Three
Packwood walked along the garden alley surrounded by beautiful rows of petunias and gardenias and rang the door bell of Ms. Marquez´ house three times. The legal counsel opened the door and shone her best smile at him.
“Looking for me, Officer, I´m just on my way to work.” Clarity, standing behind Ms. Marquez, saw Packwood hold her stare and gauge the insolence of the woman.
“Finally you come to your senses and put on some clothes, it´s better for you, for Stevenson Garden Products, and for the city of Malibu. And you Miss,” he added looking at Clarity, “you´re one step away of complicating your life and meddling with the Law…”
“Officer, thank you for escorting us home, if you please, we do have work to do, I have an important appointment at the office,” said Ms. Marquez, stepping past Packwood, who looked astounded at the woman´s nerve.
“With whom, if I may ask?”
“One of your friends, the District Attorney,” said Ms. Marquez, looking away from the policeman.
“well, it looks like today may be the end of clothing optional policy at Stevenson,” said the officer rejoicing.
“We´ll see about that.”
Clarity threw a neutral look at the policeman and followed the legal counsel to the pink chevette. Less than ten minutes later, they reached the parking lot of SGP, as the company was known throughout the city, and the pink chevette broke down, exhausted from the last few years of travel from beach to beach around California. Clarity called a local body shop and left the car with Charlie, the security guard, for pickup.
“Where is the appointment?” asked Clarity.
“The roof top pool,” answered Ms. Marquez.
Clarity pressed the top floor of the elevator with one hand, carrying the color presentation prepared by Ms. Marquez with the other. She saw Ms. Marquez hovering over her to catch a glimpse of the slides. The elevator rode to the top floor without stopping. The door panels opened and the terrace was in full view. Instead of a heliport, the owner of SGP, Mr. Stevenson, had decided to build a twenty foot long pool with clear blue tiles, diving board and stairs, surrounded by a hedge of evergreens, shrubs, and a single palm tree, a few tables, chairs and sun loungers, which gave the place a slightly tropical air. Clarity waved hello to the lifeguard on duty, her friend Taimi Kendrick, who was busy with a net picking up a few leaves in the pool after having served a piña colada to District Attorney Diane McFarlane.
Standing in front of the pool, Ms. McFarlane, an attractive woman with short brown hair was talking to Cynthia Stevenson, the blond daughter of SGP owner Marcus Stevenson. Clarity quickly stepped out of the elevator and stood beside Ms. Marquez, preparing the slide projector and the screen for the presentation.
“Good morning Ms. McFarlane, apologies for being a little late, last minute changes on attire. Please sit down, I have a presentation which will convince you entirely,” said Ms. Marquez.
“I didn´t come here to listen to a presentation Ms. Marquez, I came to let you know what our viewpoint is and the options your company has.” The initial warmth of Ms. Marquez disappeared immediately from her features.
“Basically,” continued Ms. McFarlane, “we hope that Stevenson Garden Products reconsiders its current clothing optional policy, which is illegal in the State of California. I have spoken informally with a few of our members, there is absolutely no chance or the slightest possibility whatsoever that you can win this naturist litigation case.”
“And if we don´t reconsider our corporate policy?”
“You can be ready for legal reprisals which may end in the closure of all SGP activities and large layoffs for your company. Officer Packwood will ensure there are no violations of the Law.”
Clarity stood a few feet from the conversation, her index ready to start the presentation by pressing the projector´s ON button. The outlook on seeing Johnny Panzelli naked at work wasn´t good. Diane McFarlane gave her business card to Ms. Marquez and made her way to the elevator without having touched her piña colada.
“Clarity, the situation is more serious than I thought, this case impinges on our individual rights, I´ll be in our office if somebody calls for me. And thanks for the assistance with the presentation.”
Clarity folded the portable screen and placed the slide projector underneath it, as Ms. Marquez left the pool terrace. Cynthia and Taimi came to help her.
“I never thought the D.A. would be so tough on Ms. Marquez,” said Cynthia, “we were carrying a normal conversation and it was going well. It turns out Mcfarlane went to Pepperdine like me and she likes SGP very much.”
“She just doesn´t like people working naked,” added Taimi.
“Listen,” said Clarity, “I had the best idea today, something which can help us express our budding creativity. I told Lanai already.”
“Going on a naked strike to protest the D.A.´s decision,” said Cynthia.
“Better, creating a synchronized swimming team and training for the world championships.”
“I like that,” said Taimi, “nice change of pace from my job as lifeguard, and we have the pool to train already.”
“Not bad,” said Cynthia, “that way, we can all perform naked here. If my father sees us, he´ll kick us right out of our jobs. He´s having trouble as is with this new clothing optional corporate policy. I´m glad he´s on vacation in Palm Springs for another week.” The three girls giggled at the remark.
“Your idea,” added Clarity teasing. “Everybody liked clothing optional day so much, he had to go along with the new policy. Given our proclivity to sunbathe frequently, I have the perfect name for the team.” Cynthia and Taimi looked at her intriguingly.