Turnaround

You suppress a grimace at his wording, and smile at him. “Welcome to the AWIO. I’m Brian, and if you’ll follow me, we’ll get started on your interview. That will help the girls get a better idea of who you are, and help them decide if they want you to be their sponsor.”

Connor offers his hand, and you shake it. He grins at you. “I gotta admit, man, this is kinda weird for me.”

The two of you start walking, with Edward following closely. You glance over at Connor. “What do you mean?”

He shrugs. “Well, I’m not used to being interviewed, especially to get a girl’s attention. Not to brag, but a lot of girls throw themselves at me when they figure out who I am.”

You nod. “Wealth can attract a lot of attention.”

Connor sighs. “Yeah. Most of the time I don’t mind, but it’s hard to find someone who…cares.”

By now you’re leading him into the interview room. He sits down at the table, and you sit opposite him. Edward pulls up a chair nearby. You set Connor’s file down, and look at him.

“So, first things first. You’re on camera in here, so that the girls can watch and come to a decision. I hope you’re ok with that?”

He laughs. “I’ve been under a microscope my whole life. My dad always expected me to be on my best behavior. ‘Don’t ruin things for me.’ Well, now I’m my own person. So yeah, it’s cool.”

You smile. “Fair enough. So, I have to ask, why are you here? As you said, it’s not like you’re hurting for options.”

Connor nods. “A couple reasons. First, like I said, it’s hard to find someone who cares about me, not the money.”

You nod, noting that he didn’t call it ‘his’ money. Connor continues. “Second, and this is a bit less deep, monster girls are hot!”

You both laugh, and even Edward chuckles. You shrug. “I can’t fault your logic there. I was a sponsor myself before I began working here.”

Connor grins. “You know what I’m talking about, then! I like you, Brian, we should party sometime.”

You laugh again, and Connor shrugs. “What really tipped the balance for me, though, was that cafe that opened up a while ago. I went in a couple times, and holy crap! All the women there are super hot, and treat me just like a regular guy!”

You chuckle, glancing at Edward. Edward grins and speaks up. “It’s funny you mentioned that. Brian and his girls are the owners of that cafe.”

Connor looks at you in surprise. “Really? That’s your place?”

You shrug. “I don’t have much to do with it. The girls do everything, I just happened to be the sponsor for some smart and ambitious ladies.”

Connor grins. “Now we definitely need to hang sometime.”

You laugh. “How about we focus on your interview for now. I’m sure the girls watching want to know more about you.”

Connor nods, and from there the interview becomes pretty rote. You definitely find yourself warming to him, despite your earlier reservations. Edward was right, it’s best not to bring prejudgment into the interview. You quickly see that despite being born into wealth, Connor seems to be very aware of his privilege, and wants to be a good person regardless.

After a while, Edward’s phone pings, and after glancing at it, he smiles. “Looks like the girls have decided. Just a moment, Connor, and we’ll bring her in.”

Connor nods, looking both nervous and excited. You chuckle, knowing that feeling, as you and Edward stand and move into the hallway. Edward smiles at you.

“That went great, good job. Feeling better about Connor?”

You chuckle. “Yeah. He seems to be a good person.”

Edward nods. “Indeed. Now, let’s go get Kylie, I guessed she would be the one.”

The two of you walk into the viewing room, and you’re nearly bowled over by a harpy girl who is practically bouncing off the walls. “I’m the one! I want him to sponsor me!”

You chuckle, watching the petite harpy dance excitedly. She’s barely five feet tall, and has the usual slim frame most harpies have. She’s very pretty, with long brown hair, and matching brown feathered wings.

Kylie giggles. “C’mon! Let’s go!”

You laugh, shaking your head. “Connor and Kylie. I hate it already.”

The harpy laughs and sticks out her tongue. “Don’t be jealous! Now let’s go!”

Both you and Edward laugh. Edward shakes his head. “Well, you ready for the best part, Brian?”

You nod. “Let’s make his day.”

Kylie cheers, bouncing excitedly in front of the door. As soon as you open it, she bounds inside, wasting no time getting over to Connor and wrapping her wings around him. Startled for a moment, he looks stunned, then smiles and hugs her back.