"Did you just say Dante? Dante Hyako?" Aaron asked. He didn't need to confirm, he'd heard fine. For some reason, he needed to say it out loud. "As in Dante’s club? In the Hyako hotel?"

Dante reached for a cabinet in front of them and removed two glasses. "I told you I had interests. Ice?"

Aaron shook his head, his mind too busy circling to wonder what the actual hell Dante had meant with the ice question. "So, like, the heir to the Dante fortune. The owner of the club and the hotel and probably half this block."

"Not like that, no. It is, in fact, who I am." Dante removed four ice cubes from an etched silver ice bucket, added two to each glass, and splashed an amber liquid over them. He held one out to Aaron, then soundlessly settled back in the seat. "So, will you be providing me with your address, or should we just drive around the city until we get close enough for you to jump from the vehicle?"

Again, Aaron felt heat rise into his face, and not entirely trusting his ability to speak, handed Dante his insurance slip. A single tap on the glass brought the divider down and the paper disappeared into the front seat, before the partition rose again. Aaron watched every move, trying to still the shake in his hands enough to sip at the alcohol. It still didn't feel as though fear was causing this unprecedented reaction in his body. Intimidation, maybe? The money or the status ... but it wasn't like Aaron didn't have his fair share of successful clients, so that didn't sound right. Yet, here he was, with the son of a business giant -- a newcomer to the American hotel market but a skilled and seasoned industrialist in Japan -- and throughout the entire process he'd either been sputtering or trembling like a kitten. Disgraced, humiliated, unsettled, and anxious, Aaron had jumped from zero to a hundred when it came to emotions. That shouldn't be so fascinating, yet Aaron was most definitely fascinated.

Aaron cleared his throat and tried to think of something clever to say. "So ... thank you ... " Dante turned to face him, and Aaron felt another shot of heat surge through him when their gazes locked. This one went full body though and was a rush that could not be blamed on embarrassment, the Cosmos, or the sip he'd just taken. "For the ride. And the discretion, of course. I can only apologize for my recklessness and offer amends. I’m sure you’ll find my insurance is more than adequate."

Dante lifted his hand. "Not now. There are people for these things. We have your information." He paused. Sighed. "However, it did take place on private property. That can become a terrible nuisance. So, if you’d prefer to work things out privately ..."

Aaron narrowed his eyes. "What are you suggesting?"

"Oh, only the most intriguing of ways to settle such a dilemma," Dante said with the trace of a smile. "And by that, I mean the gathering of estimates from autonomous companies, then an agreement based on the data assumed by those estimates, followed by the transfer of funds between the two parties, without bothering our elective insurance representatives." He lightly sipped his drink. "Why? What did you imagine that I was suggesting?" Dante leaned closer, his smile deepening. "Or perhaps I should ask, what are you suggesting?"

Before Aaron had a chance to respond, the intercom clicked to life. "I apologize for interrupting, sir. This is your two-minute warning for our arrival at Mr. Fielde’s building. It is on the left side of the road, sir. Shall I pull to the right when we arrive, or would you like me to circle around?"

Dante swiveled back to face the divider, and seemed to speak not just at it, but through it. "To the right will be fine, Gavin. I don't ... actually." He held up one hand, as if the driver could see him. "I would hate to assume. Mr. Fielde? Are you capable of walking across the road without causing any further accidents?" He smirked when Aaron bristled. "Or should I have Gavin circle around?"

Aaron stared at the man, trying to make his lips make words. Instead, all that was coming out was a string of sputters. Damn the man. Damn the man's dark eyes and that outrageously awful grin.

When words didn't form, Dante answered without his response. "Circle around, please, Gavin."

"Yes, sir."

"Thank you, Gavin."

"My pleasure, sir. Thank you."

Aaron swallowed. He cleared his throat. Time to stop acting like he was a drunk fool. "Does your driver always thank you for thanking him?"

Dante’s eyes searched Aaron’s face with uncontained amusement. "I like to surround myself with people who appreciate my praise. So, while I can't recall if he does it every single time, I believe he does most times, yes."

It was completely unfair how Dante’s smooth sophistication made his own lack of it so much more obvious. Where Aaron imagined his own eyes to look like the round, unintelligent gaze of a deer caught in the headlights, Dante's sparkled with activity. Restrained enjoyment, arrogance, and the obvious effort to come across as intelligent should have put Aaron off completely, but it somehow made the man’s mannerisms and good looks more intriguing. Aaron didn’t realize he was staring, once again speechless, until Dante quirked an eyebrow and said, "I believe we’ve reached our destination."

Aaron quickly looked out the window. "Right. Home." He reached for the drink holder to set down his glass but clipped the bottom of the tumbler in his haste. Amber liquid sloshed over his hand, sleeve, and splattered on the leather surface. He heard his throat click before he felt it, and looked at Dante, panic rising.

Surprisingly, Dante laughed out loud, as if Aaron playing the fool was the greatest show on Earth. "May I?" he asked, reaching for the glass. "Or would you care to finish it?"

Aaron shook his head and stayed as still as possible until Dante had his hands on the traitorous glass. However, before Dante put his hand under the glass, he slid it over Aaron's fingers, brushing along them in a way that could only be described as flirtatious. "What --"

The locks released on the door, buttons jumping smoothly from their seats like soldiers brought to attention, and it was everything Aaron could do to hold back a startled shriek. As the door opened, the once silent vehicle was reintroduced to the sounds of the busy city: cars rumbled past, people chattered on the sidewalk, and somewhere a dog barked. The hot breeze swept through the air-conditioned interior, bringing with it the scent of gardenias that didn't quite overtake the odor of city sidewalks. Aaron had the sudden sense of dropping back into reality from some kind of fantasy, a Disney movie where the humble nobody had met the handsome prince for the first time.