"Which way?" Jeanette walked slightly in front of Blaize, as he was carrying the huge stack of papers and partially blocking his own vision.
"Should be your next left" His voice muffled, "There might be a sign on the wall saying 'Please Do Not Touch' that doesn't look like it's referring to anything, if you see that then that's the correct turn"
"... " Jeanette badly wanted to ask what that was about, but as soon as he said it, she spotted the rather ancient looking sign and dutifully turned left. It seemed to be a relic that the University simply left in place for no other reason than nostalgia.
"I'm ... surprised you know where to go without looking" She admitted, pushing open the door to the archival office, "How long have you worked here"
"Since I graduated" He shrugged, "It doesn't take much to know your way around"

The receptionist on duty looked up from her paperwork, and a warm smile blossomed onto her face the second her eyes skipped over Jeanette completely and settled on Blaize.
"Well well" Her voice purred, her cats-eye glasses sliding down her nose slightly, a slender brow quirked, "If it isn't my favourite explorer ..."
"Oh, I know that silky voice anywhere" Blaize's tone was downright amused, putting the papers down for a second to speak to the woman, "Carla, my favourite bureaucrat, how have you been?"
"Mmm, missing you" She stood up, leaning across her desk, her chest not-so-subtly pushed out by the action and her arms resting against the desk pressing against her sides and amplifying her clevage, "Where is that date you promised me, mmm?"
"You know I don't date" Blaize smirked, casually leaning against the desk and angling himself closer to her, "I've been busy"
"I know, I've missed you, you know" Her eyes flicking down, one hand coming up to sweep an imaginary piece of dust from Blaize's shirt before toying with one of the silver runners on his braces, "You've been away hiding, I never see you around"
"Well, I've been busy" His voice low and amused, "Much as I would like to stay here, I've got work to do"
"You always say that" She moaned, giving him a playful pout in her dark red lipstick, "Please, just stay a little longer"
"I can't, Carla" His regret lacing his voice, "I must earn my pennies like everyone else. I DO need your help though; where are the completed papers going?"
Suddenly remembering that she actually had a job, she leaned back away from the table, picking up a list from her desk and reading through the allotments.
"You're in ... row 12, shelves 1B to 5C. PLEASE be neat, there has been chaos because someone knocked an entire shelf down"
"I'll bear that in mind" He gave her a sly wink, picking up the papers again and carrying them off with Jeanette in tow.

"... Um, do you always do that?"
"Do I always do what" Blaize found a small stool to set the papers down on, running a ladder over to them to start putting the papers away.
"Do you ... I mean ..." She tried to articulate what she was thinking and finding it hard, "With the receptionist ..."
"... Do I flirt with everyone? Oh, yeah, absolutely" He sniggered, "It means I get stuff done quicker and never run out of potential dates"
"I ... see" She took a handful of papers, passing them up to Blaize as he took his place on the ladder, "Have you ... dated anyone in the University?"
"No, I don't date anyone" Sorting the first pile away, "Dating is boring and annoying"
"..." Jeanette plainly looked shocked, and he realised he probably insinuated that he dealt with sex-only when he looked down at her to get the next lot of papers, "Sorry, that was probably more than what you wanted to kn-"
"B-but dating is the best part! The romance, the sweetness ..." She trailed off, her tone dreamy, before coming to her senses again, "I-I mean, I would love to date"
"Why don't you" He seemed confused
"I'm usually too busy" Her tone sad, and Blaize unexpectedly felt sorry for her. It also confirmed in his mind that there was absolutely no way she was romantically involved with Richard ... Well, he would have been disgusted if they WERE a couple, but at least he knew for certain.
"That's ... rough"
"... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have really shared that" She handed over the next batch of papers, mentally beating herself for daring to say her thoughts out loud in the first place.
"It's alright, I normally forget things in a matter of hours anyway. The amount of times people have told me personal crap when they are stressed or angry or drunk then avoid me the next day ... half the time I've forgotten their name, let alone whatever they yelled at me"
This lifted her spirits somewhat. It was nice working for someone who was so ... casual, so freethinking and unbothered by anything. It was so refreshing ...

-

It was another two hours before they returned to Blaize's office. Oliver's note was enough to send sharp chills throughout Jeanette's body, and her hand shook slightly on reading the note for the fourth time.
"I'm ... I need to see Mr. Dexter for a moment, if that's okay" She said over her shoulder to Blaize, who was moving around papers to start another round of auditing.
"Sure" Barely paying attention to what he said as he was distracted by whatever was on the topmost paper. Quietly, she scurried to Richard's office ...

