btw I wish I knew how to make the little line on Daae so it looks right but I don't so :/

Candidate number five was by far Christine's favorite of the day. Friendly, poised, and eloquent, the burly man seated across from her made her feel safe by his confidence alone. Her father, on the other hand, seemed to have reservations, as he continued to grill him mercilessly.

"While your stature certainly fits the profile Mr. Taylor, I must admit I wish you had more experience in this field."

Curtis Taylor nodded in understanding. "Of course Mr. Daae. Were it my daughter's protection on the line, I would only accept the best for her. And I understand your desire to do the same for your daughter, that's why I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe I could truly offer her the safety she deserves," Now addressing both of them, he continued, "Though my experience as far as official capacities may be limited, my experience, as well as my ability in protection, is not. My work as a bouncer thoroughly prepared me for handling difficult individuals, and my time in the armed forces garnered a strong sense of loyalty to those I serve. I assure you Miss. Daae, there's no safer place than under my watch. Except perhaps, that of your fathers," He added with a smile.

He earned a laugh from Christine, and a hidden half smile from Gustave.

"Well Mr. Taylor, I for one think we would get along quite well together," Christine said with a smile. She glanced at her father, and when he didn't say anything, she continued, "I think we have everything we need, thank you so very much for coming in today. My father and will continue to discuss this, and we'll hopefully be in touch with you soon."

Curtis nodded, shook both their hands, and left Gustave's office with a bright "thank you". Once he was gone, Christine turned to her father with a sigh.

"Alright, what's your problem?"

He looked up from the resume in his hands as if he hadn't been listening. "Hm? Oh, nothing dear."

She frowned and slapped her copy of the documents down. "Why didn't you like him? I thought he was a good fit. He may have never been an actual body guard before, but that doesn't mean he's not qualified. He's more than capable, and how hard can it be to notice when someone is being threatening and stop them?"

Gustave sighed and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I know dear I know. It's not that I think he isn't capable it's just…well…I don't know, he seems a little…friendly."

"So? Isn't that a good thing?"

"In my opinion, no. Not for this type of work. He seems like the type of guy to always assume the best of everyone, always making friends. I don't want someone who's going to hesitate to act on your behalf for fear of being rude."

Christine looked at her father as if he had lost his mind. "You seriously think that if some man was carrying me off, Mr. Taylor would not intervene for fear of being rude?"

Gustave rolled his eyes. "No, I'm sure anyone would act in that extreme of a situation. But I'm thinking of more than that Christine, I want you to be protected from small confrontations as well. If some man is eyeing you from across the room, or you're getting jostled in a crowd, I want your body guard to step in without hesitation. I don't care if they assign bad motives to each person who glances at you, or offend everyone else in the room, as long as you're protected. And I don't think Mr. Taylor, as qualified as he may be, is up to that task."

Christine resisted the temptation to argue. She knew her father was being a bit overdramatic, but she also knew if she challenged him on this it would only lead to another fight. Better to be flexible on who they actually hired, and perhaps she could later explain to her body guard that they didn't have to be quite as over bearing as her father led them to believe.

"Alright then, what about Kathy Setter? She certainly seemed like the no nonsense type."

The candidate wasn't Christine's first choice, as she hoped that she and her future body guard could be friends, and with the constant frown and business like attitude Kathy displayed, she doubted that would be possible. But, if it pleased her father and brought this endless stream on interviews to an end, she would consider it.

Gustave hummed and retrieved Kathy's resume from the growing stack. "That she did. I'm not so sure your personalities were very compatible though."

Christine let out a bark of laughter. "Yes, because I'm friendly dad. I'm afraid it's going to have to be one or the other."

Just as he opened his mouth to give a retort, the office door opened and Nadir's head peeked in. "Have a moment?"

"Certainly," Gustave said, waving him in. Nadir stepped inside and shut the door behind him. "Say, where is this new candidate of yours Nadir?" Gustave said as he picked up the final resume in their stack. "He was scheduled at 3 no? I know our last one went a bit overtime but it's going on 3:15…"

His assistant fidgeted slightly and looked at his watch. "Yes, ah, that's actually what I wanted to speak with you about. I'm certain he'll be here any minute, I believe he got caught in traffic," Nadir lied. He hadn't heard from Erik all day, his texts going unanswered. "But um, there's something else I wanted to make you aware of…"

Gustave and Christine glanced at each other as he hesitated. "What is it Nadir?" Christine asked.

"So, uh, there's something about him I just wanted to prepare you for…" He stumbled slightly as he repeated himself, unsure how to explain it without sounding incredibly weird. He finally decided to just spit it out. "He…well he wears a mask."

Two sets of brows furrowed in confusion.

"A mask? What kind of mask?" Asked Gustave.

"Well, half a mask technically," Nadir briefly raised his right hand to his face, to illustrate. "So I mean, you can still see most of him," He said dumbly, hoping that may somehow make it better.

"What does he wear it for?" Christine asked.

Here, Nadir hesitated even more. He knew Erik hated people asking about his mask, and especially about what lay beneath it. That's why he was explaining it to his prospective employers now. However, his loyalty to his friend made him uncertain, as he was sure Erik wouldn't want him revealing too much.

