“Um, Tian?” Counter Girl’s voice asked something strange.

“Yes, Claire?” I replied in kind.

“Oh, um, yes. Hi!” She said.

The voice on the other end of the line turned a pitch higher toward the end of the simple greeting. I smiled, as my imagination easily drew a picture of Claire growing more flustered by the minute.

“Hello again,” I repeated myself. “How are you this fine evening?”

“Um, I’m fine. How are you?” Counter Girl sounded strangely stiff.

“Very bored.” I told her straight.

“Oh. Good. Um, I mean…” Claire mumbled something barely audible. “So, um, does it mean that you are free now?”

Huh? Right, there was such a possibility as well.

“Very much so,” I confirmed.

“Um, Tian, you see, it’s like, um, well, if you don’t mind, how about, um... Oh, Heavens, please help me…” the girl on the other end of the phone call drawled. “My friend and I planned a theater visit today. Something happened and now I, um, have an extra ticket and, um, was thinking… If you, um, are free and don’t mind, how about…”

“Sure.” I interrupted her.

“Just like that?” Claire asked in a weirdly surprised tone.

“Well, you are inviting me on a date?” I nodded to myself. “Unless I guessed wrong, and you had something different in mind?”

“Yes. No. Um. Ugh.” Followed by a series of weird mutterings from the other end of the line. “I mean, um, it is…”

I felt an odd sense of loss, since I was unable to see her current expression. Curses upon audio-only calls.

“Then of course I would agree. A date with you beats any alternative plans I had in mind. Hands down at that.” I told her the simple truth.

“Oh.” Her response was short. “Well, see you soon, then.”

“Hey, Claire, wait.” I called out, before the young woman in question could end the call. “There is something I need to know.”

The conversation proceeded into discussion about the details: when, where, dress code. Stuff like that.

“Should I pick you up?” I asked, after receiving all relevant information.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Um, that would be nice,” Claire responded.

“Well, see you soon, then. I will call you once I will be at your place.” I told her.

“Cya.” Counter Girl ended the call.

I glanced at the watch. A simple mental math told me that I had no real downtime. Well, this suit was good enough for a theater visit, and, even though acknowledging it left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth, it looked decently good on me.

I took off the tie and unbuttoned the jacket and the first two buttons on the shirt, completing a business-casual look. Hm, since Claire called me Tian anyway, it would be fitting to visit her as the young master of the illustrious Long clan. I heavily doubted Claire would care either way.

I pushed the button of the intercom to contact the front row.

The cars like this one were designed with the status of people who used them in mind. Who knew what kind of conversation could be going on inside, as such, the driver’s side was completely cut off from the passenger space with a soundproof barrier, completely opaque on one side.

“Young master?” A person behind the steering wheel let his attention known.

The figure on the driver seat looked somewhat familiar, if barely. It wasn’t my usual shadow, of that I was certain.

“I suppose you are my designated driver for today?” I asked for confirmation.

“I was instructed to follow your orders, young master.” The guy followed with an expected response.

I mulled over the best way forward. Just in case, I checked the traffic map again, still yellow. Oh, for fuck’s sake, haven’t I complained enough about driving around myself?

“I guess I could use one right about now,” I came to a decision.

“As you wish, young master.” A simple acknowledgement.

I told the chauffeur the change in schedule, as well as Claire’s address, and closed my eyes, deciding to get some extra rest. The talk with that damn old geezer had been exhausting enough.

***

The car I was currently occupying arrived at the destination well on time. There were no traffic jams, no accidents, nothing. Lady Fortune decided to give me a breather—what a shocker!

After judging that my driver didn’t require any further instructions, I left the car. A quick scan of the surrounding scenery revealed the absence of my date. Not exactly a huge surprise, as I was, a short glance at the time, a bit over twenty minutes early.

I took out my phone, thinking if I should send a message to Claire, as she said on our second date. Or was it a better idea to give her some more time to prepare for our date?

Hm, now that I thought about it, my mind went on a brief journey, trying to guess if Counter Girl would go all out for our date or not.

On one hand, that certainly would be welcome. My mind’s eye pictured a dressed up Claire from the club visit a week ago. On the other hand, if our date went the same as usual…

I caught myself midway, just before my train of thought could go down this slippery path. This time around, the koala girl would need to be sent home. No shit Sherlock, my self-control certainly was way too fucked to leave a girl in my bed untouched.

Fuck me sideways, how could I have forgotten about this detail when I agreed?

While I enjoyed playing this little game of ours more than I thought initially, my nefarious plans were still ongoing and the end goal hadn't really changed…

Then, once again, the possibility to leave this choice up to the young woman in question was always there as well. Not like she would have agreed, but…

I fought back the animal grin, something that was harder and harder to do as of late.