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Oliver had just finished the last of his papers. His hand was aching and his glasses felt almost painful. He pulled them off without a second thought and laid them on the table, leaning his head back to work out the stiffness of his neck. He wanted a nap or a bath, something to ease the tension that built up in his shoulders. Rolling them a few times, Oliver checked his watch. He could hang out in the library and work on the course he wanted to teach, Richard wouldn't ever know.

Pulling his bag from the floor onto the table, Oliver pushed the paperwork to the outside and began working on his course. The more time he spent away from Richard the better.

-----

Once Jeanette arrived, Richard looked up from his personal book. A list of numbers with no names was visible for a moment before he closed it.

"I'd like for you to pick out colors and help arrange my new house. I have come clients coming over the weekend and would like the place to seem inviting," Richard told her doing his best not to be annoyed at her for the way she acted now that she was working with that Elliot brat.

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Jeanette could only blink in surprise at his words. She had seen his new home; he had brought her there to make sure everything was as it should be, in terms of paperwork and any little detail that he would likely overlook but she would be able to spot. As far as she was concerned, it didn't really need decorating; everything was in neutral tones suited for houseselling, creams and light beiges that could be left and simply livened up a bit with a piece of artwork and warm lighting. She certainly didn't think he'd want her touch on it; her tastes were along the lines of pastel, frilly, fancy and feminine, flowers placed on any spare space, over-ornate furniture from a more romantic era, and plenty of books and stationary.

Without breaking her gaze on Richard, she automatically made her way to sit at the chair in front of his desk, and there her eyes flickered for a second to look at the book on his desk, then back at him again.
"Oh, no" Her voice lowered, her expression became worried, "Oh, sir, [i][please[/i] no. You don't need to do this, not again ..."

Her voice was exceptionally soft, gentle, like talking a man down from a bridge from a place of tender care.

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Richard watched her with his eyes stern and lacking any sort of fondness. He wasn't in the mood to listen to her protest but he did allow her to say her piece before rising slowly form his seat. Richard withdrew his wallet with ease. Opening it to expose a neat row of cards, some case cash he made eye contact again.

"Jeanette, I need my house to be inviting. This client could make me a lot of money and he has rich friends. I need to impress him. You are the only one I can trust with such a task. I won't have time to hire a painter so stick to doing something modern," He explained to her, not taking her no for an answer.

"I want you to take my card, don't worry about a limit. I'm sure I'll be able to pay it off if this deal is a success. He will be here this weekend so I'd prefer if you went shopping after work today," Richard went on to explain, looking toward the clock for a brief moment.

"I'll take you out to dinner after you finish shopping," Richard offered, he wasn't trying to flirt with Jeanette but using any possible affection she had for him to his advantage.

~
Meanwhile Oliver's eyes became more and more strained the longer he stared at his course work. Checking his watch he realized that the archival office was closing soon. Rising up he he struggled to carry it all to the office without dropping anything.

Barely arriving with all his papers still in semi-neat stacks, Oliver was greeted with Carla's gaze. She gave him a once over before telling him where the papers went, she didn't even bother to smile at him. Content with not being friendly, Oliver busied himself with the tiresome task of putting all the pointless papers away. Checking his watch nearly every twelve seconds to will time to go faster.

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"..." Jeanette looked at the cards in his wallet, and couldn't conceal the deflating sense of disappointment she felt at him rejecting her pleas to not perform this ... deal yet again. It was why they were let go from their previous University - well, he left before anything official happened, she was told out of his earshot that she did nothing wrong as far as they could see other than be an accomplice, but she left with him anyway - and she didn't want it to happen again.

He's a brilliant man. He could have a real career, make a true name for himself. He keeps throwing it away ...

"Yes, sir" She mumbled. The prospect of dinner didn't seem to breathe a little life back into her, as it previously had done. If anything, it seemed to make her look worse, "I will need to tell Mr. Elliot I have finished for the day, or he will wonder why I have disappeared"

~

"Back again?" Carla's voice was faint from this distance, but still audible, and just as audible was the amused purr that came in reply.
"You know me, just can't stay away from you or this paperwork. Where's this going?"
"Same place as the last lot. Where is the women who was here before?"
"She's off talking to her supervisor" Blaize casually dismissed the question, "Why, jealous are you?"
"Maybe" A teasing tone, though it suggested she wasn't particularly jealous of Jeanette in particular, "When are you going to let me take you out, mmm?"
"I'm still thinking about it" He left that dangling for her as he made his way towards the shelves, slipping between them and suddenly coming face-to-face with Oliver.

