<div align="center"><strong>-=Simeon Gaorong - watching the roses snag on each others' thorns - Ferret's hothouse, Persephone=-</strong></div><br/>It seemed highly unlikely to Simeon that anyone in the room - the new guy and any of Ferret's goons who were watching included - could possibly have missed either the slight Sasha threw at their hostess via metaphor or the scandalous method by which it was delivered. He had known seduction was on the table for negotiating tactics the moment he saw her choice of outfit back on The Gamble, but taking it in this particular direction, the public aspect of it and, more importantly, the disrespect it demonstrated, that he had not expected. His role was not that of deal-maker for the crew, but the veteran found himself increasingly concerned about the safety of their excursion the longer Sasha's paper-thin flower comparison went on. If he hadn't known better he might have thought the woman was<em>trying</em>to egg Ferret into attack them, but they didn't stand to profit from that either in the short or long term, so what would be the point? Sasha was reckless at times, and quick-tempered, but rarely went in quite that self-destructive a direction, at least where the rest of the crew was involved or could see her do it. Still, he could feel tension gathering in his shoulders - and other places - over the seemingly simple gesture of that hand leading a hand across a thigh that was so filled with implications, good and bad alike.<br/><br/>Still he waited, patiently, until he caught a glance from McPherson. He didn't make a grand gesture of it, but when he was certain the other man could see him do it he took a few steps farther away from both of his fellow crew members, moving to put his back relatively close to one corner of the room to make sure he could cover the rest of it. If there was some false wall or other trickery behind him, well, that couldn't be helped. He would put himself in the best position he could to cover what was visible and at least somewhat predictable. The unexpected would have to be just that.<br/><br/>The view, for instance. The view was unexpected. With his thoughts focused on security during the actual movement, Simeon hadn't considered how that small shift in position would alter what he could see of his First Officer at work. In a word:<em>more</em>. It was only a glimpse, a flash of black and flesh and black again as she swept off the desktop, but it was enough. It was, in point of fact, far more than enough.<br/><br/><em>There are, after all, always fresh flowers available.</em><br/><br/>He was a stone. His face held solid, his posture impeccable, unshaken by all surface appearances. If not for the dust still clinging to various parts of his outfit he could have been a high-class mannequin for all the weakness he demonstrated in response to the display taking place at the center of everyone's attention. And yet...<br/><br/><em>Of course I want to <strong>play nice</strong> with you.</em><br/><br/>And yet the metaphor carrying on was not lost on him - indeed, he doubted it was lost on anyone any more than it had been when it started - and not for the possibilities it implied between the two women. Beautiful though they may have been together, Si had no interest in the older woman. Looks were hardly enough to hold the man's attention. Oh, true, she merited a second look, but only a look. The woman's morals, or rather their absence, were the antithesis of his desires. But the other one?<br/><br/>When Sasha's attention momentarily shifted from Ferret toward Simeon he was certainly alert. Primed, one might say. He was still aware of the room, of their situation and the dangers it presented, but to one as familiar with the man as Sasha there was an unmistakable...something about him, a certain focus in his eyes - all of it on her - that cast the man's perfect restraint in an entirely different light. A light of considerably higher temperature.<br/><br/>The brief eye contact they shared did speak of a kind of fascination, but it was most definitely not for Ferret.<br/><br/>And then it broke. He glanced away, considering Ferret's face, trying to read how well or poorly the tactic was effecting their chances of success, then around the room again to look for anything changing, anything out of place. What might preoccupy his thoughts was hardly relevant for the time being; it would not detract from his work. Not in this situation. The flower, as it were, would have to keep in the cool water of an elegant vase.<br/><br/>For now.