The Business Trip

Chapter Six

Once Elizabeth’s hair was dyed, things only got easier for June.

After all, they were officially in too deep to back out from her plan. Elizabeth looked so youthful with red hair, especially when her locks were damp and her face was devoid of make-up. And, since June had only bought the one color, it wasn’t as if they could switch back if the girl got cold feet. 

Elizabeth hadn’t thought to grab a spare outfit before hopping in the shower, and her previous top was stained red here and there. She ended up reluctantly stepping out into the small suite in just her towel, which made her natural height and petite size more obvious than when she had been wearing the borrowed clothes. Apparently June was taking this ‘aunt’ thing seriously, as she had already laid out a set of pink pajamas on the bed. Technically, she was being helpful as an assistant as well, though it hardly felt that way when she was being more patronizing than professional.

“It’s past your bedtime, young lady,” June said. She gestured to the PJs that were waiting for the small redhead. Elizabeth would have preferred wearing a simple shorts/tee combo, rather than something that was clearly designed for a child. However, the suitcase was nowhere to be seen. When Elizabeth asked, June simply explained, “I think it makes more sense for me to pick out your clothes from now on. Maggie dresses differently than you, yes?

There was no point arguing. Elizabeth tried, of course, only to be reminded that all of this was practice for tomorrow. The privacy of their hotel suite was the perfect place to adapt to this new dynamic, so no one would be suspicious of the aunt/niece thing tomorrow. According to June, all this hesitation was exactly the problem. ‘Lizzie’ needed to get all this difficult energy out now, because it wasn’t long before they’d be doing it for real.

At least Elizabeth was given some privacy to change. As if the pink PJs weren’t bad enough, June had also set out a pair of plain pink panties. The cheap cotton was nowhere near the quality of the underwear Elizabeth was used to wearing, though complaining about it would just prove her assistant’s point. It really wasn’t fair; there was no winning, and she could already feel her control slipping away now that she had been talked into this absurd idea.

A minute or two later, June did the thing where she knocked while also opening the door before being given permission. “Ready for bed, Lizzie?” she asked.

Elizabeth’s lips tightened in annoyance. They had so recently talked about the attitude thing and, since June had knocked, there wasn’t a good way to chastise her without it sounding immature. Between the wine and the non-stop frustrations of a long day, Elizabeth wasn’t exactly in an ideal headspace to argue much more anyway. “Yes,” she muttered. The truth was, Elizabeth was exhausted, to the point where not even ‘Lizzie’ got much of a reaction beyond the annoyed look on her face.

“Yes, what?” June asked.

Right. The newly red haired girl had forgotten about that little detail throughout the course of her shower and this latest round of being casually demeaned. “Yes, Aunt June,” she said, with a small huff.

“Better, Lizzie,” she nodded, “Now, lie down so I can tuck you in.”

Elizabeth wasn’t that much of a pushover. “June, no,” she flatly said. It was just now dawning on her that she and June hadn’t discussed the exact age that Elizabeth was supposed to be, or how old June’s real niece was. “I’m not a little girl.”

“Yes. You are.” Crossing her arms, June gave the pink clad girl a stern look. “You’re my niece, and I’m in charge of you this weekend, Lizzie. We already agreed to all of this, and you promised that you would behave. Didn’t you . . . ?”

“I- umm,” Elizabeth hesitated. Their conversation earlier had taken so many turns that she had completely lost track of what either party had actually said along the way, or the order in which they had discussed things. This had been mostly June’s idea, but Elizabeth had ultimately gotten on board due to her limited wardrobe options. Except she was pretty sure they hadn’t talked about anything beyond the day of the presentation. Right? While ‘practicing’ did make logical sense, there was only so much of that she could stomach. 

Before Elizabeth could stammer out much more, June said far more calmly and clearly, “A well behaved girl would go to bed at an appropriate hour. Now, I’m going to count to three. One . . . Two . . . ”

At that, Elizabeth’s eyes widened. This kind of parental tactic had been used on her like a kid, much like it had at some point or another throughout the average person’s childhood. She never expected to be treated in such a way as an adult, yet it still ended up having the same psychological effect. “June, wait! That’s not-” Her protests fell on deaf ears, as the assistant kept counting. 

Despite knowing that June didn’t actually have any authority over her, Elizabeth ended up caving. After ‘two,’ she obediently sat down on the bed and awkwardly swung her legs onto the mattress. She was still sitting up, less in defiance and more to keep some semblance of maturity. Not that it helped very much in that regard.

Giving a nod of approval, and pressing her advantage right away, June said, “All the way, Lizzie. Lie down, under the covers.”

By contrast, Elizabeth was more at a disadvantage. She had already partially committed, which didn’t leave her much room to push back. It felt so wrong letting her assistant belittle her like this. Especially since Elizabeth would have gone to bed of her own volition within the next half hour if she had just been left alone. Being told to do something she was already going to do was the worst. However, all she could say was, “Yes, Aunt June.” Now that the ball was rolling with this niece idea, Elizabeth felt like there wasn’t much she could do except ride it out. Maybe some rest would give her the level headedness she needed to clarify what was and wasn’t appropriate before they left for the meeting tomorrow morning.