"Well, well" He looked pleased to see Oliver at least, "I was wondering where you were"

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Richard kept his eyes on her. He could tell that she didn't like what he was asking her to do, but it needed to be done. He wanted the money and his client wanted the artifact.

Making a note for himself to call a nice place to take Jeanette, he nodded when she said she wanted to talk to Blaize.

"Alright, run along then. Be back at my new place around eight," Told her before returning his attention to the last of his planning. Pictures of a priceless mask were tucked up in his papers. It was clear he was going to make a nice profit.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Oliver jumped a little when Blaize appeared in front of him. Having to juggle the papers before fixing his glasses.

"Hi," Oliver offered in greeting. "I've been hiding out in the library, working on my course plan and finishing up this paper work. I think I'm done unless Richard has more for me when I get back," Oliver explained returning to his task. Part of Oliver wanted to mention he was going to meet Xander later after work, but decided it wasn't important. He doubted Blaize would ever care.

"Where is Jeanette? Are you two done?" He asked without looking away from the papers.

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She rose to her feet slowly, her head down and her air heavy as she walked towards the door.
Pausing, she could only sigh as she looked over to Richard with her pale, watery eyes.
"You don't have to do this, sir. You could just make your name discovering great things ..."

-

"She ran off to see whatever Dick wanted" Dropping his stack of papers on the table in front of the shelves, before taking Oliver's teetering stack out of his arms and putting it down as well.
"What's working with that reptile like? He hasn't threatened you, has he"

