The plane rocked up and down with turbulence, so bad that some other travelers burst out in gasps and short yells, yet Tiago was sleeping like the dead in the seat next to her. Olivia held on tightly to her air sickness bag and cursed under her breath. She hated flying, hated red eyes, and definitely hated turbulence.

They were only an hour from landing but that seemed like an eternity to her. The complimentary cheap wine and stale congee they had served earlier were sloshing around in her stomach, and her head was pounding. This was no way to arrive in a city she barely knew, having only been there twice before. At least on the first day she had made sure not to schedule any meetings, knowing that jet lag was waiting just around the corner.

She turned to look at Tiago, his head propped against the window and eyes closed. His hair was tousled and frankly he looked like a slob, dressed in nothing but old grey sweatpants, a white v-neck t-shirt and muddy converse trainers. She still had to admit that even in this state he was incredibly handsome, looking like some innocent boy on his way to an exotic holiday rather than a spy in the making.

The passports given to them for this trip were under the names Helen Garcia and Esteban Garcia – mother and son, living in Slough despite having resided in Spain previously. At least that was the story they were supposed to be keeping up during their trip to the Pearl River Delta. Olivia had initially scoffed at the idea of them posing as mother and son, but Tiago seemed to like it and the passports had already been forged, so here she was playing out this scene.

The plane jerked again and Olivia cried out. She hated to admit her fear, but she truly loathed these long flights and the uncertainty of being in the air. Surprisingly, it was this sound that roused Tiago.

"Are you alright?" he asked her groggily, "Are we there yet?"

"No, we aren't there yet, unfortunately. And I'll be fine." she told him.

He nodded and looked out the window, the sky still dark. "How long?"

"Another hour or so."

Tiago rubbed his eyes, "Oh. Well, I need to use the loo."

Olivia pointed at the illuminated seatbelt sign, "Sorry, but you're stuck here for a bit."

He frowned, "How long has that been on?"

"Practically since you fell asleep."

Tiago growled and threw his head back, "Just my luck. Is there any wine left?"

"Wine? You just said you had to use the toilet and you want to drink more?"

He shrugged, "Well, I need something to make this flight bearable."

"No, Esteban, that's not happening." she snaps at him, and puts her head in her hands.

"Whatever you say, Mommy." he answers, and pulls a book out of the knapsack at his feet.

Olivia cringes at his phrasing but doesn't say anything. For a moment she thinks of her grown daughters, both slightly older than him and in their own homes now and living their own lives, and wondered what this would be like if she were traveling with them instead. She feels a pang of homesickness hit her, despite not having yet landed at her destination. She glances at the book he's reading, it's 'The Shining' by Matthew King.

"Is that book any good?" she asks him, trying to take her mind off home and the intermittent turbulence.

"Hmm, I'm not sure." he says, "I do know it makes me want to drink."

Olivia sighs, "Really? You've just woken up and that's the first thing on your mind, truly?"

He shrugs and raises his eyebrows, "We all need something to take the edge off."

She wants to roll her eyes but doesn't, since she knows full well what he would rather be doing to relax at this moment. It doesn't take long to figure out Tiago Rodriguez has a one-track mind, as she learned at the airport where he practically leered at every attractive person in their vicinity. It was so embarrassing as she wrangled him through security and to their gate, catching him eyeing up bums and breasts at every turn. Honestly, she could not believe that his tests had come back clean for all sexually transmitted diseases judging from his obviously voracious sexual appetite. It did at least benefit her to know what he was motivated by, to at least anticipate his weaknesses as well.

Fifteen minutes passed in silence, and suddenly the seatbelt sign flicked off, accompanied by the pilot coming over the loudspeaker and telling the cabin that they were free to leave their seats before the final descent.

"Go now." she said to him, "Beat the rush while you can."

Tiago stood and scurried past her, his legs rubbing against hers in the process. She sucked in her breath and let him pass, trying to ignore the sensation as his muscular thighs hit her knees. Physical contact with her agents was always awkward, even in situations like this. Maybe especially in situations like these, in which they were using aliases and false backstories.

She turned and watched him run down the aisle, practically sprinting to the toilet and shutting the door quickly behind him. She let out an audible sigh, slumping back in her seat. There had been no sleep for her on this flight and she could not wait to get to her hotel room and pass out in bed. Tomorrow held all sorts of meetings and briefings, but she was determined to make today as stress free as possible.

Just as soon as she had relaxed he was back, climbing over her and into his window seat. "Sorry Mama." he said, settling in, "What's our first stop when we land?"

