Even though she hadn’t done anything – she hadn’t been at the Empyrean long enough to do anything – when Leandra got the notice that she was wanted in Mr. Sato’s office, she was convinced that it was because she was in trouble. She wracked her brain as she made her way up to the seventh floor, where she was told his office was located, trying to go over her last few shifts to figure out what exactly she had done wrong, but she could think of nothing. She was still at a loss when she reached the double doors of his office, and gave up trying to figure it out, knocking timidly against the door and pushing it open when she heard his voice inviting her inside. Opening the door admitted her into a cavernous office, equipped with a spacious seating area, a conference table and a large, dark wooden desk; the soft sounds of jazz music played overhead from hidden speakers. She found Atsushi seated at his desk, his suit jacket missing, as he looked over something on his phone; he looked up at her entry and gave that same warm smile, beckoning to her with his free hand.   “Leandra, come in.” She marveled at the office as she moved further into the room, before focusing her attention on him. “How are you?”   “…A little nervous,” Leandra admitted, causing him to raise an eyebrow as he looked up at her.   “Nervous?”   “It’s like getting called to the principal’s office, but worse,” Leandra explained, and he laughed a little.   “I’m sorry, Leandra; you’re not in trouble, of course.” He stood from his seat and moved around to the front of his desk, leaning back against it. “I called you here because I have a proposition for you.”   “Proposition?” Leandra repeated. “Like what?”   “I’m hosting a party at my house this weekend,” he explained. “It will just be for my family, but it’s been a while since I’ve been designated as the host; usually my older brother takes care of those things.” Leandra nodded, watching him intently as she waited for him to continue. “If you would like to make some extra money, I need a few people as wait staff; I’d like to give you the opportunity to do the job.” Leandra’s eyebrows rose in surprise.   “That sounds great,” she began, “but I usually work nights…”   “We can have your schedule moved around,” he assured her. “You won’t miss the hours, I can assure you. You, and whoever you choose to work with; I would entrust the rest of the hiring to you.”   “To me?” Leandra said incredulously, her eyes wide. Atsushi nodded, smiling.   “I trust your judgment,” he stated, then held one hand out towards her. “Do we have a deal?” After a moment Leandra nodded, moving closer to slip her hand into his to shake, and struggling to ignore the way her heart raced in her chest at the sensation of their skin touching.   “Deal.”           At first Leandra could understand why anyone would need wait staff for a house party for family – unless they were the really uppity type, which she was sure that Atsushi wasn’t – but she soon found out.   Her schedule was rearranged, as well as the schedules of Ehrielle and a couple of other people she thought she could trust to come. On the early evening of the party a car was sent to her apartment for her, to take her to Mr. Sato’s estate. Leandra was cautious but decided to go along, taking her bag with her into the back seat of the Lincoln MKZ that the driver had come in. She wasn’t sure of where they were going, but it took an hour to get there; they ventured up into the hills that rose above Los Angeles, where the houses were bigger, but still not big enough to need staff to cover them. Soon the houses disappeared, and were replaced by gate entrances on the street, only to be swapped again with houses that grew more and more ordinary as time passed. Leandra was completely baffled as the driver to a tiny, one-and-a-half lane road flanked by houses as big as the one she grew up in, but everything quickly made sense as they reached the entrance to 9505 Lania Lane.   The driveway alone was a quarter of a mile long, flanked on each side by huge trees that kept the road shaded and blocked most of the estate from view, but Leandra caught glimpses of a reflecting pool, perfectly manicured landscaping and what looked to be a vineyard even before they reached the house. The house – if one could even call it a house – itself was a monstrosity. The car pulled past a second gate into the main part of the driveway, placed before a colossus of marble, stone and greenery; the sun was setting and the outdoor lights were already on, bathing the expansive mansion and the marble fountain in the driveway in golden light.   It seemed strange to Leandra that this place even had a doorbell; a part of her expected house staff to be waiting outside already for her arrival. To her surprise it was Atsushi who answered the door; to her even greater surprise he was dressed down very casually in black lounge pants and a black, sleeveless ho