Dawn began to peek through the curtains of Amelia's ragged room she shared with Arthur. Her eyes fluttered open, well, one of them did. The other eye was too swollen to even pry itself open a crack. Amelia sighed and looked next to her, gazing at her wasted husband. She frowned as her eyes wandered across the room, seeing all the empty beer bottles that littered their floor. She always wondered what went wrong after she married Arthur. They had known each other for over ten years before they finally tied the knot. Her mind went back to those days in biology class when a fourteen-year-old her and sixteen-year-old Arthur would flirt constantly with each other. Arthur was a straight 'A' student, was on the student body as the treasurer, who came from a happy home with two loving parents, and never EVER partied. He was the classic nerd who was deadset on being a gentleman. He was fairly loved around the school and was respected by all his teachers. What happened that Arthur? Amelia didn't have an answer, but she definitely preferred that Arthur to this one.

She decided to get up and go make some tea for her husband before he was to go off to work. She scurried downstairs and put the old fashioned kettle by the stove with three bags of black tea. She turned the sink on and filled the kettle while the bags soaked and then turned the stove on medium heat. She then began to cook him some scrambled eggs and toast, wanting him to have a full stomach to help with the hangover. She quickly put some cream into the whisked eggs and poured them into the greased frying pan. She then plated the well done white bread and fluffy eggs, setting them on the table. She then began to pour his cup of tea just as he began to trudge down the stairs.

"Eggs and toast, with some black tea for your hangover," Amelia whispered as she turned back to the stove. Arthur took a sip of the tea and sighed in happiness.

"You truly are too good for me, my dear. Sorry about last night, I guess I had one too many. Does anything hurt now?" Arthur asked worriedly. Amelia simply shook her head and plated her food.

"Not anymore. It's fine dear, I know it's been super stressful at work recently. You need to release most of that pent up emotion somehow. We can't afford much at the moment, but maybe we can buy a stress ball or something until we can afford a punching bag,"

"That's a wonderful idea, love. I'll look for some on my break," Arthur finished eating and kissed Amelia's bruised temple, "I hate myself for always doing this,"

"It's not your fault," Amelia repeated with a soft tone. Arthur grabbed his coat and keys, heading for the door, "love you!"

"Yes, yes! Love you too, dear!" Arthur quickly shut the door and got into his car. Amelia sighed in relief as she heard him drive off. She quickly finished her scraps of food before going to her purse and pulling out the business card Ivan had given her. She picked up her cell phone and quickly dialed the number, putting it to her ear. After three rings, the phone picked up.

"Privet? Who iz zisss," Ivan slurred. It was clear that he still hadn't risen from bed and Amelia had to stifle her laughter.

"Mr. Braginsky, this is Amelia from yesterday. I'm calling to schedule the interview," Amelia quirked an amused brow as she heard a string of Russian curses, "is everything ok?"

"Da! Everything is fine! I just overslept! Be at Braginsky Infinity in one hour,"

"Uh, I don't have a car remember?" Amelia giggled as she heard Ivan shuffling to get his clothes off.

"I will send a driver, be ready in an hour! I'll text you the details from this phone!" a thud was heard and more curses came from Ivan's mouth, "stupid end table! I just stubbed my toe!" Ivan groaned as he continued to run around. Amelia laughed a tiny bit, making Ivan smile on the other end.

"I will see you soon, Mr. Braginsky. Try not to hurt yourself any more than you already have,"

"Da! I will!" Amelia rolled her eyes and hung up. She went upstairs and took a quick shower to help the swelling of her eye go down. She didn't need to wash her hair as she had done so the previous night. She was just trying to scrub the smell of beatings and disgrace from her fragile frame. After the shower, she quickly brushed her teeth and blow-dried her hair. She then looked at the mirror, gently grazing her black eye.

Ten minutes later and Amelia finished brushing on the last of the waterproof foundation over her eye and other small visible places. She smiled at her face in the mirror, finding the many marks left by her drunk husband to be virtually impossible to see. She then began to do her hair and get dressed for her interview with Ivan. She decided on a nice black dress with long sleeves. It was a turtleneck sweater dress that hugged her curves nicely but still went down to her kneecap. She put on stockings that matched her skin tone and black knee boots. She put her hair in a braid, wrapping it around her head like a flower crown. She then grabbed her phone and put it in her satchel, as well as a small makeup bag with an extra foundation and a folder with her resume. She then put on a baby blue vest with a fur collar, finishing her look. She then received a text message from Ivan.

