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“I think the three of us have a very bright future together, Valentina Sanderson.”
She knew it wasn’t speculation. It was a promise.
Part Two — Alexis
Alexis Lee Thomas sat on the living room sofa in the apartment of her two best friends, Serena and Valentina, waiting eagerly for the latter to come home from her first day on the job as an architect.
“You’re home early,” noted Serena as Valentina abruptly blasted through the front door.
Alexis, a svelte platinum blonde, stood to give her brunette friend a hug, but the scowl on Valentina’s face sent her back to her seat.
“Well, okay, then,” Alexis chuckled.
Valentina’s anger was like a Midwestern thunderstorm—it would blow over quickly and the sun would shine again soon enough. You just had to wait it out.
“I expected you to be burning the midnight oil on your first day,” commented Serena, the redhead of the group.
Valentina didn’t answer. She stomped straight to her bedroom and didn’t re-emerge for several minutes.
Alexis and Serena cast sidelong glances at one another, but they remained silent. They had both expected her to come home chirping like a bird about what a great first day she’d had at work. Alexis shrugged and looked out the window at the Water Tower Place across the street.
Valentina and Serena had been roommates for more than eight years since their undergraduate days at the University of Chicago. Valentina had moved away to Massachusetts for two years to get her doctoral degree in Architecture from MIT but had come back to Chicago right after graduation. Alexis was a few years older than the other girls but had become part of the ‘Tremendous Trio’ five or six years ago while in medical school at UOC.
Earlier that afternoon, Alexis had purchased a bottle of Boerl & Kroff Brut Rose to celebrate Valentina’s new job. Unfortunately, Serena couldn’t wait for a glass and had opened—and finished—the bottle of bubbly before Valentina got home.
Alexis knew Valentina would find it amusing rather than upsetting. Everyone knew the spirited Irish lass liked to drink.
A lot.
Alexis also knew that Serena would do more than just replace the bottle the next time they went out. She was very fond of buying ‘rounds for everyone’ with her daddy’s credit card. It made Alexis feel guilty to spend other people’s parents’ money, but there was no stopping Serena when she was on a roll. If Valentina was a thunderstorm, Serena was a hurricane.
Alexis offered Valentina her barely touched glass of champagne with a sympathetic smile, but Valentina elected for an acai berry-flavored water from the refrigerator instead. If there was one thing Valentina was—and Alexis was not—it was a health nut. Alexis preferred to spend what little free time she had volunteering at the Humane Society rather than running around Millennium Park like a chicken with her head cut off, like Valentina did.
Every morning at four.
Alexis Thomas could not stand quitters. She was a pediatric trauma neurosurgeon at the County Hospital; it was one of the poorest and most underserved facilities in the nation. She never had a set work schedule, and she was always on call. The word ‘quit’ never entered her vocabulary.
When a child came in with a head injury, she was there in a flash. She wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Dick Simson, one of the senior partners, assigned me to work directly under Ethan Daniels!” Valentina growled.
“Oh, I know you want to work ‘under’ him,” Serena said lewdly. “Flat on your back under him.”
“Every day! Day in and day out!” Valentina’s tirade continued as she ignored her friend’s commentary.
“Oh, yes. In and out, Ethan.” Serena made vulgar noises to accompany a dirty gesture.
Alexis laughed.
“He’s a pompous ass!” spat Valentina.
“You want him to pump your ass,” countered Serena.
“Geez, Serena, put a lid on it. I’m going back to my room,” pouted Valentina.
Alexis and Serena had to work as a team to convince Valentina to leave the apartment at all, but what surprised Alexis was that Valentina eventually agreed to visit The Mile High, a BDSM nightclub that Serena loved. Alexis had never been into that scene, but Serena had made it sound like a laugh. She was looking forward to letting loose a bit and witnessing a subculture she’d never seen before. Not that she had any intention of joining in with the activities, of course; that would be unbecoming of a doctor in her position. She thought of it as more like watching a nature documentary; totally alien but quite fascinating.
* * *