Once her boss was fully horizontal, June stepped forward and helped her get the covers into place. And, just to add casual insult to injury, she leaned down and gave the girl’s forehead a peck. “Good night, Lizzie. Get some rest, okay? We have a big day tomorrow.”

Just like the day before, Elizabeth was in for a rude awakening. Quite literally. 

“Lizzie. LIZZIE.” June’s voice was piercing, and she proceeded to grab Elizabeth’s shoulders in order to roughly jostle her from her slumber. Though it was a repeat of the previous morning in a few ways, there was far less respect coming from the girl who was supposed to be her subservient assistant. “Wake up, brat! You need to get up, now!”

As if her body being shaken wasn’t bad enough, the overhead light was on as well. Elizabeth squinted and groaned as she was woken up in the least sensitive way possible. “W-what . . . ?” she mumbled. Sitting up and blinking a few times, her vision finally settled and she saw that June was standing above her. The young woman was wearing a business suit and looked fully put together; the ensemble was rounded out with a judgmental scowl on her face.

June yanked the covers away, creating a wave of cold that more thoroughly woke the girl up. “You didn’t set an alarm, did you?! Lizzie, we need to leave in five minutes. I can’t believe you’re still in bed!”

“But- my phone . . . I mean, I couldn’t?” Elizabeth sputtered out. Blushing from the sight of her body in the PJs she had forgotten about until the sudden lack of sheets reminded her of what she had put on before bed, she crossed her arms over her chest due to how her shivering was also slightly hardening her nipples. Without a bra, that would easily be seen through the thin top.

“There’s a clock right there,” June pointed out, gesturing to the one on the bedside table that was provided by the hotel, “Guess that’s what happens when you rely on an assistant for literally everything. You don’t know how to do anything for yourself.”

Elizabeth was taken aback by that, especially since she was still shaking off some of the grogginess that was lingering despite how she had been snapped out of her sleep. It was one thing for June to be patronizing due to the aunt/niece dynamic; it was something else entirely for this to turn into a commentary about their actual lives. 

Still clutching her smaller breasts, she took a breath and tried to lay down the law like she was used to doing back at the office. “June. Don’t-”

“Get up, Lizzie! Your clothes are on the dresser. You’ve got sixty seconds, and then I’m coming back in to help with whatever you can’t manage on your own.” June swiveled on her heel and left the room, pointedly closing the door behind her after a stern reminder, “Oh, and it’s Aunt June.”

It took Elizabeth a few seconds to process the parting words. She didn’t need help getting dressed! Except it was clear this had a lot more to do with speed than actual capabilities. Getting out of bed was a lot easier without the warmth of the comforter tempting her to stay, plus she was very much awake after all of that. Scrambling to take off the girly pajamas, without looking at what was waiting for her on the other side of the room, she scurried over to the clothes her assistant had mentioned. 

The shorts were dark pink. Not great, as Elizabeth really didn’t enjoy that color on herself in general, though at least more forgiving than a lighter hue. There was no time to hesitate. Better to have on a younger girl’s clothes than be caught in the plain underwear that was also borrowed. Elizabeth hastily pulled on the shorts, and only realized afterwards that there wasn’t a bra anywhere to be seen. Just a nude cami, as well as a white t-shirt.

Once again, she realized there was no time. Being late to their pitch was unacceptable, and June had already proven to be overly ‘helpful’ the previous morning in terms of making sure they were punctual. Maybe Elizabeth could grab a bra on the way out, and change in the car? Her stuff couldn’t have gotten far; it still bothered her that her assistant had taken the suitcase away. June had a perfectly reasonable excuse, however, since the clothes belonged to her niece. For the time being, Elizabeth had to focus on getting dressed. She put on the loose undergarment, as it was better than nothing, then grabbed the tee and began pulling it on.

“Ready, Lizzie?” True to her word, June let herself back in. A minute hadn’t been quite enough for Elizabeth to get changed. Sixty seconds to get up, strip down, and put on a whole new outfit? Not possible for a girl who was still reeling from being treated so differently than she was used to. “I guess not,” she sighed. June quickly crossed the room and placed her hands on the shirt, jerking it around as Elizabeth tried her best to get her limbs through the arm holes.

It was so much more difficult when four arms were involved, rather than two. “June! Stop; I can do it myself!” she whined, “Just- give me a minute.”

“I did give you a minute,” June pointed out, “And for the last time, it’s ‘Aunt June.’ Mess it up again, and you’re staying here.” 

As appealing as that was on some level, Elizabeth would absolutely not accept hiding away in their suite again. She had literally dyed her hair for this, and had suffered through so many patronizing moments. And it would not look good to their boss if June was the one who did the entire presentation herself. The whole point of this plan was to get credit for going above and beyond with this little disguise. Also, Elizabeth had been so fucking bored last night, as she had no technology around to entertain herself. 

