Ianto had taken one look at the pile of filing still waiting for him in the archives and decided he needed more coffee. He watched John's eyes light up like a puppy's when a mug of coffee was placed on his desk. Unfortunately he'd gotten a full frontal view of what was on the man's computer screen, the lighting was artistically done though.

'Are you an angel sent to tempt me eye candy?'

Ianto rolled his eyes. 'Is there anything that wouldn't tempt you?'

He shook his head. 'Nope.'

Ianto just walked away, maybe the man would get bored soon and move his attention to someone else. Like a pneumatic porn star, he could even introduce him to some, he'd dated an art student in uni, he knew people. He knocked on Jack's door and walked in with his tray. 'Coffee Sir.'

'Ah, you have fantastic timing. I hope John isn't giving you too much grief.'

Handing Jack the coffee he shook his head. 'I can deal with him Sir.'

'Good because I wouldn't want you to quit and definitely not after introducing me to your coffee.'

Ianto smiled briefly, wondering if there had been many others who hadn't survived their first day, least of all the first few weeks. 'I'm not planning on quitting any time soon, Sir.'

'Fantastic, sit, drink your coffee and tell me about yourself.'

Ianto shrugged his shoulders, the man had a certain persistence. 'There isn't much to tell Sir. I'm Welsh, went to university in London and now I've moved here.'

'That much I know.'

'Then it's been a pleasant chat Sir.'

Jack sipped his coffee as he watched Ianto walk away, he'd met secret agents who were more forthcoming. He had contacts, he would find out, even if waiting for them to get back to him left him with time to think. But the coffee was fantastic. He grinned as his phone rang and he recognised the number. 'Speak to me.'

Ianto returned to his desk, John he hadn't been expecting.

'Eye candy, I missed you.'

'I was in Jack's office.'

'That lacked your usual wit my love.'

'Remarkable.'

'Yes I am aren't I. So, what time can I get you off tonight?'

Ianto shook his head. 'I'm thinking somewhere around.' He looked at his watch. 'Oh, say. Never. But you already know that.'

John flashed him his 'on the pull' smile. 'I know no such thing and you will change your mind, you want me.'

'You have a very high opinion of yourself.'

John leaned in towards Ianto. 'It's deserved.'

Ianto was sure he'd purred as he'd said that, smiling softly he stepped around him. 'I'm sure there will be a day when I look back and say – I wish I'd found out.'

'Really.' John sat up straighter, his eyes lighting up.

Ianto smiled. 'No.'

'So cruel I'm hurt. If you cut me do I not bleed?'

'Shakespeare, am I supposed to be impressed?' He watched John pout before looking at the pile of papers he was reviewing.

John sighed before stalking away, that had been his best come back, he'd spent ages on google. It was very disappointing. At least he'd gotten a bigger coffee cup this time.

Ianto wondered if he was winning or just making things worse, right now it looked like it could go either way. At least he knew he'd get the paperwork sorted, but the desk in the 'archives' was too small, he needed to step up his game.

Jack leaned in the doorway to his office as he watched Ianto. The young man had moved to the conference table and was making piles of paper. He seemed to be sorting though them, moving pages like he'd cast a spell over them. Even John had gone back to his desk, hopefully working at his computer. He'd get Tosh to check if he was playing mah jong or looking at porn, John didn't give up easily so it was probably porn. He didn't have Tosh running virus scans because it amused him, not wanting to remember the last time they had ended up with a virus because of John. Instead he let himself get lost in watching Ianto move, graceful as paper deftly sorted itself into neat piles. Elegant fingers shuffling whole piles of paper like they were no more than a deck of cards. He looked up.

Blue eyes looked at Jack from across the table and smiled, only for the briefest moment. Leaving Jack aching for that fleeting butterfly smile and he wanted it back. He was attracted to the man and John was sniffing around like a dog. The orgasmic coffee was something else, maybe that was turning his brain, Ianto Jones wasn't even his type. So why had the barest ghost of a smile made his pulse race. It only added to the mystery of the man, even with his contacts. But he'd been able to fill in a few details and the more he learnt the more he wanted to know.