"The hotel." Olivia said confidently, "I need sleep desperately."

"Tsk." Tiago said, "You're going to give yourself worse jetlag."

"Truly, I don't care." she told him, "I just need to get off this damn plane."

After a hectic arrival at the airport, lying their way through passport control and collecting all their bags, they had finally hailed a cab and made it to their hotel. Olivia had gagged when she smelled the heavy scent of carpet cleaner in the air, but she checked into their rooms as quickly as possible and practically dragged Tiago into the lift.

"Here's your room key." she said, handing his key to him, "You're only right across the hall from me."

"A different room? I thought we were staying together?" he asked.

"Are you mad? No, Tiago, you have your own room, and you should be damn well grateful for it in an expensive city like this."

Eventually they arrived at the 17th floor and the lift buzzed as it came to a halt. Tiago hauled all of their bags into the hallway and followed Olivia like a puppy down towards their rooms.

"Here's mine," she said, pointing at the room number, 1704, "and there's yours, it's 1707. Our first meeting is tomorrow at 8 AM, I expect you to be prepared and professional for this. Now go get yourself settled in."

"Yes ma'am." he said, and helped drag her bags inside her room once she opened the door.

Olivia was actually pleasantly surprised by the room. It did smell of that horrendous carpet cleaner, but it was well appointed and while it was not as large as an average hotel in Europe, it was quite spacious for being in a dense city such as Hong Kong. There was a small kitchen and a living room with a finely upholstered green velvet sofa, not to mention a larger than average television. Her real interest was in the bedroom though, and she couldn't wait to get to sleep.

"Thank you, Tiago, I'll see you tomorrow." she said as she shooed him out the door.

With that she put the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on her door and promptly went to the bedroom. She was pleased to see it was a comfy king bed that awaited her there, and after stripping off her dirty clothes she collapsed into bed, totally nude, and let sleep take over her.

It felt like mere seconds later when she heard a loud knocking on her door. Olivia roused and rubbed her eyes, Housekeeping? Didn't they see the sign on the door? she thinks groggily. When she glances at the clock on the nightstand she is surprised to see it says 17:39. Somehow a nap of seven hours felt like barely any time at all.

She grabs the terrycloth robe from the bathroom and throws it on, rubbing her eyes as she walks towards her front door, ready to give housekeeping a piece of her mind. When she opens the door Tiago is standing there looking like some sort of punk, in ripped jeans, an old Motörhead t-shirt and his still muddy converse. His hair is slicked back and he's got aviator sunglasses propped up on the top of his head. He reeks of heavy cologne and makes Olivia cough when she gets a whiff of it.

"Tiago? What is it?" she asks, a clear tone of annoyance in her voice, "And what is that awful cologne you're wearing?"

"Drakkar Noir." he says with a grin, "I was wondering if you wanted to come get dinner with me? Since we didn't have lunch I figured now is as good a time as any."

Now that she thinks of it she does feel hungry. She also remembers she answered the door in nothing but a bathrobe and fights the sudden blush she feels rising to her cheeks.

"Fine, just give me a few minutes to get ready." she tells him and shuts the door as fast as she can.

She rummages through her luggage and pulls out the most casual thing she can find – some lightwash jeans and a pale blue top, with brown loafers and a brown belt to match. After throwing them on she heads to the bathroom, smearing on concealer and mascara as quickly as she can. She scowls at her reflection. Not only does she look so plain in her casual clothes, but no amount of concealer can hide the dark circles under her eyes.

Sighing she goes back to her door and finds Tiago leaning against the wall in the hallway.

"Are you ready, Mr. Rodriguez?"

"Don't you mean Mr. Garcia, mother?" he grins at her. She rolls her eyes.

"Let's just go."

They only walk a few blocks from the hotel when they find a small storefront with pictures of noodles and dim sum plastered in the windows. At least she knows this is a restaurant. She has to admit to herself that she's out of her element when it comes to all the street signs being in Chinese characters, and even worse that she only knows all of three words in Cantonese. Looking over the menu in the window she does see the restaurant's name written in English, 'West Kowloon Noodle House'.

"Looks authentic." Tiago says and grabs the door, holding it open for her to walk in.

At first it appears there is no one inside, until a thin man with a receding hairline and moustache pops his head out from behind the kitchen door.

"Nei hou!" he shouts, coming out and wiping his hands on the dirty apron he's wearing.

"Nei hou." Tiago smiles at him, "Nei sik gong ying man ma?" he asks.

