─═ڿڰۣڿ♚ڿڰۣڿ═─♥︎─═ڿڰۣڿ♚ڿڰۣڿ═─

Zenith Point Tower was as lavish as Ling expected.

All the major players were here, including Director Chu, Ms. Hachette, Zinnia Wright, and, of course, Memphis Pell. Ling's mood immediately soured when he saw the youngest Pell.

"Don't let Mr. Immense Respect for the Asian Community bother you," uttered James, walking beside him up to the window-adjacent largetable. "He will be on his best behaviour around Memphis."

"What's the deal with you two?" whispered Ling. "Memphis, not Mr. Asian Fetish."

Ling was once again served a dimple-inducing smirk. Bastard. "Perhaps he's my sugar daddy."

Ling ducked his head so the group didn't see him laugh.

"We're friends," James told him. "Memphis and I have known each other for quite a while."

"How is that even possible?" pointed out Ling. "You have to be around my age, and Memphis Pell is old enough to be my grandfather."

"Twenty-four."

Hearing that the owner of an incredibly chic and successful club was actually younger than him made Ling raise his eyebrow in disbelief. "Seriously?"

"I can show you a birth certificate if you would like?" he unabashedly offered, then added in an utterance that Ling barely caught, "I'm sure he had it in his apartment."

"Well, that's very impressive, Mr. Abel," Ling sassed. "Such success at such a young age."

"From what I understand, you, Mr. Zhi, had built a globally successful online business by twenty-one."

"What are you two lovebirds whispering about?" joked the oldest Pell by way of greeting.

Ling decided to pretend he hadn't heard, but James only chuckled and returned the greeting with a semi-embrace to the billionaire. "Business strategies."

The older man then came to Ling. "I'm, glad you could make it, Ling."

Ling graciously shook Mr. Pell's hand. He wasn't bothered, even if the term love could go die.

Dinner went smoothly, other than the occasional too-white smile being sent his way from the youngest Pell across the tables. Ling sat between his socialite co-star, and James.

Why the hell was Isaiah Pell shooting lewd glances at him? Zinnia Wright was sitting right-fucking-next to him. Speaking of the beautiful socialite, she seemed nice, if not slightly enamoured with her reflection in the wine flute. She had become even nicer when she realised Ling was the designer behind the LZ Gear brand. It was flattering, he supposed, that she'd heard about the clothes.

"Oh, Ling," said Zinnia, when half the group had gotten up to go to the adjacent bar. Memphis had hired the whole place out as a private function. "We should get a picture together. Do you mind?"

He shrugged. "Sure." She took him over to the floor-length windows, where she took a couple of selfies of them, then asked one of the other guests to take more. Her bronze gown did look stunning against her dark skin. That, mixed with the fact that she actually knew something about fashion, had an interest in it, and was only a couple of years younger than him, Ling might have even thought about asking her out, but he'd probably have just as bad luck with women as he did with men.

She asked if he didn't mind her hugging him from the side for another photo for Instagram. Ling was fine with it, though did try not to grit his teeth when Isaiah Pell looked like he was considering walking over.

He was chatting in a group with his older brother, though, and so Ling prayed that Memphis wouldn't leave, as it seemed James was right about Isaiah being on his best, least slimiest behaviour around the actual head of the family company.

Thinking the name caused Ling to look around for him, and he caught a glimpse of James by the bar with another group. He didn't know why he found himself watching the other man, and though Zinnia wasn't so bad, Ling would rather be standing over with James. Out of everyone here in this ritzy snob fest, he strangely felt the most comfortable around the young club owner. Maybe it was because, so far, James was actually far more relaxed and easy to talk to than his surface ambiance gave off.

Something outside the window caught his attention. It was late, though the moon and city lights offered enough illumination that Ling saw the shape clearly enough.

Or so he thought. At first, he assumed it must have been a bird or bat, and in the distance, flying above the city it looked more like a shadow anyway. Then it got closer.

The large thing that had wings like a bat but definitely wasn't one then shot upwards adjacent to the tower, and Ling looked to the others talking around him. They went on like nothing had happened, completely oblivious. How the fuck had they not seen that? Not that Ling knew what he had just seen.

Maybe it was Batman?

Ling couldn't hold back a stupid little laugh at that, but luckily the ladies that had since gathered around Zinnia and him had also started laughing at some gossip, so he didn't look insane.

But seriously, what was that thing? A drone? Maybe it had been some toy plane that a kid had draped a cape over as a joke.

He glanced over at the bar simultaneously to James walking off. He almost looked annoyed. Still outwardly calm and suave as Ling had always seen him, but his demeanour definitely appeared tenser. Was he okay? And Ling could've sworn that the other man had also glanced out the window before marching off.

