Les listened intently, tapping the ball of his foot gently against his shin as he swirled his cup absentmindedly. He tilted his head, letting a bit of hair escape from behind his ear, nodding gently as Jiang rambled about his day, his assignment. Like most things his clients talked about, he didn't fully understand it; he didn't have the full context and, outside being paid to listen, generally wasn't concerned. But at the mention of the summit, his lips upturned with a hint of mischief, his eyes a twinkle.<br/><br/>He had lots of clients visiting for that reason, even had a hotel room arranged for him and paid out by some of the bigwig corps so that he could be close at hand during its bulk. Though he was local, it was events like this that really brought in a paycheck in recent days-- he had traveled to two or three other similar events, a rent-a-fuck, as he called it jokingly, there to help overworked and needy fascists destress. It was easy stuff-- block out an hour, give them what they wanted, go to the hotel bar to cash in a few free drinks before his next appointment. He hadn't put together that the summit was likely the reason so many kitties had been scurrying around-- he kept his nose out of politics, tried to stay out of trouble. Tapping his thumb against the mug, he inwardly chided himself for not putting it together.<br/><br/>Les followed Jiang with his eyes as he stood and fumbled with his papers, taking the opportunity to comment. "Only stupid people find others boring. If someone's boring, it just means you're not listening close enough," he encouraged, speaking with a confidence that was almost mentor-like compared to the cat-man's shy muttering. He smiled and sat up slightly when the man found what he was looking for then turned to him, looking at the pages with curiosity, followed by surprise. "Oh, wow!" he exclaimed, setting down the mug to take the page in his hands, observing the careful lines and meticulous detail. "These are beautiful. Perfect, even. Way better than a picture." He handed it back with a smile, then glanced to the nearby window, a similar view peeking from Les' low seat. "I was never any good at art. Can't even draw a stick figure." He looked back and laughed, picking his mug back up and taking a sip.<br/><br/>"Sounds like you have a lot on your plate," he observed with a nod, leaning back into his seat. "I don't envy that. It sounds like rough stuff." Les didn't envy those with jobs like Jiang's. He had spent too many years trying to get away from the paranoia and base violence to consider it something even vaguely palatable. He was fine with keeping on his air of affluence and privilege.<br/><br/>"Well, I'll be hanging around the summit, too," Les started with a grin, tilting his head back to its rightful place and tucking the loose strands behind his ear, wedging a few bits back into the elastic that held his hair aloft. "You might catch me wandering. They've got me on-site for a few days. Maybe if I need a chaperone I'll look you up," he teased, setting an elbow on the arm of his seat and leaning into it. This was nice. Relaxing. Normal, even. "I'm from around here, though. Just doing my thing. There's lots of fun bars around if you want a recommendation for an exciting night." He let his mind flit back to the question, feeling like he needed to be more direct. It was hard when you needed to maintain a level of confidentiality.<br/><br/>"But things are fine. Eating good food, hanging out with cuties like you." There was no need to mention the panic attacks, the nightmares, the writhing and crying in bed followed by inebriated therapy meetings and invitations to church from his dad. Les could hardly remember what he did outside of work and drinking his bad thoughts away."I've been learning Italian, that's interesting! I grew up on Spanish and Greek so it hasn't been too hard. Do you know any other languages? You travel a lot, huh?" he flipped the conversation back onto Jiang, uncertain what he wanted to hear. With most clients it was easy to deflect their questions-- usually they wanted to know some sexy personal details that he could invent easily, or they wanted some sort of reassurance or air to brag. He could already tell Jiang wasn't like that. He just wanted to be a person.