When Elizabeth didn’t argue, June continued assisting until the tee was fully on, then made a point to fuss over it for a few seconds afterwards as well. “There. Now, what would a polite little girl say?”

Flushing a bit, still thoroughly flustered from both the t-shirt and everything between that and when she was woken up, Elizabeth muttered, “Thank you . . . Aunt June.”

“Good,” June nodded, “You sound just like a moody tween. Now, we still have to brush your teeth and fix that bed head of yours. Let’s go, Lizzie.”

It was all too much, meaning Elizabeth was too overwhelmed to focus on a single part of it. She wasn’t trying to act like a younger girl, yet apparently that’s how it came across? It was a little embarrassing that June perceived it as getting into character, when that wasn’t actually the case. Elizabeth also hadn’t missed the ‘we’ part of the impending morning routine, nor the childish nickname.

Honestly, the most frustrating thing was mostly the fact that June thought it was okay to play the role of ‘bossy aunt’ when it was just the two of them. Yes, it had been explained that practicing made more sense than diving in cold upon arrival, but still. Before Elizabeth could express her grievances or, more accurately, sort out which of them made sense to complain about, June placed her hand on the small of Elizabeth’s back and walked her towards the door that led out of the bedroom.

The bathroom was their destination. As Elizabeth was nudged inside, she saw an unfamiliar purple toothbrush waiting for her, along with a small tube of kids’ bubblegum toothpaste. It belatedly dawned on her that she hadn’t brushed her teeth last night, as all her toiletries were back in the suitcase at June’s place. Not the end of the world to miss a single evening’s brush, yet also not ideal. 

Answering the question that hadn’t fully formed in Elizabeth’s mind yet, June said, “The hotel keeps stuff like this on hand for those that need it. You’re not the first kid to forget to pack her toothbrush.”

Elizabeth blushed again. “I’m not a kid.” She immediately regretted saying it out loud. Obviously they both knew her real age, which only made the assertion sound immature. “Can’t I use your toothpaste?” 

“Mine’s in my room, Lizzie,” June said, “And every second counts. If we’re late because of you, and don’t land this client, I’ll make sure your boss knows who’s to blame.”

First, oversleeping and accidentally leaving her clothes at June’s apartment. Then having a similar problem this morning. Elizabeth knew this wasn’t actually her fault, as a lot of it had to do with other variables. And again, she wanted to snap at her assistant for the audacity of threatening her. Except June had just reminded her of the time crunch, plus it was difficult to get in a word edgewise when ‘Aunt June’ was in charge.

There was also the girl in the mirror. Elizabeth did a double take as she saw someone she barely recognized looking back at her. Unkempt red locks, no make-up, and an embarrassingly flat chest; the white tee also had a light pink butterfly on one side of the chest that she hadn’t noticed before. 

Elizabeth reluctantly started brushing her teeth with the flavored paste after recovering from the shock of just how youthful and different she looked, which is when June started brushing her hair. “Mmm!” she exclaimed, trying and failing to say that she could do it herself with a mouth full of pink foam. 

“Hush, Lizzie.” Punctuating the words by harshly pulling the brush through a knot, June said, “It’ll be faster if I do it, anyway.” Rather than a simple braid, like June had done yesterday morning, she separated Elizabeth’s hair out and pulled half of it up into what was clearly going to be one of two twintails.

With wide eyes, Elizabeth let out another muffled whine, along with a small shake of her head. She couldn’t risk more than that when her hair was being handled.

June just sighed. “For fuck’s sake, Lizzie. Yes, I’m putting your hair in an immature style. Because you are supposed to be my NIECE. The less you look like yourself, the better. You don’t want anyone remembering you after this, right?”

Right. It was just Elizabeth’s instinct to avoid anything that made her look younger. After years of being so careful with her image, she definitely needed constant reminders of why this was necessary. At least she wasn’t going to suffer through pigtails; that would definitely be worse than the simple yet childish style she was about to be dealing with. 

Letting out a sigh of her own through her nose, Elizabeth continued brushing her teeth while June tied half her red locks up. The other side was done just as quickly and, after Elizabeth spit into the sink, she was met with an even less mature reflection.

“Okay,” June said, “Your shoes are by the door. Go put them on while I grab my purse.”

Elizabeth abandoned her idea of asking for a bra. Loathe as she was to admit it, a nearly flat chest lent itself well to the disguise they were going for. The good news was, she didn’t have to worry about a hard reset in terms of her dynamic with June. Since the admin girl would be fired within the next two weeks, Elizabeth could start fresh with a new assistant.

June appeared just as Elizabeth was tying her second shoe, easily looking like the only professional adult between the two of them.

“Let’s go, Lizzie,” she said, “Oh, and hold my hand. I don’t want you running off and getting lost.”