Promptt: So I have an idea for a prompt if you're still taking? In one of your HADS stories, Effie says that her bro in law is a gamesmaker and often feels her up at parties. What if he tries it on, she turns him down and he finds out about/sees her with Haymitch and tells her sister (or parents or her sisters being a bitch and tells them) and they confront her or turn up at her apartment/the penthouse, or something idk…
I think update days will be Monday and Wednesday from now on, it's what works best with my work schedule. Please do leave me a line if you like this!
Rufus
Effie tossed her head back when she laughed at the sponsor's joke, aware that the dress she was wearing would sparkle under the lights with the movement, mesmerizing enough that the man wouldn't be able to take his eyes off her. She had him right where she wanted him and she tilted her head once she was done pretending to laugh, her smile turning a little more predatory when the man's eyes fell on her offered throat.
If she played it right, she might be able to get a sponsoring pledge out of him.
She was dazzling that night and the stroboscopic lights of the party only helped. The dress was blue and silver with a modest neckline and short sleeves that left her shoulders bare. It was also long, as was the current fashion, but instead of simply flowing to the floor, it clung to her legs, making it impossible to ignore their shapes, and then pooled behind her in a heavy but impressive train. The silver and the blue faded together in some places but sparkled everywhere. Coupled with the diamonds around her throat, on her ears and on her fingers, and the ornate silver headband in her dark purple wig, she simply shone like a beacon.
Haymitch had wandered away from her early on during the party, muttering under his breath that she looked like a disco ball and it was giving him a headache. As she had retorted, it was more likely that the headache came from the numerous glasses of liquor he had downed that day.
Still, she let her eyes discreetly wander around the room while she nodded to what the sponsor was saying, trying to spot her victor in the crowded room. She would need him to seal the deal.
A hand fell on the small of her back and, for a short second, she thought he had found her before she could properly look for him. A short second. Then the hand simply felt wrong. Not big enough, not warm enough and far too familiar.
Haymitch would have let go quicker in fear of being seen. The hand stayed.
She pursed her lips to stop the unkind comment from slipping out as she turned her head to greet one of the junior Gamemakers. Not any of the junior Gamemakers though. Her brother-in-law. The one who had decided that it would be a good idea to get involved in the Games business – an endeavor that wasn't that successful according to what Seneca had told her, Rufus might have the connections and the money to get named Gamemaker but he certainly didn't have the skills necessary to keep the job.
"Rufus." she said cheerfully, as if she was truly pleased to see him. "How delightful! Is Lyssa here?"
Pretending to look around for her sister, she took one step away from the man, effectively dislodging his hand from her back before it could accidentally slide lower. She hated it when he did that and he did it far too often to her liking. She wasn't surprised he would try it in there though. If he had no qualm doing it in front of a buffet at her parents' house with her sister less than a foot away, a room full of people wouldn't stop him.
"I am afraid not." he answered pleasantly. "She was feeling unwell."
"The baby?" Effie frowned, forgetting the sponsor who was clearly getting bored by the conversation. Her sister was pregnant again and it was going as smoothly as her first pregnancy so far but… You never know, did you?
"Everything is fine." Rufus offered with a small genuine smile, waving his hand in the air. "She is just at that part where she is always tired."
She nodded her understanding and then turned back to the sponsor with a bright smile, hoping her brother-in-law would understand the dismissal for what it was. No such luck, though.
The sponsor who had been ready to give her the moon five minutes earlier seemed to have broken free of her spell and was politely making excuses to go talk to someone else. Probably Five's escort who was alone at the bar and making eyes at him. A quick glance was enough to confirm Five's victor was sitting not too far, ready to pounce once the man had taken the bait.
She touched the sponsor's arm to get his attention back, batting her eyelashes, and breathed in relief when she felt a warm hand briefly squeezing her shoulder. That hand was welcome.
"Here you are, sweetheart… I've been looking all over for you…" Haymitch smirked as if life was all a good joke, it was his charmer smile too. It gave her hope that he wasn't too drunk to close a deal and that he had been keeping an eye on her from afar so that he would know to conclude the deal fast. "You've stolen my escort, Mr Goldson?"
She let out another small sigh of relief. Haymitch couldn't always be relied on to know the sponsors by name.
Goldson laughed, flattered by the sudden attention of an usually elusive victor and, coupled with Effie's killer smile, it might have been enough to salvage the situation. If Rufus hadn't placed his hand back where she didn't want it.
She spared him a glare and pointedly took a step to the side, never letting her smile fade. She expected Haymitch to move too because the evasive maneuver had brought him in his space but he remained where he was, his own hand sliding to the small of her back, effectively preventing Rufus from touching her again.
It wasn't the sponsor that had made him come over there after all, she deduced.
