Tina was excited for James. She knew that James had put in the hours and was very dedicated to Bette and to Paris. He loved his job and felt valued and needed at the gallery. He always had felt that even in the early days when Bette had her fiery tirades when things did not go well, that Bette liked him.  As much as Bette acted like a tyrant to work for, he knew that she would protect him from any harm. She always made sure that James was compensated well and had time for his personal life. James was her business spouse and James knew it. Bette needed him and loved him dearly even when in her worst moods. But she always apologized and explained that it was nothing personal, it was always the situation she found herself in and had to release some steam.  He was available and learned quickly just to allow her to spout off and it would be over and things would go on just as they always did. He learned very early that this was just who Bette Porter was. She seldom said anything personal. But when she did, she was quick to apologize and make amends. She was free with the information he needed to make his job easier. She was clear and precise with her instructions and left no doubt in James’s mind as to the goals and process that would need to be executed to be successful. He learned much about the art world and about human nature and how to handle the public and how to handle the vendors and contract workers. And when Paris came along, she was really similar. But by that point, James was a seasoned professional and knew what he needed to do to make Porter Gallery successful.

This was as Bette had announced the annual meeting of the board of Directors of Porter Gallery. James had no idea what was about to be discussed. The gallery had done well this year. Of course, Paris was leaving on her honeymoon for two weeks just after Thanksgiving and he would have a 6 to 8 weeks of family leave in the spring. Bette had moved back to the LA area but had taken a job with UCLA. James did not get the impression that she was interested in taking a more active interest in the gallery. So, he was coming in believing that this was just a check in type meeting of the owners and board members.