Dallas, Texas

"Paris?" repeating the word more for her own benefit than Liz's, Pam couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. What had started as a meeting in Liz's office she'd initially been wary of was quickly turning into one she could get excited about.

"Yes, Paris, it's a very important city for buyers", making a further comment about something that didn't technically concern her, Liz's intentions were easy to assume, though she didn't want to get too far ahead of herself.

"I'm not a buyer", having a fair idea of where things were going, she reminded Liz anyway that while she was well aware of all that Europe had to offer their line of business, she wasn't actually in a position to take advantage of those opportunities.

"Would you like to be one?" grinning, Liz finally said what she'd hoped she hadn't been assuming since the moment they'd started discussing fall trends.

Thrilled by what she was sure now was the offer of a promotion and not in fact a meeting to discuss her tardiness earlier in the morning, she didn't hesitate in answering, "well, yes, of course".

"Good, because that's why I asked you to come in here; I thought pre-empting the paperwork with a discussion of Paris would be a good opener", confirming she had been hinting at the opportunity coming her way since they'd started talking, Liz's assumptions were correct, Paris was a perfect opener.

"It was, thank you", happy and grateful, her mind raced. She wasn't well travelled, the furthest she'd ever been was Hawaii and that was only recently with Bobby, but that didn't mean she wasn't aware of what was out there and wasn't able to picture herself becoming the kind of woman she'd always admired in fashion magazines.

"You're welcome", seemingly pleased for her, Liz smiled at her enthusiasm.

"May I ask why me?" having her own idea of what she was capable of, she was curious about what other people saw in her.

"Isn't it obvious? You've got a great eye and a sharp mind, that's what we need behind the scenes", complimenting her, Liz's comments were reminiscent of those Sue Ellen had paid her a long time ago, when her life was much different to how it was now. She knew her way around clothes and she liked to think she knew a thing or two about the business of buying and selling clothes, but feeling confident and having someone else's confidence were two quite different things.

"I've only just started here", reminding her boss and friend that it hadn't been very long since they'd sat down and discussed entering into a working relationship again, she didn't really want to hear that maybe it was too soon to be moving up, she simply wanted confirmation that Liz was sure about her offer.

"Well, yes and no. You're not inexperienced, and you have a few connections", placing her hand on her chest as she made a comment about connections, Liz's response made her laugh; being Mrs Ewing meant little when it came to getting what she wanted at work, however, her history as Pamela Barnes meant something and there was no harm in accepting that.

"I'm very grateful, thank you Liz", accepting the offer in front of her, she expressed her gratitude again.

"Funnel that gratefulness into doing a good job", moving on from her continued need to thank her, Liz gave her a new goal.

"Oh, I will", excited for what was ahead, she meant what she said and she appreciated that she'd been given the opportunity to show what she was capable of.

"Good. Now, don't you want to know when you'll be strolling along the Champs-Élysées?" grinning, Liz teased her with the next little bit of information, adding to her mental image of what her new work life looked like.

"Yes, when are we going?" assuming they'd be going sooner rather than later as decisions for the fall/winter collection needed to be made before summer began, she wasn't entirely sure about the timing of things, though Liz's leading question told her she was about to find out.

"Well, actually, soon", drawing out the answer, Liz's tone made her wonder about a few things.

"How soon?" playing along, she asked again, though this time she was a little more cautious than curious.

"Next week, Saturday through Saturday. That won't be a problem will it?" giving her the information she wanted to know, Liz's enthusiasm was obvious, though so was her curiosity about the situation, because apparently she wasn't as good at hiding her apprehension as she thought she was.

"Saturday through Saturday", speaking more to herself than to Liz, she mentally sorted through her calendar. It was one thing to work Monday to Friday when Bobby was too, but it was another to take off during the valuable weekend days they had to themselves, not to mention the sort of reception an announcement like that was likely to receive from her in-laws.

"You'll be paid, if that's what you're worried about. It's just that there's the flight, then the time difference, and we'll need a good night's sleep to hit the ground running on Monday morning", explaining the reason why they needed to take the weekend, Liz's attempt to ease her mind helped a little, but it didn't fix the problem.

"It's not that, I'll just have to talk to Bobby", putting her concerns aside, she smiled at Liz. A business trip was a business trip, it wasn't a strange concept and it wasn't something anyone ought to make an issue of, especially considering she'd be gone a week, then she'd be back. Naturally, she'd miss Bobby and she could appreciate that the timing wasn't great as far as looking like she was making an effort to be a part of the family when family was really important, but she couldn't put her life on hold to be selfless forever, Bobby would survive, as would the rest of the family.

"What's there to talk about?" questioning her, Liz gave her a look as if to say the answer was obvious and there was no discussion to be had.

"You'd be surprised", shaking her head, she didn't elaborate, it was a long story and not one she knew the ending of just yet.

To be continued…