Quinn was happy to fill Olivia in and as the two of them continued talking, a part of Harrison's mind kept track of their conversation while another part slipped back to last night.
As part of his information gathering, every now and then Harrison finds himself near the bar, taking the time to engage the bartenders and servers in a series of entertaining and informative conversations, fueled with an abundance of tips.
Olivia's last question had skewed his thoughts to the personal; after several enjoyable rounds of Jack Daniel's Gentleman Jack - the winner of their night's tasting choice award - Harrison had noticed his three women companions as they appeared back from the dance floor on the upper level. They were a short distance away from where he was standing, clearly having a 'no boys allowed' moment, giving Harrison the chance to look them over with an appreciative eye.
The whiskeys warmed his insides nicely; allowing him to relax and enjoy the bass in the space that was jumping with a smooth New Jack City vibe. The three ladies were clearly enjoying it just as much as he was, each of them laughing and chatting with one another as they danced in place. It seemed that Quinn was telling them a story, one that had them lost in laughter.
Harrison couldn't help the smile that crossed his face - and neither did he feel left out in the least little way Instead, he took pleasure in their pleasure.
One thing that was genuine to his nature was that Harrison actually enjoyed the company of women - bright, bold and brilliant women in particular - enough to respect and value their wants and needs. And he felt privileged and a silly sort of pride in watching three of them now, knowing that he knew them in a way that no one else in the room did.
Annarosa - she was a glimpse of the future, the best of what it could be. She might be slightly younger than either Shireen or Quinn, but has proves herself more than capable of looking after her uncle's interests. Reports from both Susan and Jocelyn had shown her to a ferocious student, intent on absorbing everything around her, all the better to learn what might benefit her own people when she returned home. That being said, Harrison had to admit to himself that it was good to see her relaxed and taking a well-earned break from her duties.
She dressed in a deep wine-colored cocktail length with black lace overlay dress. It had a modest scoop neck but the cut fit her form perfectly, flaring softly out from her hips to swirl and flow against her body. He could only imagine what weight her duties has been on her slender shoulders, but tonight she seemed to have managed to lay it down. He supposed that he could thank Quinn and Shireen for that.
The thought warmed him, as did the way they hovered over her, even when she'd been dancing with someone else - like two big sisters might treat a littler one.
His eyes strayed to Quinn, who was sheathed in black and white; black leather pants and boots to match, offset by a white silk shirt, ruffled at throat and wrists, hair down, loose and curling as she moved, brown eyes sparkling as she threw her head back and laughed.
And then there was Shireen…
Shireen was all cream and brown sugar - dark brown suede jeans topped with a soft ivory off-the-shoulder sweater shot through with subtle tiny shimmering threads of gold. She'd pinned her braids up in an intricate knot that left a few soft trailing tendrils framing her face and Harrison was surprised that he was finding it hard to ignore the amount of skin was left bare - and more importantly, how smoothly her skin seemed to glow beneath the slowly shifting lights.
They were three distinctively different women, interesting and eye-catching because of the contrasts between them - at least that's what Harrison told himself as he set his mind back to work. He deliberately looked away from them, setting his concentration on the people coming and going, the groups that formed and reformed before breaking apart again as they passed by him. Harrison's ears snatched at the bits and pieces that swirled all around him. Overall, everything seemed to be almost business as usual - almost. He couldn't quite shake the feeling that there was something brewing, just out of sight, just out of reach, unspoken tensions summering just beneath the surface like a pot just about to come to a boil. It made him glance back at his friends, wondering if they were the cause of it - after all, they were new faces in the place and that was bound to be noticed. He shouldn't be surprised if someone were paying attention - but he couldn't ignore the fact that whatever it was, it was setting him on alert.
It turned out that his hunch was on the money; not too long after his spidey senses started tingling, he was met at the bar by one of the bartenders that he'd cultivated a friendly enough relationship in the last few months.
His eyebrows lifted as the man set a tray down before him with a bottle of amber colored drink and four glasses. He hadn't ordered anything… and then he was whistling softly as the bartender presented the bottle to him with a flourish. Satory whiskey - a more than decent top-shelf brand.
