Perhaps one never got to understand how much they appreciated something or someone until it was gone. Mai was admittingly growing a little concerned with herself and how things were changing around her. Late-night phone calls with Geese bloody Howard shouldn't feel so good but they did.

She felt like capturing her old self in his presence; he was still as cocky as ever, but he was good at making her smile and she liked it when he did. Suffice it to say, she liked him – as a friend. Mai didn't miss him per se but talking to him felt nice. It made her wonder why she hadn't called him or even thought of doing it before now. At best, she considered sending a text regarding Moira and the cars.

Well, now it didn't matter anyway.

Geese would be back tomorrow; Mai had learned from looking through the calendar. Fantastic as she was slowly beginning to lose her mind from being stuck in the office, taking phone calls for hours on end. At one point doing their nightly calls, Mai had begun vocalizing her displeasure too much and so Geese had sent someone to acquire an earpiece for her which she used liberally.

Just to treat herself, she gave herself an extra-long break, leaving the office with the laptop and the earpiece so she could always schedule new meetings on the spot. She should have done so earlier. It would seem that this particular floor had nothing but loungerooms, meeting rooms, and the office of course.

Mai decided to head for the floor above it next as she had never been there before. It felt odd to ride the elevator alone without Ripper or Hopper here, but Mai had gotten the hang of operating the elevator as well as remembering which floor her room was.

It stopped at her destination and Mai exited through the automatic doors, finding herself in a hallway that looked like something out of a high-end apartment complex. Would this be where some of the staff lived? If so, would Mai be living here if she continued to work for Geese? She liked her hotel room but wasn't that just for the guests?

Her musings were interrupted when she passed a door with a nameplate that read "B. Kane". Curiously the door wasn't closed entirely, and she could push it open just a bit to have a peek inside. On a couch sat Billy, wrapping bandages around his thigh and hands. He had completely dropped his pants and sat in a pair of briefs, furiously wiping the blood off his wounds. Next to a box of medical supplies was a phone and curiously, Joe's voice came from it, excited and cheerful as usual.

"Right and then I told him to eat my gonads!"

"Now why in the bloody hell would you do that?" Billy sighed as if he trying to hide his amusement.

"Because he was a dick!"

"Ugh, fucking hell, mate…"

And then they both laughed. It was so odd to watch and hear Billy laugh genuinely. Mai knew he wasn't incapable of it, but it made him appear much more human. It was endearing even. He looked nicer when he was smiling, and it pleased Mai somewhat that Joe was the one to do so. It was almost surreal to think this would never have occurred if she was not working for Geese.

"You don't mind if I come over tomorrow and crash during the weekend? I mean I know you're busy and all but…" Joe asked softly in such a manner that hardly fitted him. This must have taken Billy aback as well with the way, a subtle blush spread over his face.

"I'll check the calendar. I don't think the old man got many plans since he'd just be coming back by then."

While the two of them joked about dinner and pizza with crocodile meat, the weight of Mai's actions struck her like lightning. She had just been standing here in Billy's apartment, eavesdropping. What if someone saw her? She looked around in the hallway, finding it empty and quiet before she ventured deeper into the apartment.

A sterile smell of ethanol and cleaning product lingered in the air as Mai came into the living room. As it turned out, the apartment was much bigger than initially thought, larger than Mai's hotel room.

"Oh wow. Hello. Are you okay?" she waved and Billy flinched and turned his head to stare at her with wide eyes. Surprise was written all over his features until he soured a bit.

"Yeah, I'm good. I'd be even better if you knocked."

"Your door wasn't closed. Like at all," Mai shrugged, looking around the apartment and its accompanying balcony. The decor felt befitting of the man who lived here, with posters of bands, and a few guitars on the wall alongside the Union Jack. Yes, clearly Billy lived here.

"Hey Mai," Joe said through the phone and Mai skipped over to the coffee table with a light smirk. "Hi, Joe. I promise not to tell on your date."

There was a pause from the phone before Joe cleared his throat. "Mai, it-it's not…"

In the meantime, Billy's face tightened, and he jumped from the couch, about to protest when he winced from his wounds. He spat curses under his breath as he sat back down again, his face cringing in pain.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Mai leaned over the table, unsurprised at the grimace she got in return.

"…Are you sure you don't have work to do?"

Mai pointed towards the earpiece. "On the go."

Which was excellent timing as it began to chime and she took a seat directly next to Billy, marveling at how comfortable his couch was. She almost wished this place would be her new office.

"Howard Connection. How may I help you?" she answered as she opened the laptop. It took a few rephrasing and rehearsals to get that pleasantly corporate greeting to an acceptable level.

