*God, am I turning into Clint Eastwood?*  Bette wondered aloud.

James had entered Bette’s office and was slipping some art magazines back into the magazine pamphlet holders in Bette’s bookcase.  He hadn’t disturbed her when he saw her pouring over an opened newspaper, but that kind of comment demanded something. 

“What?”  James turned to stare at his boss.   “Clint Eastwood?  Uh, no.”

Bette rested her cheek and chin in her palm and shook her head.  “I…I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

“Uh-huh.  You’re not packing a magnum in your bag are you?”

“No.”

James laughed.  “Well, do you want me to call Franklin?”

“What for?”  Bette’s brow furrowed in puzzlement.  *What did Franklin have to do with their conversation?*

He can go ahead and make your day.”  James laughed at his own joke, but Bette merely smiled. 

“No, I’m always on the wrong end of the gun with Franklin.”

“Not anymore.  Not since ‘Provocations.’  Even if he wanted to do something to you, he wouldn’t dare.  The Board adores you.  You’re their golden child now, Bette.  Don’t forget what you did.”

“Oh, I haven’t forgotten.”  Bette sighed.  Her breakup with Tina always hit her at the strangest time.  Someone would say something so innocent or as far away from that subject as one could possibly get, yet suddenly, Bette would find herself caught in time, ripping Tina’s dress, taking her, and then watching her walk out of her life.  No, she wouldn’t forget what she did for a long, long time.  “That Clint Eastwood thing?  I was thinking of something else.”  She brushed the thought aside dismissively with a wave.

James studied her.  He rested his body weight on one leg as he gauged whether or not to get personal with his boss who seldom crossed the line between supervisor and subordinate.  Bette was kind to him, even solicitous at times, but she was private and he respected her enough not to intrude.  However, Bette seemed to need a friend today more than an assistant.  “Any plans for the weekend?”

“Same as usual.”

He had no idea what Bette’s usual was.  He knew that she and Tina were no longer together and that every Monday a sweet and tentative voice called on the phone for Bette.  Obviously, she was dating and dating a lot, because each Monday, the voice was new.  “Maybe you need a change from the usual.”