Alphaville Studios……

Tina’s pencil scratches across her notepad, leaving behind a web of squiggles and circles as her mind races. She is barely aware of the meeting around her, too lost in thoughts of her passionate encounter with Bette just a few nights ago.

Memories of their bodies moving together in perfect rhythm flood her mind, causing a blush to rise in her cheeks. She scribbles down the words ”Too soon?” and underlines them twice. The conference room feels stuffy and distant as she struggles to make sense of her conflicting emotions.

“…. Tina?” A voice calls.

Tina’s head snaps up, and her eyes skip around the room. “Yes?” she hesitantly responds.

“Is that yes a confirmation or….”

Tina clears her throat as she squirms in her seat. “Uh, sorry I didn’t hear you….”

“I was asking if you’ve locked down a meeting with our last candidate yet?” John asks.

“Oh…uh yes, my assistant has been in touch with Kate Arden’s team, and we have a Zoom meeting scheduled for later this week…”

“Why Zoom? I would think a face-to-face would be better…” John says.

“Well, her schedule wouldn’t allow an immediate face-to-face, so it’s either a virtual meeting or we wait a month and a half for her to be on the West Coast….”

John smiles. “Virtual meeting it is then….” He glances at everyone else in the room. “Now on to our next and most important topic…. budget….” he says as he clicks the remote in his hand and points to the presentation projected on the large screen on the wall.

Tina stares at the movie’s budget breakdown as her mind again drifts back to her growing, not-so-casual feelings for Bette….

***

Shane’s Hair Salon….

Tina is sitting in a plush black chair, her reflection staring back at her in the large mirror. Shane stands behind her with scissors, snipping and combing through her hair with precision. The only sounds are the soft snip-snip of the scissors and the occasional hum of the blow dryer as Tina sits lost in thought.

After trimming Tina’s ends, Shane tussles her hair and then stands back and looks at her work. “Alright, I think that’s it…what do you think?” she asks.

Shane waits for a response and then furrows her brows when she sees the far-off look on Tina’s face. “Hey…Tina?”