#or is it...

Hurrying back to the main room, Anya was almost relieved to see her date. Playing nice at some criminal party was a nice break from the chaos of being threatened a gunpoint, after all. Still though, she figured she should try to cut the night short somehow.

Jae turned to her with a smile as soon as he saw her.

"Mai, come here!"

He waved her over to one of the high tables, where he was talking to some of the other employees she assumed. He introduced her to them quickly – appearing to be in an even better mood.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Where did you go?"

"I'm fine, I was just looking around. The guards hurried me back though," she said.

"Yeah, they're just doing their job. They can get annoying though."

"They really can," she admitted.

They spent some time eating some admittedly delicious food and making small talk before she was left alone with him again on the table. Jae brought up what had been weighing on her mind the entire time.

"So, did you think about my offer?"

She nodded. “…These parties. They’re not a regular thing, right?”

“Just every few months.”

The offer was a vaguer one that she liked. Anya knew not much besides about said assistant position except that it would involve helping him – potentially them - and she already had a run-in with the crazy suit guy already, who could very well expose her real identity at any moment.

The "job" would also involve eventually sleeping with Jae. But she still had barely information regarding the games themselves, and she could learn more if she played her cards right with him. It would be a potentially more successful lead than getting into the games - the better option.

Of course, just going home and forgetting about all of this was the better and logical thing to do, but that was not really an option for her at all.

She nodded, although her every survival instinct told her not to delve into this insanity.

"Yes. I'll do it. As long as it's working with you. I don't really trust anyone else." Not that I trust you, she thought.

"I'm happy to hear that. Don't worry. You'll be fine. I'll make sure you're inducted soon..."

Anya tried shrug off the very unappealing way he phrased that.

"So. Jae, I was thinking. I'm really tired," she said, really hoping to not have another sudden run in with the other recruiter. "How long do these things usually go on for?"

"Tired already?" He laughed. “What is it?”

"Nothing, it’s all nice, it’s just... Isn't this all a little..." she waved a hand in the air, trying to find a word to convince him.

"Pretentious?” he smirked. “Look - I have to stay here a little longer...”

"I understand," she smiled, though apprehensive at the prospect. "I was just tired and have a little bit of a headache."

"These things usually go on all night...unofficially, anyway. There's a party after the party, and all that."

Anya could already know what he was getting at. Probably some weird drug induced criminal orgies, she assumed. Riveting.

Her headache was really getting to her now.

"You know what?" he said. "There are guest rooms upstairs you can go to if you'd rather spend time there instead. We can see how you feel in about an hour. Maybe we can even spend some more time there together. Sound good?"

"Yes, it does," she said, for in spite of anxiety she was enthused beyond belief to get up there and away from this entire gathering. She was ready to even sleep with him if it meant avoiding suit guy and any more trouble. Best case scenario – she could snoop around some more if there weren’t too many guards around.

“That sounds perfect. Thank you. I’m sorry to be such a hassle -"

"No, it’s fine." He looked over her shoulder. "Oh, I just need to introduce you to someone first."

She followed his gaze and was stilled in horror when she saw the damn suit guy again.

"It's really not necessary -" she said, leaning into him and whispering. She grasped at his forearm with more force than she maybe should’ve. "Why don’t we go upstairs- right now -"

"Lee, come here!" Jae said, waving him over. He was more jovial than even earlier - apparently, he had been drinking without her.

Anya wanted to disappear - this night could not get any worse. She stepped back on instinct when the recruiter approached them, fake smile on his face as he greeted Jae. She could now tell the difference between his fake (usual) smiles, and his somewhat real ones, which came from adrenaline and power rushes born from fright tactics, no doubt.

“Hello," he spoke casually, looking over at Jae, then her, as if nothing was out of the ordinary and he hadn't threatened to kill her a few minutes ago. "I see you brought company. How nice."

"Yeah, I thought I'd bring someone. This is Mai Seiya. Mai, this is Lee."

Lee. Definitely not a family name - Another short, sweet fake name like Jae’s. Of course.

Anya internally prayed to the heavens above he would do as he said and keep her secret for the time being. Even if she knew she would eventually, probably painfully, pay for it.

"Mai Seiya," he echoed after Jae, before his face settled into one of his unsettling, fake smiles again.

