Chapter 1

Bette sat sipping her herbal tea, catching up with her sister. "So are you really enjoying running your own cafe?" Kit smiled, "Yes and No. I mean I love being my own boss but I hate a lot of the minor problems I have to deal with day to day" Bette raised an eyebrow inquiringly. "Oh you know, the petty staff squables and delivery men arriving at inopportune times", Kit continued. "Bette pushed her cup and saucer away from her then leaned forward a little with her arms crossed cupping her elbows. "One word my dear,…DELEGATE!" Kit waved her comment down, "I know, I know but this is my baby right now and I’m not ready to give up any control, besides I haven’t found the right person to manage things for me. Bette shook her head, "Well then until you ARE ready, I’ll just have to stop in for a break more often so you can vent a little steam" "Thanks baby girl, but you must be incredibly busy yourself, with your new gallery? How’s things going with that?"

Bette had recently purchased controlling interest in a small up and coming Art gallery and was busy fast tracking it into the limelight with the help of the many connections she had acquired in her past position at the California Arts Council. She had grown tired of all the red tape she had to process to get some of her ideas out into the public view and after much soul searching realized this was the best way to remove the constraints that had been holding her back. Luckily the other share holders were more than happy to relinquish control of the Gallery and trusted in Bette’s past decisions and many successes to catapult them forward.

"Right now eveything is moving smoothly, I have a few Artists lined up that are interested in signing with us so I’m working on a new look to capture the public eye and showcase their recent work to their fullest potentail. If all goes well I hope to have even a few buyers lined up for a number of the older pieces to boost the sales. What makes things easier, is the way all of the Artists compliment each other’s style. I’m just having trouble with a sculpter that I really want signed but she is hard to deal with." It was Kit’s turn to raise an eyebrow, Bette smiled, "Not impossible, I just need to be more creative in my approach with her. She is quite esoteric." Kit started to comment but her words were lost to Bette as she watched a slim blonde woman saunter into the planet, dogged by three drooling men. The blonde was laughing and smiling at the comments the men were making. A man across the cafe practically leaped out of his booth, "Tina! Over here!" he waved. The blonde turned in the direction of the gesturing man and smiling broadly, waved back.