“I do dress funny sometimes to make a statement but if you could see me you would know that everything I put on looks good on me. And my personality makes me charming, flamboyant and also a wonderful trustworthy friend. Yep, I’m the real deal and all that. But enough about perfect me, let’s continue with our story. ”

“Our mornings at work always begin the same way. It’s sort of a tradition or even a ritual. We start the day with…”

~~~~~~~~

…short meeting on the agenda for the day or budget discussion and as soon as it was over, everyone went to their respective departments. Tina and Shane shared one large office on the back of the CAC and they enjoyed working together because it also gave them time to catch up on all the news and activities from the previous night and to discuss anything important or trivial.

“Hey, Shane…do you know how much is the current curator salary at the CAC?” Tina asked as she turned on her computer and Shane began making coffee.

“No, why?”

“I heard Alice mentioning this morning that the curator position will be open in a few weeks and I would love to have it.”

“So Annie’s quitting…I wonder why…but no, I don’t know the exact number,” Shane shrugged her shoulders.

“I had the same offer from the Whitney Museum and the money was great. What I’m getting now is barely enough to cover the mortgage, other bills, medical supplies and two growing kids. You know, Lisa won’t be able to work for another year at least and there’s physical therapy for her and at some point she needs to see a psychiatrist because she still can’t deal with what happened. She has nightmares…I really can use more money.”

“It will be awesome if you can get that position, Tina…you’re totally qualified for this job and it never hurts to have extra money. If I was Bette I would definitely offer you the job,” Shane handed Tina her cup and sat at her desk, drinking her coffee and looking through new orders. “Maybe you should talk to the Ice Queen, tell her you have a family with two children to support and you’re the only one who’s working…”

“Are you kidding? Ms. Alpha doesn’t even know that children exist. She thinks they are born as adults with skills, a job title and salaries and they don’t need parents or anyone else to support them.”

“Yeah…” Shane laughed, almost spilling her coffee, “but extra money would be great for you. Did I ever tell a story about my adventures as a model for the Hugo Boss underwear when I first moved to LA?”

“A few times,” Tina chuckled. Shane needed some extra money to buy a house and her salary at the CAC wasn’t enough to qualify for the mortgage. She was at the wild party one night and accepted a proposition to do one photoshoot for the Hugo Boss and it paid for her house down payment.

“Well, I don’t want you to go and do something like that if you become desperate, so the curator position is exactly what you need right now. You’ll be like second in command.”

“Yes, it would be great and the money is important but there’s another thing that bothers me,” Tina said pensively. “I love what I do now…I really do but when I was at Yale I had so many dreams and plans and to be a curator is something that I’d always wanted to do. I’ll have freedom to choose the artists for the show, design exhibits and manage artifact donations and paintings. Just like you said…I’ll be second in command…I want my dreams to come true and now, when I can almost see it happening…”

“You don’t need to tell me, TK…I totally understand. Maybe you really should go and talk to the Ice Queen about it.”

“No…I don’t want to humiliate myself, I have my pride. I want her to recognize my skills and my ambitions and offer me the job. Of course, you might say that beggars can’t be choosers but my pride is all I have and it’s very important to me.”

~~~~~~~~

“Oops, this is Alice yet again. I forgot to introduce one more person…Helena Peabody. She’s very sexy and rich and her British accent can make every woman’s knees go weak…and a few men, I suppose. She used to know Tina who worked with the Peabody Foundation in New York, which is run by Peggy Peabody, Helena’s mother. What a woman!!! The mother, I mean.”

“Helena is new in LA and she seems great and me thinks that she’s infatuated with Tina. Actually, come to think of it…this whole havoc began one ordinary morning when Helena came to the CAC to introduce herself as the newest member of the board of directors and to have a meeting with Bette.”

TBC????