He didn’t want to admit the kind of relief he felt when Sylvester accepted the handshake.  And it wasn’t necessarily<i>that</i>he did, but how.  The human didn’t have to think twice, didn’t shy away; it was perhaps the last piece of affirmation Max needed to know that everything he’d seen up until then had been genuine. There was also a part of him that had to acknowledge how risky it was playing these little games, necessary as they were, because pissing off a potential asset to the company and chasing them away in the process was always a possibility.  It was good that Sylvester didn’t appear to be put off by it.  If he didn’t know better, Max would swear the man was more intrigued than anything.  Of course, it took him several seconds to realize that he, or rather his ears were being stared at.  He was too busy staring at those blue eyes.  He’d not really gotten to see them until then.<br/><br/>“Yeah, um… sorry about all that,” he offered up.  Even if he’d been the one to offer, the handshake made him uncomfortable.  It was great that Sylvester had no problem getting up close to a neko, but Max’s own life had started off and even almost ended by cruel human hands.  His cream coloured ears swiveled a little in uncertainty, but returned to their interested pose once the small bit of contact was over.  “You’ve hit the nail on the head, though.  I’d say you’d be surprised, but I’m betting you really wouldn’t.”  A lame apology, but Sylvester already knew the reasoning behind their little farce.  Dissecting it in great detail wasn’t going to bring anything new to the table.<br/><br/>Without much more to say, he nodded in agreeance to the idea of a more realistic interview, now that they’d gotten the weird stuff out of the way.  He turned to lead the way, but if Sylvester was hoping to get a closer look at his tail he’d have been disappointed.  Max had a habit of tucking it up under a shirt when it was loose enough, hooking it around his hips to keep it hidden and out of the way.  It wasn’t something he gave much conscious thought to, anymore.<br/><br/>“This is Jason,” the neko introduced as they returned to the sitting room.  By then the man had managed to pull himself together and was standing, looking more than a little worried.<br/><br/>“Mr. Riddlehart, I am so sorry…”<br/><br/>“Relax, Jason.  It’s fine.  Why don’t you go help Theo with the tea.”  The look on the man’s face was almost heartbreaking as he nodded and headed off.  “Man’s never owned anyone, neko or otherwise,” Max snorted, tossing the collar he’d yanked off onto the coffee table and ignoring the godawful jingling of the bell.  His right ear flicked a bit.<br/><br/>On to business.<br/><br/>“The reason I have to test potential employees is obvious.  It’s also why I need one with a particular combination of skills.”  It was the same line of thinking he’d told himself again and again over the last few weeks.  “I keep losing out on business.  I’ve lost investors.  It was fine when it was being run by a human involved in neko rights and equality, because he was seen as eccentric and delightful, but the moment it landed in my lap…  The future of the company is looking pretty bleak, and you’re right about me caring for it.  Money isn’t so much a problem; I could shut everything down and live out the rest of my life in comfort and want for nothing,” Max admitted with a smirk.  “My master made sure I would be well provided for after his passing.  But he had faith that I could keep the business going, too.”