The compliments were ignored.  Most humans lied.  Not that he had an overwhelming sense that he was being lied to right then and there, but over the years he’d come to understand the saying<i>actions speak louder than words</i>.  Over the last several months, Max had come to believe that more than ever.  Those who had backed Stephan’s liberal ways had turned their backs once the man had died.  That Sylvester showed himself to be against mistreating and degrading a neko, that he’d not hesitated to shake Max’s hand, those were better indicators than anything the human might’ve said.  It was a good start.  Max had no intentions of letting his guard down just yet, though.<br/><br/>He was more than willing to let Sylvester speak and come to his own conclusions for a moment.  It gave him more to work with in figuring the man out.  It was good that he was willing to offer up his area of weakness.<br/><br/>“I know I don’t look the part, but I’ve had the education and the practical experience to run the business end of things,” he assured the human.  Even when he’d complained, Stephan had always made sure that he’d done his lessons and homework.  The more his interests turned toward the art and the business Stephan did, the more the man taught him.  “Near the end, right before Stephan passed,” he continued, looking toward the large portrait of the dashing and dignified man, “I was taking care of everything I could from here.  No one knew.  No one noticed.  After… when word spread that he had died and that I had inherited everything, that’s when people started pulling away.”<br/><br/>He again found himself staring at Sylvester’s eyes.  They were so different than any he’d ever seen before.  Not only the colour, but there was something else in them.  They were more inviting, he supposed.  They didn’t seem like they were judging him.  He also couldn’t deny the man looked good.  Maybe a better suit, but that could be taken care of easily enough.<br/><br/>“If I had someone who took care of clients so that they didn’t run away…”  He looked to the items on the coffee table again and smirked to himself.  “If you’re as good at paintings as you are at these, I think you might be the ideal choice.  No one else made it this far.”