place.” Karen looked over her shoulder to see if Elvis had just walked in. It wouldn’t be the strangest thing that had happened today. “Listen” Sarah shook her arm and gripped it tighter. “If you’re gonna shoot for the moon remember this: if you rattle someone, be ready for the rebound. And, watch your back!” A cold slab of marble rolled across her heart. What the fuck was this she was hearing. All this, this, garbage! She’d tasted forbidden fruit and now, now!, was being warned of possible peril. “Demi?” “Forget about her. You won’t hear about it again.” She felt frantic but was doing a pretty good job and looking collected on the surface. “When you sent me to Prestons their receptionist said she’d left here in fear for her life!” Sarah finished her wine. “And that’s all you should ever think of.” Sarah looked a little scared. But a little excited as well. “Come on. I want to show you what you mean to me” Karen followed her to the lift. They were going upstairs. Isn’t this what you wanted? She wasn’t sure of that any more. They rode in silence until the lift stopped. “I knew you were for us from the start. Rochelle might have been badly hurt, or worse, if you hadn’t protected her from Demi.” Boing! The offices were empty and dark. Sarah swished in her skirt, when she reached the corner she looked over at Karen who still stood at the lift entrance. “Come on. I don’t bite” Teasing in her voice. Karen just wanted to go home. She’d talked about Demi like she was nothing more than a piece of meat. Just how far did this madness go? Well. Look at it this way then. She’d just more or less told you to forget about Demi. All sounded fatally past tense to me. If you piss her off you might find yourself, ‘leaving LA in fear for your life’. Horse shit. The pill. That fucking pill. This was more of that paranoid bullshit she was sure. Pasting her best cheesy grin on she followed her boss down to the back office. The den of inequity. Where all crimes of passion were committed. “It’s all very civilised. You’ll see. I’ve wondered about what it would be like since you got here. There’s a lot of pressure when you get higher up on the Chain. You can’t enjoy yourself. Starts to feel like business too much” She hung up her silk shirt and Karen watched as she let her skirt fall, then she hung that up too. “You’re my practice run. Later on I’m meeting the number 10. You’d know who she was if I was to tell you her name. She’s been a government official for many years. Tonight she is flying to LA for a rest. Tonight if I rock her world I enter the realm of the elite.” Karen remembered her secret weapon. Feel don’t think. Her boss wanted a practice session. Fine. Sure. Ever since you clapped eyes on this nubile female flesh you’ve wanted to get to know her more intimately. Take it. Its yours. Whatever might have happened to Demi might not have even had anything to do with her. It was an uneasy peace but she relaxed a little and undid her own shirt. Sarah hopped up on the table. It was her turn to watch. Karen let Sarah do as she pleased. Then Karen gave her the best of her new found abilities. There was no rush for Karen. Seeing a little something green under the veneer had done that to her. It had been agreeable enough, but Karen’s heart hadn’t been in it. Something about Miss Steiger had come across real ugly all of a sudden. As they were putting themselves back together Sarah kissed the back of her neck. It was strangely erotic, no one had ever done that to her before and she shivered. “You’re going to go far. Stick by me. I’ll make everything sweet for you. Promise” She couldn’t think of anything to say though. “Just one more thing you can do for me.” she followed Sarah to her office, fastening the last buttons on her shirt.