"Nice to meet you," she said a little nervously. He was, for the moment, keeping his mouth shut. She reached out to shake his hand.

He took it, but instead of a handshake he brought her hand up to his lips and placed a kiss over her knuckles, looking into her worried eyes.

"It's nice to meet you too,” he repeated, before letting go of her hand and pretending to think something over. “You remind me of someone I knew once...Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

What a snarky son of a bitch. She swallowed hard, forced a smile.

"No. I just have one of those faces."

"Mhm," he nodded. "And who is she exactly?" he said to Jae, as if she were not even there.

"Currently just my date. But It looks like she's going to be my new assistant," Jae replied with a grin.

"Oh, is she?" There was slight amusement in his tone. " I didn't know we needed any more. But then again, you are new."

Jae looked down, a quietude unfamiliar to Anya in the few hours she had known him seeming to overtake him. Even his shoulders seemed to slouch slightly. Lee seemed to be something of an emotional vampire. He was draining the energy right out of her date.

"I don't mind having some help," Jae said finally. He placed a hand on her waist. She stilled, a little surprised at the sudden touch. "We're each allowed an assistant right? She's perfect. I looked into her myself."

"I'm sure you did," the recruiter nodded, raising his brows condescendingly.

"Well, we should go. Nice to meet you and all that," Anya interrupted, then turned to her date. "Jae, I think you were going to show me around, introduce me to some other people, right? And...” she tried to say the next part in a low tone, “…the guest rooms, remember?…"

She was still hoping to get a chance to go upstairs and look around.

"Right, of course, Mai-"

"The guest rooms are off limits right now," the recruiter intruded, interrupting his coworker. "You two should stay a while longer. It's your first event, after all."

"Right -" Jae said, a little more meekly than she hoped.

"We have things to do, is what I mean," said Anya sternly, feeling herself flush in an ugly mixture of anger and annoyance. She needed to remain composed, and she reminded herself of this vehemently.

"I have a better idea. Mai, was it?" he said. "I'll order us all a drink. To celebrate your new role in the company. What do you think, Jae?”

“Yeah, sounds good” he said, looking over at Anya, who was fuming. "Well, she has a headache..."

"This will help," the recruiter smiled. He waved a server over, and asked for champagne. The crappy, expensive champagne, he of course somehow knew she hated.

As he was ordering the drinks, Jae leaned into her.

"He's usually not so…" he whispered.

“Intrusive?”

"Sorry -"

"It's fine,” she said.

"I promise we'll be out of here soon."

She then noticed Lee appeared to be placing something away in his jacket, and at that moment she regretted taking her eyes off him. When the server brought over the champagne, Anya hesitantly took her glass, as did Jae.

“Should we give a toast of some kind?” said the recruiter to his younger coworker.

“Well, you’re probably better at that sort of thing…” Jae answered.

But Anya drank down the drink in one shot before any theatrical, annoying and passive aggressive phrases were made. She was about ready to stab herself with the butter knife on the table if this continued much longer.

"Well, look at that,” Lee said. “She must really like expensive champagne..."

"It's amazing," she said flatly, reaching up to scratch at her neck - then she stopped herself as she noticed him assessing her – and she remembered he knew too many of her tells already. She cleared her throat.

"I think you were going to introduce me to some other people, right?" she looked over at her date, this time with more aggression flickering in her eyes.

"Right," said Jae. "Yes."

"It was good to meet you, Lee," she said.

"It was nice to meet you too, Anya."

She felt herself flush further, her nerves racing now. She was simultaneously scared and furious.

"Mai," she corrected.

"I'm sorry. Mai. Of course."

"It's okay, you must be going senile."

"Mai," Jae looked horrified at her comment, and tugged at her arm. "Don't."

Lee started laughing heartily.

“It’s alright," he said. "I'll see you both again soon. Ms. Seiya." He reached out this time to shake her hand and shook it cordially this time. She felt something in the exchange - a card or a paper he was handing her.

He patted Jae on the back before he turned to leave. "You two have fun."

She then, when Jae wasn't looking, took a look at the card. It was a brown shapes card, but no number on the other side. It was plain on the back, with only a simple statement in neat writing - much nicer than hers - which read:

Don't sign any contract.

..