Decard inspects and Kat's supplier tries to set up a meet.

You look through the peephole and see Jim standing alone in front of your door. In a first for you, he appears to be wearing business attire. He's dressed in a button-up blue office shirt and what appears to be black slacks of some kind. Of course, he didn't do a thing with his slicked-back greasy black hair though, old Jim must have his limits to looking respectable after all. You look back towards Kat.

"Yep, it's him."

"Let's get it over with then," she says, offering a thumbs up.

You turn back to the door and open it. He looks at your smiling face and offers the same.

"Hello, Ms. Stewart," he nods while drawing all the syllables out in your last name as he's wont to do. You still find it creepy but having someone else here makes it easier to stay pleasant. You step to the side and he walks past. You notice for the first time he's carrying a faux leather briefcase. This has to be his attempt at businesslike. You wonder why he's going to the trouble. You look towards Kat.

"Mr. Decard, this is my friend Kat Chiang."

He takes a moment to look her up and down. You notice his gaze flickers quickly past the baggy sweatshirt she's wearing but lingers a bit on her tight jeans. Now maybe Kat won't wonder why you stuck to the baggy sweats yourself.

He nods to her, "Hello. Charmed to meet you."

She just smiles back at him letting you take charge of the conversation.

"Shall we get this over, sir? I'm sure you have better things to do with your time than chat with a tenant all night."

"If you say so. I wouldn't want to take up too much of your time."

You start by walking him to the bathroom. Kat sensibly stays behind in the living room. It must be nice to have that choice you think. You step into the bathroom with him, he pulls his phone out and takes a few pictures. Then a notepad is pulled from his briefcase.

"So is your friend staying with you?," he asks as he turns the shower on for a second. Then you notice his pad has a list of things to check and he crosses the shower off the list.

"For a few days probably. The lease allows for a guest for two weeks if memory serves."

He moves over to the sink and checks the water.

"Yes, it does. Just make sure you contact me if she stays longer so we can fill out the addendum," he puts another check on the list. "The penalty, if you're caught with a longer guest stay, is quite substantial."

You just nod as he checks through the rest of his list. Then you move to the bedroom, not a place you ever wanted to be sharing with Jim. He snaps a couple of quick pictures, checks a few items off his list, and walks out to the balcony. The rest of the inspection to your surprise is very professional and quick. Within 15 minutes both of you are back in the living room again.

"Everything is in order, Ms. Stewart," he offers as he slides the pad back in his case. "When I finish the formal form, I'll send you a copy."

"Well, thank you Mr. Decard. This was utterly painless."

"You expected otherwise?," he asks looking at you with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. It was an inspection. I was afraid I'd have a list of repairs to make."

"I can understand that," he nods. "It all looks acceptable to me. The paint could probably use some touching up but the few things I saw were normal wear and tear."

He steps over to the door and you follow. You open it for him and he steps into the hall.

"Please do call if you need help with anything."

You smile, wish him a good night, and shut the door. You turn back toward Kat and she looks at you shaking her head.

"I don't get the heebie-jeebies there, Berrygirl. He does like to stare but that's half the guys I run into these days."

You shrug, "Maybe you being here put him on his best behavior? Last time I dealt with the guy alone he had more one-liners than you'll hear on your next shift."

"Sure," she says as she answers her phone.

"Hello," she gives you a quick smile and carries her conversation to the back balcony. You take the time to hop on the laptop and check your company email. A quick computer boot and a USB drive attachment later, you see there is one message available from Lon Agra. You open it up.

*Dearest Simone,

The film will post Saturday night and as promised, there is a link at the bottom of this mail so you can see it before our adoring fans do. Don't try it now, the server will only be placed online starting on Friday at 11:59 pm. Access will be limited to a few dozen of us until 9:00 pm Saturday when the film will post to the server for VIPs, then release will be staggered from there. Don't worry your pretty little head about the rollout schedule though. I recommend getting some rest between now and then, you'll likely see a spike in demand afterward.

Looking forward to making future art,

Lon*

You close the email and put the drive away. When Kat walks back in from the balcony, she sees you sitting at your desk sipping a glass of wine and listening to some classic rock from one of the music channels on the TV.

"Hey, Strawberry. You look like you're thinking."

"Yeah, I just got an email from the director I worked with a few days ago. He let me know that film would be coming out this weekend. He also hinted I might be busy soon. I thought that type of thing took longer than this."

"Busy? I know how you people handle busy. Bow, chicka wow wow!," she giggles and rolls her hips in a circle. You laugh, grab a pillow from the couch and toss it at her. It misses wildly and soars over her shoulder bouncing off the sliding glass door leading to the balcony.

"Good thing aim isn't something you need to rely on," she teases as she sits on the end of the sofa.

"My boy called, he has a package for me and there's a nice party over at the Villas. The night is really coming together!"

"Do I want to know what that means?," you ask immediately wishing you hadn't.

"He's got some Mary Jane for me. I'm gonna need it for work tomorrow."

"I still don't get this," you shrug. "Weed has been legal here for years. How the heck do you make anything selling it?"

"The legal stuff is low quality and after taxes is super expensive. Only the government can screw up selling pot, trust me."

"It's still illegal though isn't it?"

"For the seller," she whispers conspiratorially. "Not the buyer. The cops really don't go looking for it though."

You shake your head and look at her.

"Can you skip it for now? Just give me a few days to try and work all this stuff out for you. A **** arrest could really throw a wrench into the whole interview process."

She frowns, "You're throwing a wrench in my sideline, Berrygirl. If my customers find me unreliable, they'll find someone else to buy from. I'm going to need every dollar I can get my hands on if I end up having to crawl out of this myself."

"Then skip it. Call in to work sick and give me a little time to set something up. I'm kinda thinking I might be able to leverage this whole release and stuff to get you on a fast track but I don't speak to my agent until tomorrow morning. I just need a bit of time here. . . please?"

"I don't know, Strawberry. Ditch my weed connection, miss the party, and skip work? My mother wasn't this puritan when I was in high school."