"Someone sent this over - with their sincere compliments towards you and the ladies." The bartender said, inclining his head slightly in Shireen, Quinn and Annarosa's direction and began to pour.
"Anybody I know?" Harrison asked as he leaned in, his voice deceptively casual.
The bartender met him halfway, shaking his head. "Nobody I know either."
And that was important, Harrison realized. That set his senses to sharpen even without his knowing why. One thing was certain, though - and that was that Harrison was suddenly very glad that Huck was hovering somewhere at the edges of the crowd.
In the meanwhile, the bartender was still talking. "What 'they' did say was that it appeared that you were a very lucky man tonight. They did make a joke about not knowing who the lucky lady was - but whichever one of the lovely ladies were, they just wanted to add a little something to their evening - and yours."
"So they had jokes?"
"They had jokes."
"Well, they were right about one thing, I am a lucky man tonight." Harrison said, buying time as his mind began to work through possibilities. They, he thought. By not acknowledging the sender of the message by gender, the bartender was sending him another kind of message - that he'd been tipped - paid - well not to reveal anything about their mysterious benefactor.
He wondered if there was any deeper information in that fact. Harrison didn't push the bartender further; after all in DC, a smart bartender wanted to keep all of his clientele happy. That meant ensuring that his own discretion was something to be counted on.
It also meant that he expected the questions that Harrison began to quietly asked him. No, there was nothing to mark this benefactor out from the ordinary - or at least nothing that the bartender was prepared to admit to at the moment.
"I'm not necessarily a jealous man, but can you tell me this at least - did our host show any interest in any of my companions in particular?" Harrison asked.
The bartender shook his head. "Questions were asked about all three of your friends." He said very carefully. "But naturally, since they've never been here before, I really couldn't tell anyone anything."
That was a favor being done and Harrison knew it. His reply was just as careful. "Naturally, I can appreciate that."
He knew that was all the information that he was going to get from him - at least for now. Harrison ended the conversation by slipping the other man two twenties. "I'd also appreciate it if you let me know if any other questions are asked about either myself or my friends - this night, or any other."
"Not a problem, man." The bartender accepted his money, then - for the benefit of anyone who might be watching - took a few minutes to flip and fold the bills into a tiny origami shape before sliding the cash into an inner vest pocket like a magician performing a long familiar trick.
Harrison laughed aloud, as he was meant to do, before exchanging a light dap - a reciprocal fist bump, one on top of the other and back again - with the brother.
In turn, the bartender turned away from Harrison, raising his voice to the crowd - again, for the benefit of anyone who might have been watching. "Is anyone else in the mood for a magic trick? Y'all know that I love nothing better than to help you make your money disappear!"
The wave of answering laughter following his words served its purpose as a cover to allow Harrison to turn away unnoticed - and right into the figurative arms of Quinn, Shireen and Annarosa. From their chatter, it was quickly clear that they'd seen the Satory delivered and had come over to investigate.
Quinn was the first to reach for the glasses, passing one to Annarosa and Shireen before taking the last for herself. They all touched glasses in a toast before taking sips.
She gave Harrison a grin of approval. "Good stuff."
He allowed himself to grin back, pushing his concerns aside for a moment. "It's probably a bit above your pay-grade, but yes, it's definitely good stuff."
"It's not above mine." This was from Shireen. "But it has been awhile since I've had any."
Harrison watched as her gaze went opaque with memories for a moment.
"I'm happy to reacquaint you with it." He said, suddenly determined to pull her attention back in to the here and now. At the same time, Harrison made the decision to not bring up the issues surrounding whiskey's delivery - that was work and work could wait for another day. Even so, he let his eyes traveled over the party-goers surrounding them a final time, studying faces a little more closely, wondering if their invisible host was still among them.
Time enough for that later, he told himself. If there was a problem, Huck was here and would see it coming long before he did. In Harrison's mind, suddenly it was more important that the others continue to enjoy themselves tonight. That was his main job tonight, he reminded himself and he was determined to make it work.
