Pocket Full of Posies

Bari had done her homework and now, her long awaited in-house presentation was here. As many presentations as she had done, this would be the first one that David actually attended. In fact, Sheldon Mongrove and Carol Shaffer had been calling Bari frequently about this particular prospect because securing them as a client would allow them to tap into the automobile industry which would be a first for them.

She had done enough number crunching and market research to take her well into the new millenium. Hell, she could probably write a book on the rise and fall of lucrative companies that failed to understand the needs of their customers. Not only did she plan to demonstrate to Herculon Motors the benefit of Choler-Raines’ services, but she would convince them to pay double the fee. She was ready.

Earl came into the bathroom and interrupted the flow of her thoughts.

"I didn’t see any money under my cologne bottle on the dresser. Did you do what I asked you to do?" He asked.

"I went to the bank like you asked me to, but I was surprised when I saw how much the balance has dwindled down so quickly. I didn’t realize how many withdrawals you already made for the month."

"Did you take out the money or not?"

"No, I didn’t take it out, Earl. We really need to be a little more careful with our spending since I’m the only one working right now. What do you need so much money for anyway?" Bari asked.

"Since when do I have to explain my business to you!" Earl’s voice boomed. "Don’t think you can control me now just because I’m not workin’. Don’t you ever think that!"

Bari didn’t respond. She learned that it was better to keep calm during Earl’s tirades. She finished pulling up her pantyhose, then walked past Earl, out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. Earl followed her.

"I don’t know who’s puttin’ ideas into your head, but all of a sudden I’m sensin’ attitude from you. You want out of this marriage? Is that it?"

"I never said I wanted out of this marriage and I’m not giving you attitude. I’m just a little worried, that’s all." Bari said, turning to face him.

"Just give me the goddamned bankcard. I’ll take care of the sh-- myself."

"If it means that much to you, I’ll do it." Said Bari.

"No, you won’t. I’ll take care of it. You already f---ed up. Where is your pocketbook?" Earl looked around the room and spotted Bari’s pocketbook on the floor by the chair next to the window. He stormed across the room to get it. Bari rushed behind him, trying to grab the bag from Earl as he picked it up.

"I said I’ll do it, Earl. You don’t have to go into my bag like that."

"Oh, no? What, you have somethin’ to hide from me? Get the f--- away from me." Earl said, shoving Bari onto the bed. Bari sprang right back up. Earl unzipped the pocketbook.

"Give me my pocketbook, Earl!"

"Come any closer to me and you’ll be sorry." Earl glared at Bari. She knew he meant what he said.

"This is ridiculous!" Bari yelled, and ran from the room into the bathroom slamming the door behind her. She sat down on the toilet seat crying and trying to figure out how the two of them got to this point.

Ten minutes later, Bari came out of the bathroom and went back into the bedroom. She saw her pocketbook on the dresser with all of its contents emptied out on the dresser, some on the floor. Earl was gone. He left the house without a word.

Bari slowly put all of her things back into her pocketbook. She pulled her suit out of the closet and continued getting dressed. Bari chose a burgundy-colored ‘power suit’ to wear for her presentation. She knew that she would need more than a power suit to charge her up again.

Sidney ushered the team from Herculon Motors into the North conference room and pointed out the fresh bagels, muffins, juice and coffee. As soon as the visitors were settled, he rushed into Bari’s office.

"Are you feeling okay, hon? You don’t look too good in the face to me. Are you nervous?" He asked Bari.

"You know me better than that, Sidney."

"I’m just making sure, babe, because I know you’re gonna kick ass."

"You know it." Bari’s smile seemed bright. Her spirit even seemed high. She was okay for the moment, but if Sidney stayed in her office for another minute she knew she would have pulled every hair from her body. All Bari wanted right now was to be left alone. She didn’t want to hear anybody’s voice or any laughter. As much time as she had spent preparing for this day and as much as she had looked forward to it, she resented that it was actually here now.

"Anyway," Sidney said, "I don’t want to leave those vultures by themselves for too long, so let me go and entertain them until you guys are ready to rock and roll." Sidney sashayed out of Bari’s office. Bari got up and shut the door behind him.

Before Bari sat down again, she opened her middle drawer and took out the Extra Strength Tylenol bottle. She hated taking pills. She didn’t even know why she bothered taking them. She knew by now that they wouldn’t stop her heart palpitations and they hadn’t been effective on her anxiety attacks up to now.

Bari popped the pills and sat back down behind her desk with her head between her hands. She took a few deep breaths, then stood again and left her office. She went down the corridor to David’s office to pick him up so that they could greet their guests together. When they walked into the conference room, Sidney made polite introductions, then left the room, closing the door behind him.

David gave a brief summary of Choler-Raines’ history as well as its track record in the industry. The group looked impressed when he was done. He set them up well for Bari. Bari took the floor. She commanded their attention immediately. She had learned early on about the art of body language and she was good at it. Her movements were sharp and swift and in-between sentences she would pause for effect. Bari had them in the palm of her hands right from the start. Even David felt it. He gave Bari a discreet thumbs up when she looked at him. Bari was ready to move in for the kill. She shut down the lights and turned on the overhead projector. A project plan appeared. Bari talked along as she pointed out the various aspects of the plan. Without warning, depression came down on her and her heart became heavy. Her voice quivered and she was starting to stutter.

"H-Herculon could stand to Earl--er, earn at least--You could Earl-earn--I’m sorry." Bari breathed in slowly, looking down at the floor – anywhere, but at the Herculon team.