As Becca and Karl entered negotiations, Old Bess led Sassy to the office and laid her down on the couch, a pitiful mess. “Can somebody please tell me what’s so wrong with me that nobody will give me a chance?” Sassy shrieked, tears staining her face.

Old Bess had been on the job long enough to know when her services were most needed. It was time. “Tell me your story, hon.”

“All my life I’ve suffered at the hands of jerks like Paul,” Sassy explained. “They’ll give you anything to get what they want and then… They forget you exist.”

“That why you’re obsessed with Becca?” Old Bess asked. “You thought she wouldn’t hurt you like all those guys hurt you?”

“She’s just a friend,” Sassy said through clenched teeth. “I’m not like you.”

“Girls who are just friends don’t fall to pieces every time some guy swoops in to take their friend out. They don’t interfere with other people’s lives.”

“What are you saying?”

“Tell me, Sassy, how does it feel when someone butts into your life and messes everything up?”