My driver should be at your house in five minutes. His name is Gilbert and he will be arriving in our company car. He is an albino man and should be wearing a black dress shirt and pants with an ivory vest. Please text me if he arrives late -Ivan

Amelia smiled at the text and waited by the front window to keep an eye out. Not even five minutes later a limousine pulled up to the house and a buff, broad, albino man stepped out. He went straight to the door and knocked loudly. Amelia got up from the chair and opened the door.

"Ms. Jones, I am ze awesome Gilbert. I vill be driving jou to ze even more awesome Braginsky Infinity! Right zis vay!" Gilbert held out his arm. Amelia chuckled and hooked onto it, happily locking up her house and getting into the limo.

"How did you know my surname?" Amelia asked as she belted herself in. Gilbert was pulling away from the house and looking at her through the mirror.

"Mr. Braginsky decided to do some further digging on jou. Jou graduated Harkin Freedom University vith a master's un International Affairs two months ago. Jou are married to Arthur Kirkland, vho us employed at ze Hithow's Brewery. Jou have von bruder, a tvin named Matthew vho lives in Canada at ze moment. Jour parents died un a car accident vhen jou vere four years old. Jou have a clean criminal record vith no reports of any kind. Jou pay every ticket jou or Arthur gets und never skip jury duty. Jou're a real model citizen, just ze person Ivan vould hire," Gilbert smirked at seeing Amelia's utterly shocked face.

"Well, at least I know Mr. Braginsky does his homework before hiring someone," Amelia jested lightly, earning a chuckle from Gilbert. The rest of the ride was filled with pleasant conversation and soon enough the two finally arrived. Gilbert parked the car in front of two large doors, got out of the driver's seat, and quickly walked to open the door for Amelia.

"Jou vill do awesome," Gilbert winked. Just then another man happily walked up to the duo, "Franny, zis us Amelia Freedom Jones. She is Mr. Braginsky's interview. Ms. Jones, zis us Francis," Gilbert introduced. Francis was a taller man with a muscular frame and strong arms. His hair was a golden blonde and was pulled back into a ponytail. He had stubble on his chin, but not enough for it to look dirty or unprofessional. His eyes glittered like gems and were a very pretty blue. He wore a light pink dress shirt with a black vest and matching pants. His cute little bow tie was a dark fuschia.

"'ello zere, mademoiselle! I am indeed Francis Bonnefoy! I am Mr. Braginsky's personal fashion designer! 'e 'as asked me to escort you to ze elevator! Now, away we shall go! See you at lunch, Gil!" Francis waved to Gilbert.

"Ja, jou vill!" Gilbert replied as Francis gently pushed Amelia in. When Amelia walked into the building, she saw office chaos. Hundreds of employees were hurriedly moving around one another, like some sort of performance, as they did regular office chores. Many were taking phone calls, some were getting coffees, a few were typing away at their desks, and Amelia even saw a few workers doing yoga. The energy was definitely something she enjoyed, but Arthur could never handle himself in such a lively environment. Amelia and Francis finally got to an elevator, where there was a key slot instead of a button. Francis pulled out an antique key and unlocked the elevator, placing it gently in Amelia's hands.

"Zis key iz only to be used by you, Amelia. Unless Mr. Braginsky tells you otherwise," the door pinged and opened up, "good luck!" Francis pushed Amelia in and waved as the doors closed. Amelia looked around the fancy elevator, doing her best to steady her breathing. When she got to the penthouse office, she saw three men working at their desks. She quietly approached the first desk, a man with blonde hair and glasses.

"Excuse me, I have an interview with Mr. Braginsky. My name is Amelia Jones," she explained softly. The blonde looked up and smiled at her.

"He is in his office, just knock before entering," he pointed and went back to typing something. Amelia took a deep breath and walked over to the large door, knocking with confidence.

