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The vibration went off in the pocket of his skinny jeans and Levi stirred, dragging his eyes away from a couple of girls dancing together on the floor. One hand dug into his pocket and fished the phone out with the tips of his fingers, until he succeeded in pulling it free. As soon as his eyes read that text scrawled across the screen, a smirk pulled at his lips.

He pushed himself off of the couch he had claimed and walked forward to the glass wall overlooking the dance floor, shielding his eyes with a hand to block out the swirling lights overhead. She wasn't terribly difficult to find and he saw her, just there..

[Text to Jade: Come toward the bar.]

The lanky man shoved the phone into his back pocket again and headed for the stairs, taking them slow and leisurely. As he stepped out onto the main floor, he found the bar to his right - and his eyes turned forward to the direction he was expecting her. One hand pulled at the edge of his jacket in a mild show of nerves. It wasn't because he was nervous around her but more that he was nervous over the idea of having to behave an entire night at a club with a prospective client.

Without upsetting her.

Oh, Karma.

"You wanted to be impressed."

The smirk that tugged at his lips sent them lopsided, but he at least managed not to drop his gaze to her legs. It was tempting - he nearly had, but he'd caught himself and looked away at the last moment to pretend he was studying the bar instead. Those brilliant green eyes were studying the line of people seriously, looking for the thinner spots where he might be able to shoulder into the crowd for attention.

Both of his hands shoved into his pockets at he turned to look back at her, smarmy grin in place.

"Do you want to see the VIP lounge, or stay down here?" He drew out one of his hands and waved it at the crowd with a small shrug. From what he knew of her youtube videos (he had seen a lot of them, for research, obviously) she was outgoing with an infectious charisma. Despite himself, he was a fan, and he saw the potential in her. Even here - just now, simply standing in front of him with her teeth in her lips and those long legs..

Nope. Business, Levi.

"Which rabbit hole, Alice?" The hand he had waved in the air raised to the back of his neck, tussling the shorter hair closer to his nape.

It was his turn to curse mentally as she stepped forward so close to him that her head tilted back to meet his gaze. His bright eyes met hers and trailed down, over lips and line of her neck, to the hand he felt pulling just so on his jacket. If he'd not steeled himself, he would have given into such a blatant test of his limits but job security was a good foundation to stand on. Not that he didn't seriously consider it.

I can't ******** do this.

The dark haired man groaned inwardly and looked out at the dance floor, trying to judge how many drinks it would take to feel comfortable there. It was pretty packed, as always, but almost to the point that everyone's face become a blur. Unfortunately, he wasn't a great dancer - so he would have to be pressed.

Maybe just a few drinks.

"Drinks," he offered with a smirk, bold enough to slip his arm over her shoulder and tug her toward the stairs with him. "I'm not good at dancing. I've got a mind for words, not so much rhythm." The man at the bottom of the stairs was broad chested with a shining, bald head - it did the job, he looked impressive and intimidating. Levi nodded at him as they began to ascend the steps and he let them pass, unquestioned. He'd brought her here because his company already invested heavily in the well being of the club - and the owner greatly appreciated it.

"The bar up here is less crowded." And a bit more heavy-handed, as a bonus.

"I know enough," he offered.

A part of him wondered if the meeting had felt as one-sided to her. He, who had spent hours watching her videos - first for research, then for entertainment - knew exactly who she was. Well, at least who she was when there a camera and several hours of editing. People were never exactly the same but the life he'd seen in her face, that was true.

And then who was he, to her? A man with an opportunity, a personality she could only guess at. The odds were in his favor. He would have been more excited if he wasn't trying to behave.

"I doubt that very much," he said with deep chuckle, shaking his head at her as he walked in measured steps toward her tugging hands. "You're half my size, Jade. I'm going to have to carry you out of here if you try that."

A grin split his lips as his feet followed the tension she kept on his jacket, moving with her until her back nearly met the bar behind them. He pressed just a little too close, making sure she was trapped between his body and the bar, but not close enough that they touched. That would have been inappropriate. His eyes managed to give nothing away but his hand dropped to her lower back to make sure she didn't wander too far.

He looked up and away, waiting for the bartender to notice them.

"What do you like?" A pause. "To drink, I mean?"

