he almost would have missed it if it weren't for the aroma the woman who sat next to him carried. a familiar scent that he had grown fond of and had even chosen but now only stung. he tensed slightly , as the scent grew closer and settled next to him but he refused to turn to acknowledge. brow arched at her request and watched as the bartender fulfilled her request -- slightly cringing at the house's choice -- maybe they couldn't be his preferred restaurant. as the bartender placed the glass on the table top , alfie reached for the glass , the other men amused but slightly concerned not knowing the two carried history. he placed the glass to his lips taking a sip before shaking his head. " bring her a glass of petrus -- whatever year you have. " he slid the glass back to the bartender.

" you blow julia roberts right of the park , mate. are you also a lady of the night ? " he found it amusing how many terms americans had for prostitution rather than just calling it what it was. though he supposed pretty woman was more than just the story about julia's character's business. " you must have a hard time just livin' if you don't have one person you trust with anything remotely personal. " not that alfie did either but his bank account more than often made up for that fact. he thought about his question , thought of a million ways to avoid it , " my parents are weirdly loyal to their kids. though i suppose i don't tell them everything. outside of them , it's a bit of give and take but i am new to the city. "

the  question  stumped  her  because  she  wasn't  sure  what  the  hacker  meant.  "where's  that  coming  from?  hurt  me?"  but  there  was  only  a  beat  before  fidan  offered  some  food  for  thought.  "how  do  i  even  know  you're  one  hundred  percent  helping  me?  you  could  be  working  for  the  people  i'm  looking  into.  maybe  you  actually  knew  emily.  i'm  taking  a  chance,  a  big  risk  here."

brow arched before returning her phone to her , " you don't. " it was a chance. " however , i know someone down in philadelphia who will do this for a quarter of a million if you want to go down that route ? " lips curled into a small grin. " if you must know , i just moved to new york beginning of this year , spent most of my time in london. now unless , your dear emily frequented london every other day she's just another name. "

" i'm not hungry , " he paused. " or thirsty. " but he knew she would persist. arms instinctively reached for the woman , arms wrapping around her bringing her close. his one and only comfort , finding solace in her calm demeanor. " not now , " he shook his head , small croak in his voice. " he was doing well , i was just texting him last night and now --- " his voice trailed off as he nuzzled his head into her hair.

It had been intentional, meeting well past the hour that most employees of the firm finally closed up shop and trekked home. Save the occasional suck-up associate or workaholic junior partner still loitering the halls with the cleaning crew, the pair were otherwise alone in the expansive building. "If someone walks by, don't let them see you. The Bar frowns on adults giving alcohol to minors in plain view." Jamie rounded his desk with the bottle of bourbon clutched in one fist before placing it rather intentionally in front of Francis. Only when the other man reached for it did he comment on the odd accessory now catching the light. "What's with the ring?"

the excuse he gave hr for a couple of days only truly worked because they liked him --- sick of everything and everyone wasn't exactly viable to be used for sick time but they knew about his affiliation with romeo so they let it slide. the invite from the other hadn't been fully surprising but his words were. his brow furrowed as he looked around them , but the room was empty except for them. " as flattered as i am -- how old do you think i am ? " it did nothing but raise his ego in the best way possible. eyes fell to the ring , before moving to grab the bottle and popping it open , " i am officially betrothed , hers is much nicer. this is just a place holder. "

       "maaan  don't  ragebait  me  right  now."  there  was  some  humor  on  his  lips  but  his  head  shook  in  dismissal.  socal  living  was  something  he  missed  fiercely,  and  he  and  alix  often  found  themselves  reminiscing  and  yearning  for  trips  back  to  the  west  coast.  it  was  what  it  was,  though,  and  it  wasn't  that  cash  couldn't  go  back  it  was  the  bittersweetness  of  when  he  did.  his  friend  was  right,  cash  had  been  lucky  to  have  had  tessa  back  then  but  he'd  also  had  a  bit  of  found  family  since.  "i  thought  she  had  somewhat  of  a  clue.  since  she's  close  with  yves  and  she  knew  you  and  i  are  friends.  i  get  leaving  her  in  the  dark  and  keeping  her  safe,  and  if  it  weren't  for  these  pantheon  fucks  i'd  probably  advise  to  keep  it  that  way."  which  could  be  wrong  of  him  but  there  were  mysteries  that  surrounded  them  all  and  sometimes  ignorance  truly  was  bliss.  "it's  just  better  if  the  information  comes  from  you.  it'll  hurt  less  and  hopefully  it  still  keeps  trust  between  you  two."  if  he  weren't  pissed  at  aslan  currently,  cash  had  actually  thought  of  telling  the  bossman  what  the  pantheon  could  use  against  him  just  so  they  had  no  power  to  hold  it  over  him.  "well,  wait..."  given  that  he  didn't  know  exactly  what  francis  did  it  made  for  a  difficult  decision.  "would  it  keep  her  safe  knowing  or  could  it  be  something  used  against  her?"

