CHAPTER 1 LUNCH

"How could I have gotten into this mess?" Zoe sits back and looks at Mia. The women are at lunch, talking about the events of the last couple of days.

"I can't believe Grant acted that way...In front of all those people!!" Mia was in shock over the backlash that enveloped her since the show last night. Not only did she loose a friend and mentor, but everyone in New York now thought she was a bitch. "Am I really a bitch?" she asks.

"No, honey, you're not a bitch," replies Zoe.

"Of course you're not," Caitlin chimes in.

"Well, maybe just a little," teases Juliette, "but it's not that noticable."

The women laugh at this and set their sights on the problems at hand. Zoe tells them about her dinner date with Eric and the "supermom."

"She's trying to make herself available for him. Not only is she attractive, but now she wants Eric to remodel their kitchen."

"It sounds innocent enough to me," Caitlin says. "Besides, he's completely in love with you. Why would he want to be with someone else?"

Juliette looks from Caitlin to Zoe, "She's attracted to him, isn't she?" Zoe nods. "She's going to make you play her game by her rules. I say, turn the tables on her and let her know you know what she's doing."

"That just might work," Mia says excitedly. "If she know that you're on to her game with Eric, she'll realize it's futile to try anything else."

"Yeah, either that or she'll try more subtle things." Mia throws a piece of bread at Caitlin for the remark. "What?!?! It's true; she only has those two viable options."

The women discuss ways to help Zoe out before Caitlin remembers about Juiette's date with Bobby. "How did your date go last night, Jules?" Caitlin asks coyly.

"It was...refreshing. Bobby is a wonderful man and still very charming. As we talked, I explained the situation to him and he was fine with it. Actually, I think it intrigued him."

"So, tell us, what happened?" Mia looked anxiously a Juliette, waiting for the details.

"Nothing...We had drinks, he walked me out and we kissed. I told him I would call him when I was ready."

"This sounds like it will be just the thing to help you with your Davis issues," Caitlin says.

"Speaking of issues, Caitlin, how did the lesbian..."

"POTENTIAL LESBIAN, Zoe."

"Okay, potential lesbian, date go? You don't seem quite yourself today."

"It was great until I messed up last night. We were having a fabulous time until one of my exes showed up. He came over and started talking about me playing for both teams and I freaked out; I didn't know what to say. I looked like a stamering fool in front of both of them."

"It couldn't have been that bad, could it?" asked Juliette.

"Oh, it was bad alright. She came into the show and freaked out on me." affirmed Mia.

"Yes, it was that bad. She left the bar with this hurt look on her face; I was sure she never wanted to see me again. But...I saw her this morning on the way to work and I tried to explain myself. I told her I didn't know what to say or how to act now. She understood, and I guess we're okay now."

"Good, you deserve to be happy...We all do." Zoe looks around the table as she says this. "Now is our time to get our lives back, our happiness back. Now..."

"SHIT!!! I'm late for a meeting. Sorry girls, I've got to go. I'll see you all tomorrow."

Caitlin, Juliette and Zoe all laugh as Mia runs out the door. "I guess we had all better be getting back to work. I've got a conference all I can't miss."