Amazonia - The Athenaeum

asleep despite the interest she had in what it had to say. She walked to the door hunched over
from the pain in her back from the uncomfortable chair.
"I figured when your car was gone this morning you could use this," Terry held a large cup of
coffee in her hand and she offered it to Annie. "I also stopped calling you at twelve when Reggie
threatened to have me killed if I dialed y'all's number one more time and woke her up.
Something about a big test today. And since your father is the head of some black ops group I
decided to take heed of her threat." She pushed Annie back in her chair and pulled the hairbrush
out of the top drawer. "Late night, honey?"
"You saw him here last night. Titus is about as easy to say no to as my father is. We didn't get in
until two and then he wanted to have a little fun."
"TMI, honey. He's handsome as all get out, Annie, but you'd better start speaking up for yourself
before you find yourself barefoot and pregnant in Guam or something. If that happens I'll be here
all by myself and you're the one who talked me into this career in the first place."
Annie took a sip of her coffee and almost spit it out when Terry started whining. "Did you finish
reading all this stuff?"
"You know something, Annie?" Terry brushed out the wavy blonde hair and started twisting it
back into the bun her friend had picked that morning. "I couldn't put that thing down. Can you
believe I turned down a date with Billy to finish it? Are you ready?"
"I wish I could say I was. You don't want to take the first shift do you?"
"I wish I could, but Mr. Baxter has me going over to the holding facility to accept shipment of
the artwork heading over to the White House this afternoon. They're changing up some of the
landscapes for a state dinner tonight."
"Shit, I forgot all about that."
"Care to share with the peasants?"
"My father wanted me and Reggie to go with him and my mother tonight. The dinner is for
Princess Bebo and her royal guard."
Terry finished with her hair and twirled the chair around to see if her handiwork was all right.
"That sounds like fun. You could ask her for a refresher course if you run into any snags today.
Have fun and call me later."
Finishing her coffee, Annie tried to skim through the rest of the booklet as she picked up the
phone and called her sister. "Reg?"
"Annie, you've got some nerve calling me this early. Your friends kept me up till all hours and I
just got a treat when I headed into the kitchen to get coffee this morning. I'd love to talk to you
but I'm busy packing all your stuff so I can put it out by the curb."