She had gotten a job. What a joke. Stan had been pressuring her to get out of the manse and do something with herself, but she didn't want to. She was content with just being alone. Sure, she had friends, but they were of a high social standing. They would speak to her one moment, but talk about her behind her back when she walked away. She had never really fit in.

She married a man straight out of college to divorce him only a year later, he cheated. Then she met a man, who she still considered the love of her life, and she married him instantly. She had a miscarriage early in their marriage and ever since she had kept her dreams of motherhood to herself. He tragically died in a car accident after their fifth year anniversary, and she gave up on love. She met Stanly Walker after a few years of sulking and when she realized that he was rich, she agreed to marry him. The only problem was, he was currently married. So, they carried on an affair until he divorced his wife, many years later.

But that part of her life was over and she had grown accustomed to being a trophy wife. There weren't many things that she enjoyed anymore, and she didn't have any friends, but she was content. Life could be good with hundreds of millions of dollars in a bank account. Too bad the socialite scene had made her harsh, oddly cold on the outside, but so emotional on the inside.

"Karen, could you fax these papers for me?" Grace walked over to her desk, snapping her out of a daydream. She was wearing the ugliest dress that Karen had ever seen and she wanted to insult her instantly, but she held back. She was unsure of what her role in the office should be, and she didn't want to overstep her boundaries.

"Yeah, honey." She took the papers from her new boss and walked over to the fax machine, biting her lip in confusion. She had no clue what she was doing. "Where's the on button?"

"It's the green one on the left." Grace continued to draw a few sketches, unaware of the fact that her assistant was getting ready to show how unqualified for the job she really was. Karen pressed the button and the machine came to life. She shrugged and typed in the number, setting the paper in the machine. Nothing happened so she tried pushing another button, hoping to coax the contraption to work. She tried to push the paper into the slot when it suddenly hummed into action, quickly pulling the paper and her forefinger into the center.

"Oh, fuck!" She pulled her finger out and examined the damage. It felt like she had just dropped a twenty pound bowling ball on it. Her examination stopped when she heard laughter from behind her. She turned to find Grace with her hand over her mouth, stifling the sound of amusement. She walked over to her assistant and took her hurt finger in her hand.

"Why the hell did you put you finger in it?" She continued to laugh and Karen soon caught on, giggling as well. She tried to hide her laugh, Stan always said that it was embarrassing, but she couldn't and they were soon giggling over something as stupid as a hurt finger. It was a sort of icebreaker for their relationship.

"I'm sorry, honey. I have no idea how to work a fax machine." She wiped a tear from her eyes when the laughter subsided and cleared her voice. "I guess I'm not as qualified for the job as I made myself sound."

"It's fine. I'm sure you can learn." She walked over to Karen's new enemy and taught her the basics, which she didn't understand. "You know what? Let's lock up early and go to a late lunch together. We should probably get to know each other if we're working together."

"Alright." She wasn't exactly sure how to respond to her new boss's suggestion, but she agreed. It was odd for her to just spontaneously make a lunch plan like that, but it wasn't like it was a big deal. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know. Oh, we could go to the Olive Garden." Karen cringed. The only thing worse than that woman's taste in clothing was her taste in food. She didn't want to sound rude, but she could definitely not be seen in an Olive Garden.

"You know, honey, maybe I should take you to lunch. It'll be my treat." She knew that Grace probably couldn't afford to eat at a five star restaurant so she would foot the bill. Grace thought for a moment.

"That's nice, okay. I just have to call Will and tell him that I'll be a little late for our movie night." She moved towards the phone and Karen sat down at her desk.

"Is he your boyfriend?" She was astonished when the redhead began to laugh. What was funny?

"No, he's been my best friend since college."

"So, you two aren't together, but you've called him twice today? I don't get it, honey."

"He's gay."

"Oh." Everything made sense with that one little sentence. Grace called Will and explained what was going on before the two women gathered their belongings and walked down to Karen's limo. Grace watched as Karen loudly knocked on the window, startling her driver who was asleep. They went to a fancy French restaurant where Karen bought her the most expensive meal she had ever had. They learned a lot about each other and knew that they would be fast friends.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You've been working there for a week and you still haven't told me about it. When are you getting a paycheck?" Stan turned the page in his newspaper and looked at his wife, sipping her tea across from him at the kitchen table.

"I don't know, honey."

"What do you mean you don't know? Didn't he tell you?"

"She's a woman, and no."

"You work for a woman? That's a laugh." She glared at him, but kept her mouth closed. He always won their arguments so there was no point in even trying to speak. He stood from his chair and patted her head as he walked by, like a dog. She gritted her teeth so she wouldn't speak. "I'm working late tonight."