Lee had left Jason a few hours earlier when she had needed to head out for work. Left him in their new apartment. That simple thought was still hard for her to wrap her head around, even though it did make her smile each and every time it crossed her mind. Not only had Jason stuck around this long, still more than happy being her boyfriend, but he had wanted to move in with her, yet had been completely accepting of them each having their own bedrooms to ease her mind. Because of her fear of the unknown regarding what her powers might do were they to ever actually sleep near each other.

And it had been absolutely wonderful so far. Well, all except for work. Ignoring the fact that she would much rather be at home, even if Jason would be asleep at this point, Lee hated her job. The bartending itself was all well and good, but the ‘music’ at the club was horrible. At least in Lee’s opinion. Apparently there were a large number of people in New York who thought otherwise, and thus had horrible taste in music, because the tips at this Top 40 club were the best she had found at any job. And that’s why she had put up with the place for as long as she had.

But just because she hated where she worked, didn’t mean that Lee didn’t dress for success, and that night was no different with her plaid skirt, black halter, and knee high black boots with 3 inch heels. At least the memory of Jason’s reaction as she had stepped out of her room in this outfit helped the smile stay on Lee’s face as some Swifty song or another played. Tips did tend to be better when she didn’t have to force her smiles, after all.

”Hey there, handsome. What can I get you?” Lee asked as she moved to her next customer. Well, if more natural smiles helped in the tip department, flirting never really hurt.

“Hey sweetness,” said a dopey-eyed blonde with a big smile on his face. His eyes raked down her form and almost came up to breathe, but they sort of lingered like a scuba-diver unwilling to leave the crystalline depths. “You uh- Mmm. How about a stiff one?” he chuckled. “You’re sure-“

Suddenly the man winced in pain, jerked his head to the left where another man was already laughing, and then fell back as a palm went into his nose. The other man – dark haired and blue eyed – continued laughing as he lowered his hand and pushed the blonde into a large, beefy looking man of nearly seven feet. “Your club allows the worst kind of people,” Devon groaned as he glanced at the woman behind the bar. “Dred, be a pal, and see the bouncers remove him.”

Dred smirked and nodded, chuckling as he hoisted a large hand under the blonde’s arm and pulled him violently away from the bar.

“I am so sorry, miss,” Devon pursed his lips, nodding. “I couldn’t take one more moment of that and neither should you no matter what horrible things you might have done in your life. I hate having to fetch my own drinks but when you have to make a show of attending a gathering one must do what one must do. Tell me you have something strong enough that will make me forget this horrible music. Good scotch maybe?”

Though Lee’s smile had been more natural, it just kind of froze on her face, once more fake, as she heard the man’s words. And saw his eyes drift far from her own. Though it wasn’t pleasant by any means, Lee was used to this kind of behaviour. Because, though her wardrobe choices dramatically increased the amount of tips she was able to bring home in a night, it also seemed to invite comments like this.

But then her eyes did widen in shock at what happened next. Yes, fights were not uncommon in the club, they tended to happen when this many drunk men and women got this close together, but Lee had never seen one over her. Well, not a fight because of her while she was working, at any rate.

Lee really wasn’t sure what to make of the man who was left standing in front of her as ‘Dred’ carted the neanderthal off to be thrown out. He hadn’t been able to stand hearing the guy any longer, yet he wasn’t used to having to ‘fetch’ his own drinks? If this guy was that much of a VIP, Lee couldn’t understand why he was even in this club in the first place.

At least he seemed to share her opinion on the music, even if that only increased the confusion for Lee about why he was there. ”Unfortunately, this horrible music seems to attract his kind,” Lee confessed across the bar to the dark haired man standing there. ”But thank you. It’s not often I actually find a gentleman in here.” Lee’s smile was starting to come a little easier again, though as the man continued speaking, she shook her head. ”Good Scotch? Doubtful. But if you’re just looking to get drunk enough to not remember the music, I’m sure I could come up with something for you.”

>> ”Unfortunately, this horrible music seems to attract his kind,”

Devon pursed his lips and nodded.

>> ”But thank you. It’s not often I actually find a gentleman in here.”

He grinned prettily, chuckling slightly as he bent a shoulder in and nodded over it. “Thanks for calling me a gentleman,” he laughed the words. “I don’t hear that very often.”

>> ”Good Scotch? Doubtful. But if you’re just looking to get drunk enough to not remember the music, I’m sure I could come up with something for you.”

