I sit still and let the crackling in my ear calm my rage. I snapped at Tobias. I wanted so badly to have a leg up in his world, to stop being a charity case hooker who is begging for a better life. But I do want a better life. Well dumbass, snapping at the very man who is offering you an out is not it. I come up for air and wipe the bubbles off of my mouth and nose and sigh from my place in the giant white tub. More importantly, I think I was mad at the fact that I used to be like him. We could have been colleagues, we almost were as my dad was trying to prepare for a second deal with Dauntless Company, and I had been keeping an eye on the young, dashing Tobias Eaton. As soon as Tobias told me a little about himself there was no doubt in my mind about who he was. And you threw it in his face because he tried to help you. I ridicule myself.

The next trip under the bubbles I let the crackling soothe my fears. My fear that I've blown it, that Tobias is going to march into the hotel and throw me out on my sorry ass. My fear that I'll have to crawl back to my hell hole of an apartment and explain to Christina that we've lost hope in leaving this life behind. She'd be so pissed, but she would never tell me that. She would comfort me which in turn would make me feel ten thousand times shittier. I come up for air, gasping as I wipe the bubbles away once more. And then I hear the door and my heart races. It wasn't a slammed door, but it wasn't a soft click.

"Tris?" He calls. I tuck my wet hair behind my ears, residual bubbles still crackling in my ear, and sink further into the tub to hide my vulnerable body. "Tris, we need to talk." a stern voice says from the threshold of the bedroom. I see him spin slowly in the bedroom as if to look for me, before he faces me and sees me neck deep in bubbles. His face instantly softens, and I regret all that I'd said.

I figure I'd start. "Four, I'm sorry." I say simply because I don't know how to say it in any other way. I'm sorry you don't trust me to tell me who you really are? I'm sorry I said your name like a curse word when you were just trying to help?

He sits on the edge of the tub and gazes down at me, and I feel like he can see straight through these bubbles. "Tris, how did you know my name?" He asks.

My face turns hot and I tuck my chin into the sizzling bubbles. "Because. I used to be a part of that world. The business world. I used to be like you." I deadpan. Tobias scrunches his eyebrows together in reply. I sit up straight without thinking, my hair the only clothing for my wet chest. Tobias swallows thickly. "My name is Beatrice. Beatrice Prior." I choke out.

Realization hits Tobias' face. "The Priors who owned Abnegation Incorporation. The ones who went missing mysteriously and a new CEO took over, driving the company into the ground."

I bring my arms out to my sides and drop them back in the water with a splash. "Yep. That's me. The only survivor." I deadpan hopelessly. "My own uncle wouldn't pay for my family's freedom so they were killed, and I was left to the streets. Literally." I spit.

"Beatrice, I'm so sorry. I remember hearing about it, I didn't know anyone lived that night." He mumbles.

I grimace. "Its just Tris now. No last name, no Bea. I would really appreciate if you just spare the pity. It doesn't bring them back."

Tobias breathes deeply and stands. "You're absolutely right. I hated it too after my mother was murdered." He remarks, looking troubled as ever. He walks back into the bedroom and out to the living room, leaving me to scramble out of the tub and wrap the burgundy robe hastily around my figure. I run a comb through my long waves and walk out to find him.

"I thought she had passed away from illness?" I question.

Tobias bites his lip and turns to me. "No. She was murdered. By a hit man. But like you said that doesn't bring them back to us, and frankly I just met you, I'm not sure why I feel compelled to tell you everything. If I'm being honest I'd like to slow whatever this thing is down." He pleads.

I nod, tucking my hair behind my ear. "I agree. So you aren't going to fire me?" I ask bluntly.

He smiles tightly. "No, like I said. I like your company. The last thing I want to be these two weeks is alone, waiting for an answer from a colleague." He mutters. He hesitates. "Actually, there's a catch to all of this." He says, pouring himself a shot of whiskey on the rocks. In reply to my questioning eyebrow he sighs. "My COO said I should get my name out there. To the public. That way people are more trusting of me and in return trust my company and products. Which means charity work, networking, all of that bullshit." He explains.

