Gavin had stopped swimming and had lazily floated to the side closest to the table. He wiped the water off of his face and gave the women a cheerful smile.

“So are we all on the same page, now?” They both looked at Tina, who was still shaking her head, smiling back at them bemusedly.

“I have a million questions.”

“Fire away.”

“Can you both spare the time?”

“For you, we have all the time in the world,” Gavin answered. Celine nodded. A man finally drew close. As they talked, it sounded like Celine was asking for a barbecue to get started.

“So what about those questions, blondie?!” Gavin exclaimed, pressing his chest against the side of the pool again, elbows out, running his hand through his hair, and then resting his chin on his hands, movie-star grin splitting the multi-million dollar face.

Celine was shaking her head, noticing all the signs. “Look at him! Yesterday he was as crabby as an old man. Today, he’s as lively as a twenty-something. Must be your effect on him, Tina.”

Tina shook her head and grinned back at Gavin. Good-looking flirts. They were all the same when they wanted to weave their spell on you. She knew all the signs, too – heaven knew she’d had enough experience with the beautiful flirt she was married to. She blew a breath out. “Ok, in the hypothetical that we do this — we need to seriously talk about our boundaries. Your interests, my interests – they may not always coincide.”

“We respect your experience, your judgment. You’re in control, Tina,” Celine interjected.

“Absolutely,” Gavin added.

“That’s how some of these independent outfits run aground,” Tina continued, persistent about this topic. “Arguments with backers about creative decisions …” Before she could continue, Celine explained, “Look, Tina, to me, putting money with you is like using butter when cooking, as opposed to using the knock-off olive oil that many people have been fooled into using.”

“My husband uses olive oil whose provenance he has no clue about when we have a “cook-off:” often, his dishes come second to mine, because I always only use European, organic butter. Tastes so much better, leaves this fine, fine finish in your mouth. Or I use a truffle-based French finishing sauce to marinate what I grill, and he uses any old thing he can find in the fridge. Just like with the butter, there’s just no comparison.”