By the time she got back to her desk, Blair realized that the reason she left was no longer an issue. Her fame would be irrelevant if she was busy lusting after the one man she shouldn't. The redhead felt her knees weak; the fallen angel's touch was as vivid on her skin as her cells.

Drake rose to pull out the chair for her, elegantly and gracefully. For strangers, thinking of them as a pair was automatic.

- "I said you would be my keyring at events, but I think the key ring is me" he commented as he sat down with his friend, who held back a laugh.

They both focused on stage as the musicians finished a classical melody, giving space to the master of ceremonies.

- “Ladies and gentlemen, we hope you are having a pleasant evening. The starters will be served now, then we will have a greeting from the host” and, after an elegant gesture, the music reverberated through the environment, along with the rumble of voices in private conversations.

- “You're a little flushed, but you don't seem to be freaking out. Is the news okay?” Drake turned to Blair with a worried expression.

“I don't want to think about it right now,” she said, but the truth was that the woman was unable to think about anything other than a pair of blue-green eyes.

- "I don't want to see you badly again"

During their friendship, Blair had experienced severe declines in her mental health. Her troubled childhood, issues with abandonment and disappointments and all her failures weighed on her from time to time. He never seemed to be well, he just lived intervals of happiness. Only the memory of the bad times could shatter the good times, so Blair had promised herself that she would do everything she could before she fell into depression again.

- "It won't happen again" she met Drake's eyes to assure him of that.

The woman prepared to say something else, seeing doubt creep across Drake's face, but was interrupted by a husky voice behind her.

- “Mr. Collins”

Jean immediately looked at the man behind her daughter. That tone, calm as the sea, hid a devastating storm. Simple words sounded like a command in Ethan's tone.

- “Mr. Banks, it's an honor to be here.” Collins stood up and held out his hand to Banks, who took it with a firm shake.

- “It is an honor to have you here”

At that moment, a supposed truth dawned on Blair. Ethan was the host of the night, and had approached her calling her the “lady in red”. That was how she looked the first time she'd seen him, as a unique possessor of scarlet. It was likely that this had all been set up so that he would see her again. It would be understandable, for someone of Banks' magnitude, to move heaven and earth to get what he wanted.

Despite a lump in her throat at the imposing presence, Blair struggled to turn around and look at the man in the black suit. She thought for a minute before saying anything, as she knew she could easily stutter. Ethan was that kind of man, with that kind of effect on people.

- "It's an excellent place" she murmured.

The redhead was just playing cards. The course of that conversation could be a useful lead in Spencer's investigation.

- “I'm thinking of some renovations, but I also like it” that affirmative sentence showed a portion of Ethan's purchasing power. After taking over the family business, he had become one of the richest men in the country.

- “Keeping things as they are is sometimes the best thing to do”

Blair stared into the man's eyes, still trying to choose between green and blue. It was intimidating, but she was willing to put up with the butterflies in her stomach to spend a few more seconds looking at him. Meanwhile, Ethan kept his gaze on the woman's red lips, trying to get over the sight of her silhouette moving away from him.

Both kept memories that left them lit, mainly because they knew that someone would necessarily have to submit. The desire was undeniable, but the means for doing so were questionable.

- "I prefer to stimulate the structures, but you must know that" he opened a polite smile, then asked the others for permission and headed for the stage when he was called.

When Ethan took the microphone, the noises around the room died down. People wanted to hear him, and they worked hard to do so. His voice thundered, making Blair catch her breath and remember moments before, when that tone was used to say he wanted her. He began to speak easily, as if he had spent his whole life doing this.

The man's words on the stage ended in a few minutes. He didn't need to be wordy to express everything he wanted. The economy of gestures and actions was part of the mysterious fog that enveloped him. And when the classical music resumed, the main course was served by waiters throughout the hall. Nothing less than outstanding.

- “Let's talk to some acquaintances. Would you accompany us, Jean? These people are fans of your work” the woman, Ms. Clark, invited.

- "Of course, it would be a pleasure" Jean got up and looked at her daughter. He looked for some clue that she wanted him there, but he couldn't find it.

- “Blair, Drake” and with a nod, he walked away from the table, along with the couple.