" i don't know man , new york has it all too minus the desert. plus , we have seasons not just sunny , sunnier , sunniest with some clouds sprinkled in. " though california was nice , he wasn't about to admit it so easily but he was a new yorker through and through. though he could admit sometimes it was the people that made the place not the place itself. he'd stayed in new york basically his whole life , he had wanted to study elsewhere in college but circumstances made it impossible though his affiliation had let him travel to many places though not exactly for him to pick and choose. he shook his head , " yves thinks i'm charlie's assistant -- she has no clue. and its' not like she's a kid , she turns thirty this year but , " he sighed running a hand through his hair. shoulders rose in a slight shrug at the other's question , " fuck if i know --- pantheon seems to have something on everyone. they got the mayor and romy --- you really think we're immune ? "

the two couldn't be more different but he had appreciated that she pushed him out of his comfort zone , even if he didn't seem appreciative in his expression. " i thought of no better person , " most of the people he surrounded himself with thought fake plants were better or even pictures of plants just to play it safe. " i think heidi is nice , " in the same way wild animals are nice to look at --- from a distance. " she tried really hard to impress my parents but i don't know if they really are but they're still together so , " shoulders rose in a shrug. he didn't speak to them much or at all , just the occasional life update on instagram would pop up. " you certainly have a way with words and sometimes i'm too scared to ask what they mean. " luckily harry's head was healing fairly well , his wrist was another story but the splint would do most of the heavy lifting. " by the way you're dressed , does that mean party ? "

their relationship might not have been the healthiest but it was just how they dealt with certain things. there was however , no animosity between the two. " thank you , " he said with a nod. " for coming by. i know you're dealing with a lot. " mainly the death of her cousin amongst other familial things which he didn't necessarily need to know about. lips curled into a smirk , " i would tell you my opinion , " a somewhat harsh opinion which did prompt debate between the two but he had never been one to hold his opinion despite how it might look. " i am fine , i have been advised to not work for a bit --- i will be bored , " meaning he was going to text her with things he thought would entertain her.

he followed her though the halls , the corridors until they reached the old music building. a space he hadn't stepped foot in since he got his degree , nostalgia hitting him though he could have attributed it to the company. he was well aware of what she was doing , it seemed like a full circle moment and while he usually would have jumped at the opportunity , there was a bit of hesitation. eyes moved from the piano then back to her as she moved to sit. after a moment of contemplation he moved to sit next to her , the bench not allowing there to be much space between them. right hand brushed against the keys , playing a simple melody before saying , " what's going on with you ? " voice hoarse from not having spoken to anyone in the last twenty four hours. " what did i do that you're avoiding me now ? "

it didn't make sense to him , romeo had been fine , okay -- more than okay but maybe something had been missing. however , romeo was possibly more evasive than him. as open as he seemed no one truly knew what romeo had been going through. " nothing's on my mind , " he shook his head. his therapist would scold him , would tell him he was down the wrong path if he kept pushing away his brother who was actually trying. " he's the one that told me to punch you , y'know. " romeo had encouraged him to seek out his brother , despite his anger -- an anger he didn't know he had. glance momentarily turned to look at emiliano before lowering once again , " everyone's dying. the threats are getting closer , it feels like im ten all over again and i hate it. " it had been the most he had ever spoke about the subject , his eyes begin to sting , an unfamiliar feeling but one luisa said would happen eventually but santiago still wouldn't allow himself to speak freely. " it happened , i just gotta get over it , " he shrugged it off.

" i don't --- i'm thirty not five. " he had a tendency of speaking more than his siblings might have liked , maybe it was why he had gone into politics other than his grandmother's encouragement. he watched his sister's movements , hernando had been there for the family since he could remember really. one of his first memories was actually pointing at the man's bald head in amusement and shock --- everyone in his family had great hair so it was a shock when he saw a bald head. it was even more shocking when hernando lowered himself to his level and warned him if he misbehaved he would lose his hair , he was three. lips curled into a small grin , " whenever he mumbles something i threaten with going. i only go once a week anyway but he doesn't need to know that , " he motioned towards the door. " to the ranch ? no , i think emil thinks i'm going to start some type of war -- excuse me for expressing myself , " he put his hands up in surrender though he knew it might still be a sore subject -- or not , he could never decipher whether or not cel actually liked him or would rather have left in central park as a baby for a stranger to pick up.

" i don't know flaming swords sound pretty fun , you do give me the impression that you'd be horrible in medieval times. " though cleo was far from boring , entertainment seemed to be her purpose in life right after complaining about her father. " sure -- if they attach a couple of tiny zeros on a check. " things always pointed back towards money , it did make the world go round of course. " jack wasn't so bad , but i think his uncle's brain worm might have gotten to him. " the kennedy name was still a legacy though it slowly seemed to be going down hill , the only person he truly felt bad for was caroline. santiago knows the del castillo name will continue in mexico though he had very small hope for its name continuing within the states -- the three disillusioned though at least that's what he thought. " it'd be a shame if i lost , i'd call for a reelection. i do have haters after all. " or people who thought he was a sham simply because he was rich , he liked to remind people he was no longer rich but that was neither here nor there. lips curled into a small grin at her antics , ones he had gotten used to over the years , he preferred the antics over silence. " i think they're trying to bring back stoning so --- i'd rather be on the people's good side. "