Chapter 48

They had talked with C'nthia as they walked through the Redgrass' different rooms. Aiden guided them towards the room where he assumed he could order a burger. The room wasn't large, more cozy than anything else. The walls were a tan wallpaper with brown patterns across it. Soft lighting came from a number of glowing orbs attached to the walls at intervals. A bar ran along one wall with a bartender cleaning glasses standing behind it.

Aiden ordered burgers for him and his friends as C'nthia indicated she wasn't hungry. The group all sat down at one of the tables – each of which had an actual table cloth on it. Jay pulled out M'redith's chair for her and Aiden did the same for C'nthia which earned him a strange look but she gracefully accepted it and said thank you.

“No one does that you know – have two dungeon runs at the same time like that. How did you even get the two teams to agree to it?” C'nthia asked as she readjusted her large frame in the not quite large chair.

M'redith laughed and gave Jay's arm a playful swat, “Oh he was all huffy like he owned the place. He actually said 'Silence.' to them when they tried arguing in front of him. And. It. Worked. I couldn't believe it.”

Jay laughed, “I wasn't sure what to say. I tried to think of what a masked villain would say and went with that.”

Aiden let out a braying laugh, “Well it must have worked! That was a great time, I think the crowd loved it.”

M'redith looked at Jay thoughtfully, “I'm constantly amazed at the situations Jay finds himself in yet somehow he always manages to escape better off than he started.”

Jay shrugged, “Small sample size, that's all. Spend more time with me and you'll see me fail plenty.” He grinned and the group laughed.

“Well M'tthew tracked me down as the face off was ending. He's already getting requests from other teams that want to be in the next face off competition. You started a fresh way of running Dungeon Room and they all want a chance at it. Hell, even Ned wants another go from what I hear.”

Jay smiled, “Well I'm glad it worked out.”

C'nthia snorted. “Glad it worked out,” she muttered quietly. “We made a ton of money off of that between betting and drinks alone.” she said while tapping the table for emphasis. “You did good, Jay.”

Jay smiled, “I love hearing that every time.”

Aiden laughed and reached over to slap him on the shoulder in jest.

C'nthia tapped the table again and stood up, “I have to get back – be thankful you only own a minor share. Having to run this place is a nightmare! Again, good work,” she said as she shook Jay's hand and nodded at his friends before walking off in to the next room. Jay could hear her asking someone questions and not getting the answers she wanted. Jay chuckled.

The burgers came and the group suddenly ran out of things they wanted to say and instead focused on eating. The burgers were quarter pounders and were exactly what they needed to give them a little boost.

They set their masks aside as they ate as many of the other customers would. Trying to stuff food under a mask wasn't very enjoyable. As everyone was wearing masks that night once they had finished eating they all set them back in place.

After they finished Jay was picking at his fries when Aiden stood up, “I think they have a dart room somewhere around here. I'm going to go check it out, want to go?”

Jay shook his head, “I'm a bit beat, I might just hang out here for a little while.”

Aiden didn't even bother asking M'redith if she wanted to go as her arm was wrapped around Jay's and she was leaning in to him. She did not give off the vibe of a woman looking for a different activity to pursue.

“Ok, see you two later!” Aiden said cheerfully as he wandered out of the room.

“So.” Jay said.

“So.” M'redith responded before pulling back and looking up at him. “Having fun?” she asked.

“I am. Really. It's just all a bit much. I had hoped to relax a little today. This is relaxing, don't get me wrong – it's just a lot. Kind of dropped in my lap without warning. I did manage to score a new investment though! Wasn't that lucky?” Jay said obliviously.

M'redith snorted without meaning to which made Jay laugh. Instead of waiting for him to tease her though she launched right in to conversation, “It wasn't luck. I'd say it was anything but.” Her tone was no longer playful and had taken on a more serious one.

Jay's head tilted to the side, “What do you mean? You think it was planned out?”

M'redith nodded as if that should be obvious, “Absolutely. Look, you were broke yesterday morning. Then you ran a dungeon which lasted all day and night and in to the next day's morning. That morning you get paid three gold. Plus you got one gold from loot. So four gold. With me so far?”

Jay nodded but still not quite seeing her point.

“So between this morning and tonight Walter, Boland, and C'nthia's group managed to all talk with each other and work out a complicated minor-share agreement without any input from you. All you had to do was send a message to Boland. You were not a part of this agreement's creation – it was all decided without you. That is not how agreements normally work. That is point one.”

Jay pursed his lips as she spoke and his face began to look a little concerned.

M'redith didn't stop however. If anything it was as if she were picking up steam the longer she spoke. “Point two – you can not fight. At all. I saw what that Dungeon Room run looked like and I've a much better idea of what you went through. There was no way you would have been able to fight those monsters on your own. Yet when you asked C'nthia why they chose you to join their investment she listed a few things, one of which was that you're good in a fight.”

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She looked at Jay, “Are you good in a fight? Be honest with me please.” she said with imploring eyes that stared up at him.

“No.” Jay said, “I'm not a good fighter but I think what she actually said was that I'm good to have around in a fight – not that I'm a good fighter. I can't do damage but I can still be helpful. Still, I see your point.”

M'redith barely paused to let Jay answer before she continued, “Point three – tell me, how much did it cost you to become partner of a putt putt course?”