I breathe deeply. "You want me to be your eye candy?" I ask, being blunt again. I never sugar coat shit.

He smiles. "If I have to admit it, yes. But now that I know you have experience in this field, I definitely see this as being just as beneficial to my company, as it is for the sake of my personal company." He says smoothly.

I grin and approach him. I take his glass out of his hand and down it in one go. "Well, Four, you've got yourself a deal. I always liked this line of work better anyways." I say lowly.

Tobias' cheeks turn pink at my tone of voice. "Please, when we're alone, its Tobias." he says just as low.

I bite my lip to give him a hard time and drop my eyelids. "Alright, Tobias."

Just then his phone rings. He hesitates, then taps the green icon. "Hey, Zeke, what's up?" he asks.

I can hear a voice on the other end of the line. "Four, we've been requested for dinner this evening. In three hours at Daniel with Robert Black of Erudite. I think Will is trying to get us an in." His request makes Tobias grin.

"Perfect. We'll be there." He winks at me.

"We? Tobias have you-" Zeke begins to say but the quick dull beep of the phone is Zeke's only reply.

Tobias sighs. "Well, we better get ready for some fine ass dining." He says, sounding much more enthusiastic than earlier. He picks up the phone, eyeing me up and down. "An evening gown for a young lady. Make it black, a size 4, thank you. And send a team of stylists." He says, his eyes still raking up and down my body.

Thirty minutes later I'm sitting in our large hotel bathroom as four different ladies swarm around me, brushing on makeup and warning each other about the hot hair tools. It all happened so fast, the knock at the door and immediately four pairs of hands leading me to the bathroom as Tobias nods at me with a small smile. When I'm ready I stand in front of the mirror looking over myself. I look like a grown up version of my old self, and I feel stunning. My dress is a floor length, spaghetti strap, cowl neck, fit and flare dress that hugs my figure and has a slit running right up to the top of my right thigh. Black Louboutin heels show off those glorious red soles. My hair is sleekly pinned to be side swept and falls down my left side in luxurious curls, framing my perfectly done full-glam makeup. I missed these fancy occasions. Lately I had stopped putting on more than the basic makeup for my clients.

A deep chuckle sounds from behind me and Tobias walks up close in a black tuxedo, his hair neatly combed. "You look good, Tris," He says as if he were stating the sky was blue. I can see him admiring our attire, his eyes coming to rest on mine in the mirror. I feel vulnerable, so I take his hand in mine and sensually run it up the thigh that pokes out from the slit in my dress, leaning fully back against him as my other hand snakes up his neck to his hair. His face doesn't change, but I notice his eyes darken slightly.

He raises our hands off of my thigh and twirls me around and away from his body. Just when I'm beginning to overthink and feel rejection, he pulls me back in, our fronts nearly touching. "The car is waiting for us, Miss Tris." He grins.

The restaurant is beautiful, the tables screaming "fine dining!" as we snake our way back to be seated with our guests, Tobias' hand on my low back. I smell the wonderful food being served around us, the sound of rich people laughing, some fake, some sincere. That was the thing with the rich folk. You never knew if it was all for show.

At the table, two young men are seated, in black tuxedos like Tobias', one with tanned skin and dark eyes, the other a paler skin tone with light brown hair. Both men stand, but it is the tan man that reaches out to shake Tobias' hand, all the while eyeballing me with a questioning surprise. "Four, thank you for coming on such short notice." the man says.

Tobias smiles. "Its a pleasure as always, Zeke." he says with a subtle wink. So this is the best friend. I think as I shake his hand politely.

Tobias pulls out my chair for me. "Zeke, Robert, this is Tris, my girlfriend as of lately," He says, eyeing me hesitantly. So many of these dinners are tense affairs, people communicating mostly with body language and measured looks, and I am a pro at recognizing one of them.

