Marc slid a hand around Joan’s waist and pulled her close. “It’s that look in his eyes,” Marc whispered. “Kaiba’s not here for me.”

Joan barely had time to comprehend before Seto Kaiba stopped mere inches away from her. “How much?”

“For what?” Joan asked.

“A night with you,” Seto clarified.

“Um . . . five hundred dollars?” Joan suggested.

Seto snorted. “Let me guess. That’s the base price and you charge extra for all the bells and whistles. I’ll pay you one hundred . . . thousand . . . yen, no more, for the all-inclusive package.” He enjoyed watching the emotions flicker across her face as she crunched the numbers.

Though Seto’s gaze pounded on the windows to her soul, Joan felt safe encircled by Marc’s powerful arm. “Oh . . . OK. Wait, are you talking tonight? Because I’m already spoken for tonight. Unless you happen to be into threesomes,” she added hopefully.

Seto eyed the athletic art director, who was completely at ease and in fact seemed to be enjoying the show. “How much is he paying you?”

“He’s not. He’s my boyfriend. Can you wait until Sunday evening? I was planning to go home then, but if I can do laundry at Marc’s place, I can take a sick day on Monday.”

“Tsk tsk, lying to your employer,” Seto taunted.

“It’s an expression. My boss will never know, actually. I work from home and stay ahead of schedule so I don’t drop behind if something comes up.”

“Ooooh, smart whore!” Seto’s cock began to harden in his tight leather pants. “If you’ll excuse me, Roland will handle-” he took a step away.

“Hold on!” Marc grinned wickedly upon seeing Seto’s predicament. “You came all this way and you have no words for the art director who worked so hard on your lovely banner? Marc Aurelio.” Marc stuck out his hand to shake.

Seto obliged. “Hello Marc. If you weren’t the only artist who could portray me properly, I’d fire you for bringing a whore to work. By the way, did you know that your girlfriend is a whore?”

Marc’s dark walnut eyes twinkled. “Of course. She told me about this one time a college boy paid her for a blowjob. And I just heard through the grapevine that she got another customer.”

Taken aback by Marc’s positivity, Seto blinked. He’d been trying to make a quick getaway by insulting his subordinate and leaving Marc speechless, but it had oddly backfired. At least that had alleviated his erection. “Good for her. So, I hear your wife has been dicking around in the Shadow Realm.”

“Oh yeah, that. It’s more of a side thought to the game, really. When a player’s life points reach zero, they’re not traditionally dead but rather banished to the Shadow Realm until they respawn. American parents like the sound of that better,” Marc explained.

“Just to be clear, there’s no actual Shadow Realm, right?”

“It’s represented by a blue and purple nebula surrounding the battlefield, but practically speaking, no. No actual Shadow Realm,” Marc confirmed.

“Good. If a man dressed in a towel and heavy gold jewelry shows up trying to poke your forehead with a giant key or some bullshit, have the fucker arrested.”

Marc chuckled. “Oh I’m so doing that for Halloween now.”

“Is that another one of your crazy American holidays?”

“The craziest!”

“Whatever.”

“You should see the Halloween skins we’re planning. The American market is going to eat. it. up.”

“Are you going to put Joey Wheeler in a dog costume?”

“I’ll add it to the list.”

This elicited a little smile from Seto. “Do a good job and you just might get a raise. Same with your whore.”

“My girlfriend, your whore,” Marc corrected.

Joan smiled with her lower lip between her teeth and Seto’s cock pulsed again. “K thanks bye.” Seto rushed back to Mokuba and Roland.

“I’m surprised you didn’t get slapped,” Mokuba said.

“Or punched,” Roland added.

“I told you I know a good whore when I see one. I’m going to the washroom. Roland, I expect to find her in my suite Sunday evening.”

As soon as Seto was out of sight, Roland sighed. “I hate cleaning up after his messes.”

“I think this one will be OK,” Mokuba said.

“Do you happen to know her name?” Roland asked.

“It’s Joan. Don’t know her last name, though.”

“How about her bodyguard?”

“You mean her boyfriend? That’s Marc Aurelio.”

“All right, thanks.” Roland made his way through the crowd to Marc, who was now introducing Joan to one of the programmers. “Mr. Aurelio, may I have a private word with your lovely companion?”

“Popular today, aren’t we?” Marc teased. “Go ahead.”

