Liquid amber rippled as a young man swirled a glass. The music thudded throughout his body, mingling with the liquor that so deliciously relaxed his stressed and aching muscles. He watched as a lithe, busty body moved through the crowd to a stage opposite the bar. The DJ on the second floor turned the music down a decibel or two and an obnoxious voice rang out. The crowd stopped, the dance interrupted for an hour and a half's time of karaoke. The young man drained the glass and ordered another, then moved out into the crowd, settling at a table in the corner of the room, just in front of the stage. He shrugged off his suit jacket and loosed his tie, sitting back for the performances.
The thought that he shouldn't be doing this during his time off flickered through his mind momentarily. It was gone as soon as he took another sip of his drink.
The first few performers were merely mediocre. It was the fifth girl that caught his attention. Coincidentally it was the same busty redhead that he had noticed earlier. Though the song they had chosen for her was upbeat and too quick, her talent had gotten through to him. Her voice was close to ethereal, and he knew what it would take to make it that way.
When the karaoke was over and the music had returned to the thumping that had graced him upon entering, he stood and threw his jacket over his shoulder, holding it casually with two fingers. Leaving his glass and the proper amount for the waitress and bartender, he slid between bodies into the crowd.
It wasn't hard to find her. Her flawless figure and that particular shade of red was hard to miss; it helped, also, that a small gaggle of men had surrounded her, praise oozing from their lips as their eyes held completely different conversations. Confidently he strode up to her and draped a long arm over her shoulders, placing his lips close to her ear.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lose you. Are you ready to go?"
She turned to him, her eyes wide and her mouth open in astonishment. He blinked at her, smiling. Realization dawned and her expression slid easily from surprise to gratefulness. She nodded and reached around to put her arm at his waist. "Sure thing. I'm beat."
As if it were the most natural thing in the world he led her to the exit, the warmth of her shoulder slinking into the skin of his fingertips. Her hand at his waist was soothing; lovely, he thought.
As soon as they were out of the crushing atmosphere of the club and the cool air hit them in a rush they let go. She shivered a little and he offered his jacket. Snuggling into it she gave him an odd look. Her grey eyes searched his with uncertainty.
"Not that I'm ungrateful, but why did you do that?"
He half-shrugged, pulling his smart-phone from his pocket and entering something into the keypad. "You seemed uncomfortable, what with all the ogling. And I wanted to talk to you alone." He replaced the phone in his pocket and let his hands rest in them. His head, tilted at an angle to look at her, rolled back on his neck and into a symmetrical tilt on the other side.
She scrunched her face, moving to return the jacket. "Ugh, not you, too."
He raised a hand, stopping her. "No. Not me, too. I actually wanted to talk to you seriously."
Her shoulders sagged as her defenses dropped. "Okay. What is it?"
He tossed a strand of hair from his face. "You sang tonight."
She looked at him as though he'd grown a second nose. "Yeah. So what?"
He blinked. "You're very talented."
She quirked a brow. "Thank you. I think. Wait, is this your way of hitting on me? Because it's odd, if it is."
He smirked. "No. I'm not hitting on you. I'm offering you a job."
She blinked several times in rapid succession. "Excuse me?"
He turned as the sound of tires on asphalt reached his ears. He looked back at her. "I said I'm offering you a job. I'd like to do a recording session and see where it goes from there." She blinked again. "You're good. Good enough to be famous. I just need to know if you'd be interested."
A sleek black car pulled up to the curb and parked. She nodded, "So long as this isn't a scam…" He shook his head and pulled a card from his pocket.
"No scam. Here." She took it and read it. Her eyes widened in shock.
"But you're—"
"Toushirou Hitsugaya, producer for Kuchiki Records."
The woman's grey eyes flew up to his and the shock evident in them was almost enough to make Toushirou laugh. As if to confirm his introduction, the valet offered the driver's side door to him.
"Mister Hitsugaya, your car."
He raised a hand to the valet, acknowledging him. "So, miss, what do you think? Care to come into the studio tomorrow?"
The girl was still stunned. "Um… Sure. Yes! Absolutely!" Her excitement got the best of her and she laughed. "I would love to. What time?"
Toushirou offered her a hand. "How about you give me directions, I'll drop you off tonight, and pick you up at nine thirty tomorrow morning?"
She smiled, placing her hand in his. "Sure thing."