"Enter!" she heard from the other side. She opened the door and walked in, closing it behind her. She saw Ivan sitting at his desk and looking at something on his screen. When he finally looked up to see Amelia, he smiled and stood up, "Ms. Jones! Wonderful of you to take my offer! Unfortunately, I have yet to find an opening for any new positions. So, this interview we will be looking over your resume," they shook hands with each other. Ivan was surprised at her grip and nodded respectfully. 

"Alright, Mr. Braginsky. That's fine with me," Amelia sat down as Ivan typed on his computer.

"Ok, it says here you graduated with a degree in International Affairs. Tell me what the exactly entails,"

"Well, I am able to communicate foreign policies and laws without bias. I am made aware of the world and its politics. I analyze international relations and come up with solutions for any previous ongoing tensions. I also speak a variety of languages,"

"Da, I see that. You speak fluent English, French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish, and Russian," Ivan quirked his eyebrow.

"I also speak Danish, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Estonian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Hindi. I pick up languages very easily but sometimes struggle with grammar. The ones I just listed aren't on my resume because I can only speak them, whereas the ones on my resume I can read, write, and speak fluently," Ivan hums and nods. He clicks another part of the screen.

"You seem very good with people. You were voted prom queen in your high school senior prom, were an honors student, was the treasuer of your student council, and also part of the National Honors Society. You have no criminal record whatsoever and have always shown up for jury duty when you were assigned,"

"Yes,"

"Would you consider yourself to be organized?"

"I suppose so. Once I work out a system there's normally no way of me breaking it. I normally am in charge of most of the housework and financing at home. I cook, clean, and balance our finances into priority sections,"

"Any children?"

"Nope, I do love kids though. I just have very mother hen like mannerisms," Amelia giggled cutely, making Ivan blush. He then turned his head a certain way, causing a ripple of pain to radiate through his brain.

"Blyad!" he shouted while he rubbed his temple.

"Migraine?" Ivan nodded at Amelia, who began to rummage through her satchel. She got out a pill container and took out two tablets. She placed them on his desk and went to the Keurig in the corner, beginning to brew a cup of black tea. 

"What are you doing?"

"Shush," Amelia ordered as she closed the blinds and cracked a few of the windows. She also walked to the light switch and dimmed the lights. By then, the tea was done, "here's a cup of black tea and Tylenol. Fresh air and minimal light help cure headaches faster, especially these LED ones," Amelia then sat back down and smiled. Ivan took the medicine and inhaled the fresh breeze.

"Spasibo," Ivan said with a smile. He looked at the woman in front of him with soft eyes. Just then, a knock, "enter!" Amelia watched as one of the other front desk men walked in, a tall brunette with his hair in a ponytail.

"Mr. Braginsky, I just came in to remind you of your business meeting in ten minutes with Mr. Yao Wang of Stonegate Enterprises. He and his advisors will meet you in boardroom three,"

"Thank you, Toris," Ivan shoed away the man, who bowed and left without another word. Ivan then sighed, "I forgot I had a meeting with him," Ivan got up and began to gather multiple manila folders.

"Don't you have a PA or something to remind you?" Amelia asked worriedly. Ivan paused for a moment before smirking.

"I do now,"

"What?!"

 "Stand up and take off that cheap vest," Amelia did so and Ivan handed her all the folders as well as his laptop. They began to walk out, "Raivis, be sure to remind me to call Francis and Katyusha to my office after this meeting!"

"Yes, sir!" the smallest man yelped with fright as Ivan unlocked the elevator with his key. The two stepped in and the elevator door closed, giving them a minute of peace.

"Smart thinking," Amelia smirked. Ivan smirked back and shrugged.

"You're the one who gave me the idea," the door opened and Ivan strode down the hallway with confidence. As he entered the meeting room, he saw four people. A man with his brown hair in a ponytail of the side of his shoulder walked up and bowed.

"Mr. Braginsky, a pleasure," Ivan and Amelia bowed.

"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Wang. I am afraid I have yet to be introduced to your associates," Ivan smiled as he gestured to the other three men.

"The first man is Kiku Honda, second is Im Yong Soo, and lastly is my very own son Leon Wang," the men all got up and bowed, to which only Amelia bowed back. Yao looked at Amelia with a smile, "may you introduce yourself, young lady?" Yao asked as Kiku began to sip a styrofoam cup of tea.

