"Richard Mayfair."

An image of a man, around the age of fifty, appeared on the wall, all in greyscale colours. He seemed to glare at a spot to the side of the camera. "He started his chain of restaurants five years after he divorced his wife back in 1999," Mickey added. "The divorce was messy, ended up in court but Richard came out with most of the money, the house and cars and his wife Angela got custody of their two children. She was naïve, thought she did well and ended up with nothing."

The group shared glances between each other, though nobody commented. Albert stood up as the next picture appeared on the slideshow. It was the same man, though he looked younger this time. His hair was a shade of dark brown. He stood and smiled in a suit that didn't look particularly expensive and smiled at the woman on his arm, a blonde who wore a cheap looking wedding dress. They grinned tackily outside a church. Nothing about the picture suggested these people were particularly rich. They didn't look like marks. They didn't look like people with money, or greed.

But the next picture was different. The same woman was shown, though she seemed to have aged a lot. Her hair was greying. She wore no make up and a plain, very black and white suit. She was walking into a building, a courthouse, and looked tired and stressed. Several other cameras flashed in the background, press.

A newspaper clipping. The man, her husband walking out of the same building, dressed in an expensive suit. Proud. Sneering. Rich. Greedy.

Deserving.

"I met Richard Mayfair last Tuesday at my gentleman's club. I didn't have to spend a lot of time looking for an in. He's inherited some money recently, I didn't ask who from, and he's looking to buy a restaurant." Everyone looked up at this. "I told him I knew someone in the business who was selling his own."

"Ok, so we sell him a restaurant," Mickey said, simply.

"We haven't got a restaurant," Sean replied, quickly. The moment paused.

"Correct… Ash?" Mickey raised an eyebrow expectantly.

Ash slid open his phone. "I'm on it."

"Ok." Mickey replied. "Emma, Sean, I need you working at Richard Mayfair's restaurants. Danny, you're trying to buy my restaurant but I, the owner of the restaurant, am reluctant to sell it to you because…"

There was a pause.

"He's going to turn it into a bar. The restaurant used to belong to your parents and you're upset to sell it. You… don't want it to change too much," Emma suggested.

"Brilliant," Mickey replied, smiling at her.

Emma felt herself blush.

"I have to sell it because I'm in debt. Stacie and I just got engaged and I've given up on trying to pay for the restaurants upkeep, we need money for our wedding in March."

Ash re-entered the room, clicking his phone shut.

"Ok, so I've found us a restaurant."

"You've found someone who'll let us use it?" Mickey asked.

"Not exactly."

Mickey gazed at Ash, his eyes questioning.

"Yeah, I've got a mate who's a head chef, nice Italian place in West London. His boss is on holiday and he's in charge for two weeks."

"Sounds fun," Danny said, grinning.

"I'll call Richard." Albert rose from his seat.

The group split from the shape they'd been arranged in, in the centre of the apartment, drifting away to various corners. Emma stayed sat, feeling a little disappointed to have been given a smaller part in the con. She probably should have realised this would happen, after all, there were seven of them now. And the others were all better grifters than her and Sean. The problem was that she hadn't thought about what would happen, for weeks her thoughts hadn't gone to a time past meeting Danny and Stacie. But now everything else had, and it was scary.

Emma sighed and distracted herself, flicking open the phone book for the number of Jonathan Mayfair's restaurants. Everyone else moved around her. Albert was talking quietly on the phone. Emma looked around her for the others. Sean was in the kitchen with Danny. They were talking, Sean laughed at something Danny said. Emma watched them and felt slightly jealous of her brother's confidence. Mickey appeared behind her.

"Well done before, by the way." Emma glanced at him. "With the plan," he added.

"Thanks," she almost whispered, trying to tone down the wideness of her smile.

Mickey smiled back, and then disappeared round a corner of the wall as Ash called him.

Emma felt straight away that she was being watched.

No, not specifically that she was being watched. But her senses told her someone was behind her, close to her or looking at her or near.

She turned around. Stacie was seated by the window, facing her, but seconds after Emma turned around, curious, her dark eyes flicked downwards. The moment stayed still like that for a while, the two women alternatively changing the direction of their eyes so they could pretend that they weren't watching the other, or that they didn't know the other was watching them.

After what seemed like longer than it was, Stacie unfolded herself from her chair, wandering over to where Mickey and Ash were and casually joining in with their conversation. Emma's eyes followed her, wondering what she thought of her.

Then Emma noticed something. She saw the way Stacie was looking at Mickey, took in the way her voice became a little louder and animated when she spoke to him, the way she smiled and laughed and the look on her face as she watched him walk away.

It was a look that Emma imagined had been on her own face before.

Thank you for reading this anyone that did, and thank you You'veMadeYourBed for reviewing. I have stuff to do but I'll try and update this again soon. Please review. =)

Miss Muffin x