Nainsi was already waiting for him with a list of things he needed to attend to when he got back to his apartment. He shouldn't have expected any less, of course, but a part of him had hoped that "taking the day off" would really mean, well, just that.
"Good morning, Sir. Did you have a good time with Master Thorne?"
"Nainsi, seriously, I know you're foreign, but you sound like you're in a movie. How many times do I have to tell you to call me Kai?"
"I'm afraid that would be inappropriate, Sir."
"Nainsi, you practically raised me. Please, call me Kai. And stop calling Thorne "Master."
She smiled kindly. "I believe that he enjoys that salutation."
"Thorne enjoys any salutation that makes him seem like he's the master of the world."
"Do you remember when he pretended to be in the military, and asked everyone to call him Captain Thorne?"
Kai could barely contain a groan. "Yes, and we're all really glad that phase is over." Actually, that phase wasn't totally over, if Kai were honest. Even though Thorne had no desire to be in the military, he still sometimes pretended he did for the women who appreciated men in uniform. He'd obviously never asked, but Kai was sure that he worked that into his dating relationships somehow. He shuddered at just how much he actually knew about Thorne's love life.
"Well, until you find a younger and more capable caretaker, and I remain in this position, I will continue to address you with the respect that is due to a man of your status."
"Status shmatus. And I don't want another caretaker. Nobody knows how to take care of me like you do." He slumped on the couch, knowing that she would still continue to call him Sir. They'd had this conversation probably a thousand times, so he wasn't even sure why he bothered anymore.
"Would you like to hear your messages now?"
"Okay."
"Mr. Deshal has requested that two items be brought to your attention. First, he has been investigating your pickpocketing."
"Really? I didn't know people investigated pickpockets."
"Mr. Deshal is very concerned for your safety, of course." Made sense. Huy Deshal was his father's head of security, and he was very protective. Kai was pretty sure that he had likely been a spy at some point in his life.
"He unfortunately does not have any leads, but he believes the security cameras at the Villa will provide him with sufficient evidence to apprehend the criminal. In the meantime, he's gone ahead and canceled all of your credit and debit cards and alerted the authorities of possible future fraud."
"Great."
"Of course," she continued, "until you receive your new cards, you will need access to money. I've taken the liberty of calling the stores and restaurants you most typically frequent, and they have all agreed that due to your loyalty level as a client, any purchases you make can just be added to a tab."
"Can't I just write them a check?"
"Mr. Deshal has frozen all of your accounts at the moment, in case this pickpocketing is not random, but rather targeted to you specifically in order to gain information on accounts pertaining to you personally or those of Rikan Corp. A check would bounce, Sir."
"Got it."
"Second, Human Resources has presented a candidate to Mr. Deshal for the vacant cyber security position."
"Oh, good, that's been a long time coming." The last hack into Rikan Corp had cost them several million dollars to sort out. "But why did they pass it to Huy?"
"They felt it…prudent, to say the least, Sir. Some red flags came up in her background clearance, so they asked Mr. Deshal to run a more thorough investigation of her history."
"Huh. But if she has red flags, why are we even considering her?"
Nainsi pointed at a big manila folder lying on his desk in the corner of the room. "If you take a look, I think you will see that she is, without a doubt, extremely talented in her field. Mr. Deshal is not completely convinced that she is a right fit for this company, however, so he requested that I ask you to take a look yourself to give a final recommendation. Considering the gravity of our last internet breach, he believes that your father would not want this information in the hands of anyone except family."
He sighed. "I guess if I have no choice…"
"Thank you, Sir."
She hesitated.
"Anything else, Nainsi?"
"Ah—yes. There is also a message from Ms. Blackburn." Kai took a deep breath and closed his eyes. She obviously had his number. Why did she always insist on leaving messages with Nainsi?
"She was calling to remind you about the reservations tonight at Lunar Terrace. It's that new—"
"Yeah, I know what the Lunar Terrace is. And I haven't forgotten about tonight."
"She also says that she'd like you to wear your white tie," Nainsi added, looking at the floor.
He glanced down at the sweater he'd borrowed from Thorne, and the jeans he'd been wearing since yesterday. He should just show up like this. The look on her face alone would be worth it.
"You can tell her that I'll be there, of course."
Nainsi looked up again. "Excellent. In that case, Ms. Blackburn says that she'll send Aimery around to pick you up at 7:00 PM sharp."
Aimery. Now there was someone who had most definitely been a spy.
"Hey man."
"What's up, Thorne? Everything go okay with Iko?"
"Oh yeah, it was fine. She was all over me, but I gave her the friend speech too. She needed it, unlike Cinder."
"Two friend speeches in one day. Is that a record for you?"
"Not even close. So listen, Cinder just texted me and said Iko forgot to leave your hoodie at my place when she left. Apparently she thought it was really comfortable. Cinder convinced her to give it back to you, though."
"It's not that big of a deal, really."
"Whatever. Point is, I gave Cinder your number to give to Iko, okay? You can coordinate a time to go get it, or I'm sure you can send one of your dad's minions on your behalf too."
Kai glanced at the screen but saw that he hadn't received any new notifications. He pressed the phone back to his ear. "Alright, I'll keep an eye out. Thanks."
"So what are you doing tonight?" asked Thorne.
"Going to a restaurant with Levana."
"You're not! Stop this bullshit, Kai."
"Thorne, you said yesterday that if I went to your party, you would shut up about her. A deal's a deal."
"That was the deal yesterday. Today's a new day. Carpe Diem."
"I'm hanging up now."
As he disconnected the call, he saw that his hand was shaking. He could not—would not—have this conversation with Thorne again.
After a hot, much needed shower, he felt a little better. He grabbed the sandwich that Nainsi had left out for him, and settled back into his study. Kai picked up the manila folder to get started. By the size of it, it would probably take him several hours to go through. At least he could lie on the couch while he read. He opened up the folder and turned to the first page, which was nearly blank. A red CONFIDENTIAL was stamped diagonally across the top. Below it, in typed letters, it said:
SECURITY INVESTIGATION: CRESCENT MOON DARNEL
Poor girl, he thought, flipping to the next page. Probably had hippie parents.