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<br/>​</div>There was no real explanation for Anthony's new found 'talent', except that it reeked of cheating, manipulation, and scandal.<br/><br/>All scents that a high-ranking fae like Alverie was extremely familiar with, but it didn’t mean that she didn’t prefer the sweet scent of roses instead; what was the point of all of that if it was disgustingly obvious to anyone with a modicum of common sense that things didn’t add up? No, no, schemes and darkplays were only respectable when smoothed over by a good coverup job, the kind that left people smiling and refreshed….not sniffing around for the rotting fish. And Anthony had been making her sniff around him quite a lot lately, even more than the current smell of trash as she walked past a garbage disposal bin that seemed like it hadn’t been emptied in weeks.<br/><br/>She wasn’t sure if the big bosses were all pretending not to notice or if they knew something she didn’t, but it was absolutely appalling that it seemed like she was the only one noticing things didn’t add up; three neighborhoods in two weeks? One taken directly from one of the bigger vampire covens without so much as a spilled drop of blood? Bloody unlikely, unless the bastard had secretly whored himself out to score some kind of deal with the vamps. It wouldn’t have surprised her, after all.<br/><br/>What did surprise her was that despite his obvious ‘successes’ (there was no way he hadn’t exchanged something for such a painless gain of territory, and if you had to give something to get something then you hadn’t quite succeeded at your job at all) with the vampires, she had been assigned to this particular city, to this particular neighborhood, and to this particular vampire. The thought made her lips curl up into a catty smile, her tongue feeling the underside of her numerous sharp teeth while she stole a glance at the exposition of a clothing store.<br/><br/>It was hard to make out anything on the mannequins, as the gas streetlamps flickered and cast strange reflective shadows on the glass. Instead, her reflection peeked back at her, the red dress uncomfortably bright despite the lighting. She gave herself a grin, noting how the reflection in the glass dropped her glamour and showed her true appearance, then made a funny face at herself before chuckling and resuming her walk towards the club. She’d been there multiple times already, and had definitely made herself up to be noticed, instead of blending in. After weeks of scouting and noting how things worked, it was time to make the move, and those kinds of things required a stylish presence.<br/><br/>Lesser faes might have scorned her for taking things so slowly, but this was why she was going to succeed, and at the same time prove Anthony to be a fraud. First this territory, then his. One by one, she was going to take them all baby, all in the Fae Court’s name. Many friends had asked her whether she ever felt used by the fact that she was not in true ownership of anything she did, but she found the concept laughable. She had power! She had a fallback. What she didn’t have, was the huge responsibility and weight of being a Court Queen or King. Anything higher than manager was too much work and not enough play, in her opinion.<br/><br/>Which was why, as she entered the club, she knew this place was already perfect for her. She didn’t even bother with the pleasantries at the entrance, walking past security thanks to some natural-born race luck, ignoring the human female that ran after her, then past her to Lucian’s office. Alverie rolled her eyes and took one last precursory glance at the club before following suit, taking her time enough that by the time she reached  his office, the lady was already outside her, watching her with a wary glare. Smart. Alverie gave her a small wave, then opened the door in a grand entrance, surveying what was soon to be her office, and taking pretty much zero note of the tall male vampire that was smack in the middle of it.<br/><br/>It was only after she’d taken everything in that she gently closed the door behind her and let her glamoured eyes settle on him. Attractive, but in the brooding manly way that was so common for vampires. Fae men tended to be charmingly boyish, while this kind of attraction reeked of something much more primal.<br/><br/>She smiled at him.<br/><br/>“Well, don’t you look comfortable, love!” She pushed herself off the door and moved towards his desk, looking over to see if there were any papers or documents to look at. “Don’t bother yourself on my account, feel free to stay seated.”<br/><br/>The short fae whipped around, and with the help of her arms hoisting her up a little bit, sat her shapely ass directly on his desk, crossing her legs to look at the seated male with a deep interest. “Say, what do you use for lighting up the insides of your club? If we weren’t in a blackout zone I’d almost say it was regular lights, but could it be fairy lights? Or do you have some artistic witch working for you?” She asked with the most genuine of interest. “It’s fairly important that I learn these things, as I’ll be taking over for you soon enough.”