Talia stopped near the end of the bar and held out her hand.
"Phone."
I gave it to her.
"You know that was live, right?"
"I know."
She skimmed through the last minute anyway.
"So if you find something you don’t like, we’re a little late."
Of course she ignored that too.
Finally, she handed the phone back.
"I’m keeping an eye on you."
"I’d noticed."
Talia walked toward the VIP rail, but not far.
I turned back toward the bar.
The blonde from the entrance had reached Evan with the man beside her.
She smiled first.
"Evan?"
His face changed just enough for me to notice.
"Hey, Isabella."
So that was Isabella.
The man looked Evan over. Recognition took another second.
"Cole."
"Grant."
His name meant nothing to me.
The way Evan said it did.
Grant’s mouth curved.
"Okay. I get it now."
Isabella glanced at him. "Get what?"
His eyes moved over Evan again.
"How you had him wrapped around your finger. You made it sound easy."
Isabella laughed.
"It was easy."
Evan went still for half a second.
She either didn’t notice or didn’t care.
"I barely had to ask. Notes, explanations, whatever I needed." Isabella smiled at him. "You were very useful."
Evan reached for another glass.
"Glad I could help."
"You always were."
Grant laughed under his breath.
"Jesus."
Isabella gave Evan an almost fond look.
"What? He liked it."
That one landed.
I saw it in the pause before his hand closed around the bottle.
Then he kept working.
For a moment, I wanted him to say something.
He didn’t.
I looked at the bar between them instead.
Grant and Isabella on one side.
Evan working on the other.
Right.
He was probably calculating exactly how expensive telling two wealthy Vesper guests to go fuck themselves could become.
Very Evan.
Isabella looked him over again.
"You look good, though."
That caught him more off guard than everything else.
"Thanks."
Her eyes lingered briefly on his hair.
I resisted the urge to take credit.
Grant ordered something from the top shelf.
Evan checked behind him.
"That’s kept in back. Give me a minute."
"Thanks, Evan."
He disappeared through the staff door.
Grant watched him go.
"Still does it."
Isabella smiled. "Apparently."
His expression turned amused.
"You could probably tell him to wash your car."
"Stop."
She was laughing when she said it.
That was the part I didn’t like.
A minute later, Evan returned with the bottle and set it down.
Grant checked the label.
"See? Reliable."
Isabella laughed again.
Evan’s expression stayed neutral.
"Anything else?"
Grant leaned closer.
"Actually—Cole, wait."
Black and gold opened across my vision.
STANDARD QUEST — CHANGE THE STORY
TARGET — EVAN COLE
Two people from Evan’s past are treating him according to the social position they remember.
Before this interaction ends, cause at least one of them to reassess Evan strongly enough to voluntarily act on that changed perception.
SUCCESS CONDITION
Verbal defense alone is insufficient.
At least one involved person must voluntarily take an action toward Evan demonstrating materially increased social regard, interest, or perceived value.
I stared at it.
No. Absolutely not. Whatever weird history this was, it did not need me.
Then the reward appeared.
REWARD
+40 Player XP+50 PRE Progress+1 FREE ATTRIBUTE POINT
Oh, fuck off.
Forty XP. I needed five, and the free point made it considerably harder to pretend I wasn’t interested.
My last one had taken Presence from fourteen to fifteen with a single press.
No grinding. No waiting. Just another point wherever I wanted it.
[ACCEPT]
[DECLINE]
I looked at Evan.
Grant was still talking, while Isabella watched him with the same easy familiarity, as though nothing she’d said had been particularly cruel.
I seriously considered DECLINE.
For almost three seconds.
Then I pressed ACCEPT.
Fine. For that reward, I could change a story.
And I still had something else I’d earned tonight.
SPOTLIGHT CONTROL I
I opened it for the first time.
DIRECTED SPOTLIGHT
Another Subject:+1 Effective CHA+2 Effective PRE
PERSONAL SPOTLIGHT
Self:+2 Effective CHA+2 Effective PRE
Duration: 15 minutes
Cooldown: 6 hours per mode
SELECT FRAME
CompetentDesirableAuthoritativeTrustworthyExclusiveEntertaining
My thumb hovered over DESIRABLE.
No.
I didn’t need an app to make people look at me.
That wasn’t the point.
I needed them to wonder why I was looking at Evan.
I selected PERSONAL SPOTLIGHT.
FRAME — EXCLUSIVE
ACTIVE
+2 Effective CHA+2 Effective PRE
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then a man passing nearby looked at me, looked away and looked back. His friend followed his eyes.
Two women near the VIP rail noticed a few seconds later. Both dressed like money. Both carrying themselves like everyone else usually moved first.
One glanced at me twice.
The other lost track of whatever she’d been saying.
Oh.
My mouth curved.
So that was what it did.
And I still had one more card.
EXECUTIVE PRESENCE
1 USE
+2 Effective PRE during one high-stakes professional or social interaction.
I’d been saving it for something that mattered.
My eyes dropped to the Quest reward.
+1 FREE ATTRIBUTE POINT
Fuck saving it.
ACTIVATE
Again, I felt nothing.
But when I started toward the bar, more heads turned.
Men. Women. People far more accustomed to being watched than watching somebody else.
I grinned.
This was going to be fun.
Grant noticed me first.
Then Isabella.
Then Evan.
His eyes narrowed immediately.
He knew that look on my face. Maybe not what caused it, but Evan had always been good at recognizing incoming problems.
I walked straight toward the bar.
"Hey, papi."
Evan froze.
Oh, that was worth it already.
"Sorry I’m late."
His suspicion turned into genuine alarm.
He opened his mouth.
I didn’t let him get that far.
I reached across the bar, caught him by the collar and pulled him toward me.
"Let me make it up to you."
Then I kissed him.
For one perfect second, Evan didn’t move at all.
When I pulled back, Grant was staring.
Isabella was too.
Perfect.