But things were different lately.  Tina was distant, almost remote.

“Come back to me, T,” she whispered, through her sobs.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bette flew out to Dubai a few days later, because Arvind had advanced his visit there, and suggested that, if Bette and George were really interested in investing, then getting started on a deal earlier would be better for both sides of the deal.

Bette never got to bring up the vacation idea with Tina, as the blonde had left to go on a location shoot all of a sudden, in Toronto.  So Bette called her, on the way to the airport, that she, too, had to leave for Dubai, and that she would try to get in touch with Tina from there.  They hadn’t decided what to do about Christmas yet, and it was less than a week away.

She found a chauffeured Maybach waiting for her when she stepped out of the Dubai airport.  “Wow!” she thought, as she relaxed into the luxurious seat.  She had been offered a lightly perfumed towel to refresh herself, and had been given a drink, that was now chilling in the console.

The ride to the Jumeirah island, where the seven star hotel was located, took less than 30 minutes (and Bette was hoping it would take longer), and soon after entering the island, she found herself under the awning of, possibly, the most opulent hotel she had every seen.

She found a message waiting for her while checking in. It was from Arvind, and he was inviting her for dinner in one of the hotel’s restaurants.

Bette checked her watch, and adjusted it to the local time.  She barely had an hour before dinner, so she headed up to her suite.

Tina would probably flip if she’d been here with her, Bette thought with a smile as the doors to her suite were opened for her.  She had even been given a golden, uniquely branded iPad upon checking in, to help guide her during her stay.   Shaking her head at the level of luxury (this is what luxury would look like if it were an extreme sport, she thought), she located the bathroom, to take a quick shower, and get ready for dinner.  Half an hour later, she was tabbing through the information uploaded for her on her own tablet, to get ready for the meeting.