Had he recognized her brother-in-law or was he just annoyed by the Gamemaker's not so subtle approach? Both were possible.
"Effie, I was hoping for a dance." Rufus cut Haymitch off, quite rudely, in the middle of painful small talk. "You don't mind, old boy, right? Abernathy will keep you company."
The last part had been directed at Goldson and the sponsor, while frowning a little, assured him that, no, he didn't mind. Rufus' behavior was rude and dismissive but nobody could ever afford to take offense. He was one of the wealthiest man in the city – or, rather, his family was one of the wealthiest one in the city, he spent more time spending the money than trying to earn some – and as such he was influential.
"I am not in the mood." Effie retorted, softening the refusal with a smile. There was a warning in her eyes that Rufus elected to ignore.
"Do not play hard to get, Effie dear, it does not suit you." The Gamemaker laughed as if it was funny and he outstretched a hand toward her, prompting her to clench her jaw.
"She said no." Haymitch snapped, his fingers clenching on the small of her back. He was far from sober, she heard it in his voice, and she knew that if she let the matter escalate, he might very well threaten to punch the junior Gamemaker – which would be bad for a good number of reasons.
"A dance won't kill me, I suppose." she sighed, making it clear it was a great sacrifice – which it was – and grabbed her brother-in-law's hand. "Haymitch, do keep Mr Goldson company for me, will you?"
The request was clear. He was to secure that deal by any means necessary. He didn't like it though. His hand trailed off her back when Rufus guided her away toward the dance floor as if he really didn't want to let go.
Of course, with her luck – or maybe it wasn't luck and Rufus had it all worked out beforehand – the upbeat music turned to something slower and she had no choice but to let him bring her close to him. There were enough people around them that he didn't seem to find it too improper to place a hand far too low for it to still be considered her back.
"What are you playing at?" she asked, point blank.
"We are just dancing." he retorted, laughter in his voice like always. "Relax, Effie. Must you always be so uptight?"
"How is Lyssandra doing?" she replied without missing a beat.
"She is big, grumpy and swearing she will never have sex again." Rufus shrugged. "I told her we should use a surrogate, this time. Why damage her body?" He shook his head. "Anyway… The baby should be here soon…"
"You do not sound too excited…" she remarked, annoyed on her sister's behalf. She and Lyssa weren't that close anymore but she knew that Lyssandra was very impatient to give birth.
"Oh, I am excited…" Rufus countered in a purring voice that made her want to gag. A small pressure on her back made her step closer to him. Close enough that she could feel things she really didn't want to feel.
She was too good to let her indignation show on her face though.
"You are a pig." she accused because she truly believed it and she had never been shy of reminding him of it. Her parents and her sister might be fooled by the airs he gave himself in public but she wasn't. She knew what he was up to behind Lyssa's back and it wasn't pretty.
"Rumor has it you like pigs, dear sister…" he chuckled in her ear. "Or is it District dogs?"
A shiver ran down her spine and she pursed her lips, looking over his shoulder for possible help. She wasn't sure if he was drunk or under influence but this was taking it too far even for him. He was usually happy to laugh it off after she slapped his hands away from her.
She met Seneca's eyes who was dancing with the wife of one of the ministers. He lifted his eyebrows in a silent question that she answered with a pleading gaze. Then Seneca looked behind her and his face closed in a way that told her trouble was impending.
Given where he was, her friend couldn't see that Rufus' hand had drifted south beyond any possible excuse – he even had the nerves to give her butt a small squeeze – so whatever had caught his attention was behind her. And that could only mean Haymitch.
"Take that hand off me or you will lose it." she warned.
"If your victor touches me, he is dead." he retorted calmly, unknowingly confirming what she was suspecting. "I am a Gamemaker, you will remember. And what is he?"
"A better man than you will ever be." she snapped.
She had humored him enough. She tried to get away from him but he was holding her too tight and she couldn't struggle more if she didn't want to attract unwanted attention. Nobody was looking at them now but if she made a scene… The last thing she needed was a headline the next morning announcing she was having an affair with her sister's husband. For one, there wouldn't be enough left of her to bury once her mother would be done with her. And, for another, she didn't want to hurt Lyssa.
Seneca suddenly whispered something to his partner – an excuse, Effie thought hopefully – and left the woman where she was to strode toward them. She looked at him with gratefulness over Rufus's shoulder… At least until he rushed past her.
Then her brother-in-law chuckled. "Now, he's done it… He's being scolded like a good little puppy by Crane… I really do not understand what you see in him. He is so unappealing…"
"I do not know what you are talking about." she lied.
