She didn’t want braces to begin with. As if thanking him for something that made her less mature wasn’t bad enough, doing so after being prompted further fed into the image of her being a child who needed such a nudge from her aunt. Lightly flushing, and not at all used to the sensation of the metal against the inside of her lips, Elizabeth muttered, “ . . . Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome,” Paul said, with a reassuring smile. As if reading her mind, when it was really just his experience dealing with kids and adolescents who had similar reactions, he said, “I know, you’re probably not excited about getting braces. Don’t worry. They’ll be off by the time you’re in high school, and I bet some of your classmates will be jealous of your perfect teeth.”
His intentions were good, but all his words actually did was remind Elizabeth how young she looked. She was literally a professional young woman, a college graduate, and yet the man before her thought that she hadn’t even made it to high school yet.
June managed to avoid any outward amusement at the very same thing. She just gave Elizabeth a pat on the head, then took her hand after thanking Paul one more time. With her other hand, she took all the handouts for what to do now that her bitchy boss was stuck in braces.
As they left the office, Elizabeth finally spoke up, “June, this isn’t fair.”
“You’re right. It’s not fair.” June squeezed her hand. “I’ve been dealing with your bratty attitude all day, and you still don’t know what to call me. It’s also not fair most other girls your age have to pay for braces, or deal with messed up teeth. Now, do you remember your lines? I want you to say them word for word, or you’re going to have to write more.”
Elizabeth remembered. Of course, saying them was way worse than writing them. Even so, she cringed as she said, “My name is Lizzie. I’m twelve years old . . . ” The first two sentences were manageable enough, if only because of what everyone had been calling her all day, as well as how she had been treated. But she was June’s boss. The last bit still felt wrong.
Pushing her to finish, June said, “I’m waiting, Lizzie. Three . . . two . . . ”
“Wait!” Elizabeth exclaimed. It was shameful how effective the parenting tactic was. “Aunt June is in charge,” she hastily concluded.
“That’s right,” June nodded, “Remember, you wanted this. And you agreed to be my niece all day. Although I think it’s best if we keep things this way until at least the end of our trip.”
Wanted what? This was just supposed to be for one meeting! But it had been forever since they first talked about the disguise, which made her memory a little bit foggy. Even if it was for the whole day, there was no reason to keep the dynamic going back at the hotel, or the following day for that matter. “But-” she started to argue.
“You just said I’m in charge,” June cut her off, “And if you’re going to keep acting like a whiny little girl, it makes sense to treat you like one. Besides, how old did you just say you were?”
That wasn’t fair, either! But echoing the phrase would only prove June’s point. “Twelve?” she half answered, half asked.
“You’re twelve,” June repeated, “Not an adult. Not even a teenager. And absolutely not mature enough to be in charge of yourself, let alone in charge of other people. Do you understand?”
Elizabeth didn’t understand at all. Yet she gave a meek nod, as she had no clue how to deal with this side of June when she was normally quiet and obedient in her role back at the office. That, and dealing with the reality that she was going to be in braces for the foreseeable future was quite the distraction on top of everything else.
“Good,” June said, “And you’re going to behave for me?”
Again, Elizabeth nodded.
“That’s better. Here,” she opened the door to the back seat of the ride that she had ordered a few minutes ago and held out the small stack of packets to the youthful looking redhead, “You should read up on what you should and shouldn’t do now that you have braces. That, and think about how you’re going to have a better attitude moving forward. I have dinner with a colleague tonight, and I can’t leave you out of my sight for that long. You’re going to have to come with me, and you better not embarrass me by making a scene.”
As in, with Mr. Evans? The director of their department was the only other person who had flown in for the conference. Lizzie had already been stressed and thoroughly humiliated during their brief run-in with him earlier. She tried to tell him who she really was, and to explain why she and June had gone through such lengths to make the best out of a series of traveling mishaps. Instead, he believed that she took a last minute, unauthorized vacation, leaving June to do all these presentations by herself.
Then again, maybe seeing him again would give her the opportunity to come clean and share her side of the story? The problem was, June still technically did all the meetings solo, and she easily looked like the more mature and professional one between the two of them. It would be difficult to make their director understand when June had already set herself up to take all the credit. Fucking bitch.