Drake turned to his friend, finally getting a minute alone with his partner. He watched her relax, visibly happy that her father was away. Drake didn't have much against Jean, but he knew about her past and knew the sins she hid.

- "I'm glad I'm not interested in you, babe, because I would be losing badly to Banks" he decided to lighten the mood with his comment.

- “There's nothing to lose. He's a problem the psychiatrists couldn't get out of my mind."

"Good to know," he muttered, and Blair smiled nervously.

She thought about how many therapy sessions it would take to get over someone like Ethan, and came to the conclusion that she wasn't interested in the answer.

- “I need to go to the toilet. I didn't want to leave you with them, but it's okay now, right?" the man beside her asked, and in that little sentence she noticed Drake's protective care. He, unlike anyone else in Blair Collins' world, didn't have the ability to let her down.

- “Right” she agreed, then blew him a kiss.

As she watched her elegant friend walk to the salon's toilet, Blair felt her body shudder at Ethan's closeness. She refused to accept the energy pulsing through her blood when he was around, but she was unable to ignore it. It was impossible not to think about how impossible that connection would be when their bodies touched. The redhead blamed herself for being able to identify his presence before she even saw him.

- "Angel" he called her name with some authority, already knowing her reactions.

Banks was good at reading people, and focusing his attention on a figure like Blair was a pleasurable endeavor. He studied the woman as she rose. Even nervous, she knew how to exude sensuality.

- "Tyler" she turned to him, also using his middle name as a reference.

A few nights earlier, when Blair had met with Spencer to dig through the few details about Ethan they had access to, she'd discovered his middle name. He also discovered the ideal type of woman for him, based on the photos of his companions; tall, thin, blonde.

- "So you researched me" Ethan pondered. He wasn't surprised, just a little curious.

- "I do what needs to be done" the velvety voice composing those words was the beginning of sin.

- "We know what needs to be done" Ethan approached when sentencing, capturing for himself all the attention and oxygen of the woman. All she felt was him. In all senses. Everywhere.

- "It won't happen while you're seeing me as a victim" she opened a slight smile. With that tight red dress, the fatal heels, and the words of a woman with conviction, Blair was ready to bring the devil to his knees.

Ethan approached slowly. He knew he needed to steal her senses little by little, so she would never realize what was being done. So that there would be no escape.

- "Don't forget that those are the words of a woman who threw herself at me, hoping to be my next meal" her deep voice completely compromised the woman's hearing, leaving her body stunned and making her pupils dilate.

Since meeting in the elevator, the man had thought about Blair more than he should have. He would have gotten over the attraction between them if she hadn't moved on. From the moment he felt the goose bumps on his skin and the excitement gleam in his eyes, he knew he had a mission; get Blair Collins out of his system. Ethan had the resources to put the game in his favor, but that didn't matter much when he looked at her lips.

- "That wasn't kind" she pointed out.

- "You would love to be a victim right now" his thoughts turned to the moment when his long fingers were around the woman's throat, pressing hard enough to make her sigh.

He wasn't sure what was making Blair hesitate. It was all too simple for him to take control and wait for the other party to surrender. However, Ethan had one certainty in life; he would not accept a refusal.

Seeing the redhead's frightened and affected expression, the man decided he would need a surefire approach. She wasn't going to give in in public, not easily. They would need a private environment, where the connection screamed loudly and drowned out the other questions.

- “This is not my rhythm” at last, was what Blair managed to say.

Ethan could sense a certain danger in this woman. Not the overwhelming, immediate danger kind, but the slow, fatal kind. It would be like a snake; he would deceive with a hug, and he would end up strangling the bones.

- “This is the rhythm I'm going to put you in, principessa” Banks unrolled the last word in his perfect Italian.

- “Good luck with the attempt”

Ethan nodded, showing acceptance of the challenge with great pleasure. Proving to Blair that she was a victim by choice would be the man's life mission, from that moment forward.

When Banks walked away, sure the woman would miss his presence, he was right. Her body faltered, as if her life force had been withdrawn.

They didn't know it, but from that moment on, they had entered a game they couldn't win. What's more, they couldn't leave.