The usher walked them through a narrow, dimly lit hallway, making several turns until they reached what seemed to be the end of the labyrinth. She opened the thick door to a huge room, and closed it quickly once they were inside. The room was dominated by red, Rhonda felt the space was both warm and discomforting at the same time. It had a well-appointed bar and a bartender, and three more doors other than the entrance. From the sign on one of the doors, she knew it was a bathroom, but she wasn't sure where the other two doors would lead to. The carpet was plush, and the lighting was generous but subdued. She felt the floor engulf her dainty feet, freed her of her stilettos and devoured her naked soles. The mixture of scents of the pouring alcohol, leather, and cigars, together with the sight of scantily clad waitresses hustling and bustling, presented a luxury that pampered the luscious imagination. Seated around a large sectional sofa were a group of suit

After a good night’s sleep, and a promising day ahead, she was wide awake at 5, beating her 7 AM daily alarm. In her dream, he was kissing her everywhere but on the lips, and when he moved to the last destination, she was awakened. Sleep wouldn't let her have the crown of her dream. The morning air was cool, yet she found her naked body sweating.              She reached for her phone on the bedside table and checked the sent text messages—a habit she had acquired after completing each routine activity. She wasn't sure whether she had sent it. She found it: her text to Tom—their Portland's managing consultant—sent just before she went to bed last night.              "Tom, can our internal meeting be moved to midafternoon? I need to discuss something with him before I leave for Portland."   &nb

At 9:45 AM she could see Rhonda coming, walking toward her. They smiled when they were within sight of each other. She kept smiling and picked up her pace as she got closer. The blood rushed to her head, turning her cheeks pink. Without waiting to catch a breath, she said,              "Hi, Gina. Glad we could meet before you’re off to Portland."              Rhonda pulled the chair across from Gina and sat herself down, grinning ear to ear.              "Look at you! You look so happy. What's going on?"              "Oh, do I have a story to tell you!"              "Oh, you do? Tell me."    

Rhonda turned back to Gina to continue their conversation.              "Let's say, if you don't love him, and since we always share our men, can I fuck him?"              "Rhonda, hasn't that been our plan since the beginning? To see whether he is that disciplined or whether there’s something wrong with him?"              "That hasn't changed?"              "Not a bit. No. Why? Have you found out something about him?" she felt a little sad when she said that, but then, he hasn't called, he probably is not interested in me as a woman, anyway.              "Really? Nothing's changed?"   &

Their office in Portland was not big but well-appointed. It housed twelve people, and they mostly worked on the one big account: Grabbel, Inc., an IT company providing ERP services, the client Gina would be having the meeting with.              The meeting would not be for another couple of hours, Tom and Gina sat in the conference room to prepare. Like their office in Seattle, the sight of people was scarce. The business was thriving, they were all occupied and sitting at their clients' premises.              "Have you had lunch?" Tom asked.              "No, but that's ok. But on second thought, do you have anybody here who could perhaps get me … a sandwich?" Not a problem, and Tom called the secretary to get some sandwiches, coffee, and some orange water fro