Dami the sales girl - Season 1 - Episode 5

5 years ago

Dami the sales girl - Season 1 - Episode 5

☆☆

*Recap: Dami met up with Toyin after the dress fitting and afterwards, started receiving strange
messages from her stalker. She was forced to tell
Daniel what’s really going on.”
10:30am, 9th May 2016,
Monday Morning,
Exquisite Restaurant.

It was another Monday morning, but I actually had
a reason to look forward to it because today was
my first day working in the Reserved Area. Far
away from the grumpy and impatient customers in
Section A or the misers in Section B who could
resort to haggling over the price of meals on the
menu. You can trust that they never gave us any
tips too.

Kayla handed me a new set of the work uniform
and told me to get changed. I slipped the uniform
on and stared at myself in the mirror. I’d never
worn clothes this tight. The top was black with
short sleeves and had a row of silver buttons in
the front. The fitted skirt was also black and
stopped a few inches above my knee but that was
way too short for comfort. There was a stark white
lacy apron attached to the waist which was more
for fancy than to actually serve a purpose. She had
warned me about getting any food stains on it.
I tied my hair up to keep it out of the way and
slipped on my black flats before leaving the
changing room.

“Oh good, you’re ready.” Kayla said, taking in my
appearance.

“Yeah, what’s next?” I asked.

Her eyes darted down towards my feet and she
frowned.

“You can’t serve customers in those.”
“What are you talking about? They’re very
comfortable shoes.”

She gave me a look that said she thought I was
quite slow on the uptake.

“When I work in the Reserved Area, do you ever
see me wear tacky shoes like those?”
I wasn’t even sure how to answer that.
“Follow me. I’ll lend you a more appropriate pair.”

She went over to her locker and brought out a pair of black 5-inch heels.

“You expect me to function in those?” I asked.

“At least you’re not wearing 6-inch heels, leave that to me. Now, hurry up and get ready.

Customers usually don’t start arriving till late
afternoon but sometimes there are early-birds.”

I stared at the shoes in disbelief as she turned to leave but she suddenly turned back to face me.

“And for your sake, please tell me you know how
to walk in those.”

I didn’t get a chance to reply before she walked
out and the door slammed shut. Thirty minutes
later, I was wobbling up and down in the
employees’ room practising walking in heels. And I
was failing miserably. The door swung open and I
whirled around sharply, losing my balance in the
process. I never even had any balance to begin
with.
“What on earth are you doing?” Daniel raised an
amused eyebrow as he scanned me from head to
toe and immediately burst out into laughter.
“This isn’t funny! My job is on the line here.”
“Sure, I can see how a pair of heels is very crucial
to your career.”
“You don’t understand.” I replied, taking a few
more steps in them.

“Explain.” He said, grabbing a seat to watch me
make a fool out of myself.

“Kayla gave me this new uniform and told me that I
could only wear heels to serve customers. Now, I
have to avoid falling flat on my face in them.”
“Hmm, it doesn’t look like that’s going to be an
easy task.” He grinned.

“You’re not helping matters at all Daniel.” I
snapped.
“Okay.” He stood up and pushed the chair aside.

“Stop walking for a minute.”
I sighed and leaned against the wall to take
pressure off my feet. He was silent for a while,
peering closely at my legs before taking a step
closer.
“Stand up straight.”

I frowned and gave him a questioning look.
“Trust me Dami, I’m close to being an expert on
such matters. I have three sisters remember?
Lesson number one; never slouch in heels. In fact,
never slouch at all.”

I rolled my eyes and straightened my back.
“Number two, take short strides. You’re not
running a race here Dami.”
I practised taking smaller steps like he said and
noticed that my knees weren’t as unsteady as
before. I grinned in excitement even though I
missed my step a couple of times.
“Now walk from heel-to-toe and point your toes
forward. No Dami, this isn’t a march past, walk
slowly with your heels to the ground first before
you rest your toes.”
“Gosh, it’s not like this is astrophysics why on
earth is it so difficult?” I grumbled.
“Practice makes perfect.” He shrugged. “I’ll be
back in a few minutes, by then I expect you to
have graduated from baby steps to at least
adolescent.”
I was stumbling less often when the door opened a
few minutes later.
“I’m not sure about adolescent steps but I think
I’m at kindergarten-“
“There’s nothing childish about you right now.” A
voice said slowly.

I frowned and turned to see who walked in. I
sighed automatically when I saw that it was Kevin.
“Why is it that you’re never happy to see me?” He
frowned.
“Maybe it’s because I don’t like your presence.” I
muttered, slipping the heels off.
Kevin smiled sadly and shook his head.
“Don’t you think you’re too hard on me?”
“Not at all, someone needs to put you in your
place.”
“Anyway, I heard you’re working the VIP shift
today.”
“Is anything ever a secret in this place?” I asked in
wonder.
He gave me a cryptic look and shrugged.
“Some things are.”
I frowned, not getting his meaning. Kevin rarely
looked as serious as he did in that moment. Before
I could ask what he meant, the door opened for a second time and Daniel walked in. He glanced from
Kevin to me and then to my bare feet. He raised a
single, dark eyebrow in a pointed look.
“I know okay? I’ll keep practicing.” I said, slipping
the shoes back on.

“Anyway, I’m out. Tell me if you survive the first
shift.” Kevin said before walking out.
A few hours later, the VIP section of Exquisite was
opened. I stood in line with about 7 of the other
staff who were on duty. Kayla stood at the head of
the female line with a face full of professionally
applied makeup and Dare; a former model for a
clothing line led the guys. I wondered for a brief
moment what I was even doing there. I wasn’t as
glamorous as anyone here. Now I understood why
Kayla was particular about my appearance. I must
have missed some sort of signal because
moments later, everyone started moving forward.
“What’s going on?” I whispered to Toyosi who
stood ahead of me.
She brushed her pin-straight chocolate brown hair
away from her face as she turned to look at me.
“Sometimes, customers choose who they want to
serve them during their visit. You see that lady
over there?”
I nodded as I spotted a dark woman who looked to
be in her forties walking into the building.
“That’s Senator Achibu’s wife. A single look from
her can melt even the toughest of hearts. I’ll try to
avoid her if I were you, especially since you’re new
to this.”
Before we entered the room where they were
seated, Kayla turned to face the rest of us.
“For those of you who are new here,” She glanced
at me and another girl I hadn’t seen before.
“There’s a strict policy that is applied when
serving in the Reserved Area. Always remember
that the customer is your first priority and their
comfort is more important than yours.”