The Green Ticket

Chapter 5



I pulled my Camry into Blissful’s parking lot on Sunday afternoon, the first real cold day of the fall season. The girls and I were keeping our fingers crossed that the weather would keep its semi-warm temperatures until next week –– Halloween. We were attending a costume party together, and going as the Spice Girls. I mean, really, was there anything better suited for us? My red hair cast me as Ginger Spice, obviously, and I was looking forward to rocking a mini dress with some towering platforms.

Blissful Salon and Spa was a stand-alone business, meaning that it was not in a strip mall attached side to side with other businesses. Dani had told me when they first built Blissful just fourteen months ago, their original spot had been picked out, paid for, a done deal, then the owner of the strip mall decided to let a gym be put in right next to the spa. Dani and Kevin were appropriately peeved off. Who wants a gym with loud music right next to where a client is getting a relaxing massage? So they got out of that lease and into a new space, which had gone smoothly and opened up last year on Mayfair Lane.

A tinkling bell sounded as I opened the door, stepping inside the spa and taking my first glance around. Blissful was located in the suburb of Witte, almost a full thirty-minute drive for me from Kaufman, on the outskirts of town. Clients stepped into a beautiful reception area, open and inviting, with cream-colored walls and large pictures showcasing services they offered. I saw a picture that showed only a woman’s back with stones placed along her spine, a beautiful blonde woman with bright blue eyes beaming at the camera while getting foils in her hair, and another picture just of someone’s fingernails, each with a different design. A small waterfall in the left corner made soothing sounds as the water cascaded into the rocks, and the reception desk was made of blonde wood, the name and logo of Blissful carved in the center of it, lit up by pink lights. I fell in love that instant.

“Hi there, welcome to Blissful! What can I help you with today?” The young girl behind the front desk, who looked about my age, greeted me with a smile on her face. My first thought was that she was a bit plain looking, dark hair with no layers or highlights, no bangs framing her face and dark eyes with no eye makeup to accent them. Usually, salon receptionists sport a trendy haircut or at least some fun makeup products, but not her. Her smile seemed nice enough though.

“Hi! I’m Alex Abrams. I’m meeting Dani and Kevin Dohlman here for a second interview,” I said, smiling as another gal popped up from around the partition leading to the salon.

“Oh, hi, you must be the one Dani was telling us about,” the new girl said, extending her hand to shake mine. “I’m Allie Langtimm, an esthetician. This is Kamille, one of our coordinators. Dani is so excited for you to come today! How was your drive? You look adorable by the way. I love pencil skirts!”

Allie was the definition of bubbly. She seemed to be someone who had a permanent smile on her face, someone who just enjoyed life. She was petite, probably no taller than Dani, super tan, and had the blackest hair I’d ever seen. I thought there was one color of black, and that was black, but Allie’s somehow seemed darker. Her eyes were an intense blue that had to be helped by colored contacts. She had her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, and I noticed she had piercings all the way up her ears, seven in each, and also a nose ring.

“Well, thank you,” I stumbled for words, trying to figure out what to say back to that barrage of a greeting. “I’m glad to be here and look around, and my drive wasn’t too bad, thank you. I live on campus at Kaufman, so it was a little bit of a drive but nothing terrible.”

“Do you just love Kaufman? I’ve heard it’s a great school. Kamille here goes to Irving and just loves it, don’t you, Kamille?”

Kamille seemed to have lost interest in our conversation, and was busying clicking around on the computer. She didn’t even raise her eyes to look at me. “Yeah, it’s peachy.”

I nodded my head, not sure what to say when someone describes their college as peachy. Mine was like a plum? Cherry? So I kept my mouth shut, looking at Allie for help.

She clapped her hands together like a cheerleader waiting for that touchdown to happen. “Dani and Kevin aren’t here quite yet, they might still be at brunch, but I’ll give you a tour of the salon! I work as an esthetician, but I’m also the lead over all the salon and spa workers. I’ll help the manager do scheduling for their shifts, and I do a lot of the ordering of supplies that we need. If anyone needs to call in sick or something, they call my cell phone and I try to help get someone to cover for them. It takes a load off the manager, who concentrates more on the coordinators, financials, and generally running the store. Have you ever been a manager before?”

