Bette was never happier to get home. She shed her heels and clothes as she marched through her house, on her way into the bathroom. She opened her bathroom cabinet and took two aspirin out of a bottle, tossing them in her mouth, cupping her hand under the faucet and swallowing them down. She wasted no time in getting into a hot shower, practically moaning in relief as she stood under the hot spray. As she got out and towelled herself dry, she wanted nothing more than to stay home, curled under a comforter with a good book and some nice, plain soothing tea. But sadly, she had to go in to the office, however briefly, to sign off on a few things. She hoped to get away by lunchtime.

Although her personal life was in a bit of a shambles at the moment, at least her professional life was together. The gallery where she worked was really starting to pick up in esteem in the L.A. art world. It was a small and incestuous circle at the top, and Bette felt like she was finally breaking through to the upper ranks after years of schmoozing, ass-kissing, and favor-trading.

She dressed with care, scrutinizing her reflection. Her father had always said that it didn’t matter how you felt, projecting confidence was important. No vestiges of last night remained, thankfully. She checked her voicemail – no messages – and was out the door again.

The traffic worked with Bette for once instead of against her, and she breezed into the gallery with a big smile for her receptionist, James.

Bette settled down behind her desk and powered up her computer. She returned some calls, answered some e-mail and went about her work. The embarrassment of the morning faded away, and she began to feel like her old self again, competent and professional.

Still, Bette felt her thoughts slipping away from the business at hand and towards the woman she’d met this morning, Tina. It was a chance encounter, but an intriguing one. She was very pretty. And Bette could have sworn that Tina was flirting with her. There was a glimmer of… something, there. But maybe Bette’s ego was making her believe things that weren’t true. It wouldn’t be the first time that had happened.