"A Mr. Big has arrived. He says he wants to schedule a meeting in person," the receptionist in the lobby spoke, cold and unfeeling as usual. "I told him Mr. Howard is not available, so he wants to schedule with you directly."

"Uh hold on for a sec," Mai retracted the earpiece's microphone, and turned to Billy.

"Some guy called Mr. Big is here. Says he wants to schedule a meeting in person."

This had marked the first time someone had wanted to book a meeting in person. Suppose emails were considered too archaic. Mai found it wholly conspicuous. Perhaps the man had forgotten his phone or something akin to human error. She wanted to assume the most wholesome at first but the visceral reaction on Billy's reaction made her worry. He took his phone and graciously ended the call with Joe.

"Mate, I'll chat with you later. And for the love of everything, don't tell driving instructors to eat your gonads."

"Would you rather eat 'em?" Joe chuckled maliciously on the other end and Billy sat back with a groan.

"Ugh, bye!"

He tossed the phone on the minimal space between himself and Mai, pinching the bridge of his nose before turning his attention to the matter at hand. "Talk to him and see what he wants. I'll have a chat with Geese about it."

"Uh, send him up to loungeroom number three and I'll handle it from there," Mai pulled the microphone out from the earpiece and informed the receptionist. It struck her as concerning that Mr. Big and his presence caused such reactions from the people around her.

As she waved goodbye to Billy and headed towards the elevator, a sinking feeling emerged in her stomach that left her confused. And a sudden thought made her stop once she made it onto the floor with the meeting rooms. Her grip around the laptop tightened and her knees grew momentarily weak, stopping right outside the door to loungeroom number three.

What if he had been the one who shot at them? Would that explain the sudden need to inform Geese of his arrival? Would it explain Billy's worry? Had he just told Mai to invite a vampire into the tower? No, she was being paranoid. Ridiculous even. She didn't want to think of that night anyway. She was alive and that was the most important part.

Mai took a deep breath to quell her fears and forced her corporate politeness as she flipped the indicator on the door to "occupied" and entered. In one of the lounge chairs sat a man, presumably Mr. Big. Bald like Ripper yet twice as expressive.

He was a man of status, judging from his expensive designer clothes and a coat that lay draped over another chair with its fur collar and fur cuffs. He was busy scrolling through social media on his phone – or what appeared to be a review site.

"Hello," Mai greeted, and the man looked up at her – she assumed as it was rather hard to tell with his sunglasses. Despite being indoors with the weather outside cloudy, he hadn't taken them off.

"Hey, hey! Look what we got here! Wasn't expecting such a pretty girl being the new face of South Town," his lips curled into a smile, heightened by the way his dark beard framed his mouth. Mai hurried to one of the nearby chairs and sat down, opening the laptop and the calendar.

She glanced away from the screen, shuddering at how the man stared so intently at her. Maybe she should be flattered; her Shiranui good looks were probably stunning him. Maybe it would have him more generous in business ventures with Geese. Suppose she should do her part to help it along.

"I'm just a secretary. Anyway, you wanted a meeting with Mr. Howard?" she smiled and lifted the laptop off her thighs to cross her legs. She was wearing black stockings underneath a pair of shorts, so she wasn't flashing him when she did that. Still, the simple change of movement had been subtle enough to make Mr. Big's eyes linger on her legs for a bit.

"Heh, I doubt that'll be needed when you are here. What's your name, sweet pea?"

"Mai."

"Mm, nice. I wanna get to know you a little more. I bet you're really something if that old geezer is letting you sit here and do his work," Mr. Big searched through the outer pocket of his waistcoat and pulled out a small business card which he put on the table between them. On it was written "Blue Moon Factory".

"That's my nightclub. Feel free to drop by tonight. Drinks are on me. Tell 'em Mr. Big invited you. See you later, baby girl," Big got up from his chair and shoved his hands down the depths of his pockets, leaving the loungeroom entirely.

Now alone, Mai sat with an odd feeling. She felt as if this meeting had been wholly unproductive yet then again maybe not. She would be the first person to acknowledge her ignorance when it came to business, but she had a feeling that if she decided to take Big up on his offer, it would benefit Geese in some way.

How strange that she thought of how to best please the man but suppose it was just expected from her as a good employee. Curiosity bubbled inside of her and it was powerful enough to make her consider going. A night out would do her good, Mai concluded.

Besides, what could possibly go wrong?

Just as she stood up and was about to head back to the office, the earpiece began to chime and she answered, about to speak with her practiced secretary response when a familiar voice preempted her.