Ianto found himself smiling at Jack. He was conquering the Mount Everest of paperwork, but it did leave him with a few questions as he returned everything to the filing cabinets. He'd made a few notes but he had no context for them so he shelved it in the back of his mind. He'd be able to observe the world he now found himself in and percolate on his questions until he had context. Perhaps the shoes were a work related expense after all. He found Tosh and Owen back at their desks and checked his watch. Working though lunch, he'd clearly lost track of time.

Tosh was laughing as she looked up and saw Ianto walking towards his desk. She looked at Owen and grinned, her voice soft. 'I see he's still here.'

Owen handed her back the fiver and shook his head. 'Double or nothing he doesn't last the day, not with John back.'

'Define the end of the day and you have a deal.'

'All right, five.'

'Pounds or pm?'

'It's ten pound and five pm, double or nothing remember.'

Tosh looked from Ianto to John, the latter seemed to be scheming something. Ianto was working at his computer. She had a good feeling about this one, she did recall saying that about the last one but this time she thought Jack might have finally cracked it.

Ianto frowned, he still hadn't given anyone his email address so why did he have an email. He clicked open and closed his eyes while he silently hoped he'd been wrong. Apparently not. No amount of wishful thinking was going to erase the image loading on his screen, there were no words either. If it was photo-shopped it had been done well, he hoped it was photo-shopped as he hit delete. He looked up and wasn't really surprised to see John standing there, looking expectant.

'Did you get it?'

'Get what?' Ianto kept his expression neutral.

'My picture.'

'Oh, it was meant for you, it must have been sent to me by mistake then.'

'No, I sent it.'

Ianto heard the faint layer of confusion in John's voice, keeping his own innocent. 'Why would you send me a picture meant for you?'

'It wasn't meant for me.'

'But you said it was your picture.'

'Yes, but of me, of my, and, oh shut up.'

Ianto smiled a sweet, innocent smile as John stormed off. This time he looked up and Jack's blue eyes were looking at him with a question written in the way he raised his eyebrows.

'Do I want to know?'

'Probably not Sir. I didn't but he still sent me a photo I didn't need to see.'

'The one where he's wearing the blue ribbon?'

'Only if you mean that was all he was wearing.'

Jack grinned. 'Yeah, that one.'

Ianto shook his head. 'Does he always do this?'

Jack considered his options and went with the truth. 'Up to a point, yes. But you seem to be throwing him off his game.'

'Is that a good thing?'

Jack considered that also. 'I don't know, it's never happened before.'

'Great.' Ianto groaned softly. 'I'm in uncharted territory.'

'Who knew that was even possible. But that's not why I came over, have you had lunch?' He watched Ianto shake his head. 'I didn't think so, you looked almost lost in sorting out that pile of paperwork and I was wondering if you wanted to get a really late lunch, or, maybe, dinner?'

Ianto gave this a moments thought, his voice soft, tone low. 'Is this some sort of good cop, bad cop thing?'

'No.' Jack felt puzzled. 'What?'

'Tosh and Owen are clearly wagering on how long I'm going to last, which is both flattering and creepy. And Captain Obvious over there just emailed me a photo of himself.'

'He was wearing a blue ribbon.'

'Hardly something to brag about Sir, it wasn't his colour and now your asking me about lunch or maybe dinner.'

Jack paused before nodding. 'While I do have to admit, in the spirit of full disclosure in my chequered past with, I like that, Captain Obvious, we have on occasion wagered on such things but not this time.'

'Why would you even tell me that?'

'That all bets are off?'

'That the two of you have competed or wagered or whatever, over a person.'

Jack sighed, it did sound awful when you put it like that and it would have been easier if he could lie to this man. He'd never met anyone he couldn't lie to before, it perplexed him. 'Because it's the sort of thing he'll throw back at me and for whatever reason I needed to,' he lowered his voice. 'I needed to say it first, huh.' He walked away.

Ianto stared after him, his world had gone mad.

Jack moved back to his desk and wondered what had come over him, he knew rationally it wasn't a bad thing to want to tell someone the truth, he just wasn't ready to explore why. There were times when having such a colourful reminder of his past sitting at the next desk in the office had it's disadvantages. Back at his own desk he realised Ianto hadn't answered his question. He possibly should have fired John years ago but the man was good at what he did, there were times when he needed someone with his level of skill and lack of moral fibre. If ever there was a man who robbed banks in his spare time it was going to be someone like John. Making it easier to keep him where he could see him. Besides, John absent adult supervision was, problematic.