"Wǒ de míng zì shì Amelia, hěn gāoxìng jiàndào nǐ," Amelia smiled brightly. Kiku spat out his tea in shock and the other two just sat there wide-eyed. Yao, on the other hand, was smiling.

"Your Mandarin is wonderful, Ms. Amelia! What other languages are you fluent in?" Yao asked.

"Many, Mr. Wang. I can speak Japanese, Cantonese, Korean, Hindi, Russian, French, German, Italian, and much more. If I were to name them all, we might be here for a bit," Amelia explained.

"Mr. Wang, this is my new personal assistant," Ivan smiled down at the Chinese man.

"Well, you are very lucky. A woman with brains, as well as beauty, is tough to find these days," Yao shrugged as everybody took their seats. Amelia began to take notes on Yao's presentation when she saw a flaw in his math.

"Mr. Wang, I mean no disrespect. But, I'm afraid your math is wrong in regards to your income increase. You are actually five thousand American dollars short if your graphs are supposedly correct," the statement made all the men look twice.

"Ms. Ameria is right," Kiku pointed out, "was that what the bank statement read, Mr. Wang?"

"Yes, it was. Where did that money go?"

"Have you had an employee recently quit?" Amelia asked.

"Yes, my technical engineer just quit last week. He said there were personal problems regarding his family back in his home country and hasn't had contact with anyone since,"

"Sounds like he embezzled your money and ran," Amelia concluded, "if this was done here in the states since it was over 950 US dollars, it would be considered grand theft. That's a felony charge, meaning he most likely would be held in a federal facility and have to pay over a grand in criminal fines,"

"You're smart," Im Yong Soo stated with cute puppy eyes. Yao simply nodded in agreement.

"Well, I'll be sure to get on that then. Thank you, Amelia," Yao bowed and she nodded sweetly. Ivan glanced at her with wonder in his eyes. He never felt his chest thump like that before. He felt warm, fuzzy, and his chest felt tight. His soul gem ached as he watched Amelia take notes. After the meeting ended, Ivan called one of his secretaries. Once he hung up, Ivan held out his arm.

"Where are we going?" Amelia asked in wonder as Ivan led her outside. Gilbert pulled up in the same limo as before, with a smile on his face. The albino got out and opened the door for the two, Ivan helping her get in.

"Gilbert, the usual," Ivan ordered in a stern, monotoned voice.

"Ja, right avay sir!" Gilbert pulled away from the tall building. Ivan adjusted himself so he was sitting comfortably, using a button to close the window and give him and Amelia privacy.

"I am taking us to my usual lunch spot. After what happened yesterday, I don't feel like trying anything new. It's a nice place and it's quite peaceful. My treat," Ivan smiled.

"Sir, I don't think I should-"

"Ms. Jones, you basically solidified a business relationship with the best fueler company in the Northern Hemisphere. Stonegate Enterprises is America's leading energy plant that uses stored renewable resources such as sun and wind power. Partnering with them will allow our products to not simply be cleaner but better for our environment. You earned this," Ivan smiled at Amelia. That's when Gilbert parked the car and went to help Ivan and Amelia out of their seats. Upon seeing the restaurant, Amelia gasped.

The Crystal Eclipse

This restaurant was the most expensive eatery within a fifty-mile radius. Ivan held out his arm again, and Amelia took it without hesitation. As they walked into the elegant bistro, they were greeted by a man with a strange curl on his head.

"Welcome back Mr. Braginsky!" he said happily.

"It is good to see you, Mr. Vargas,"

"You know you can call me Feliciano!" the Italian bounced, but stopped upon noticing Amelia, "what is your name, bella?"

"Mi chiamo Amelia. Piacere, Feliciano!" Amelia and Ivan both chuckled at the shocked Italian's face.

"Wow! Pretty and smart! We have your normal table awaiting for you Mr. Braginsky! Please follow me!" Feliciano led the two towards a table on the balcony overlooking the city. The smaller man brought two menus and helped Amelia in her chair, "I will be back to take your orders in a couple of minutes!" he pranced off, leaving Amelia to stare at the menu. An impossible question was running through her pretty head as she admired the romantic decor.

Is this a date?