“So?? How was camping?” Todd pumped her for the scoop first thing on Monday morning.

“It was the best weekend of my life,” she told him honestly, before adding, “Right up until he dumped me at the front of my building.”

“What do you mean ‘dumped’ you?” Todd quirked an eyebrow, since he had already guessed her meaning.

“I mean literally dumped. He dropped me off and said we weren’t right for each other,” she said sadly. No tears fell because she had already gotten them all out of her system during the night. She’d had nothing to do, but cry, since she couldn’t sleep pain-free on her side without Hunter’s warm arm crook to snuggle into.

Once the tears had dried, she had adopted a quiet acceptance of the situation. Apparently, Hunter hadn’t felt the same way about her as she had about him. She’d had the best weekend of her life, but he was right, it was better to find out now that he wasn’t interested in her. If things had progressed further, she would be even more attached to him than she already was.

“A clean break is better,” she said aloud to Todd. She was still trying to make herself believe that it was true. “Something fabulous did come out of the weekend, though,” she told him. He gave her a questioning look, prompting her to continue, “I made some friends!”

“Really?” He didn’t bother to hide the surprise in his voice. He was well acquainted with her struggles in that department. He had been by her side through the users and snobs that she had tried to befriend in the past. Each of those relationships had ended up as miserable failures.

She nodded. “Well, they were temporary friends, but I know now that I can do it.” She told him. She was trying to muster some enthusiasm because she had convinced herself to focus on trying to make some real friends, rather than the loss of a potential romantic relationship with Hunter.

“Great! What’s the plan?” Todd jumped right in, ready to help her.

“The problem with people coming to me in search of friendship is that they tend to be the money grubbers, who are only using me to buy them stuff and pull in favors for them.”

Todd had warned her about this many times, so he was nodding his head in agreement as if her big revelation wasn’t news at all. She went on, ignoring his apparent boredom. “The phase I went through when I tried to befriend heiresses didn’t work either. They weren’t interested in my money, which was great, but they weren’t interested in anything at all––other than themselves. I couldn’t stand being around such vain, selfish people.”

“I was here, remember?” Todd seemed to be growing exasperated by her summarization, but she was working through it all in her own mind as she spoke to him. “This weekend taught me that I am funny, witty, and a blast to be around. I just have to find the right people that I feel comfortable enough around to show those traits. It needs to be people that I choose, not the ones who seek me out.”

“Sounds reasonable,” Todd agreed. “Any ideas where to find these potential friends?”

“Yep!” She couldn’t hide her excitement. “I’m going out to the chicken coop.”

She was already on her way towards her office door, when Todd tried to stop her. “The chicken coop?!? That’s not a good idea, Babydoll.” He grabbed her elbow to try to steer her back towards her desk, but she dug in her heels, refusing to be deterred.

“First off, the administrative assistants hate it when we refer to their area as the chicken coop,” he informed her before adding in a stage whisper, “We only say that behind their backs.”

“Oh, I thought it was a cute nickname because they sound like a bunch of bickering hens chattering at each other’s desks all day long.” Selena was surprised to learn that the ladies didn’t appreciate the name the other office workers had given their area in jest. “Okay, I won’t refer to anything about that. Thanks for the tip.” She started to head out again.

“You’re their boss,” Todd yelled out, trying to stop her.

She turned to him with a perplexed expression. “I know that. So what? I’ll just go out there and tell a funny story to break the ice. It will be fine. You’ll see,” she reassured him. “They’ll realize that I’m just one of the girls,” she said confidently before breezing out the door.

When she returned, her eyes were wide open with shock. Todd led her to her desk where he had a large cup filled to the rim with her favorite iced coffee waiting for her.

“I guess I don’t need to ask how it went,” he quipped.

“It was awful,” she stared at the floor and answered, even though he hadn’t asked. “The chatter immediately stopped as soon as they saw me. It was complete silence for a moment, then they all scrambled to pretend like they were working.”

Todd chuckled at that. His laughter brought her out of her daze. “Why did they feel like they needed to do that? I know they are some of the hardest working people in this building. This office would screech to a halt if they weren’t here. I don’t care if they spend a little time blowing off steam and gossiping.”

“Did you tell them that?” Todd looked almost hopeful.

“No,” she practically moaned. “I tried to break the ice by telling them a funny story I heard this weekend about a man who wears Spiderman underpants and drops them, along with his pants, down to his ankles in the stall in the men’s room at his office. Everyone at the office tries to guess who it is, but he always manages to escape the bathroom without being seen. They think maybe he climbs the walls to get out like a real spider.”

“Really?” Todd snorted in a very unTodd-like fashion.

“Yeah, it’s a really funny story. We couldn’t stop laughing when Mike told it around the campfire this weekend,” she shared.

“But the hens didn’t think it was funny?” Todd guessed.

“Don’t call them that,” she snapped before answering his question. “No, they just gaped at me like I was a bug in their soup.”

“You’re their boss,” he tried to explain.

“So? Doesn’t that mean they have to be nice to me?” She knew she sounded rather pathetic and whiny, but she had been convinced that she was on the verge of forging some new friendships. The knowledge that she would have to continue her lonely, friendless existence stung.

“You need to find some friends that don’t work for you, and that are in a similar financial situation to you. It needs to be someone that knows what it’s like to work, though, not one of those simpleton heiresses,” he clarified.

“There aren’t a lot of billionairesses around town,” she quipped.

“Just keep your eyes open, and you’ll find some true friends,” he promised before turning to leave her office.

She silently prayed that he was right because it turned out that having it all wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.