"So?"

So much for hello. Yet that didn't stop her from relaxing at the sound of Geese's voice in her ear.

"He invited me to his nightclub. Tonight in fact," Mai answered as she made her way to the office.

"Yes, suppose Billy should have warned you. Go but stay vigilant. Big is not someone very trustworthy but I'm curious to see where he's going with this."

He sounded concerned and wholly unamused by this development. Suppose this Mr. Big was someone who got on the nerves of Geese and everyone within the tower but why? What had he done? What was he? A snake oil salesman? A slimy businessman? Mai wondered if she would get any answers if she left. She'd be sure to ask in the most conspicuous manner possible.

"So does that mean I can get off early today?" she asked as she went netsurfing for the Blue Moon Factory, reading reviews and checking pictures of its interior. It certainly looked like a high-end establishment and had an accompanying strip bar with good reviews. Maybe Geese's displeasure came from stripping? If so, what a prude he was.

"Yes, Miss Mai. You may," he chuckled and Mai couldn't help but beam a bit.

"Thank you~!" she exclaimed and ended the call soon thereafter. Today was her last day of work before the weekend and going out seemed like a perfect way to punctuate the end. What time was it anyway? Looking out the window, the sky was still bright but grey with the sun poking through the clouds. There was still some time left.

It took an impromptu shopping session for Mai to find something she'd be pleased to wear afterward. In the end, she settled for a black, skin-tight dress with bare shoulders and long sleeves, reaching just to her thighs. She liked how it looked and it was fairly cheap so home with her it went. A few hours later, she pulled it over her body and got busy applying makeup.

It had been a long while since he had put considerate effort into going out. She wondered if it was because she was genuinely excited for the first time in a long time. She wondered what Andy would have said if he was to look at her now.

She'd pray for him to watch over her in the afterlife.

"And here we are," Moira, tonight's driver announced as the car pulled up to the parking lot. Already an ocean of cars was present, and people flocked to the entrance.

"Have fun!" Moira waved from the driver's seat as Mai exited the vehicle.

"Thanks. I will," she tried to match the other woman's enthusiasm but found herself struggling.

Once outside, the car had driven off again, leaving Mai alone in the parking lot. Until now, there had been many sleepless nights where Mai wondered what her purpose in life was. She found herself wholly unable to function without Andy. And now, as strange as it was, she felt something akin to determination. She moved with a purpose for she had a mission.

It had been something sorely lacking in her life. Did she deserve it? She didn't know, despite everyone telling her that she did. Yet as she made her way to the nightclub's entrance, she liked to pretend that she did. Even without Andy, she stood here, doing something with her life. Life almost took an eerie turn when one looked back on it in hindsight.

"Mr. Big invited me," Mai announced to the doorman, and he spoke into his earpiece, repeating the message. After a short while, she was led inside where the club was as busy as the number of cars in the parking lot suggested. It almost felt like she had stepped into a whole new world.

Mai tried her best to maneuver around the flow of people and looked around to spot Big in the cool blue light. Perched on a balcony above the rest of the club, she spotted his bald head, sitting with his arms around two women on both sides of his body.

"Hey there, Mai," Big greeted her with a wide grin. For one, he wasn't wearing his sunglasses and so she got the honor of staring directly into his dark eyes. He waved her to sit right in front of him and she did, eying the women for a bit before they got up and left. One gasped when Big smacked her across her rear end.

Mai was evermore thankful that she was sitting at a safe distance.

Soon a server appeared with two glasses and a bottle of champagne, quietly excusing herself after she filled the glasses. Now alone with Big, Mai didn't fail to notice how his eyes traveled over her body, resting on particular areas of interest. Those being her chest and legs.

"You look ravishing, you know?" Big said without looking her in the face. "No wonder Geese decided to stuff you in his tower like a little Rapunzel, keeping you all to himself."

"No, it's nothing like that. I can leave whenever I please. Besides, he's my boss and nothing more," Mai sipped the champagne, feelings its bubbly fizz on her tongue. The taste was mild, almost watered down.

"Oh really? Hm, he's more pitiful than I thought, not even asking you out or anything."

The artificial smile carried on Mai's face faltered a bit. No, he had not, and she wouldn't like it if he did. Her heart had been too wounded to ever love again. It would be a betrayal if she did. Andy would be her only love even in death. Mai neglected to respond to such a comment, just shaking her head and looking around the establishment.

A sudden flash in the corner of her eye caused her to blink and she turned her head to see Big sitting there with his phone in hand. Mai stared at him, wide-eyed with her mouth agape, speechless as she tried to comprehend what had just occurred.