“Please,” he nodded. “Whether or not I’m railing Anthony after he’s done slumming it here with the idiots he’s gathering, I couldn’t care less. Thank God someone has a brain in here. Drunk, yes, please,” he nodded again. An eyebrow arched over a sunken but brilliant blue eye. “What’s your name?”

Lee smiled across the bar as the man said that he wasn't called a gentleman very often. That could be. Then again, maybe her standards were lowered because of what she was forced to deal with in this bar on a regular basis.

As the man continued speaking, though, Lee's eyes widened slightly. She'd definitely heard men talking like that in the bar before, that wasn't the surprise. But apparently he was right and he wasn't a gentleman after all.

Drunk. Drunk Lee could do, that was her job after all. Her mind started turning; the man in front of her wasn't her typical customer, so the typical drinks likely wouldn't do. Turning to the drinks against the wall behind her, Lee started pouring, quickly turning back to the man she'd been speaking to at the bar to present his drink. "Four Horsemen on a Mexican Trail," Lee said, passing the drink over.

"And the name's Lee. And you?"

Devon waited patiently. She’d turned abruptly without a word, so he assumed she was concocting something at least entertaining. He eyed her hands – and maybe her skirt – as she pulled up the bottles and starting pouring. Oh this all looked promising! He didn’t leer, mind you, but he could appreciate a woman who crafted her dress and style to deceive some dollars from the morons here.

He accepted the drink with a wide grin. “You really do need to be careful where you walk alone in Mexico,” he nodded from experience before shooting a full gulp and savoring the burn down. His blue eyes widened with entertained glee, but he smiriked a little at her name.

“Lee?” he turned his head slightly as if questioning the sincerity. “All right… Well, I’m Devon Hadden of Hadden’s Havens and the Haven organization and the Inferno club,” he paused then nodded as if to say he was indeed speaking the truth. “And you mix a wonderful drink,” he took another gulp and then blew a burning breath at the idiot next to him rather than the lady’s face.

“Tell me about yourself, Lee,” Devon leaned forward as an appraising gaze settled with hers.

Lee didn’t know from personal experience anything about Mexico, but she’d heard stories, and she could imagine that there were certainly places in Mexico that you wouldn’t want to walk alone. Though he didn’t seem all that convinced about her name. Whatever, it’s not like he needed to believe her, not that it really mattered. But in reality, maybe it would be better to give a fake name to customers in the future, as there were some rather unsavoury men in here some nights.

Devon Hadden. Apparently Hadden’s Haven and the Haven Organization were supposed to mean something to her. She had, however, heard of the Inferno Club, though she had never even imagined herself going there. It would explain the man’s comment about ‘slumming’ by being here.

”Well, if you’re going to survive in this city, you’ve got to be good at what you do, don’t you?” Lee asked with a smile across the bar at Devon. Not that her tips generally depended on how well she mixed drinks, most of the drinks she made were pretty basic. Rather, it was more her attire, and how drunk people got, that affected her tips more.

Then Devon was leaning across the bar, looking at her as he asked her to tell him about herself. ”There’s really not much to tell,” Lee told the younger man who had been pretty obviously eying her as he stood there. That Lee was used to, but not from someone as young as Devon appeared to be. Nor was she used to it from someone as ‘successful’ as he was claiming to be. ”Mostly, I work, though I like to go out for drinks myself when I’m not stuck here. And I play guitar a bit.

“And you? What do you do when you’re not ‘slumming it’ here or drinking good Scotch?”

>> ”Well, if you’re going to survive in this city, you’ve got to be good at what you do, don’t you?”

Devon laughed as he enjoyed his drink, “Damn right.”

She said there wasn’t much to tell, but he wagered that was wrong. He was trained to appraise people and their behavior after all. This woman seemed well armed for the modern world, manipulating with dress and quick witted with words. He sensed a fighter. And mostly importantly, she made him a good drink. She seemed to smooth the whole thing over like he was some idiot trying to get her number.

Lee asked him about himself but he shook his head. While one hand lifted the drink to his lips again the other shook a finger at her. “No, no,” he said as the liquid burned so good down his throat and into the pit of his belly. “I’m not an idiot. I mean, tell me about yourself. I like you already and I’m not just being a dog here,” he explained… sort of. “I’m out helping people find a good place to put their money to help society and whatever. I play with some powerful folks and make dreams happen,” he laughed.

