Two days later, Kai still hadn't heard anything from Iko. He wasn't exactly sure why this bothered him, but he sure did check his cell phone an awful lot more than he normally did. Each time he became slightly more irritated that his inbox was free of numbers he didn't recognize.

It surprised him, then, when his secretary called that Wednesday to tell him that a certain 'Miss Cinder Linh' was waiting in the first-floor lobby, asking to see Kai.

"She's not carrying any ID right now, and she looks a bit dirty," his secretary told him in a hushed tone. "Should I tell her that you're in a meeting?"

"Oh no, by all means, send her up. You can make a note that she's a friend of Thorne's."

"I will, Sir, thank you."

About one minute and twenty-three seconds later—not that he was counting—he saw the light on top of the elevator go on and the doors open. He craned his neck to get a better look at her, but could only see that she was checking in with the security guard on his floor. After signing the guest log, she started to make her way over to Kai. He looked down at his notes so as to not make her uncomfortable, but out of the corner of his eye he saw that many people turned in their cubicles to stare at her.

Finally, when she was close enough, he took in her appearance. She did, in fact, look a bit grungy. She had a messy ponytail, baggy clothes, and a small grease splotch etched across part of her forehead. Kai, of course, knew she was a mechanic, so it made sense to him that she would look like this. It was just the stark contrast to all the pristine suits in his office, though, that really made it noticeable. He thought it was kind of amusing. In her hands, she carried Kai's hoodie.

He stood up as soon as she got to his door, and tried to put on his best welcoming smile. She looked momentarily startled, and he wasn't sure if maybe he had tried so hard to smile that it had come out looking too fake. He tried to brush it off and extended his hand to her.

"Cinder, what a surprise! Nice to see you again."

"Hi."

She looked around his office, taking in the big windows that overlooked the city. Her fingers wound themselves around the strings of the hood on his sweatshirt momentarily, but then she held it out to him. "Sorry it took so long to get this back to you."

He took it from her and leaned himself against his desk. "No problem. It's only been three days." Did it sound like he'd been counting?

"Iko's just been busy," she said. "She wasn't too keen on giving it up either, I think, but I saw her last night and made sure I got it from her. I just had my lunch break from work so I thought I'd drop it off while I had the time."

"Well, that was really thoughtful of you. I'm sorry you had to come all the way out here, though. I could have easily picked it up."

"Oh no," she said. "It was nice enough for you to lend it to Iko; the least I could do was bring it back."

"Actually, I had left it out for you, but in the end it suits Iko, doesn't it?" He smiled at the thought.

"You left it out for me?" Crap. Why had he said that? Maybe she would think he was creepy now. He had just been trying to be nice.

"So—you were saying, you're on your lunch break?"

She looked at him for a moment before replying. "Yes."

"I haven't eaten yet," he said, looking down at his watch, "and I guess it's my lunch break too. Care to join me?"

Cinder looked down at her feet. If he wasn't mistaken, a small blush was forming on her cheeks. Hopefully, he wasn't being too forward. "Thank you, Kai, but I've really got to get back to the garage. It's going to take me too long on the subway to get back again if I stop to eat."

"Nonsense," he said, waving away her comment. "I'll drive you back myself. We can pick up something on the way."

Cinder didn't look convinced. "Come on, I already feel bad enough that you had to come all the way out here."

"But won't you be late getting back then? It's all the way across town."

"Me? Nah, I'm the boss on this floor." Yikes. That sounded arrogant. "I mean, not bragging or anything."

"Clearly."

"I just mean that it won't matter too much if I get back a little late." He looked at his watch again. "I'll probably be here 'til midnight tonight anyway. I could definitely use the break."

She fidgeted with one of her fingernails. "Well, alright I guess."

He quickly grabbed his keys off the desk and steered her out the door before she could think of changing her mind. As they walked towards the elevator, he noticed that everyone stared at them, but as he got nearer to each cubicle, the employees quickly turned back to their computers in an attempt to be discrete. He hoped Cinder hadn't noticed.

He swiped his ID badge to open the elevator, and after the usual long minute of waiting for it to arrive to the 28th floor, it pinged and they stepped inside. Cinder immediately went to the corner of the elevator, and after pushing the downward arrow, he moved to stand in front of her.

"Hey, no big deal or anything, but I just wanted to let you know that you have a little bit of grease on your forehead. Right—" he moved his thumb to brush at the spot, "—here." Cinder flinched when he touched her, but when he listed his head to the side to look her in the eyes, she didn't look freaked out by him—just a little flustered. He grinned and held out his thumb. "I think I got most of it, though."

Cinder definitely blushed this time, but it was out of mortification. "Oh my stars, I can't believe I just walked into Rikan Corp looking like I just got out from under the hood." She wiped the back of her arm across her forehead.

He just laughed. "It's good to shock people every once in a while. Most of those people in there probably don't even know what a mechanic is. They probably have a secretary's secretary's secretary to deal with their car troubles."

"Like you?" she asked, the color of her cheeks returning to more of her normal shade. Not that he really knew her normal shade, in reality. It was only the second time he'd really seen her. Or third. If you counted the day after she had slept over at Thorne's. Or whatever. Why was he thinking about math in this moment anyway? He cleared his thoughts and looked back at her, knowing that the elevator was about to arrive. She was staring at him now, and he noticed the warmth that filled her brown eyes.

He needed to get a grip.

"So everything's okay with your license now?"

"Yeah, it wasn't a big deal in the end, I guess. Just a pain at the DMV, like always. No one can avoid feeling terrible there."

She nodded and reached out to turn up the heat on the dash, and then changed the radio station.