I smile. "It's nice meeting you both, thank you for having us." I say sweetly.

Zeke watches me from the corner of his eye for a majority of the dinner, while Tobias laughs with Robert, winning him over with stories from business school and occasionally throwing in a boast of his resume skills. I'm not sure yet if this dinner is going the way Tobias wants it to, but for the rate he is paying me to play his girlfriend I do my best to be nothing but pleasant. The food is exquisite, the drink flows easily, this gown was free, and I'm getting paid a shit ton to accompany probably the future World's Sexiest Man Alive. Just as I finish my second glass of wine, Robert turns to me. "And what about you, Tris? What do you do? How did you and Four meet?" He asks, with an eyebrow cocked.

I smile, breathing deeply through my nose. "I don't do much at all. I was a fellow classmate of Four's before I dropped out of school to care for my relatives back home. I was on vacation to Upper Manhattan when I bumped into Four and, well, the rest of the week is history." I lie straight through my teeth.

Zeke decides to jump in. "That's how you look so familiar! Tris! What a small world," He laughs. "I remember Four always talking about you, he was quite smitten back then." He winks, but I know he knows I'm lying. Part of me wants to thank him for covering.

Four laughs. "Well, This was a lovely evening getting to know you, Robert. I'm afraid Tris and I must go. I hope to speak with you and Erudite soon, I hope you'll know that although I am young, I run nothing but a serious business, and would never put companies at risk of losing it all. I know when something is risky or when something is just unintelligent." He says the last part with a firm sense of power.

With that, he offers my arm and we walk out, playing the part of the power couple much longer than we need to.

That night as I shut off the water from washing my face, I hear Tobias on the phone. "Zeke, I promise you, she is capable of handling this. She is well qualified... Well that makes you sound like an asshole, you don't know the half of it...Of course...I understand she might be recognizable to colleagues, but that isn't her fault, and if anyone judges her for that, then fuck them. She's a great person, and I know it's only been two days... Thank you, I'll see you at the next event. Good night."

I look at the mirror, and though I look like my old self, I suddenly feel like shit. Because Zeke's right, I could be recognized by Tobias' colleagues, and though Tobias is right, fuck them all, I also don't want to hurt his business just because I'm a hooker.

I bite my lip and part my hair. Was a hooker. I think. I want out. I grab the clippers the hair stylist used to trim away my split ends. Go to your happy place. I dance the scissors up and down the length of my hair. This is my happy place. The scissors fall just below my collar bone, to the top of my breasts. This is my way out. I watch over a foot of my hair hit the bathroom floor and I commit. My hair falls in loose waves just past my shoulders, a physical and metaphorical weight lifted off my shoulders As I set the scissors down I hear the knock on the bathroom door. When I don't answer, Tobias slowly opens the door and takes in the scene in front of him with confusion.

I meet his eyes in the mirror. "This is my way out," I say. "I'm starting over."

Tobias crosses the bathroom in two strides, taking me into his arms. "We're going to get you out of there." he promises. He picks up the scissors and helps me even out the cut, his gentle fingers brushing along the nape of my neck. He sighs. "You didn't have to do this, Tris." He murmurs.

I look at him in the mirror with a sad gaze. "I didn't want anyone to recognize me. I don't want to hurt your business."

Tobias sets the scissors down on the counter and spins me around to look at him. He looks intensely into my eyes, and what he says next sends chills down my spine. "I haven't known you long at all. But I know that no matter what your job title is, it isn't a reflection of you. You are beautiful, inside and out, long hair, or short hair, evening gown, or just my dress shirt. You are strong, Tris, and I will help you find your way out of this life you had no choice but to endure, but don't ever doubt yourself. You are an enigma, a force to be reckoned with, and I cannot wait to see who you become, if you allow me to see and help you see for yourself."