“Maybe you get why I want to know more hm?” he turned his head slightly, grinning. “Haven… Inferno nightclub… There’s a bar there…” He laughed, swishing his hands out as if demonstrating something. His drink sloshed in its glass, almost spilling. “Oh that was close!” he chuckled and took another sip, though small this time.

He wasn’t a complete disaster.

And, apparently what she told about herself wasn't good enough. Normally an answer like that would satisfy a guy; they would ask either where she tended to go out (she'd lie), or talk about music, often their own. But not Devon. Lee eyed him curiously as she cracked open half a dozen beer for the two guys to Devon's right (she did have a job to do here, after all). There was something...intriguing about the man that she hadn't seen in anyone else who she'd seen in this bar. Well, except for Jason, but he was all together different.

"Well, I came to the city about five years ago," Lee replied after a few more moments of appraising Devon as she passed over the beers and took the men's money. Once she passed the change back, Lee turned back to Devon again. "I do a lot of walking around. Recently, I seem to have developed a bit of insomnia." Though at this comment, Lee couldn't help but smile slightly. Insomnia was one way of terming how she had trouble sleeping most days. Having far too much energy to be able to even sit still because of how much physical contact she and Jason had was another.

Then Lee paused for a moment before glancing around as if looking to see if anyone was watching. "You want to know a secret?" Waiting just a moment, Lee leaned forward, across the bar toward Devon, though because of the noise in the place she really wasn't able to lower her voice much at all. "I hate the music here. It's horrible."

Straightening up again, Lee gave Devon a smile before she turned to take the woman's order who was now standing on Devon's left side. Making her a Long Island Iced Tea (someone was getting white girl wasted tonight it seemed), Lee raised an eyebrow as she heard Devon's next words. Maybe she knew why he wanted to know more about her, because the Inferno Club had a bar? "That, I would say, has just made you officially the most interesting man in this bar," she said, leaning her hands on the bar as she looked across at Devon.

Devon clearly appraised the men to his right as Lee opened beers for them. One was cute but had that look in his eye like he’d already given up. A few more years like this and he’d be drowning in his beer: overweight, alone, and without anything to show for it. Devon knew he had a drinking problem – oh there was denial about it – but look at all he accomplished in the meantime. The other was attractive and overly coiffed, likely an easy target if Devon pursued later, but his cologne smelled cheap so Devon crossed him off the list.

When you can be choosy, you are. Cafas would have likely offed him if Devon even suggested it. Mmm, there was an idea. What was Cafas up to late tonight?

She’d been here a while but wasn’t a native. Few were. He wasn’t. The natives tended to be rather bitter anyway. All the changes, the gentrification, the hipsters, the high cost real estate. Yawn.

A lot of walking around and insomnia… Okay. Was she telling him something? She grinned slightly. She was suggesting something. Up late and full of energy, maybe she had some criminal pursuits? She was moonlighting somewhere else? She clearly wasn’t a hooker. God no, she was too pretty and too biting for that. There was something else there.

>> "You want to know a secret?"

“Always,” Devon said, and this was true. It was likely the most honest he’d ever been. Haven literally traded in secrets and information. He even used some to help people, but now that he’d seen the other world… He leaned in as she did, sliding the glass away from his lips as they pursed in anticipation.

>> "I hate the music here. It's horrible."

Devon laughed out loud, throwing his head back. She went back to grinning and helping a woman who’d come up to the bar. The girl seemed hungry, not thirsty. She dressed to sell her attention, eager for either companionship or validation, perhaps both. He hoped she found it for there was desperation in her eyes. He appreciated someone with the will to do whatever it took to get what they wanted.

Thankfully Lee seemed to get the point of his now somewhat obvious line of questioning. He grinned as she called him the most interesting man at the bar. Was that ever in question? He smirked but nodded, watching the Long Island Woman walk off but noting her face should he get a chance to chat with her later.

“Ever want to just quit a job and know you had another lined up?” Devon queried with a grin as he finished his drink. “I mean, wait til you’ve given me free drinks all night cause I’d still rather keep my money, but yeah,” he chuckled and pushed the glass toward her. “As long as you have no problem dealing with some over-inflated egos,” he smirked again and gestured at himself, but laughed it off, “Then I think Inferno needs you and you need to get the hell out of here.”

Devon glance at the couple ogling boys who were sliding up for another round of beers before turning back to Lee, “And in case you’re wondering, we make it very clear what behavior is expected within the Inferno, especially toward our staff. Interests of other natures can be satisfied elsewhere. We take care of our own.” Oh how true that was. They used their patrons however they saw fit and took care of their own, especially the mutants.