"Not enjoying my music selection?"

"It's okay, it's just that this station plays at work all day. I like to hear something different when I'm not there." She turned to look at him. "This car's not as fancy as I imagined. I imagined a convertible, definitely."

"Convertibles are not that useful in the winter."

"Well, you know what I mean."

"This is the first car I ever had. I was able to get it with money that I saved up on my own, and I liked that. I've had to get it fixed several times, but it's mine. Now when I drive it, I feel like I can get out of my head a bit."

"That's how I feel when I'm fixing cars."

"How did you get into that, anyway? Take a lot of shop class in school?"

"I didn't go to school that much. I got my GED, though, and took a few community college classes, but I realized that I liked working with cars, and so that's what I decided to continue doing."

"Huh." He remembered thinking at Thorne's house that she was incredibly bright, so it surprised him that she hadn't even gone to college. "Are you really related to Garan Linh?"

"Kind of. He was my step-father. He taught me about cars when I was younger. When he died, my mother had us all change our last names to honor him. But I think it's more because she wanted to feel famous and important. I guess I don't mind the recognition, though. It helps with employment."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-four."

"Oh, okay." She must have been in this field for only a few years then. "I'm twenty-six," he added.

He pulled into a drive-through, and Cinder looked at him curiously. "Really? A drive-through?"

He shrugged. "I thought you were pressed for time. We can go somewhere else."

"No, it's fine. Just thought this type of food might be…beneath you."

He pretended to look hurt. "Ouch. Just because I have a lot of money doesn't mean I have to do everything lavishly. I think if you take the time to get to know me, you'll find I'm a pretty normal guy."

"I doubt that."

Okay, then. He ordered an extra huge helping of fries for himself and Cinder ordered a full meal. When he pulled up to the window, he reached for the wallet in his back pocket, but then realized that he still hadn't gotten his accounts cleared. Kai was pretty sure that Nainsi hadn't called this establishment either to create a tab for him. She would never assume he'd eat here.

He was about to turn to Cinder and sheepishly ask if she could spot him just this once, but she was already thrusting some cash into his lap. "Please, let me pay," she said.

"Well, normally I would say no, but I actually don't have any money, I just realized."

A smile formed on her lips. "Oh, good."

"I'll pay you back, of course."

"Absolutely not."

"Why not?"

"Kai, it's just some fast food. Don't make it into a big deal."

"But maybe I want to pay for you."

She folded her hands in her lap and looked down. "I couldn't possibly take anything else from you."

Kai was starting to get a bit frustrated at her responses and he wanted to ask her what she meant by that exactly, but the lady at the window was already tapping her fingers impatiently at him. So instead, he just took the cash in his lap and paid. When they got their food, Cinder turned up the radio pretty loudly, indicating that the conversation was probably over. He sighed, shoved a fry into his mouth, and pulled out of the drive-through.

When they got to the garage, he saw Thorne was standing in the waiting area, and decided to get out to greet him, since Cinder would probably be offended if he tried to walk with her. Thorne's eyes light up like a little child at Christmas when he saw the two of them.

"There you are! Cinder, I'm dying to see the Rampion. I heard she's done."

"She is," said Cinder, returning his grin.

Thorne nodded at Kai and he saw a smirk forming on his lips. "Didn't realize Kai had stolen you away. You could've warned me, man, so I wouldn't have had to wait here for so long."

"I didn't know she was coming," said Kai simply.

"Just dropping off his hoodie," added Cinder.

"Ah." But when Cinder turned to get the keys off of the hanging rack, Thorne raised his eyebrows at Kai as if silently saying, "and…?"

Kai ignored him. He was just about to leave, considering that there was no need for him to watch as Cinder and Thorne talked about the Rampion, but Thorne halted him.

"Kai, don't you think Cinder should come to that fundraiser this weekend?" Thorne gave Kai a very long, knowing look which made Kai bristle.

"Uh—yeah. It should be fun."

"What kind of fundraiser is it?" asked Cinder skeptically.

"It's a dance," said Thorne, extending his hand out to Cinder and bowing dramatically, as if inviting her to dance. She instantly looked nervous.

"I don't really dance. I mean, I like it, but it's more the dressing up that bothers me. I'm not really a dress person."

"But my lady, this fundraiser requires a different type of dressing up." Thorne was so annoying sometime with his theatrics.

"Oh?"

"It's a masquerade theme," clarified Kai. "The whole point is to look like something you're not. Wear a mask or a costume that hides your identity. People tend to find that sort of thing thrilling, so it's one of our biggest events. I can even get Thorne to come willingly."

"And that's saying something," added Thorne.

"A masquerade? Hmm. Well, I guess that doesn't sound so bad, if I could wear whatever I want." She seemed to brighten at the thought.

"I'll recognize you if you come as a mechanic," he said, winking at her.

"Kai," said Thorne, rolling his eyes, "it's not a Halloween party."

"No, it sounds okay," said Cinder. "Can I bring Iko?"

"Sure," said Kai. "I'll have Torin drop off your formal invites tomorrow. Can you text me your address? Oh, speaking of, I don't have your number."

Cinder gestured to the counter. "Oh, you can just tell him to drop it off here at the garage. I'm here every day anyway."

"Okay, I'll tell him to do that then."

Thorne stole another look between the two of them before turning to Cinder and pointing at the door behind the counter. "Shall we?"

"Right. She's ready for you. See you later, Kai."

A/N: Yep, you guessed it. Next installment will coincide with TLC Ship Weeks' Kai X Cinder prompt "Masquerade." I'm kind of excited about it.