Levi managed to school his face as she pulled him closer, though he almost broke down as the flat of her palm slid over his chest. The corner of his lips twitched but he resisted the urge to really pin her into the bar. He had no doubt she was tempting him on purpose even if her eyes didn't give away the truth. The only thing he could do was keep reminding himself that if this went well, he would technically be her boss.

Asking her to sign a hook-up disclosure to hand in with her contract would probably be a really tacky move.

So he should probably avoid that. Probably. The nose-bop brought him back to his senses and he smirked at her, amused by the sudden difference in her demeanor. Teasing, then playful. He was glad that her charm was not just a show on her channel - even if it was hard to withstand as the target.

"I would never underestimate you, believe me."

And it was good that he didn't, for no sooner had the words left his lips than she had turned in his hold. He could feel the flex of her muscles beneath his fingertips as she moved beneath them and inwardly, he contained a frustrated groan. This was past teasing, this game she was playing at, and despite all his corporate driven goals for the night he found himself leaning into her. The hand on her stomach applied a little pressure while the other braced him against the bar, his hand next to her arm where it braced her. With a dip of his head his mouth was at her ear, loud enough that he could be heard, but low enough that it was said for her alone.

"but I had really expected you to behave better on a business meeting."

The bartender approached and, despite their closeness and the obvious atmosphere surrounding them in that moment, he didn't bat an eyelash. He had seen far worse things than a couple getting handsy. Levi looked up from where he had been watching the profile of Jade's face, meeting his gaze without pulling back or letting her have her space again.

"Two old-fashioneds." The hand he had on the bar wave his first two forefingers and the bartender slipped away with a nod. Levi would tip him well for the tact.

Levi would have given her the title, too.

As she leaned back into him he laughed softly in her ear, defeated and amused. The edge of his facade crumpled just a little as he cracked beneath her teasing and he pulled her tighter into him without hesitance. She was making it more and more clear that she didn't want to see business Levi - not that he could blame her, he felt much more vanilla when he was bound by business-social rules. But those rules were rules for a reason and this was very, very unprofessional of him.

How the hell did he resist it, though? He felt every bit of his youth defying him in that moment. His gaze fell away to watch the fingers trailing up and down his arm and the lips by her ear smiled for her, even if she couldn't see them. When he spoke again, his voice was low and a little strained, but content.

"I didn't realize how much you were getting out of that promise, Jade. But I'll keep my word." His mouth dipped closer to her ear, so that the warmth of his breath might ghost the cusp, but his eyes focused past her onto the bartender coming back with drinks in hand. The hand on her stomach lifted and he straightened back up and reached for the drink. Was a bar lounge or a dance floor more dangerous? Suddenly, he wasn't sure.

It was hard not to smile back at the grin on her lips, especially as she pressed her palm against his chest again. He wanted to hold it there and pull her close, lean in and tell her something she might slap him for. Instead, he rolled his shoulder and peeled away, stepping back so her hand had to fall into the empty space between them if she didn't remove it.

"Let's go sit down on the lounge over there," he used his free hand to point at the sections of curved couches that dotted the entire length of the open, glass fronted second story. The dance floor below was on display from above, giving people-watchers a distant view of the crowd's energy. It was still not as busy as it would be in an hour and the feel of the mentality was still contained - people hadn't lost their inhibitions just enough yet. He wasn't sure if that was something he had learned on his own from concert venues and bars - or if it was something he had learned from looking out for the easiest prey while energy hunting.

"We can chat for a bit." He caught her hand in his free one and raised his drink to his lips at the same time that he tugged her along behind him and crossed over to the lounge. Once they were close enough, her hand dropped, and he reclined comfortably into the curved back. "Maybe if we get enough business talk out of the way, we can go downstairs."

He wasn't sure himself if he was just expressing a hopefulness, or if it was going to be taken as a bargain, but he needed to take the upper hand back from her for just a little while. She knew her boldness had already made him question himself, but there was always that small part of him that needed to make sure business was taken care of first. It was no longer a need to behave - he'd thrown that out of the window the moment she had pressed the line of her body into his - but it was still important that he not jeapordize what he was working toward.

"I want to make sure we're on the same page before we commit to anything." Was that about the job, or something else? Levi's smile wasn't telling, which probably meant he'd left it vague for a reason.