As Lee turned to fill his drink again, Devon leaned in to the beer bros. “Hot huh?” he spoke loudly, inclining his head to the woman he planned to help run his club’s bar. The guys nodded quickly. “This bar is sick, love these beats, and the staff. Sure need to get her on mine,” he chuckled. Oh the layers of innuendo.

“Ya right, man,” the doomed one said.

“That’s my plan, dude,” the hotter one noted.

“Let me get the next round guys,” Devon smiled oh so sweetly. “My friends were lame and ducked out already. Need a better crew.”

Both guys eyes shot wide, happy for the free drinks. “Yeah, totally. Thanks man,” one or both agreed. Devon didn’t care.

Devon leaned toward Lee, a shoulder raised to hide his smirk as he looked to Lee, “Miss, if you wouldn’t mind so kindly fetching these guys another round on me while you get my drink?” He winked a brilliant blue eye, “We’re partying hard tonight!” He fronted his hands before him into excited fists.

Both men nodded, cheering with a laugh. One rose a fist in the air and shook it. Devon nearly killed him right there.

Instead he shot Lee another wide-eyed grin, repressing another loud laugh.

At least the couple things that she had told Devon, plus her ‘secret’, seemed to have appeased the man’s curiosity about her. Even if, as it seemed, this was a job interview of sorts. And even if she would tell Devon more, she certainly did not want to do so in the middle of her work with all these other people around.

And, as she expected, her lean across the bar with the promise of a secret drew Devon in, and he leaned closer to her to hear. Only for him to laugh heartily when she revealed the ‘secret’. The grin that Lee gave him as she straightened up was completely genuine; she was enjoying this chat with Devon far more than she ever really enjoyed talking with customers.

Lee’s eyebrow raised as she heard Devon start speaking. She had wanted to do that very thing with practically every job she had ever had. But then Devon was pushing an empty glass toward her. ”I already deal with over inflated egos here on a regular basis,” Lee said, her eyebrow raised again. ”You know, that almost sounds too good to be true.”

With that, Lee turned to make Devon another drink. Just in time to hear him talking, calling her hot. A quick glance over her shoulder showed that Devon was talking to the guys who had been up to get beers not long ago. Hearing what they were saying, Lee just gave a slight shake of her head. And here she had thought that Devon was different from them.

But then Devon was leaning toward her again, a smirk on his face, as he asked her to grab the two guys another round. On him. Sure, whatever. Pausing in making Devon’s drink, Lee started pulling bottles out, cracking them open for the two men. Another round, another six drinks.

”It sure looks like you guys are partying hard tonight,” Lee said, giving Devon a look as she set the beer bottle on the bartop for the two guys. Then she went back to finishing Devon’s drink, passing it over when she finished making it.

>> ”I already deal with over inflated egos here on a regular basis,”

That was no surprise.

>> ”You know, that almost sounds too good to be true.”

It was for humans, maybe even some mutants, but it was really the clientele that was paying. Not the staff, especially the hard working and fun ones. Devon had a feeling she’d work hard, enjoy it, and keep the good drinks coming. That’s all he really expected.

>> ”It sure looks like you guys are partying hard tonight,”

God, this world succccccccckkkkkkkkked.

He hated it, really hated it. The corruption, the dead mutants, the fear, the hatred, SUPER… DId he make a living out of it? Yes. Had it taken a terrible toll? Certainly. Every person seemed downtrodden or lost in drugs, alcohol, sex, or well… money and power. It was so depressing and horrible. No one got anything, they all just assumed the worst.

Devon was really disappointed Lee didn’t get what he was doing. She probably was on the wrong end of things too often. That seemed the way of this world. Now that he’d seen the other world where yes they’d had their problems, but they’d persevered. Mutants lived in the open, especially in New York City. People just seemed happier there, more willing to accept a stranger’s word or even find the good in people. They let mutants be part of the police! The X-Men were heroes of the people, out in the open!

But here he was, still suffering and now trying to figure out how to rectify Lee’s inability to see the truth.

“Thanks,” he said with a grin as he pushed the beers along and over to the boys. “You guys tell the bouncers Devon wants a VIP table and take a seat. I’ll get some more drinks sent over,” he inclined his head toward the prettiest-people, the wealthy abusers section.

Easy pickings.

