Leandra was living in a Twilight Zone, surely; that was the only way that she could possibly have a date with Atsushi Sato.   They had agreed to go out during the week, when the Empyrean would be marginally less busy, and could stand to spare her. It didn’t give her nearly enough time to mentally prepare herself, but Leandra would have agreed to any date he offered, she was sure. On the night of the date she got ready early, spending a large portion of the time deciding on which dress to wear. It was much harder to do than she had originally expected – what do you wear to go on a date with your boss? – but she ultimately decided on a burnt orange halter dress with a mid-thigh length hem, and black, strappy heels. It was the perfect outfit for a high bun, and her next mission as the craft the perfect one, and let it become tamed into place while she did her makeup. She was just putting on earrings when a knock on her door sounded, making her heart skip a beat. Her heels clicked against the wooden floor as she hurried across the small space of her studio apartment, moving to unlock and open the door without bothering to check the peephole; doing so would only make her too nervous to open the door, at least not right away. As she pulled the door open, a part of her wished that she had thought twice about doing so anyway; the sight of Atsushi standing on the other side of the door in a black suit and a black and white dotted shirt stopped her breath in her lungs, and her heart skipped a beat or two more. His eyes landed on her and he paused, raising one eyebrow as he took in her appearance from the bottom to the top.   “Leandra…” His voice made her face warm and she lowered her gaze, running her hands over her dress.   “I dressed up the best that I could,” she told him, continuing to fuss with her clothes. “I don’t know where we’re going, but I hope this will work.”   “You look…absolutely incredible,” Atsushi declared, surprising her; she looked up at him, only to find herself looking away again as she met his intent gaze. “I almost don’t want to go anywhere, if I’m being honest.”   “Why?”   “Because, I’m afraid some man might try to steal your attention.” This time there was an amused smile on his handsome face as she looked up at him again.   “That won’t happen,” she declared. “Trust me.”   “Alright,” Atsushi acquiesced with a nod. “I guess I’ll just have to take your word for it.”   He waited while she locked up her apartment and they ventured downstairs and out of the building together; it wasn’t until they reached his car and he opened and closed her door for her that it truly dawned on her again – she was going on a date with Atsushi Sato. She was already surrounded by his scent as he sat in the car, so it made no difference when he joined her in the driver’s seat; she did her best to relax in her seat, crossing her legs and sitting back as Atsushi pulled away from the curb.   “So, where are we going?” she inquired of him as he drove. “Is it some kind of surprise?” Atsushi laughed a little, shaking his head.   “No, it’s not a surprise,” he told her. “I just wanted to take you to dinner; I hope that you like steakhouses.”   “What’s not to like?” He probably could have taken her to eat fish heads for dinner and she wouldn’t have minded, if she was allowed to be honest as well. It was a twenty-minute ride into downtown, where