“Yes?”  He extended a hand with a smile, his soft
British accent floating from his lips as he spoke.  His manners perfect as his smile brightened.

            “A pleasure to meet
you.  I’m Gardner Vance, I own VanGuard.” 
Tina’s hand went to her mouth, stunned.

            “The pleasure is all
mine, please have a seat.  Is there
something I can do for you?”  Tina
offered, and he sat, smiling easily in her presence.

            “Thank you.  I was in the neighborhood, and someone asked
me to give this to you.”  He handed Tina
the envelope and she gave him a curious look and opened the envelope with a
letter opener.  Seeing the dark green
lettering, it read.

You are invited to a Gathering Of
Friends

Don’t pack

All clothing will be provided

Bring no money

Just yourself.

            “Who gave this to
you?”  He smiled; he knew he wasn’t
supposed to say anything.  He had been
sworn to secrecy.

            “I can only tell you
if you promise to keep a secret?”  She
looked oddly at him.  What a quirky little man.

            “I can’t tell you if
you don’t promise, because if someone found out that I can’t keep a secret, I might
find myself in a very precarious situation.” 
She grinned wondering how Bette had gotten all of this into place.

            “I promise.”  He got up and whispered into her ear and Tina
smiled, laughing.

            “I won’t tell a soul,
I promise.”  She crossed her heart and
Gardner’s eyes lit up, watching her move. 
She grabbed her purse and walked out of the building with him and he
escorted her to her limo.

            “Enjoy Miss
Kennard.”  Gardner said with an impish
smile.

*****

            Dana stepped out of
the shower and saw her new agent, Kelly standing there.  She wrapped a towel around her torso and then
her hair.  The Subaru people had set up a
meeting with her, and Dana had instantly liked the way she thought and how she
thought Dana should be handling her career. 
Hiring her had been a great advance in her career. 

            “What is up?”  Dana asked, and Kelly sat down on the
bench.  Kelly was a short, oriental woman
with an easy manner.  She was beautiful
in the plain sense of the word but a voice that resonated when it was heard.