“Nice bro,” one said and Devon again almost killed him. His eyes widened as he met Lee’s gaze, clearly in shock at the idiot’s continually limited diction. Devon hated a small diction. Off they went with a high-five. Dear God...

“I’m sorry, I figure I should find a way to get them out of your hair and stop harassing you, got it?” Devon asked with a quirked brow. “You look like I shot your puppy,” he smirked. “I’d hoped we’d bonded enough already for us to understand each other.”

Devon lifted his drink and took a quick sip before his lips turned into a pout. “We good? You get it? This is the kind of thing I hate, but sometimes a little manipulation is best,” he nodded sagely.  Did he hate it?  Eh....

The beers opened and passed over, Lee went back to finishing up making Devon's next drink. Though she was able to hear everything that he was saying to the men. And everything they were saying back. She hadn't thought that Devon would be like this, not with how he had been speaking to start with.

By the time that she had finished mixing his drink, Lee looked back up at Devon as the two other men left. Just in time to hear him apologize to her. She simply looked at Devon for a moment before a small smile lifted a corner of her mouth. "I've never had a customer here actually treat me as a person," Lee told him as she passed his drink over the bar. "Provider of alcohol, of course. Viewed as a sex object, definitely by some. But treated like a real person?" Lee shook her head slightly.

Were they good? Lee narrowed her eyes in thought as she looked at Devon for another couple moments. "Yeah, we're good," Lee finally allowed, giving Devon a small smile. "Though I have to agree, sometimes manipulation does work wonders. And thank you," she continued, nodding slightly in the direction that the two men had gone. Just because she was used to dealing with idiots like those two didn't mean she liked dealing with them.

"But we don't really know each other yet, do we?" Lee questioned, leaning against the bar. "Though, I guess that if that offer of yours is for real, maybe we should get to know each other better."

>> "I've never had a customer here actually treat me as a person,"

Devon grimaced as if pained and nodded. While that was sad, he also wasn’t a huge fan of people in general. In his mind, you should treat people as to their worth and clearly Lee here wasn’t the baseless type that was craving and needing. That reminded him he should check on that girl to see what she was truly after.

>> "But we don't really know each other yet, do we?"

Devon shook his head. “Sure don’t, but enough I like your pour and opinions,” he chuckled.

>> "Though, I guess that if that offer of yours is for real, maybe we should get to know each other better."

It was his turn to lean forward, pushing yet another empty glass back to her. “I’d say we do. You give me a call and we’ll arrange something where we can talk business and people,” he gave a long nod as if finalizing the idea. Glancing down, he’d pushed a card with the Haven logo, his name, and number along with the glass.

“You can call before 11, but you’ll only get an assistant or voicemail,” Devon smiled. “I tend to work late anyway. So you try to stay positive in here for the rest of the night and hopefully it’ll be your last,” he nodded slowly as he stepped back, glancing to either side of him. A couple wasted girls and an eager guy in his 40’s who thought himself 21 by the look of his clothes were approaching with eager wallets.

He liked her drinks and he liked her opinions, did he? That was...Well, Lee had said before that Devon was likely the most interesting man in the bar that night, and this just proved it. Partially because of the fact that Lee had barely shared any opinions, but also because the few that she had shared were so different than most of the people who would set foot in the establishment.

But if Devon found her opinions that interesting, why was he here?

He surely couldn't have come with the intention of headhunting her for another bar, right? Why would he, other than to help garner tips, she kept her head down and tried to avoid attention. That was the safest way to go about life as a mutant who was technically in the country illegally, right? Plus, Lee thought as she saw Devon pushing the already empty glass back toward her, if that had been his intention he wouldn't be drinking so much. Getting drunk, as seemed to be the man's plan for the night, did not seem like the best idea when you were also planning to try and hire someone who already had a job.

As she looked down to grab the glass off the bar, Lee was slightly surprised to see a business card had been pushed along with it. Picking the card up, she glanced at it for a moment before tucking it into her bra; generally, having a lack of pockets in her outfit while she was at work was not an issue for her. Then Lee nodded as she listened to Devon give her information on when would be best for her to call. "Well, if I sleep I likely won't be up until after that, either," she replied as she mixed the man another drink. Devon had said he liked them, so why not keep them coming?

So Lee was sliding yet another refilled glass toward Devon as he told her to stay positive, and she smiled at him. "Definitely seems like an easier task now," she told him, leaning on the bar again for a moment. "And you will be hearing from me tomorrow for sure. I am interested in what you think of my opinion when I'm not plying you with copious amounts of alcohol."