He looked up and Ianto was gone, damn. They usually said something before they buggered off. He was running out of options and they needed someone to keep their paperwork up to date, which reminded him, his bank manager wanted to 'catch up' with him. That was as reassuring as a reminder card from the dentist. He sighed softly with relief when he saw Ianto walking back to his desk with what looked like a plate of toast and a mug but he didn't smell coffee. Did he go back over to his desk? Repeat his offer of dinner or pretend he hadn't walked away mid conversation and try again another time? His phone ringing meant he didn't have to make a decision just yet. 'Harkness.'

Ianto sat down with his toast and went back to reading the company documents Tosh had directed him to, Jack didn't need an office manager, he needed a whole human resources team. There were no policies on any of the things he was supposed to have, by law. The filing system for online documents was practically non existent and there were discrepancies that bothered him. Why did someone think that having a great idea was all they needed to set up a company. It was a shambles, this job was looking less and less straight forward every time he dug deeper. He wondered if Jack had any idea of the holes in his business processes.

The notes he was making were getting longer, and he was going to need to find the stationary cupboard soon. He just wasn't sure there had been one or John would have offered to show it to him by now. Mind you, after the email he'd been sent, there wasn't much left to see. John wasn't unattractive and if he was looking for just a shag the man would probably have been perfect for the job. But, he'd never been interested in casual sex, he definitely didn't want to be just another notch on John Hart's bedpost and he wasn't ready for another relationship. It had been a year and it still felt too soon. He sighed softly to himself, maybe that wasn't quite true. The last few weeks had left him wondering what it might be like to dip his toe into the waters again.

John looked at the file on his desk, he much preferred porn as he tried to focus on reviewing the satellite imagery Tosh had give him, he'd identified a number of viable possibilities. He'd just gotten back and already it looked like he would be going out again. He was torn between the job he was good at and trying to figure out Ianto, who was proving disturbingly resistant to his charms. He looked back at the map and drew a circle around what looked like a farm house with a few outbuildings. If he was going to hole up somewhere to wait for the heat to subside, that would be his pick. Running water, secluded, several buildings and a forest to hide in right on the doorstep and slightly elevated so you could see anyone approaching. He headed over to Tosh's desk with his map.

Jack wondered over to Tosh and John, looking over their shoulders as they explained their theory.

He nodded before walking away. 'Sounds like a go, give the client a call and see if they want us there when they go in.'

Tosh looked at John. 'You want to make that call, it was your idea?'

'Who's the client again my sweet little Toshcicle?'

She raised her eyebrows at him. 'Things not working out with the new guy then?'

John sighed. 'I sent him my picture and everything Tosh.'

She frowned. 'Not the one with the ribbon?' She screwed her face up as he nodded. 'Eww John, that's awful.'

'What, it's a very artistically done photo.'

'John, it's a picture of you naked with a ribbon tied around your, well, you know where the ribbon was tied. How is he supposed to take you seriously if you are emailing him pornographic pictures.'

'I don't want him to take me seriously.'

'Well that's exactly what you've got isn't it.'

'I'm not the only one sniffing around him you know.'

They both turned as they watched Jack walking up to Ianto's desk. Tosh paid careful attention to Ianto's reaction as he looked up and saw Jack standing there. She turned towards John, her words thoughtful.

'I don't think you are going to get very far with him at all, it wont matter what you try.'

'Seriously, what do we know about him Tosh?'

'Don't you usually see that as cheating.' Owen joined the conversation. 'Looking them up I mean, other than grilling us for information of course.'

John shook his head. 'I get nothing from him.' He frowned as he looked at Owen and Tosh. 'I mean look at me, I'm gorgeous.'

Tosh shrugged her shoulders. 'I hadn't really thought about it but they are cute together.'

'We could be cute together too you know.' John muttered as he picked Tosh's phone up. 'Come on, ring the good Colonel for me then.' He looked over the phone at Tosh and Owen. 'I want to get paid, you know, I don't know how Suzie can afford all the holidays she takes.'

