Head Over Heels

part 1 | If the Shoe Fits

Heaving a great sigh, Angie stared up into her closet, half dressed. A chocolate brown skirt rested on her hips where her fingertips maintained a continuous tap from pinky to forefinger. Her bare copper arms were beginning to grow goose bumps since she was only wearing a light white camisole.

With her head cocked to one side, her auburn waves slid just passed her shoulder. She had a slight squint to her eyes as she shifted her gaze back and forth, scanning the rectangular boxes stacked on top of each other. The pictures and descriptions on the sides of the containers not only predicted the type of outfit they would match with, but the kind of day Angie would be having.

Black high heels with a narrowly square heel promised an uncomfortable day of strained calves and sore heels. Not to mention the inevitable re-growth of blisters from the oh-so-cute ankle straps with a lightly stitched leaflet design. But, they would go quite nicely with her new black blazer and the brown pinstripes.

Her open-toed brown stilettos would show off her recent French-tipped pedicure, and would match even better with her chocolate skirt; however the thought of freezing her little piggies in 60 degree weather and having aching heels that throbbed by the end of the day made Angie wince. Knowing she would have to practically hobble her way back up to her apartment after work did not appeal to her.

Dropping her head and rubbing the back of her neck in concentration, Angie swung her head back up to gaze at two other boxes she swore she would never wear to work.

Her black Mary Janes were flat, strapless, and had the subtlest form of cushion inside the heel. They stared back at her with the promise of little strain and ease walking up and down the flights of stairs in her apartment.

Then there were her relatively flat coffee-colored boots that had a slight shimmery finish to the material. True they didn't seem quite as sexy as the others, but the ever so slight heel and shine of the material almost made them look suitable for work... almost.

A slight smile twitched the corner of Angie's perfectly plump lips as she envisioned being able to walk with comfort all day. That smile was wiped completely clean as she gazed at her wardrobe for work clothes.

Flats did not compliment her skirts or dress pants. And at 5' 3", Angie wanted all the height she could get. It was her one complaint about her body's characteristics.

She was proud of her heart-shaped faced with delicate features and big blue eyes. She confidently showed off her hourglass figure with tops and bottoms that hugged her curves. The stares she earned from strutting down the office hall were proof enough of her perfection. Being gawked at almost felt like a form of respect at the office. She could have done without the cat calls and whistling as she walked past the construction right next to her office building, but that's the price of being beautiful.

After one more run through of her clothes hanging in front of her, Angie remembered that some executives were coming into the office today. Her boss would be calling her into the meeting to provide water bottles and fetch files for everyone. With that in mind, she sighed audibly, ran both of her hands through her hair and grabbed the brown stilettos along with a white long–sleeved button up top.

Dressed and ready for work, Angie walked two blocks to the bus stop and gratefully sat on a hard and slightly sticky seat in the back of the bus. Her heels were already starting to burn from the shoes. Angie barely slid one shoe off just enough to look at the back of her foot. It was already reddening and sensitive to her light finger's touch.

She breathed in deeply, shaking her head to herself. Resolving to expect a day of discomfort, Angie removed her left shoe completely to rub her already icy toes. Then she gave her right foot a turn at pampering. Each foot was given a five-minute message to bring feeling back to the numb tootsies.

As the bus came squealing to a stop, Angie grimaced, sliding her feet back into their confinements. Getting off the bus as quickly as possible, she walked 3 blocks more down to her loan office building. On reaching the glass doors, Angie quickly inspected her reflection: hair, shirt, and skirt were smoothed before reaching for the door handle. She awarded her reflection a quick nod of approval as she saw how well her stilettos matched her skirt. Her first step into the building was an immediate reminder of the price of her outfit.

A sharp pinch bit her right pinky toe, creating a waver in Angie's step.

"OW!" Angie immediately looked down at her shoe, but saw nothing that would explain this new pain. Why was there always one foot worse off than the other?

Trying not to limp her way over to her front desk that was less than ten feet away, Angie leaned one hand on the counter, reaching for her foot with the other hand, as she delicately bent her knee back to look behind her at her shoe.

Neil, from accounting, had just entered the building to observe Angie's accidentally sexy pose. He couldn't help staring from the doorway a moment or two before Angie finally raised her bright blue eyes to his direction.

Jumping slightly at being caught, Neil tried to play off his gaping with a smile and overly zealous, "Good morning, Angela!" He felt foolish with his guilty smile as he walked over to her.

Angie smiled and released her foot. Placating her pain was not an option at work.

"Morning, Neil. How are you today?" Standing to her full height, it was hard for Angie not to wince from the pinch on her toe and the burn on her heels.

"I'm very well, thank you," Neil continued to smile as he walked to her desk to drop some outgoing mail in the designated container.

Even with heels, Angie was still roughly six inches shorter than Neil. Normally, looking up to someone would make her shrink down even further. But, Neil's warm smile with perfect teeth and shining green eyes were so inviting that Angie started to forget her height for once.

Neil's eyes glanced around the office quickly. He looked down at his chest and rubbed the back of his neck before looking up to Angie again.

"Hey, Angela," Neil began. He stretched to his full height, "Are Fridays usually a busy day for you?"

"Not usually," she replied. Leaning her weight on her left foot was beginning to pinch that heel. She inhaled deeply and continued, "...but today there are some hot shots coming in, so I could be running around like crazy." Angela switched the weight to her right foot carefully, testing if that sharp pain would come back. When it didn't, she smiled more easily.

"Of course, it is possible that I won't have anything to do. Sometimes the important meetings don't require my help at all." Angie's pain free moment allowed her to emit a tiny giggle.

Neil smiled larger and gave a small laugh through his nose.

"Well, let's hope they don't have you running ragged, then," he added.

"Yeah, I hope," Angela's thoughts returned back to her feet.

Neil began, "So, do you have any plans tonight?... if you aren't worn out after the meeting, I mean..."

Angela had never heard Neil stutter over his words. She blushed and jumped on what she hoped was an invitation.

"I'm completely free tonight. How about you?" Her words came out so fast, she suddenly worried she made the wrong assumption.

Neil laughed into his chest again, "Yeah, I'm free. Would you like to – "

"Morning, Angela! You have those files I asked you for yesterday? Thompson is gonna want the details on the Jensen loan."

Angela and Neil sighed, gave each other quick smiles, and both mentally noted that they would continue their conversation later. Neil walked to his office while Angela finally went behind her own desk.

"I'll get them to you right away, Ms. Morris," Angie answered. The pinch in Angie's toe returned with a flaming burn as soon as she finished her sentence.

Ms. Morris had barely paused to hear Angie's response, though she did give a brief glance behind her to smile and nod an acknowledgement. Her charcoal dress suit gave a slight shine as she walked past the open windows to her office.

Although Angie was concerned about how the restof the day would pan out, she was grateful for the brief moment she could sitat her desk's chair while she rifled through the low file cabinets for a folderlabeled "Jensen."