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If hadn't already sold his soul to his greed, Richard would have been moved by Jeanette's display. Instead he simply made eye contact before looking back down to his paper. Seemingly unphased by her words as well.

~~~~

Oliver wanted to protect as Blaize took his stack of paper but he was relieved when the weight was gone. His arm had just started to ache. He blamed the fatigue on being drained emotionally which lead to the physical.

"He is a total prick. I hasn't really threatened me just gave me more paper work. I don't respect him so I don't have a reason to be afraid of him," Oliver explained returning to work on the paper from the table. Sometimes Oliver forgot to work smarter rather than harder. The table made it easier to just grab a small bundle at a time.

"What about you? Getting along well with Ms. Peters?" Oliver asked without looking at Blaize. It was hard not to feel a little jealous, but he had no right to. Something he had to keep reminding himself.

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"Good" The last thing Blaize wanted to hear was that someone was threatening Oli, and he really didn't want to hear that someone being Richard. The man had already tried to get the pair in trouble with his petulant whining about Blaize's status at the University and implying they were in an abusive boss-subordinate role, he didn't need to try and get on Blaize's bad side with outright threats to his sometime lover.

Oliver's question about Jeanette got him thinking. He paused in his speech as his hands automatically put the papers away, his brain going through their conversations as he tried to assess what she was like. When he first saw her, she was shy, excessively stuttery and timid. Being around someone other than Richard seemed to calm the stutters down, though her hesitation at doing anything that might be 'wrong' persisted.

"She's ... odd" Blaize's tentative first impressions came out, before another overlong pause, "Has Dick mentioned working with any other Universities at all?"

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Oliver nodded in agreement to Blaize's declaration of Jeanette being odd. Oliver was glad he wasn't the only one that got that vibe from her. Part of him could understand 'how' it came to be. Richard wasn't someone he enjoyed working with, he couldn't picture himself ever getting along with the man. So to him it took a special kind of person to deal with Richard, clearly Jeannette was one of those few.

"I don't really talk to him that much. He spends a lot of time on the phone and normally ignore me. I did overhear him mention some sort of mask thing. Maybe he still helping out his own university with an item but I'm not sure," Oliver told Blaize before finishing up his task and turning to look at him. Oliver took the moment to stretch his arms above his head, rotating his shoulder a bit as he did so, trying to get rid of the tension.

"Have you ever been to the Grande?" Oliver asked, bring up the hotel where he was supposed to be meeting Xander at in a few hours. Checking his watch he had about ninety minutes to go home and get ready, but he was still technically on the clock for another thirty minutes.

"I'm meeting a friend there and I was just wondering how I should dress," Oliver added to clarify this sudden question. The use of the word friend was planned. He wasn't sure what was going to happen nor what he wanted to happen, but he knew he didn't want Blaize to think less of him by telling his sometimes lover that he was going to meet an ex-lover.

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Blaize mulled over the information given to him. A mask? Possibly working with his previous Universities? It depended on department and person, but sometimes Universities were ... particular about who you spoke to after you left. He wasn't sure what to make of any of this, but Oliver's next question distracted him before he could think any further.

"The Grande?" Blaize didn't normally stay in hotels, and it took him a moment to recall the place, "I've only been there to pick up someone for drinks downtown when they've come for a visit. As far as I know, it's not really a 'dress code' kind of place; just, 'look nice', if that makes sense. Not a suit-or-you're-out place, a bit more relaxed than that"

Jeanette ghosted into view like an unwanted dustcloud, surprised to see Oliver and at-once hesitant and nervous about what she was going to say. Her eyes flitted between Blaize and Oliver as she spoke, though her voice was directed at the dark-haired man.
"I-if you are finished here, I, um, need to attend to an appointment for Mr. Dexter" Not strictly the truth, but not entirely a lie either.
"Sure" He waved a hand, dismissing her. It wasn't too hard to see the flash of relief on her face before she scurried away out of sight, looking over her shoulder at the pair for the briefest of seconds as she turned the corner.

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Oliver nodded at the tidbit of informatin given to him about the Grande. Looking nice was easy, he had a decent white shirt that he could pair with a caradagin to spruce it up a bit. Distracted for a moment about what he was going to wear, Oliver didn't noticed Jeanette's arrival until she spoke.

She was there and gone before Oliver had a real chance to greet her. Not that he would have known what to say.

"An appointment for Mr. Dexter? Thank God he didn't ask me. I probably would have told him to shove it," Oliver mused mostly to himself. The truth was he'd never really say that just think it or mumble it under his breath. He turned to face Blaize, this time with a small smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow, get home safe," Oliver added for good measure before heading toward the exit and adjusting his backpack. He still needed to sign out for the work day and he if he walked extra slow back to the office he'd easily kill the time needed and be out and on his way.

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"Something tells me he wouldn't trust you with it" Blaize's tone was light, but something deep in the back of his head was starting to wake up and mildly tug for his attention. This abstract thought had to wait, as Oliver gave his goodbyes and left.

While Jeanette's early leaving wasn't really a problem - this wasn't an enviroment in which someone would be harshly penalised for taking an afternoon off so long as the work got done - it still seemed slightly odd. Oliver could see her leaving the building, taking with her that stupidly heavy bag, and seemingly looking into a tiny notebook absolutely crammed with notes and minutia. Richard was presumably still skulking around in the building.

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Oliver approached his own office and dropped off a few things. By the time he had finished it was time to leave, give or take a few minutes. Waving goodbye to the young woman who was the receptionist Oliver headed out and toward him with a little giddy in his step. The trip home was quick and by the time he made it, Oliver was excited and a little nervous to be meeting up with Xander. All confusing feeling aside it would be nice to reconnect with someone he used to consider a dear friend.

Showering quickly and putting on a nice shirt with a cardigan to match. Oliver checked his outfit in the small mirror in his bathroom. A gentle brush of the razor to his cheek got rid of any little stubble, since he prefered to be clean shaven. Dropping his book back and retrieving his wallet, Oliver left his apartment with time to spare. Calling for a taxi, he gave the address and sat back. A whirl of anxiety threatened to have him telling the taxi to turn around and take him home. It was pushed down by the fact Oliver felt like he owed Xander at least a few hours of this time.

Arriving at the hotel, Oliver ran his fingers in his hair to calm his nerves before he headed into the hotel. Seeking out the dining area where patrons could grab a bite or have a drink. Scanning the small crowd for familiar features.

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The hotel wasn't the most high-class venue in the world, but certainly enough respectability to elevate it from the rundown shacks that Oliver had seen in his youth when travelling around. Past the glossy front, resplendent in soft swirling carpets and cool vanilla walls highlighted with red velvet curtains, he was directed to the bar area.
Decked in tobacco-coloured wooden panelling, the floor seemingly anonymous in its mahogany flooring, amber lighting providing an intimate glow over crisp martinis and toasted whiskies, it was a warm place to receive a good friend ...

A good friend that stood by the bar, his hand just closing around a freshly poured scotch. Dressed in his customary waistcoat and shirt, the polish on his shoes spoke to the fact he hadn't long finished his workday and was just winding down for a night of leisure.

Or pleasure. Either or.

Seemingly detecting Oliver's mere presence, he looked up to see his former paramour and smiled, gesturing him over to join him.
"Hi" Casual? Too casual? Over-familiar? How could one be overfamiliar with a former bedmate? Either way, he offered a handshake first that let him pull Oliver into a hug that would be more anonymous in the setting that didn't have a thermometer on how well the gesture would be received.
"What are you having?"

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