Her sweetheart had been very understanding or at least patient. She just didn’t have the time to devote to courting Zaria, not the way she would’ve if she had met the fine young woman ten years ago, when she was still fresh out of college and as suave as they came. Back then she would have cooked romantic dinners, greeted her at the door in a long tailed tux jacket and little else, and they would have made love on rose petals all night. Now she was a successful businesswoman who spent nearly every waking moment either working or thinking about working, and she hadn’t used her kitchen as anything else but another office for months. In fact, the only hot food to pass through there was coffee and take-out.