“Please follow me, madam.” Roland led Joan into a corner of the room. “I’m sorry, Mr. Kaiba neglected to tell me your name. I’m his bodyguard and personal assistant Roland.”

“I’m Joan Saunders.” She offered her hand and Roland shook it.

“Ms. Saunders, have you come to a satisfactory business agreement with Mr. Kaiba?”

“Yep.”

“How much, if I may ask?”

“One hundred thousand yen.”

Roland blinked. “Is that per hour or for the entire evening?”

“The entire evening.”

“To be clear, you’re being paid for your time only. Any action Mr. Kaiba may request of you will be performed only by your own free will or not at all.”

“Understood. You know, if both Kaiba brothers were involved, I’d do it for free.”

Roland frowned. “Don’t let Seto Kaiba hear you say that. He’ll think you’re a gold digger pretending to be an escort.”

“Good to know. In that case, how about I offer Mokuba a discount?”

Roland glanced back at the younger brother, who was discretely observing from afar. “He’s never asked me to arrange such matters for him, but I can pass along the offer.”

“All right, cool.”

“In any case madam, what is your preferred method of payment and contact information?”

Joan gave him her PayPal address and phone number so he could send a car to collect her. Roland shook her hand once again and returned to Mokuba. Seto still hadn’t returned from the washroom.

“So how’d it go?” Mokuba asked.

“She’s . . . offering you a discount,” Roland said.

Mokuba watched the woman smiling and laughing with his art director. She was positively glowing. “Does she offer the girlfriend experience?” he blurted before he could think too hard about it.

“Possibly. I can ask, but first I should check on Seto.”

“Right. One thing, though. If she does, don’t tell me how much it costs. I don’t want to think about how much I’m paying her. As long as it’s a reasonable rate, I’ll trust you to manage it.”

“Understood.” Roland made his way to the washroom and knocked. “Mr. Kaiba, is everything all right in there?”

“About time! Roland, I need a change of pants. Get me some pronto!”

Rather than ask why or argue, Roland called the limo driver immediately. He looked around the hallway to ensure that nobody was listening. “Special request, rush delivery.” Roland then proceeded to give detailed instructions.

Roland ended the call and made his way to the open office. He snatched a blank piece of paper from a printer and a Sharpie from a desk. After writing “Out of Order” on the paper, he taped it to the washroom door. He then went out to the curb to wait.

After a little while, Joan and Marc passed him on their way out. They gave him a little wave and continued on their way. Not long after, Laura and her boyfriend Matteo appeared. “Yo! Seto Kaiba your boss?” Laura asked.

“Affirmative,” Roland responded.

“Tell me honestly, is he a little fucked in the head?”

“No comment.”

“Figures.”

Roland remained stoic. “Laura Aurelio, was it? Any connection to Marc Aurelio?”

“Yeah, we’re married. Why?”

“It’s curious seeing you two leave separately and with different people.”

“Well, we’re polyamorous and it’s not like it’s some big secret.”

“Does he work for you?” Roland gestured at Matteo.

Laura stepped closer to the bodyguard, offering challenge. “What the fuck? Are you saying he’s out of my league?”

Roland remained unfazed. “No disrespect intended, madam. Merely making conversation.”

“Then why would you ask such a thing?”

“No comment.”

“Are you Seto Kaiba’s gigolo?”

That elicited a snort from Roland. “No. You’re the first to come to that conclusion.”

Laura grinned. “Methinks he doth protest too much.”

“Think all you want. I’m not at liberty to disclose anything without Mr. Kaiba’s express permission, and one of those few things I’m allowed to say is that he’s not gay.”

“So you mean if he was diagnosed as psychotic and off his meds, that would be a secret too?”

“Mrs. Aurelio, why are you pressing this matter?”

“Merely making conversation,” Laura quipped. “Ciao!”

Roland watched the couple walk away, disappointed to see his entertainment go but also relieved that temptation was gone. Working for Seto Kaiba could drive most people nuts, but the pay was excellent and Roland had been doing it so long now that it was second nature to him. It had put his kids through college, and though his wife stayed back in Japan when he accompanied Seto on business trips, he was looking forward to traveling the world with her during retirement.

Seto’s limo pulled up and the driver handed Roland a discrete briefcase. Roland nodded to the driver as he took it and then made his way back up the narrow staircase.