As Elizabeth buckled her seatbelt and shifted her lips against the unfamiliar braces, she tried to keep herself from overthinking or making assumptions. ‘Colleague’ could mean anything. In fact, it might also imply that June was talking about a professional acquaintance who was more on her level, rather than a superior. Regardless, all Elizabeth could do was wait. Unlike last night, she apparently couldn’t just camp out in their suite, when she was clearly capable of doing so. It had been boring sure, though it was better than being out in public looking like a tween to anyone who glanced her way.
Some time alone would also give her a minute to breathe and figure out how to reset things with June. Elizabeth just had none of the authority she was supposed to at the moment, which would make it difficult to find such time for herself.
They were driven back to the hotel, where June wasted no time in ushering her upstairs and bringing her back to her room where Maggie’s suitcase was open from when they had gone through options earlier. “You’re a little underdressed for dinner, even if no one will really expect you to adhere to what the adults will be wearing,” June said, “How about this?” She pulled out a simple sky blue sundress. “It’s the best we have. This was all from a casual trip. Do you need my help getting dressed, or do you think you can handle it by yourself?”
“I can do it myself,” Elizabeth sighed. It was extra frustrating that June kept acting as if she was actually an immature little girl. They both knew her actual age, and no one else was here. Elizabeth was too worn out at this point to consider that being casually talked down to nonstop was just another way to keep her trapped in the role. While June implied her adult existence here and there, she never actually said it outright.
It wasn’t quite the minute alone that Elizabeth wanted. June told her to change right away, and that she’d be back as soon as she had done the same. By the time Elizabeth had stripped off the shorts/t-shirt combo and slipped on the painfully bright dress, she doubted it would be much longer before her assistant/aunt returned. Deciding to take a bathroom break, as it had been a while since she had gone, Elizabeth also figured that would extend her little breather.
The glimpse of red hair in the mirror threw her off just like last time she had seen her reflection. While she had a second to check herself out, she also reluctantly parted her lips to get her first look at the braces. Elizabeth knew they were going to look bad, but had no idea it would be that bad. She gasped upon seeing the pink band on each tooth, as well as how they totally clashed with the youthful blue dress. It was certainly a convincing image, except there was no reason for her to keep looking so young. Even after this mortifying weekend, she was going to be in pink braces until she could get the color switched!
Quickly doing her business, then taking a deep breath as she braced herself to confront June about how enough was enough, she opened the door and ended up immediately on the back foot as she was chastised as soon as the young woman laid eyes on her.
June was wearing a black cocktail dress, which contrasted Elizabeth’s sundress about as much as June’s professional outfit did when Elizabeth was in her real niece’s other clothes. Placing a hand on her hip, June sternly said, “Lizzie. Did you ask permission to use the restroom?”
What? Not even twelve year olds needed to do something like that, unless they were in class or some other situation where they needed to be excused. “I don’t-”
“From now on, ask,” June said, “Aren’t you going to apologize?”
Elizabeth didn’t have much steam to begin with as she stepped out of the bathroom, and whatever she had mustered with that breath evaporated as June laid into her. Rather than pointing out that this had all gone way too far, how she was June’s boss, that she wanted to stay up here and skip dinner, Elizabeth simply averted her gaze and said, “I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, Aunt June?” she replied.
“I’m sorry, Aunt June.”
“That’s better. Do you have that attitude out of your system? It’s time to go.”
June held out her hand, which Elizabeth reluctantly took. Aunt and niece, once again completely looking the part as they left the small hotel suite. Hopefully this was the last thing on the itinerary for the day, and perhaps the suggestion that Elizabeth needed to ask about every little thing meant that she would be getting an early bedtime as well. Not that she wanted to be put to bed hours earlier than what she preferred; it was just that she’d take about anything to return to her room and officially end this day.
Naturally, June felt the complete opposite. Anything that kept Elizabeth flustered and off balance served to keep her compliant and going along with the false age. And, if everything went smoothly tonight, she would have officially done more than humiliate the fuck out of her boss. Now that June had proven herself as an asset to the company, there was no way Elizabeth was going to be able to fire her.
Ideally, June would be promoted and everyone would finally figure out that ‘Lizzie’ was a middle manager who delegated literally everything but the work that made her look good. This weekend had gone better than June had imagined, and there was still some more fun to be had.
“You better behave tonight, Lizzie,” June said, as they walked towards the elevators, “If I have to drag you to the bathroom again, it’s going to be a spanking this time.”