<div class="floatright">(http://i.imgur.com/jUxdITR.jpg)</div>The alcohol - what was the name of that drink again? - was definitely surging through Brooke’s veins.  She and Beth had only planned to stop for a couple of easy glasses and some conversation after work, and now she was stumbling, falling, tripping, leaning, grabbing and laughing with a stranger she realized she’d met only a few hours ago.  Or was it more?  She had no idea what time it was, or how much they’d drank. Or how the conversation had shifted to Brooke’s favorite position and Beth’s cup size and David’s desire to see the two of them make out.<br/><br/>“Of course we can make out.”  One of them had said it.  Brooke couldn’t remember who.  That part was swirling, and somehow he’d bet them they wouldn’t do it.  Beth had, even intoxicated, managed to remind Brooke that the middle of the bar might not be the best place for a show.  And somehow in the mess of tumbling off her barstool into David’s arms, he’d whispered in her ear that he had a room right upstairs in the hotel just a block away.<br/><br/>Her eyes scanned the room, and she couldn’t help but be impressed.  David either had money, or the company that employed him hooked their employees up.  “Wow,” Brooke mouthed, the sound barely audible, as she let go of David’s belt and stumbled into the room.  The blonde made a beeline for the balcony, pushing the soft crimson drapes to the side and freeing the lock on the latch.  Sliding it open, she stepped into the cool night air, the sound of party goers echoing up and down the street below, rising as voices reverberated off the buildings.  Slender fingers curled around the railing as she leaned over, the wind whipping through her hair, jostling it across her face.   This was what freedom felt like, when the chains that shackled her to life, to problems, to work and bills, fell off, if even for the temporary moment of the night.<br/><br/>She turned back around, eyes shifting to watch the other two.<br/><br/><div align="center">*    *    *</div><br/>Brooke was about ready to kill someone.  The office had exploded in drama that afternoon when Gordon had stomped past his bank of cubicles and accused Brooke of stealing his sale.  Morgan had chimed in on his side - hell everyone knew they were sleeping together after hours - while Trevor stepped up to point out that Gordon had a habit of stealing everyone in the office's clients.   Brooke wanted nothing to do with any of them, but when Felicia pointed fingers at Beth, the blonde went on a rampage.  No one accused Beth of anything! Which then led to Gordon claiming that Brooke was propping up Beth’s numbers to keep her from getting fired and sleeping with Trevor, while Patricia was fudging her sales and making up clients and by the time Human Resources arrived to sit them all down, the anger and resentment in the office was enough to burn the entire building down.<br/><br/>She could understand the tension.  Sales had been slipping.  Their company was going under.  Already eight people had been let go for underperforming in a market where performing at all was nearly impossible.  Yes, Brooke was helping Beth, but nothing she was doing was illegal or unethical. Competition was tight for clients. Everyone was scrambling.  Everyone was afraid they were next on the chopping block.  When they weren’t working they were looking for jobs.  Or interviewing for jobs.  Or talking about other jobs.<br/><br/>Brooke lifted her cosmopolitan and watched the pink liquid swirl around the glass. “Today was the writing on the wall.  You know that place isn’t going to last long.  If it isn’t the loss of sales, it’s the way the staff is tearing each other apart.   God I hope this interview I have next week pans out.”  She shifted her eyes to Beth, but there was still concern there.  They’d worked together at Triangles for three years now, since graduating college, ecstatic that they’d managed to land a job at not only the same company, but the same office!  Sorority sisters, college roommates, and now co-workers, Beth was her best friend.  Brooke would have done anything for the other woman.  That included slipping her sales over to Beth’s desk to keep her afloat. The same went the other way, when Brooke had months where her numbers weren’t quite up to par.<br/><br/>But lately neither of them could manage quota.   “Have you had a chance to…Oh My God!” The drink splashed down on the table and Brooke nearly fell from her chair.  The handsome man on the other end of the glass smoothly began to wipe up the mess, not a hint of embarrassment on his face.<br/><br/>Brooke blinked, snapping out of shock.  “Uh Sure.  I’m Brooke.  And I’m sure it was just an accident.”