“Uh, no. But I’m hoping my major will help me out here–– business and entrepreneurship. The classes have given me some good ideas–– well, what I hope are good ideas–– to bring to this place.” I followed Allie behind the partition and stepped into the salon. There were two rows of salon chairs hugging the walls, six in each row. A small table and oversized mirror furnished each hair station, and the tables were covered with an array of hair straighteners, curlers, blow-dyers and product. Black sinks lined the back wall, with bottles of shampoo and conditioner lined up like warriors ready to take on damaged hair and fight split ends. There were four girls on the floor, each wearing black pants and a black smock, working on a client. They all seemed friendly enough, shouting their hellos as Allie rushed me through and introduced me to the group.

“And this back here is our spa part. We do all the nail care, massages, waxing, and facials back here. Well, except for eyebrow waxes. Those can be done at the sinks, of course.” Allie giggled as she led me through a set of double doors, with the words “Be Calm. Be Relaxed. Be Blissful.” painted on them.

We entered into an oasis, a dim room with about a dozen plants placed strategically. The area reminded me of the reception out front but with darker lighting, soft music playing, and only the plants as decoration. The open room held six pedicure chairs and three manicure stations, one of those being occupied by a woman getting her fingernails painted.

Allie’s voice dropped an octave or two when she spoke again. “We like this area to be as calm and relaxing as possible. We have a satellite music radio set to this station the moment we open until the last client leaves. Behind the doors are the treatment rooms,” she gestured to the eight closed doors around the area, each numbered, “and certain rooms are equipped for certain treatments. That is a really important part when it comes to scheduling. The coordinators know which room can do what, so they schedule which rooms we will be in. It all needs to flow smoothly so there is no interruption or wait once a client comes in.”

I nodded my head, understanding what Allie was saying. The client was the most important. When they walked through the doors at Blissful Salon and Spa, they would be treated with excellent customer service, from the front desk coordinator to their stylist or therapist. And it took a crew of people–– the owners, managers, coordinators, everyone–– to make their experience a good one. I could definitely appreciate that in a business.

Allie let me peek into the empty rooms to get a feel for them. The massage rooms held a bed, a chair for clients to place their belongings and one small table that held a microwave-looking thing. “A towel warmer,” Allie explained when she caught me staring at it. “We like to start and end all our massages with a hot towel on the back, to help loosen and soothe the muscles. And if clients request a hot stone massage, we’ll place the stones in there as well.”

The facial rooms had a bed, chair, and small table as well, but also had what looked like a light that the dentists use to see inside your mouth. “This is just a magnifying light, so we can see your skin up close and personal. We can detect skin conditions, decide which type of products to use, and see if we need to do extractions during the facial by using the light,” Allie said, flipping the light switch off and leading me out of the room. “Have you ever had a facial done before?”

I shook my head, wondering what the heck an extraction could be. Sounded painful. Like a tooth extraction. I’d had all four wisdom teeth removed, and that was not fun. I didn’t think facials were supposed to hurt, but maybe it was like waxing. It hurt to be beautiful and fuzz free.

“We would let you try all the services here if you did get the position. We want all workers to know and understand the treatments so you can easily tell clients about them without stumbling over your words or having to grab one of us to explain them.”

“Wow. That’s pretty awesome.”

Allie smiled at my enthusiasm. “It really is. And Dani and Kevin treat us so well. During your birthday month you can pick any two services and get those done for free. And you get half off all services any other time.” Score! “But as a manger, you would also be in charge of hiring new staff, and that means letting them use you as a guinea pig.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, a little worried. I didn’t like the sounds of being a science experiment.

“It just means that if we have a massage therapist apply, you like their résumé and face to face interview, you would have them give you a practical interview where they demonstrate their service. So you would get a massage, or a facial or manicure, whatever it is they do. You want to make sure they are ready to be put on the floor and have a client right away.”

I could feel the smile stretching across my face. I would want to be hiring all the time! “Wow, that sounds pretty good. But aren’t they supposed to be licensed and graduated from a school? Shouldn’t they all just be ready to go anyway?”

Allie led us out of the spa room and back into the bright and bustling salon section, where two more girls were now on the floor with clients. “You would think that, but actually it’s not true. I’ve been helping Dani out with the practicals and we have found a few duds in there. It’s shocking how the schools could let them graduate and get a license when they seem not to have a clue what they are doing. But you will come across a few here and there. I can pretty much guarantee that. Oh, look who’s here!” Allie’s blue eyes shone as she spotted Dani at the front desk surrounded by little girls. Well, just three little girls, but they were shrieking and shouting and running around, so they seemed to be multiplied.