Jay shrugged, “I'm horrible with money. I think it was two gold?”

M'redith nodded. “Two gold. How much did a minor share cost you here? TWO GOLD. Now does this place look a slight bit more upscale to you? This place isn't worth 2 gold, 4 gold, or even 10 gold. This place cost a ton of gold, yet they sold you a minor share in it for just TWO gold.”

Jay went to speak but M'redith wasn't quite yet finished, “You should have paid ten times that. This has nothing to do with putt-putt or minor shares. I think this is all about you. I think Walter is binding you to himself using the friendship from C'nthia's group as well as tying you to him financially using investments too good for you to pass up.”

Jay tilted his head to the side but now had a truly concerned look on his face. M'redith didn't stop to give him time to think, “Walter wants you. You're a money maker and your services will be in intense even violent demand once they become common knowledge. When that happens he wants you to turn to him and he will be there waiting to take you in. Then he can use you as he wants, charge what he wants to others while paying you only THREE GOLD a run!”

M'redith had gotten a bit expressive and was waving her arms around in agitation as she spoke.

“But I thought three gold was a lot!” Jay said in surprise.

“It is! But not compared to what you can do! Do you have any idea what it costs to raise an item from uncommon to rare?! No less than 100 gold unless you are extraordinarily lucky. Does 3 gold seem like a lot compared to 100? Especially when the whole thing depends on YOUR ability?”

Jay had gone quiet and was thinking some new thoughts that were unfamiliar to him. Delving in to the motives of others in complicated business dealings was not a skill he possessed. He was not good at politics but M'redith's points all made sense. “Am I in trouble?” he finally asked.

“No. Maybe? I've been telling you to be careful but I feel like you've been just humoring me. I'm not kidding when I say be careful Jay. You're not on Earth anymore.” M'redith said sadly as she reached around his shoulders and gave him a side hug.

She continued but did not withdraw her arm from around him. Jay could smell an intoxicating mix of her perfume and her body's natural scent as she moved closer to him.

“You need to start questioning people's motives. Everyone's motives. Even mine. Look for possible reasons people might be acting extra nice towards you. Try to figure out what they have to gain from you. If you are comfortable with what they gain then great – if not, well that is where the trouble comes in.” she said as she tugged at her dress' arrangement as she was showing a bit more leg than she had intended.

Jay nodded dumbly. “Ok. I'll start keeping a better look out for motives.”

“Good.” said M'redith with a smile. “That's all I'm asking.”

Jay was just getting around to wondering how a girl who comes from a farm is so good at political business dealings when M'redith leaned over, tilted up her mask and his, and kissed him lightly on the lips.

Jay forgot what he had just been thinking as M'redith's lips stayed just in front of his own. She was very close. “Be. Careful.” she said in a quiet voice.

She smiled and reset her mask but left his mask for him to sort out on his own. He fumbled at it and slid it back in to place.

Getting up suddenly she shattered the serious mood and said, “Come on, I want to dance.”

Jay numbly stood up still thinking about the kiss and she dragged him off to the room with the dance floor. They were playing a different song than last time but it was still going strong and Jay grabbed M'redith's hands as they started dancing.

At one point Jay asked M'redith if she wanted to try a lift. She said yes without understanding what exactly that entailed. Jay gave her basic instructions of what to do – basically assume a position with her arms out and her head back and... jump!

As she jumped in the air Jay grabbed her waist with both hands and lifted her in to the air even higher than her jump alone would have done. She was held like that for a moment, arms out, head back, hair dangling, like a sexy superhero held over Jay's head. It looked as if she weighed as much as a feather and Jay could hold her indefinitely.

Her red dress caught the light and shone brightly drawing the attention of the other dancers. Seeing her lifted in to the air many dancers clapped, some cheered. Jay returned her to the ground and they transitioned smoothly right back in to dancing. It was flawless and M'redith had never felt so on display, every eye in the room drawn to her.

She was blushing a bit but it only added to her beauty. They weren't perfect dancers but they were enthusiastic and obviously enjoyed each other's company. Sometimes that counted far more than skill alone.

“Hey, isn't that C'nthia over there?” M'redith asked in an odd tone of voice.

Jay looked over as he swung M'redith out to his left. “I see her. So?”

M'redith swung back towards Jay and he caught her as she returned. “Look at her dance partner!”

Jay looked closer and missed a dance step – but M'redith caught him and smoothly danced around him covering his error. “Hey, that's Aiden!!”

M'redith laughed, “I guess he found something to do after all.”

Jay laughed and M'redith let out a brief squeal of delight as he stopped dancing as the music came to a close and dipped her backwards. Her body made one giant arc from the top of her head to the graceful curve of her neck and followed by her hips, waist, and legs.

M'redith already looked good and the dance move just made her look amazing. People looked over and applauded appreciatively.

The music started up again but this time was much slower. M'redith looked up at Jay with an excited grin, “Slow dance!” she said quietly.

Jay chuckled, “May I have this dance?”

M'redith beamed up at him, “You couldn't get away from me if you tried!” she whispered as she placed her arms around Jay and he drew her close. They danced the entire song and laughed quietly together when they caught Aiden dancing slowly with C'nthia.

M'redith sighed, “This is perfect.”