"He has a medical condition," Nadir decided on finally, "It's not my place to go into detail, but it's nothing dangerous I assure you. And nothing that would impede his performance. He's worn it his entire life, so he's more than capable of functioning at full capacity."

They nodded in understanding. "I see, well thank you for letting us know."

"The thing is," Nadir began, knowing Erik would hate him if he ever found out he said this part, but it was necessary none the less. "He's a bit..touchy about it. So I just wanted to ask if you could please refrain from talking or asking about it in front of him, and…perhaps try not to stare at it."

They both assured Nadir they would not stare, or ask any questions. Christine however, was more than a little anxious. She knew her father had been looking forward to this candidate all day, as he came highly recommended by Nadir. However, she didn't love the idea of constantly having to watch her eyes and tongue every time she was around her body guard. Just how "touchy" was he? If she happened to misspeak, or stare at him in the wrong way, would he suddenly snap at her?

Her father's next words however, gave her a bit of hope.

"Well mask or no mask Nadir, your friend has yet to make an appearance. I would have hoped he would call had he been stuck in traffic this long. I was looking forward to meeting him given your recommendation, but I'm afraid if he does not show up soon-"

A knock on the office door interrupted his sentence. Nadir practically leapt to answer it, praying it was the man in question. He was not disappointed.

Erik stepped into the office without so much as a smile, ignoring the death glare Nadir gave him before turning around to introduce him to his employers.

"Perfect, here he is now! Mr. and Miss. Daae, allow me to introduce Erik Destler."

Although his expression was less than welcoming, Erik at least had the good sense to step forward and shake their hands.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Destler," Gustave said, noticing and appreciating the firmness in the man's handshake. Erik simply nodded in response.

"Right then, I'll be in my office," Nadir said as he stepped out, already planning the reviling speech he'd be delivering to his friend.

Erik took his seat across from the Daaes', sitting up straight and clasping his hands together. He didn't appear the least bit nervous.

Christine spoke first. "So Mr. Destler, Nadir tells us you and he have been friends for many years?"

"Correct," he answered shortly. Under normal circumstances he would have refuted the word "friend", but decided now was likely not the appropriate time.

"And I understand you worked with him professionally for many years as well?"

"Yes."

"Care to tell us a little more about the type of work you did?"

Erik took a moment to recall the fancy jargon Nadir had used to clean up his rather unsavory work history. Then, deciding he would sound like a robot regurgitating a script, he chose his own words. "I worked in law enforcement."

"A policeman? Well that's certainly impressive."

"Not..quite."

Christine raised her eyebrow in question. Erik continued, "More like personal security for the ruler of a small country."

Gustave nodded. "Yes I recall Nadir telling me something similar. It sounds like you're quite experienced in security service then."

"I am."

Christine gave her father a sideways glance, not liking how he was practically handing this unusual man an easy way out. He had been quite short with them so far, which did not sit well with her. Even though her father was partial to this man based on Nadir's word, she would not be.

"Given your level of experience," she interjected, "What has piqued your interest in this position? I admit it almost sounds as though you're over qualified," she knew she was laying it on a bit thick, but she'd be damned if this mystery man snatched the job away from the other respectable candidates based solely on one reference instead of his own merit. She would make him explain himself. "At the risk of sounding cliche," She leaned forward, clasping her hands beneath her chin and giving him a smile, "Why do you want to work for Daae Enterprises?"

Erik met her gaze steadily. He could tell Nadir had been correct, and his good word had indeed swayed Mr. Daae in his favor. Miss. Daae, however, appeared to be a different story. It wasn't as though he expected to walk in and be handed the job, but he certainly hadn't expected such an icy reception from his prospective charge. Her question actually forced him to reflect for a moment. He wasn't even sure he honestly did want to work at Daae Enterprises. He wanted to be around music. And he wanted to pay his rent. And perhaps, on occasion, eat.

Her smile was unwavering. Only a few seconds had passed but Erik knew it would grow uncomfortable fast if he didn't answer. Her brown eyes bore into his blue ones and the word 'pretty' flashed in his mind. He quickly pushed it away.

Deciding on the first reason that had popped into his head, Erik finally spoke, "I'm a musician at heart," he explained, surprising even himself with his honesty, "Up until now my life has completely centered around music. And although this particular position may not allow much opportunity for that particular facet of my talents, I respect what your company as a whole stands for. If I am not able to contribute directly to music myself, then I suppose the next best thing would be to protect someone who does." He said this last part with the slightest of smirks, realizing it did not exactly sound enthusiastic, even if it was honest.

Christine actually laughed. 'Pretty' invaded Erik's thoughts once again at the sight and he frowned at himself.

Gustave grinned. "Well Mr. Destler sounds like a perfectly sound reason to me," he said light heartedly.

"I suppose I'd have to agree," Christine said. She still was not certain she could be friends with this man, but she supposed actual qualifications, as well as her father's peace of mind, needed to take priority. And given he had managed to give an intelligent, if somewhat brash answer to her testing question, she decided she would not argue too hard against him. She flashed him a friendly smile, attempting to dispel her formerly stern behavior.

He gave a small smile back. Christine was surprised to discover that the visible half of his face was rather handsome.