Mai became serious for a moment.

"So how does this turn of tide affect your moving to New York."

Anzu traced the rim of her cup, shifting her eyes to watch a mother trying to calm a rather spoiled child. "I'm not."

Mai frowned and leaned forward, her finger tapped the top of the table adding emphasis to her words. "Tell me he's not stopping you."

Anzu sighed. "No Mai, he's not, I've just changed my mind that's all."

"Rubbish you have, there's something else going on here, now tell me what it is."

Anzu gave Mai an appraising look. The older girl had taken the pose of determination and it was easy to tell the subject would not be let lie or brushed aside until she had her answer. Opening her mouth to respond, she was sidetracked by an approaching figure. Mai's gaze shifted to see a rather pretty air attendant making a direct line to their table. Instead of giving voice to her rather strange choice to stay, Anzu instead stumbled a greeting.

"Angela, how are you?"

The girl was all smiles, compared to the hard stare being elicited across the table.

Mai's eyes narrowed. "So this is the other one, no wonder Mokuba was so distressed."

Mai's mouth curled into a self-satisfied smirk. "Yeah well sister, our girls beat you to it."

She was pulled from her inner sanctum by the persistent sound of Anzu's voice.

"Honestly Mai, I've been trying to introduce you, this is Angela."

"So I hear."

Anzu flashed a look of uncertainty towards her. Angela merely gave a knowing smile.

"I see my reputation has made its way round."

"You betcha bottom dollar it has."

"Mai, please."

"It's alright Anzu, if I were in her place I'd do exactly the same thing. It's good that you have friends to look out for you."

Anzu could not hide her embarrassment, despite the reassuring words. "Why don't you have a seat, and you," she said firmly, noting the move to rise from Mai. "park your bum back on that chair and listen."

"Hmm, one night in his bed seems to have had a very detrimental affect on your niceness." Mai muttered as she resumed her place.

Angela's jaw dropped a little as she turned to face a now very red Anzu Mazaki.

"You go girl."

Mai gave the blond a rather stunned look. "Excuse me. I just tell you that someone's sleeping with your guy, and you say 'you go girl'. Anzu for the love of all my Harpies, wake me and tell me this is some weird dream."

Anzu looked about, somewhere in that outburst the walls of the room had moved everyone a little closer in. She could feel the electricity as people tried to appear as though they were carrying on about their business, while discreetly listening for further exciting details.

"Mai," she hissed across the table. "Can you keep your voice down!"

Mai's expression took on a very wicked tone. "What you don't want people asking the colour of his bed sheets? Tell me does the great CEO have a Blue Eyes White Dragon Doona cover?"

Angela's eyes grew wide as she looked from each young woman to the other. Their stare became a twinkle. Anzu however, was scandalised. Somewhere behind her a coffee cup had broken with Mai's final question. Not too mention the distinct choking to the right of her. And in the end the silence was deafening.

Mai smirked.

The sound was small to start with and then gradually built to being almost a howl. Angela wiped the streaming tears from her face. Through the gasps for breath she asked. "He doesn't does he?"

Anzu scrunched up her nose and narrowed her eyes. "You know what?" She hissed. "You two were made for each other."

Angela collapsed into another fit of hysterics, while Mai started to chuckle.

"So I take it," she said turning to the table's newest edition. "That there is nothing between you and his holiness?"

Unable to speak, Angela merely smiled and shook her head. Eventually regaining her equilibrium she provided. "Not that the thought didn't cross my mind though."

"From what I heard you were quite a hit on his trip to America."

Angela looked to Anzu.

"Mokuba." She said simply

Angela nodded understanding. Giving Mai her attention again she continued. "It's all in the smile."

Mai raised a questioning eyebrow.

"He liked my smile. He said it reminded him of someone at home."

Mai's mouth took on a very distinct 'O'. It wasn't easy to throw her, but this meeting had definitely done that. Instead of being allowed to hate this newcomer, she was arriving to the very distinct conclusion that she liked her. A lot.

"Did he tell you who?' Mai could have cut her own throat at that one. "Actually forget I asked, that has the most obvious answer."

Angela's smile grew. "Oh yes, he made it very clear throughout the conversation where his allegiance was lying."

Now both eyebrows rose to meet her hairline. "Exactly how much did the iceman thaw with you?"

Mai began to choke with the details spilling forth.

"The only thing that had me puzzled, was why he had entertained that Rose Price in the first place. Rotten cow."

Mai had nowhere to go with that one except forward. Licking her lips she fixed Angela with a very direct stare over the rim of her cup.

"Ya know, if this was the closing scene to Casablanca, you and I would be walking into the fog now."

Anzu regarded the two closely. She had mainly been surrounded by male friends growing up, but now she was happy to think she had two close girl friends as well. Life was definitely on an up.

Giving an imaginary tip of a hat to Angela, Mai shifted her stare and Cheshire smile to Anzu.

"My thanks to you, for the cunning little jade before us, used you to distract me from my question. "

Anzu groaned.

"Well out with it, why aren't you going to New York?"

Angela frowned. "Seto told me you were."

Mai gave the girl a sidelong glance.

"I just came from the Airport, he said that you were going to be on my flight tomorrow night."

Two questions now loomed in Anzu's mind. No three actually.

"He was at the airport?"

"Yes, he was flying out to America. Didn't you know?"

Anzu puckered her brow. "I knew he would be away, but he didn't say he was going to America."

She looked to them both. "You said my flight's tomorrow night?"

Angela nodded. "We leave at 7."

Anzu's expression grew sad. "He said he wouldn't be back until tomorrow night. I won't see him before I go."

Angela and Mai placed a hand on each of her own. Mai offered quietly.

"Perhaps his flight will be back before your's goes."

Anzu looked at her briefly and then resumed staring at the table.

"I can check if you like?" Angela said.

This brought Anzu back from her misery and to one of her impending questions. Her questing mind had arrived to it's own conclusions about the first. Whether Jack Price liked it or not, she had the distinct feeling that he was about to be told she would be joining Julliard's elite.

"How did you get your job back?"

"Remember when you came yesterday?"

Anzu nodded. Mai began to thank the gods that she didn't believe in products like botox. The number of times her eyebrows were raising today would have put paid to the benefits.

"You, our meek little Anzu, went to face the enemy?"

"Yup and boy did she put me in my place."

Mai laughed.

"I did no such thing!" She cried out indignantly. "How could I when I still had a twig or two caught in my hair."

"Hmm the plot thickens."

"The way you just said that makes it sound so sordid."

"Well isn't it?" asked Mai folding her arms. "Fronting the enemy with twigs in your hair. What did you do waylay him in a bush."

Anzu could only gape.

"No he was with me at that point. Sooo! Which bird did you have in the bush?"

"None. My mother always taught me that a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush."

"So there's two now. This gets even better."

"Mai. Stop being so impossible. I dived in the bush so as not to be seen."

Both the two women before her were positively screeching now.

"You know what, forget it. Just tell me how it is you got your job back after bathing our favourite star in cheap brut."

It was Angela's turn to be indignant. "I'll have you know our airline only carries the best for first class, she must have brought that up from economy."