Meeting at a bar.

Reina parted with Ruth after lunch, when the blonde returned to work.

It was the weirdest thing. These two met when they each decided on their own to check up on Will when he was sick. They got to talk there and immediately hit it off. Reina watched her boyfriend fuck this hot stanger and it just escalated from there. It's like Ruth gets her. Not to say they think exactly alike, but they agree on things without the need to discuss it much. Like this deal with Anna, for example. Ruth didn't know her, but she trusted Reina and agreed to give her a chance. And speaking of Anna…

Reina killed some time doing some window shopping. There were things she wanted to buy but didn't have the money for yet. Not to mention the matter of her apartment was still up in the air.

By 7pm, Reina was at the meeting place. A small bar in a street filled with countless competition. The others around were bigger, had live music, karaoke and other attractions. In comparison, the one Anna had sent the location to seemed the plainer of the lot. She went in regardless, and only once inside did she understand the appeal. Quiet, classy, with dark wooden flooring, dim lighting for atmosphere, and tables separated by booths. Yeah, this was the kind of place she liked.

She sat down at a booth and ordered a tequila sunrise while she waited. Her drink was there in two minutes, and the secretary there fifteen minutes after that,

"I'm so sorry for being late!" Anna said, going over to Reina with hurried steps. "I went back home to drop off my things and… figured I might as well get changed."

Reina had to blink a couple of times. Anna was wearing a red, thin, shoulderless sweater dress that hugged her magnificent curves. Legs bare and black, high heel shoes. A small purse hung from her shoulder.

"My God, woman! " Reina chuckled. "Now I feel underdressed."

It was Anna's turn to look stunned. She raised an eyebrow as she sat down. "You could be wearing rags and still look sexier than 80% of the models at Ladies Magazine."

Reina shrugged playfully. "I mean… With the right tears in the right places…" They shared a hearty laugh. Good to see there wasn't any sort of tension here. "I hope you don't mind that I started without you. I wanted to get in the mood."

Anna chuckled. "No, I don't mind. However… I'd like to get some serious topics out of the way first."

Reina stopped mid-sip. "serious topics?"

Anna sighed. "Mrs. Evans asked for your files today, after you two talked."

"I have files?"

Anna nodded. "From the products you've modeled, to the sales of said products and even how much traffic you bring the website from the pictures uploaded to social media. All the models have these files. I told you this before, don't you remember?"

Reina winced. "I… forgot. Sorry."

"Well, the thing is that I was curious about why she'd ask for them, and took a look before giving them to her. I wanted to see if she was looking for anything in particular. Turns out you're bringing lots of sales and traffic. Your photo sets are some of the most viewed on the page and sales for the lingerie you've modeled has risen 32% in the last two weeks."

Reina's chest swelled with emotion. There was hard data showing her career was moving up.

A waiter came up to them and took Anna's order. The secretary wanted a piña colada. They waited for him to leave before continuing.

"Happy as I am to hear that, I get the feeling the story doesn't end there."

Anna grimaced. "I gave Mrs. Evans your files and… I really don't know what's going with her. She was reading the documents over and over, muttering something about reasons to fire you."

Reina's heart went cold. "Excuse me?"

"I don't get it either!" Anna insisted. "If you're one of our most profitable models, why would she want to fire you?"

"..." Reina swallowed. She had a long drink from the tequila sunrise and turned to Anna again. "Might have something to do with what we talked about today."

Reina told her most of it. That Mrs. Evans wanted to get rid of William and stop the 'special shoots' but had no good reasons. That she couldn't even remember her lover's very name all of a sudden.

"You're kidding me?" Anna's jaw hung open. "But she's… What's going on? This is too weird." The secretary then set her eyes on Reina. "And you know something, don't you?"

Ugh. Reina was here to seduce Anna and convince her to fully join Will's harem, not spill the secrets of the whole supernatural drama. But… Will wanted to tell her the truth, anyway. And with how closely Anna worked with Mrs. Evans, having her on their side and in the know would be advantageous, wouldn't it? Reina took another sip of her drink.

"Anna… What do you think about Mrs. Evans?" Reina asked. Better start slow. Test the waters.

"Hm? She's… amazing. Like, outrageously so. Did you know I first applied to be a model there?"

Regina's eyebrows shot up. "No shit?"

Anna giggled. "I really needed a part time job, and people kept telling me I was good looking. I found the ad and applied. I regretted it as soon as I sent my pictures and my resume. I'm not cut out for the camera. I get all stiff. So when they called me for an interview, I was surprised to hear they wanted me as a receptionist."

"What?"

"Mrs. Evans put it plainly. She needed attractive people at the front desk, but didn't want people who would leave mess after mess due to incompetence. She saw how organized my resume was, called me for a one-on-one interview and… Well, when I left I was one of the receptionists at Ladies Magazine."

"Just like that?"

"She asked really difficult questions." Anna chuckled. "Over time, she began to trust me more. She saw I was a better fit as a secretary and had me work closely with her, even offering me a full-time job if I wanted it. She's been more than fair to me, and slowly I've earned her trust. I owe her a lot, so if you know something, please tell me."

Reina took a deep breath. She didn't know what the right thing to do was, but… She couldn't help but think that having Anna on their side would be for the best.

"You'll think I'm drunk from all the crap I'm gonna say."

"I'll judge."

And so Reina started.