"Well, this is… interesting."
His attention was drawn back to Shireen. "What is?" he asked.
She stepped even closer, her body a breath away from brushing against his as she reached past him to pour herself a refill. Harrison was surprised when she didn't step away after; and then in a reaction that was totally unasked for, he imagined that he could just barely catch the scent of her, just a hint of a sweet and earthy mix of essential oils - and even more than that - herself.
"You're working." Shireen sipped at her drink before flashing him a smile. "It's been awhile since I've been around you when you're working."
In spite of his private promise to make sure that his friends would enjoy themselves tonight, Harrison found himself not wanting to lie to her. So his answer was to shrug his shoulders lightly, doing his best to keep everything light. "A gladiator's work is never done - and that means that I'm always on the clock."
"Always?"
It came to him in a sudden, surprising rush of feeling that Shireen was actually - deliberately - teasing him. Not that he minded; he returned her smile. "We all do what we have to do."
"Not to worry, I don't mind. In fact, I think that I might like playing Robin to your Batman" She leaned in a little closer, as if to make sure that her next words were meant only for him to hear. "Is this helping?"
"I thought you were already doing that with Huck." Harrison said. Was she helping? Harrison guessed that it all depended on what one would define as help.
"Huck's in a class by himself. Besides…" Shireen's voice trailed off.
"Besides…?"
Shireen leaned in even closer, her lips dangerously close to his ear. "Besides, you're much prettier to look at."
And there he was, surprised again.
Instead of answering right away, Harrison took a long swallow of his own drink. The whiskey went down his throat like a smooth stream of liquid fire but it barely matched the rush of heat suddenly running through his body - and his body was also just as suddenly all too aware of hers so close to his.
Was this helpful? Harrison's thought processes were slightly scrambled by his unexpected reaction, but he was leaning towards checking the yes column - and before he could face that wayward thought, Shireen managed to surprise him once again.
"Dance with me." She took his hand, pulling him to his feet.
Harrison hesitated just long enough to gulp down the last of his drink, then he left the glass on the bar and Quinn and Annarosa behind without a second thought.
Shireen's hand was soft and warm in his as she led him towards the stairs and the dance floor upstairs. She didn't let him go as they plunged into the crowd, not stopping until they were well in the middle of it, the bass pumping, the rhythm flowing all around them. Then she was turning to face him, her expression filling with laughter, with a bold sway in her hips that matched her smile and made them both a challenge. It sparked something in him that made his grin an answer that accepted it, and then he was matching her moves as their bodies fell into the groove.
A good dance partner reads their partner well and Harrison found that they were indeed well matched; they dipped and swayed in an almost perfect rhythm as they gave themselves over to the music.
One dance slid into two, then three more before the tempo shifted, the DJ breaking down the beat, giving the crowd a welcome break. It wasn't precisely a slow dance, but definitely a much more mellow one. The lights stilled their energetic pulsing, shifting into a violet shimmer and with that, Shireen came into his arms easily - and now it was his turn to take her hand as the music found a classic George Benson tune; Masquerade wove its way among the crowd, leaving them - if just for the moment - wrapped up in their own little bubble.
"All right, mister man." Shireen was laughing again. "Looks like you have some moves."
"I could say the same." Harrison said. Acting on a sudden impulse, he spun her away from him, leading her into a twirl and another turn before bringing her back to him, pleasantly surprised to find her warm and easy in his embrace.
Now he grinned at her. "But - can I make you a promise?
"You can make me a promise any time you like." She replied; the masquerade in her gaze momentarily dropping away.
"I promise you this - you ain't seen nothing yet…"
"Promises, promises…" she murmured so softly that for a moment, Harrison wondered if he'd heard her at all.
They'd danced through another set before returning to the others, with the sound of their laughing together being the last thing echoing in his mind before Harrison's thoughts dissolved abruptly back into the here and now. He looked up just in time to see Olivia walking Huck and Quinn out of her office.
Olivia turned back to him with a curious smile spreading across her face. "Welcome back - and do you want to tell me where your thoughts were just now?"