"Of course, you do not." Rufus humored her. "Do you pay for the pleasure of his company, I wonder? If so, you are really not getting a good bargain… Victors are so expensive… There is much better than him on the market, you should know." She pursed her lips tight and worked on freeing herself from him, unfortunately the more she wriggled, the less he seemed likely to let her go. And he seemed to enjoy it a little too much. "Of course, you could always have me for free…"
"Or I could tell my sister exactly what kind of man she married." she threatened.
She wasn't surprised at all by the fact he knew about the victors prostitution or the implied statement he had partaken in it. He was a despicable man.
"You can try." he admitted. "But your family already knows just how jealous of Lyssa you are… You have been sniffing after me ever since Lyssa introduced me…"
"You are full of yourself." she huffed. "I would not want you if you were the last man on Earth."
"You can pretend all you like… I know better." Rufus argued. "You…"
"Rufus." Seneca's voice finally cut him off, in that slick politician tone that was both polite and commanding. "You cannot hog escorts to yourself all night, no matter how lovely they are."
The last part was added with a small smile for her.
"We are just dancing, Seneca." her brother-in-law argued, a touch of challenge in his own voice.
"I suggest you find another dancing partner." Seneca retorted smoothly. "Consider Effie to be… permanently taken."
She took the hand that Seneca offered without a second of hesitation and only relaxed once Rufus had released her and she was in the other's Gamemaker's arms. Rufus lingered though.
"You should be careful who you tick off, Seneca." Rufus warned.
Seneca's lips stretched with obvious amusement. "I am in line to be the next Head Gamemaker and you are in pass of being fired after only two years… This being said, I think you should practice what you teach. There are some people who do not enjoy seeing their friends uncomfortable and those people are not all as civilized as we are."
Rufus scoffed and left in a hurry.
One second later, there was a collective gasp and everyone looked over their shoulder to see Rufus flat on the floor. Haymitch fished him up from the ground with one hand and put him back on his feet.
"Oops!" Twelve's victor said with uncharacteristic cheer. "Sorry. Didn't see you there. Here you go." The big swats he gave to Rufus's chest – apparently to remove any dust or smooth any wrinkle – couldn't have been comfortable. A few people laughed and everyone turned away, the incident not warranting much more attention. Just Twelve's drunkard being his usual clumsy self.
Effie wasn't sure what her victor muttered next but Rufus blanched.
She decided she didn't want to know and looked back at Seneca. "Thank you."
"I am always happy to jump to your rescue." her friend promised before making a small face. "That man is a jerk. And he is high as a kite. I have seen him swallow more pills tonight than I thought was possible."
"I thought so." she sighed. "He is not so… forward, usually." She shook her head. "Still, thank you for preventing a murder."
Seneca's lips twitched when he looked behind her, clearly amused by what he saw. And a touch wary. "A victor strangling a Gamemaker would not have looked good in tomorrow's newspapers."
"We are good friends. He is protective of me." she explained.
"To be sure." Seneca accepted with a nod, absolutely not fooled.
She wondered if there was anyone left that was fooled by their denials anyway.
It wasn't long before Haymitch showed up next to them. "You mind?"
Seneca shook his head and stepped back, prompting Effie to roll her eyes. "Is anyone going to ask my opinion tonight?"
"No." Haymitch answered, tugging her close to him. Too close for public dancing. She relaxed against him all the same. "You're okay, Princess?" he asked once Seneca had wandered away.
"Did you secure the deal?" she inquired.
"Yeah. Not much but enough for some water. I've already run it by Crane." he answered. "And not what I meant."
She sighed. "I am irritated, to tell you the truth. If we had not been in the middle of a crowd, I might have slapped him and be done with it much faster."
He didn't say anything for a few minutes but when he spoke next, it was almost a growl. "He touched you."
It wasn't the first time and it probably wouldn't be the last that Rufus took liberties but she wasn't going to tell him that. He was drunk and angry and that was never a good combination.
"I think we are done here for the night." she deflected. "We should go back to the penthouse and see how Harley is doing. Then, we can discuss how to proceed forward." She didn't have much hope the girl would survive the Games but she had been holding out for three days already and that was better than any other tribute they ever had so far. Perhaps… if luck was on their side… "What do you say?"
"I say the girl ain't gonna win and you shouldn't get your hopes up." He shrugged. "But I'm ready to get out of here."
They were in the elevator and she was making idle chatting, not expecting a response from him, when he addressed the subject again.
"If he tries anything against your will again, I'm gonna beat him down to a pulp."
It wasn't an offer or even a warning, it was a statement.
"Haymitch…" she sighed.
"Crane said he would hold him for me. Just so you know." he added, watching her a little too closely.
"Seneca is a good friend." she answered the unvoiced question.
"Not my business." He gave her another shrug.
But he also relaxed a little.
Men, she mused, why did they have to be so complicated?