You discovered something you shouldn't have.

"Jon, what are you doing here?", asks Kin. The confusion on her face is slowly fading and replaced with concern. Concern and... something else.

"I found this address in your backpack, and I was curious where you work", you tell her. "I missed you. I wanted to see you."

"Shit", she curses.
"What's going on?"
Kin closes her eyes, shakes her head and takes a deep breath. "Frankly, Jon, you just saw something you should have never ever seen. This is way above your paygrade."
"I know I can't afford any of these girls, but Micah explained everything and said it's all legal."
She chuckles. "Yeah. Of course he said that."

You blink and try to follow her. Then her words sink in.
"It's not legal?", you ask and your voice sounds a bit high pitched.

"Oh Jon, my dear stupid, little Jon", she sighs, and pats your cheek. There is something very strange going on here. Kin is still the same Kin you have met these last days. Well - sort of. She's still herself, spirited, devilish and with her emotions displayed on her face. But she's also different. Much more dominant, much more in control. As if there was a certain part of her that she wanted to hide from you.

"Come with me", she says, and walks to an elevator. You follow her. She presses a button. The elevator starts.
"I told you how my dad's company handled puppies, right?", she asks, and you nod. "Well - now you know. It was this company here, and I grew up with it as a family business. It was my father's, and now it's - mine."
You shake your head, because you must have misheard. "What did you... oh!"
You stare at her.

She shrugs and grins. "Does that answer a few of your questions about me?", she asks and flashes you a grinning smile. You nod first, but then shake your head. "Actually, it just raises more."
Kin sighs. "I know", she says. The elevator rings. The doors open. You step out into some kind of very luxurious office room, the kind of room a CEO owns. There are no windows, you don't even know if you just went up or deeper down. There is, however, a muscular and well trained guard in a white uniform, bowing to Kin as she steps out of the elevator.

"So, Jon", she says, and stares at you thoughtfully. "Not only have you now discovered a secret about me that you were not supposed to know - you are also now a loose end, so to speak."
"What... what do you mean?", you ask.
She shrugs. "Well, can I trust you not telling anyone about this?"
"Of course!", you insist.

"Yes, but can I really trust you, Jon?", she looks at you, and there's the pout again that she did on the first evening, when you fell for her.
"Yes, yes, you can trust me, Kin!"
She stares at you. Right next to the two of you, the guard stands at attention. She has not sent him away. He stares at the wall, without even blinking.

"Look, Jon, let me be honest with you. There are only two options for me now. I can either make you a partner in crime, and let you in on this completely. And I do admit, I'd like that. I like you. The problem is, you are still the same naive art student you have always been, and this is NOT an environment where naive people are any use to me and the other people running this business. Not outside the kennels, at least."

You blink again. Your throat feels dry.
"And the other option?", you ask.