"WHY DID YOU COME round so late last night?" Miles asked as we strolled through the now familiar walls, though no less magnificent. No matter how many times I allowed my fingers to brush along the frame work, I still couldn't quite get used to it all.

I shrugged. "Had things to do." Was it obvious? He must know I was lying, what with the constant twitching and looking behind me every few metres. It was getting ridiculous. "Besides, you're only good for nights anyway." I winked.

Miles pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. "Is that all I am? A three am booty call?"

I scoffed, at last feeling somewhat more relaxed. I had to give it to Miles; he had a gift for making me feel not so like the world was crushing me.

"Who's a bootycall?" A voice said, coming up behind us. Melanie pointed a finger at Miles. "You still swallowing up the neighbourhood, Reynard?"

He pulled back, feigning hurt. "Jealous I've taken your place?" He asked. "Or upset you've not had the pleasure of a night with this." He motioned to himself, pausing for a moment on his crotch. Both Melanie and I laughed, her hysterically.

"What are we talking? Like an inch." She held up her pinky finger, wiggling it down by where a penis would be.

"I'll have you know—" I missed the rest of what he was saying as my arm was grabbed and I was being swung round a corner, away from the others and what my attacker had likely been striving for, out of view. Faintly, I could hear Melanie and Miles continuing to bicker, too absorbed in slating each other's sexual abilities to notice my disappearance.

I went to scream but a hand was clamped over my mouth.

"It's just me," Archer said, releasing me just as quickly as he'd grabbed me in the first place. "I needed to talk to you."

I huffed. "You release you can 'talk' to me without needing to make me almost shit myself."

He ignored me. "There's this small charity event tomorrow night," he told me, instead. "And I need you to be looking presentable. Have you got a dress?"

I stared at him, in shock. "Go with you to a charity event?"

"Yes," he said, staring at me with a cocked brow. "That is what we agreed. Or is your memory really that dreadful? Let me refresh it for you: you chased me down and begged me to—"

"It's not that," I said, rolling my eyes. "It's just... don't you think a day is a little short notice?"

He seemed to consider this, taking a moment to observe me. I felt antsy under his gaze. "You're right. There's an awful lot of work to be done."

"Excuse m—"

"I'll have Autumn come round to see you, help you with etiquette and such. And in terms of your appearance..." again, he took a few moments to watch me, eyes sweeping up and down my form. I transferred my weight to my other foot. "I'll figure something out dress wise. We'll sort something out make up wise, too."

"Look, I really don't thi—"

"It starts at six, so I'll knock for you at half past." My mouth hung ajar, words ready to come out, but they fell on deaf ears as he'd already walked away, disappearing off down another corridor.

***

As promised, the brown haired beauty appeared at my door not much later in the day. She stepped into my room, immediately motioning for the men she'd brought with her, all in very smart suits, to follow. I held in my surprise, settling myself on my bed as they worked around me.

Within minutes, my whole room was completely rearranged with a large table being propped in the middle of the room, various cutlery and plates being set upon it shortly after.

"Lesson one," she said, gliding over to one of the newly placed chairs and sitting on it. "Eating utensils. You need to know which to use for which meal."

I sat in the sparse chair opposite her, aware of the men leaving out the way they'd come. "There's a difference?"

She regarded me with a look like I'd just killed her cat or worse, confused Chanel with Gucci. "Oh, gosh. This is going to take longer than I thought."

It did, in fact, take longer than she'd thought.

Two hours in, and I still confused myself with the various forks laid out beside me.

"Okay," she sighed, almost at the end of her tether. "Think about it like this, work inwards. So, start with this one." She pointed to the outer pair. "And go forth from there."

"Why didn't we just start with that?"

From there, she told me of how you must never lean across the table to reach something and instead, politely ask those closer to it to pass it to you. And even better, let those attending you do it for you.

"You mean to say I can literally just sit there and do fuck all?" I asked, beginning to like the sound of it.

"Another thing," she said, setting down the napkin she'd been demonstrating how to fold appropriately. "Watch your language."

"Shit, sorry."

I was, well and truly, screwed.

***

The following day, I just had the rules I'd learned yesterday going round and round in my mind, like a mantra I couldn't quite shake. Autumn had been there for hours, right up until lights out was called. It was no wonder her words had sort of been engrained into my mind.

"Hello?" Miles said, waving a hand in front of my face. "Anyone there?"

"What?"

"Were you even listening to my beautiful voice?" He asked, hands on hips. I tried to ignore how much closer the Elite table felt, like they could hear every word. And by Archer's lack of conversation, it wouldn't shock me to know that he was listening in.

"Something about that club? Ice or something?"

He tapped me on my head. "Good girl. Now, are you up for it, tonight? Melissa says the owner is like really, really fit and he'll be there so...?"

"I can't tonight," I told him, scurrying to figure out an excuse that'll avoid having to tell him about Archer.

"Oh, come on!" He said, shaking me. "Free drinks! Fit, rich boys! What's not to love?"

"As fun as that sounds—" I flicked my gaze towards Archer. "I've got things to do."

"Oh my god," he gasped. "You're totally shagging someone. Who is it?"

I choked slightly on my drink. "No, no, nothing like that. I'm just not feeling it tonight."

He seemed a little annoyed, on the verge of being pissed. "Jolie, seriously? It's one night, you'll be missing out on the biggest opening of the year!"

"You guys have fun," I said. "Tell me how it is."

"Fine, whatever." He rose from the breakfast table. "I'm going to my lecture." I watched him go, knowing full well his next lecture wasn't for another few hours.

I held my head in my hands. If it was only day two of the agreement and I was already feeling the strain of it, what would it be like in the weeks to come?

Fuck me.