Olivia is surprised to hear him speaking in Cantonese, surprised that he took it seriously enough to learn a bit before they came. Well it's reasons like these that I hired him, she thinks.

"Yes," the man in the apron says, "A bit. I'm the owner and the chef here. Sit! I have some English menus."

They grab a table by the window and sit in comfortable silence while they look over their menus. Tiago speaks first.

"Thank you for taking me here."

"To dinner?"

"No, to Hong Kong. I'm glad to have this opportunity to see more of the world."

"Well I'm glad that you're glad, Tiago, but I want to remind you this isn't just a holiday. You're being evaluated by how well you'll mesh with the team out here, there's a lot on the line."

Tiago sighs and rests his chin on his fist, gazing out the window, "I think I could get used to it here."

Perfect, she thinks, now just don't fuck the rest of this trip up.

The chef comes back over and takes their orders and asks them more about their trip.

"So why are you in Hong Kong?" he asks cheerfully.

Without skipping a beat Tiago answers him, "Oh, my mother and I are just here on holiday. She always wanted to see the East."

Tiago gives her a little wink and she cringes, hoping the chef won't notice it.

"Is that so?" the chef says turning to Olivia, "Well I hope you enjoy your time here. It's a beautiful city."

"I can see that." Olivia says curtly.

"Forgive my mother, she is quite jet lagged." Tiago says, "Do you know of any good places around here to get a drink?"

"Oh, nowhere in particular. I'm not a drinker." the chef says, "But I hear there's a new night club not far from here that's popular with people your age."

Tiago raises his eyebrows, "Oh really?"

"Erm, Esteban, we don't have time for that." Olivia interrupts.

"The night is still young though?"

"We have a tour at 8 in the morning, don't you remember?" Olivia says, trying not to be too short with him.

"Oh. I suppose you're right." Tiago mumbles, "But thank you for the tip, sir."

The chef hurries off and Olivia glares daggers at Tiago.

"What did I just say? This isn't a holiday, there's to be no dancing at nightclubs or discotheques on your off time." she tells him under her breath.

"Ugh, that's unfortunate." he says, "I just want to get a feeling for my new city."

"There's time for that later."

Their meals were delivered fairly quickly, and Olivia had to admit it was the best chow mein she'd ever had, not that she was a huge connoisseur to begin with. Before they settled up to leave the chef was nice enough to bring them some lotus seed buns free of charge, which she never had before but decided she loved. She watched Tiago sitting across from her, bringing a bun to his lips and watching as the custard squirted out onto his chin. He laughed. A vision of herself licking the custard off his skin came unbidden into her mind, and she briefly imagined the taste of the salt of his skin mixed with the sugary filling. Stupid, she thought, and disgusting, as she chased the obscene image out of her head.

Once she paid for them they made their way back to the hotel, the heat of the summer air prickling at her skin. Tiago was rambling on, saying something about Cantonese cuisine, but she didn't really hear any of it. She just wanted to be back in bed and attempt to clear her mind before their first meeting in the morning.

Once they were back on their floor Tiago still stood expectantly behind her as she pulled out her room key.

"Feeling a drink?" he asked, "We could have one at your place or mine."

"No drinking tonight." Olivia sighed, "We have an early morning tomorrow and I want you to put your best foot forward. Is that understood?"

Tiago nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

She got the door open and stepped inside. Tiago still stood looking in, almost as if he expected her to say something else, or even as if he expected her to invite him in.

"Goodnight, Tiago." she said firmly, before shutting the door in his face.

She went directly to the bathroom and started preparing a shower, taking off her makeup with cold cream while the water warmed up. Her thoughts drifted to Tiago, if maybe he was doing the same thing in his own bathroom, stripping his clothes off to expose the firm muscles of his body.

Stop it. You're being disgusting.

She tries to will the images away, but they remain in her mind. As she climbs in the steamy shower she finds her hand moving to the junction between her legs, shuddering at the thought of Tiago's naked body. All it took was a few strokes of her fingers and imagining her lips on his flesh to come undone.

Olivia feels revolted with herself as she washes off, her mind now drifting back to Matthew at home in England. She dries off and hops into bed, wishing he was next to her and feeling homesick for her own bed. At least the thoughts of Tiago had ceased for the moment after her release.

Before she drifted off to sleep she envisioned what the following day would bring, with meetings and briefings and the company dinner that was planned. Tiago had better not fuck this up for me, she thinks, as she drifts off to sleep.