A magician's assistant

A middle-aged man emerged from the shadows. He wore dress-pants and a white shirt, the top button undone. His dark hair was starting to grey, and the hairline was high, as if baldness was already threatening. Bria couldn't help but check him out, but fought back a sneer as she took in his unfit form.

Perhaps he saw the derision in her eyes for his look darkened and his own eyes raked her body with something like contempt.

"Have you ever been a magician's assistant?" he asked in that deep voice that was no doubt his best quality.

"Once or twice, I've never really cared for magicians," she said haughtily, disliking him already. It was true, however, that she disliked magicians. In her past beauty contests there'd been the occasional girl who'd do magic tricks. One in particular had used Bria as her assistant and taken the opportunity to humiliate Bria.

"I guess you wouldn't be completely hopeless, then," he said, as if he wished it were otherwise. "At the very least you'll distract the audience."

Bria frowned. "Why would I have to distract the audience?"

The man raised an eyebrow and she felt it must be practiced. "The assistant's job is to draw the eye of the audience so they don't see through the magician's tricks."

"Oh. Well, I've never really done that before, I don't know if I could."

The man's lips quirked and he looked her up and down with an exagerated leer. "Somehow I don't think you'll have any trouble. You just need to wear something suggestive and revealing."

Bria frowned, looking down at herself. Wasn't this suggestive and revealing?

"Have you ever been hypnotized?" he asked, drawing her eyes back up.

"Once," she admitted reluctantly. Her second bout as a magician's assistant had her helping another beauty contestant practice her act. Bria had meant to somehow undermine the girl but something had gone wrong. She couldn't quite remember what had happened, she just remembered that the pageant had turned into a disaster for her. One humiliation after another. Clothing malfunctions, getting caught naked and in sexual acts with judges and other contestants' parents.

Come to think of it, that was the pageant where she first realized she had to put out for anyone that had even the remotest possibly of being able to help her on her path to glory. At least something good came of that contest, she thought.

"It didn't work," she said confidently. "By the way, who are you?"

"Ah, forgive me. My manners were clouded by your radiance," he smiled, bowing and snatching one of her hands to his lips like a true European. Bria blinked, wiping the hand on her skirt as he returned it.

The man drew out a watch on a chain and let it dangle and sway before him as he read the time. He looked up from the watch, playing with it a bit so it moved back and forth some more. Bria watched it, expecting him to put it away, and curious as to why anyone would have one of those ridiculous things in this day and age.

"Bria, I want to hypnotize you. We need to be sure it would work if you are to be my assistant. You do want that, don't you?"