[b][i]VALYNA VALANCE[/i][/b]

The following morning Valyna was in a mood. She had spent most of the night mourning a beloved she never got to meet. It had happened a few times over the decades and she always looked at it as personally as if she had known them. After getting dressed she went into her bathroom and applied the extra makeup that was necessary to cover her swollen eyes. She hurried down the stairs and yelled at the butler that she was late and ran past him and out to her sportscar. She needed speed this morning.

Valyna knew that sometimes it took a day or so for the new name to show up on her arm. She knew there would be one but that didn't make it hurt less.  She wondered if it was just a cruel trick the universe played with Earthlings or if there were other planets that had to learn how to deal with this too.

She got into the garage and left it for the parking attendant. Once in the elevator she massaged her temple and remembered the text she had sent to the HR rep last night. It had read: Fire Sharon, get new assistant who knows the airport blindfolded. Need new assistant desk too asap. Val

When she got into the building backs straightened, heads turned and focussed on work and all talking stopped. 'Oh good' she thought to herself 'at least they can tell when the boss is in a bad mood.' She continued past the place where the assistant's desk used to be and into her office.

 The maintenance man had put her stone back on her shelf. She sighed and picked it up. The color of this stone was incredible and she was just really taken by it's striking irradescent beauty sometimes. It seemed to have a calming quality about it.