“Brianna, lower your voice this instant! You know we’re at work and we do not use loud voices here!” Dani was saying as we crossed the salon floor and approached the front. “If you sit down and be a good girl, we’ll stop for some frozen yogurt on the way home.” The little girl, wearing a long red dress, black tights and matching Mary Jane’s, promptly flounced in one of the high-backed chairs, crossing her arms and sulking. Another little girl, wearing a matching outfit that was blue, followed suit, copying her face to form a frown like her sister’s. And the youngest of the trio, wearing a pink dress, took slow steps around the reception area, looking a little unsteady on her feet. I guessed her to be somewhere around one or two years old.

“Oh, Alex, we’re so glad you could make it today. Thanks for stopping by. Hi, Allie! Did you show Alex around?”

“Sure did. Filled her in a bit too, let her know some of the manger’s duties that we discussed.”

“Thanks so much, sweetie. This has been a day from, well,” Dani cast her eyes downward, and I caught myself looking down at the polished marble floor, “just one of those days,” she continued, and I guessed that she wanted to say “hell” but didn’t for the children’s sake. “Oh, here comes Kevin now.”

I followed Dani’s line of vision to the front door, where the bell tinkled as Kevin Dohlman came inside. Dani looked smaller in person than she did in her photo, and Kevin looked larger. He was tall, over six feet for sure, with a strong build and big hands. His black hair was spiked with gel, giving it that shiny look, which I thought was strange for a man in his forties. Didn’t guys stop gelling their hair when they reach the big 3-0? His presence in the room commanded attention, I could feel it. The air seemed to shift and swirl around him, and he glanced around the room with authority, scanning the front desk area, reception desk, and then finally us minions that occupied the space.

“Hi, honey. Hi, girls,” he said, giving his daughters a wave. He picked up the littlest girl in the pink dress, pulling her into his big arms. “Hi, Cami. You look so beautiful in your pink dress.” The little girl giggled and squealed “Daddy!” while nuzzling against his neck. It was actually one of the cutest things I’d ever seen. This big beast of man with a soft heart for his precious daughter. Heartwarming.

“Hi, Allie, Kamille.” He nodded to both of them with a smile, and they rewarded him back with high beams of their own. Even Kamille, who seemed a bit sulky when I showed up, flashed her pearly whites, her face lighting up. Even her dull eyes seemed to sparkle. “And you must be Alex.” He stuck out his hand to me, easily holding Cami in the crook of his left arm.

I gave a firm handshake, showing my confidence and competence just as I had done with Dani. “Nice to meet you, Kevin. Thanks so much for meeting with me today,” I said, hoping my voice didn’t sound as shaky as I thought it did. Something about this man just screamed “Be on your best behavior! Stand up straight! Look sharp!” I threw my shoulders back and lifted my neck long, listening to the inner screams in my head.

Kevin’s gaze swept across my body, taking in my black pencil skirt, tan blouse with ruffles along the buttons, and simple black pumps that I borrowed from Lila. I kept my jewelry minimal, just wearing my gold watch that was given to me as a gift from Alicia when I started college. My red hair was pulled back into a casual bun, with a few tendrils framing my face. I thought I looked classy and professional, but the way Kevin stared at me, I wondered if maybe my skirt was too tight or my blouse suddenly see-through. It was a very…intense gaze that he was giving me.

“Very nice to meet you as well, Alex. Welcome to Blissful. I hear you and my wife really hit it off the other day.” He threw me a wink, and I wasn’t sure he meant we hit it off professionally, or that he wanted us to mud wrestle in the nude. I didn’t have senses and vibes like Lila, but something felt funny.

I glanced at Dani, wondering if she noticed the underlying sexual tone in Kevin’s voice. But her smile was as bright as ever when she answered. “We sure did! We have so much in common. Alex is working on her business degree, and I just know she would make a fabulous addition here!”

I looked at Allie, my next, well, ally at the salon. She had the same smile on her face. Ditto for Kamille. This was getting weirder by the minute. Maybe I was the crazy one. Why would Kevin be hitting on me with his gorgeous, young, big-breasted wife standing beside me? I was obviously hallucinating. Maybe it was from all the hair and nail products in the air.

“Thanks, Dani,” I said, pasting an identical smile on my face. “I absolutely love Blissful. From talking to Allie, it sounds like you are so customer driven, really focused on giving them the best treatment and experience, and I think that is excellent. I would really feel honored if you considered me for the position.”

