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attractive woman about whom Alanna immediately began to wonder. Had she woken up all of the sleep lab patients? Of course, she must have. And that would include Alex. Had he appreciated that? He seemed the type, she mused snidely, not even bothering to excuse her waspishness as part of her early morning mood. Perhaps Ellen Henderson was right; at this moment Alanna would have liked nothing better than to stroke out her frustration at the swimming pool down the street. With a sigh she began to dress. That would have to wait until tomorrow when she was equipped with her suit, cap and goggles. For today, she had better concentrate on getting herself in shape to function as usual at WallMar Enterprises. She would stop at home after work today for anything she might need tonight and tomorrow.
    Dressing carefully in the clean clothes she had packed yesterday, she struggled at length with her makeup to counter the inner tension she felt. When the nurse returned with the coffee she had requested, she was grateful. Coffee helped. Standing back finally to examine the finished product, she was satisfied. Her plum-hued dress hugged her figure and contrasted with the lightness of her coloring. Her hair was pulled back into its traditional sleek knot, exuding efficiency. Her eyes were highlighted with brown, her cheeks accented with pink, her lips glossed with plum to blend with the dress. Glasses perched upon the bridge of her nose, she hoisted her bag, then her purse, and headed for the door.
    There was no sign of anyone in the lounge. Passing by the nurses’ station, Alanna handed in her log and the half-completed questionnaires, then headed for the cafeteria and some breakfast. Again there were no familiar faces. It was only when she had retrieved her car from the lot and was headed for work that she admitted a twinge of disappointment. Alex must have left even earlier than she had. What did he look like, fresh in the morning? Or did he awaken with a touch of the bear, as she did? Perhaps it was for the best that their paths hadn’t crossed, after all. He needed time to realize the absurdity of his proposal—and she needed time to reinforce the same idea in her own mind. The morning light clearly illumined its folly. Alex was headed for his life, she for hers. This was the way it was destined to be; it was for the best.
    WallMar Enterprises welcomed her, as it did each day, with a deskful of messages and memoranda. Here was involvement—instant and unavoidable. Within the quarter hour she dealt with three men, all unit directors under her jurisdiction, who entered simultaneously, each bent on testing the strength of her shoulders. There was a small matter regarding personnel concerning one of the men, a more critical issue of funding for a newly instituted project concerning another. It was the third, however, who drew most deeply on her store of patience.
    “I tried to get you last night, Alanna.” It was Brian Winstead who confronted her insolently. “There was no answer at your apartment. I gave up at about one.” His tone lowered in scathing sarcasm. “Is your phone out of order?”
    Brian’s implication was obvious. Alanna’s refusal to stoop to his level was equally so.
    “I was out all night,” she stared boldly at him, challenging him to deepen his slander to her face. With two onlookers, the standoff was a tense one. Whether it was the chill of her glare or the evenness of her words, or simply the fact that she was his superior in the corporate structure, Alanna did not stop to analyze. When he failed to offer a follow-up she continued smoothly, “What seems to be the problem, Brian?”
    Sitting behind her desk, the image of composure, Alanna hid from the world the inner torment that this subtle needling caused. The three men before her stood witness to her utterly professional handling of the problem, a matter of delays in the shipment of several lab supplies, the manufacture of which was a new direction for