Had he…?

"Don't worry about it," he waved her off in a manner that inadvertently suggested she very much should. She considered leaving right then and there but remained even as her mood soured.

And then the women came back with drinks in their hands, taking their spot by Mr. Big's side. He put a hand on each of their hips and one got busy playing with the tie of his suit. Their sparkling dresses clung to their bodies much like Mai's did and she found herself getting distracted by the patterns of skin they revealed alongside their waists.

The women smiled and nodded to everything he said. Smile and nod, smile and nod. It seemed as if it was all they were capable of doing. It made Mai question if they even listened to what he was saying at all. She certainly wasn't or at least she wasn't paying much attention to it.

It was all bragging and outrageous flirtations with the occasional comment thrown at Mai. In the background, the music that had been playing something akin to white noise was changed into something more upbeat.

"Hey Mai. I wonder if the old goat pays you well. You know, sweet pea, I could offer you so much more than he does," Big leaned forward with a smile, a huge self-assured grin spread across his face. "What do you say?"

Mai narrowed her eyes a bit. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm good where I am."

It seemed that the shadiest of figures were always the ones to offer her jobs – which extended to Geese at some level. Yet, Mai felt a little odd referring to Geese as shady. Sure, he had a lukewarm reputation depending on who was asked, and he was used to having a superabundance of enemies.

But he proved to be overall respectful of the people working for him; he proved to be relaxed and approachable in private but a little (well a lot) smug. He was…well, Mai would be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying his company – which in turn made her wonder what would become of her once her contract ended. Would she be allowed to work there still? Would Andy forgive for being so comfortable around Geese Howard of all people?

The smile on Big's face widened as a passionate spark glow emerged in his eyes or maybe it was just the blue neon lights' reflection. "I bet you'd change your tune if you knew what type of man Geese was. But I'm not like him. I'm much better. I'm not deadbeat."

A chill ran down Mai's spine. Amongst the circle of friends, it was no secret that Rock was Geese's son. She had never been privy to how bad the relationship between father and son was; that honor was given to Terry and kept between them. But it was known that things had been awful. With Mai on the other side of the schism, now looking in, she couldn't help but wonder what Geese had to say about it.

There were always two sides to every story.

Then again, asking your boss about the details of his broken relationship with his own son was a good way to get fired. Still, Mai had a strong feeling it may have been tied down to the woman that connected them. Rock spoke fondly of his mother on occasion, but it was known that she had perished at some point. How and why and when remained a mystery yet it wasn't Mai's place to snoop. She did plenty of that as a secretary.

"Well, there's almost more than meets the eye" she mused, taking the last sip of her champagne and putting the glass on the table. At this point, the women looked like they had practically fallen asleep as they remained completely still in Big's grasp. He was subtly unamused by Mai's unwillingness to offer herself to him with the way his jaw shifted and tightened.

But then he smiled again. "You have no idea."

Perhaps she didn't but Big wouldn't be the one to inform her of some harsh truths. Especially if he was not to be trusted. Never mind the slight dread that was beginning to build inside of Mai from having her picture taken without consent. Heaven forbid, he posted it on the social media of the Blue Moon Factory.

Mai returned to staring over the balcony's railing, hardly noticing that a fifth presence had decided to join them. When she looked at Big again, she noticed the rotund burly man now next to him, maneuvering his massive frame past a passed-out woman to whisper something in Big's ear.

Whatever it was, it was bad news judging from the way Big frowned. Over the music, it was impossible for Mai to hear anything, and she had no skills in reading lips so she could only make baseless guesses. And sit with the horrible feeling of familiarity from this man.

And then it hit her.

"Oh, it's the bunny girl with the nice knockers. Did you come to become a stripper?" Jack Turner stared directly at Mai's breasts.

"…Excuse me?" she blinked, as the words' meaning began to sting her sensibilities like nettles. It was a good thing she wasn't holding a glass now as it surely would crack with how hard she clenched her fists. She opened her mouth, about to spit an equally nasty comment at him but snapped her lips shut while the heat of fury rosed to her cheeks. There was flirting, there was flattery and then there was this. The nerve!

She stared intently at Jack, just to inform him that she didn't find his antics amusing at all. Neither did Big with the way, he swatted at the rotund man. "Don't be a rube, Turner!"

The two men seemed oddly familiar with each other which in turn made Mai worry. Had they been associates? Did Big know that Jack was part of a biker gang? Hm, now all the warnings from Geese and Billy were beginning to make sense.