“Well, why don’t we go back into my office and discuss a few more details, the fine print of the job,” Dani suggested, taking Cami from Kevin’s arms. “We have a few minutes until we need to get going so we could go over some paperwork, and then if you have any other questions, Allie can be your right-hand girl to go to.”

I followed Dani and Kevin back, while Allie and Kamille stayed up front to keep an eye on their daughters. The office was through the spa doors and to the left and was a small square space that seemed efficient. Two computers hummed in opposite corners, file folders, loose papers and stacks of mail were piled on any free space available, and a family picture of Dani, Kevin and their three daughters was hung on the east wall. One computer had an email pulled up, the other showed what looked to be the salon schedule, with blocks of time colored different shades and names inserted at every hour. I felt professional just walking into the office, and could easily picture myself at the desk, monitoring the schedule, fielding phone calls, working payroll.

It only took about twenty minutes, and Dani explained to me the different job duties, hours they would want me to work, a salary and explanation of benefits. The work hours in the clinic were a little varied, Tuesday through Sunday three weeks out of the month, and then the last week Tuesday through Friday, with weekends off. They announced a salary that made my eyes bulge–– I had never been offered a number like that in my life. And that included a pay raise once I got my degree–– hello, making bank. The benefits were excellent, a 401(k) plan, health, vision and dental care, and even a free gym membership at a local facility down the street. I felt confident in my ability to perform the job requirements: scheduling employees, training events, marketing, dealing with unhappy customers, submitting employee hours to the payroll company, hosting monthly meetings with the staff, and generally being the face of Blissful. I needed to organize events around town to help drive in business, promote Blissful on the radio, basically “eat, sleep and breath Blissful,” as Kevin put it.

I looked down at the large packet in my hands, which outlined everything we had discussed in a few short minutes. It was overwhelming. It was a real, grown-up job. It was everything I wanted. And then, Kevin threw in a few kickers. “We want our business to do well, and we want employees who can make that happen. And you, Alex, I believe can make that happen for us. You’ve lived in Des Moines for years, you know the town and the people, you have connections through your school and you’re a beautiful woman. People will look at you and think your beauty comes from Blissful. Women will want to look like you and men will want their wives to look like you.” I snuck another peek at Dani when he said that. She was beautiful. I wanted to look like her. “We’ll have certain goals we will want you to meet each month–– either an increase in appointments, product sales, treatment sales, whatever. You make the goal, you get a monetary bonus. And come on, who doesn’t love some bonus money?”

I nodded my head, thinking of what I could buy with my bonus money. My savings account could really benefit from that. Kevin continued. “It’s simple: meet your goal, we cut you a check. Bing, bang, done deal.”

“That is so generous of you to offer that. I’ll tell you, I love goals. I love being able to write things down and really go for them and––”

“Excellent, you get it then. Perfect.” Kevin cut me off, leaning back in his chair and casually crossing one leg over the other. “And one more thing. Blissful is a franchise, and we’re really interested in opening more salons in Des Moines and across Iowa. Maybe even dip in Missouri and Illinois. If you want to think of the future, you could possibly own a store yourself one day.” My heart skipped a beat. Me–– an owner of a salon and spa? “If you exceed expectations as a manger, understand the way the business operates, we could definitely help you open another store. More money for us, more money for you. Cheers all around. What do you think of that?”

It took me an extra moment to find my voice over the shock of realizing I could really be a business owner one day, with a man who obviously knew a great deal about owning and entrepreneurship. “Yes! That’s my main goal is to own a store. And salon and spas are my niche–– they’re what I love. I can’t believe I could really own one someday.” I shook my head in disbelief. It was all so overwhelming. Everything was falling in place for me. Alicia was going to be so proud.

“I think you’re the candidate for the job. Dani?” He raised his caterpillar black eyebrows at his wife, who had her signature grin in place.

“And I agree. Ooh, Alex, we’re so happy to have you. That is, if you want the job.” Her smile faded just for a second while she watched me pretend to go over their offer one more time, flipping pages in the packet. This job offered money, stability, a chance to get a real opportunity. What indecision?

“I say yes! I would love to come on as your manager. I will take great care of Blissful. Thank you so much,” I said. Dani stood and reached her arms out for me. I leaned in to hug her, feeling her gigantic melons press against my own chest, and then reached on my tiptoes to hug Kevin. He secured his thick arms around my waist, resting them right above my tailbone.

“Welcome to the family, Alex,” he whispered in my ear.