Jack looked at Ianto and wondered what was wrong. 'He hasn't emailed you any more photos has he?'

'What?'

'You look like someone who has just been given cereal for dinner.'

'That's not quite how I'd explain it, Sir. You have holes in your company.'

That had Jack's attention as he pulled up a chair. 'Explain.'

'I haven't looked though everything yet but you are missing any sort of HR policies.'

'Like one on sexual harassment?'

'With John on the team you may want to consider it.'

'Yeah, look, about before, I didn't mean to walk away like that.' Jack frowned. 'What?'

'I didn't say anything.'

'It's what you aren't saying Ianto Jones.'

Ianto sighed. 'You've got one staff member who seems to take more time off than the others and there is something else that I can't put my finger on.'

'Like what?'

'I'm sure it's nothing, just the new guy trying to feel his way around the place.' Ianto frowned as he looked up and caught John's eye. 'Maybe that wasn't the best choice of words.' He turned in his seat and looked at Jack. 'What am I actually doing here?'

'You took the job, I sort of hoped you'd know.'

'I answer the phone that never rings, reply to emails I haven't got, wade though your filing of paperwork, which, FYI, is atrocious. Oh and I dodge John's sexual innuendo.'

'You forgot the coffee, you make orgasmic coffee.'

'Great, I've found my niche in life.'

'Hay, you took the job. It's been a bit quiet of late I'll admit, which makes it a great time for you to start. As to these HR policies you think we need, draft me something up and I'll look at it.' Jack looked over at the others. 'I better see how that phone call is going.'

Ianto debated his options, did he go back to sorting out paperwork and filing, or did he start drafting up HR documentation for Jack. He decided he needed to make a few phone calls instead, the supply of coffee beans he had wasn't going to last forever.

Jack looked over to Ianto's desk before he smiled at Tosh. 'He knows you two are making bets.' He watched Owen look away and Tosh blush. 'What sort of pool are you running?'

Owen shook his head. 'We don't have a pool per say, just a casual exchange of a fiver usually, will he last the day tends to be the main one.'

Jack shook his head. 'That's not good enough, if you are going to gamble on this you should make it worth while. Pony up properly.'

Tosh frowned. 'What are you suggesting?' Jack had never gotten involved in this before, he'd always left them to it.

'I'm suggesting we all put in a decent amount, and pick a time frame, winner takes all.'

'Like, how long we think he will last?'

'Exactly. What do you all think?'

'How much?'

'Owen!'

He looked at Tosh. 'He's got a point, if we are going to do this we might as well do it properly.' He looked back at Jack. 'How much?'

'Maybe a hundred pounds each.'

Owen considered this, ignoring the filthy look Tosh was giving him.

Jack looked at him. 'Well?'

'I'm thinking about it.' He frowned at Jack's slightly cold smile. 'What?'

Jack shook his head and walked away. He got as far as exactly half way to his office when his phone rang. It was his bank manager. 'Bugger.' He flipped the phone open. 'Harkness.' He listened and hung up. 'Bugger, bugger, bugger.' He headed to Ianto's desk instead of his own. 'Ianto, I need you to pull all my financial records, I have a meeting with my bank manager tomorrow.' He sighed. 'I know it's late notice, and it means sticking around this place instead of going home.'

Ianto wondered what Jack thought he was going home to. He was facing an empty flat and depending on how much he felt like cooking, possibly a microwaved meal. 'I don't mind.'

'I do, I hate talking to my bank manager. Look, I'll spring for dinner, it's going to take us a while to get everything organised for this anyway. Even with the work you've done on the filing so far.'

Ianto ran a hand through his hair. 'I'll pull everything I can find, how far back do you need me to go?'

Jack shook his head. 'How far back can you go?'

'Okay, next question, are you going to the bank or is this meeting taking place here?'

'Here, at ten tomorrow morning. I'm sorry to do this to you Ianto.'

He shrugged. 'You were pretty clear in the initial interview the hours were more of a guideline, I can't complain now.'

Jack snorted. 'You'd be the only one. Come on, lets check out the archives first.'