Okay, that aside, now Ling was curious. Already on the top floor, it would only be one flight of stairs to the roof. It hadn't looked like a drone. He politely extricated himself from the group and backtracked until coming to the corridor he'd entered from, still carrying another half-drank glass of wine. Ling took the staircase lablled ENTRY TO ROOF, noting it to be unlocked and the alarm disarmed.

For some reason, as Ling got close to the roof, his ears popped even though they hadn't been blocked. Even closer, he started to hear two faint voices, both were masculine, and seemed to be having a hushed argument on the other side of the ajar exit door.

Ling could only make outbits and pieces of what was being said, though one sounded like James. Hedidn't recognise the other.

"...where did you..." was what he heard from James.

"...on my way here...Empyral Plane...didn't see me..."

"...Why are they here?" James's bothered voice again. "...I'll look into..."

"...make any headway Asmode—"

A creaking sound from behind caused Ling to snap his attention back to the corridor. Ling hadn't meant to come up and eavesdrop, and though there turned out to be nothing behind him, the sudden sound made him lose his nerve, so he went back. Why was he up here listening to this anyway? Ling really didn't want to go up there and explain that he wasn't trying to barge in, and only wanted to see if he could get a better view of the mutant Batman that might've passed by the roof.

What the hell was even happening? Was Junhui right? Was this just all stress from overwork and multi-tasking piling up? Ling downed the rest of the wine and decided to add this to the ignore pile. He arrived back at the first corridor.

"Ah, Zhi Ling," said a voice that made Ling internally wilt. Surreptitiously, Ling pressed record on his phone before sliding it back into his inside jacket pocket and turning to face Isaiah Pell with a smile. "I was wondering where you had gone off to. I was worried you might have left early."

"No, I'm fine. Did I miss something Mr. Pell?"

The older man, who was currently engaged to his fourth fiancée, a female swimsuit model, walked closer to Ling, who fought the urge to lean away.

"Do you mind if I call you Ling?"

"No—"

"Of course you don't," he very thoughtfully interrupted.

"You've probably noticed this, Ling," he continued. "But us Pells are rather direct, so let me be direct. I couldn't help but overhear you and Miss Wright talking, where you mentioned having aspirations to expand your business. Now, Memphis may have hired you for these little ads for his gin, and the pay is decent, though I could help you get, far more expeditiously, what you want."

Please go away. "Uh...I don't think I understand." It was pretty obvious, though hopefully, his blatant playing dumb act would give Isaiah the hint.

Isaiah took a sip of his drink, raking his eyes up Ling's body. Somehow, Ling didn't feel like it was the clothes Isaiah was thinking about.

"I'll be leaving in a couple of weeks to go to Capri with a small party, for business concerning production. Though the island is known for its...pleasure. Someone like you could make the dealings more aesthetically pleasing. What do you say, Ling? Such an alluring face and delicate hands shouldn't be wasted making clothes and shooting commercials about alcohol. But I'll be sure to get you your little factories and hire the help. And, you don't need to worry about anything."

Ling couldn't quite believe how blatantly suggestive and patronising this man was being, though forced himself to remain even-toned and polite. Not that Isaiah could do anything if Ling told him to fuck off, especially considering he'd recorded the whole conversation as proof, though he was reluctant to make an enemy of a Pell.

What if he was petty enough to try and sabotage Ling's business? He seemed the type, and unlike the middle brother Whyatt, Isaiah did not come across as a moron. Where was Memphis?

"Ling," said a voice that was really starting to give Ling an unwanted damsel in distress being saved complex, though he was still relieved. "Memphis was looking for you, something concerning your schedule at the end of the fortnight."

James walked over, and from Ling's position, he could see that the third to their party had come from the stairs, though Isaiah's back was to the other man.

Isaiah's jaw visibly clenched, this time barely feigning a patient and civil tone. "You have a gift for interrupting private conversations, Mr. Abel. Why don't you return to school and continue learning some much-needed manners."

Wow, pulling the age card. Classy.

Though James's glib demeanour didn't flinch. "That sounds like an excellent idea. Though I'm afraid that if I returned to my senior year I might run into your new fiancée."

Ling expertly held his laugh at bay.

"I heard," continued James, "that her birthday is coming up. You're going to Italy in a couple of weeks, aren't you? Perhaps you could take her?"

Isaiah closed the gap between him and James and uttered, "You are walking a very fine line, little boy. Be careful or you'll learn how adults do business. Sooner or later Memphis will come out of whatever haze has preoccupied him concerning you." Isaiah, who was around the same height as James, stepped back and re-donned his own suave demeanour. "As for my dear brother wanting to discuss Ling's schedule, perhaps I could sort that out with him."

He walked off, though not before softly brushing past Ling. "Let's continue this at another time, Ling."

"Hmm," observed James with a casual shrug of the lips. "At least you weren't propositioned at my club this time." 

─═ڿڰۣڿ♚ڿڰۣڿ═─♥︎─═ڿڰۣڿ♚ڿڰۣڿ═─

~ Daci