Marcus Cole had a mansion.  No really, a mansion.  It was one of the finest in all The City.  The outside was pure ivory polished to within an inch of its life.  This was done by an army of servants to keep the natural yellowing of the substance at bay.  She wondered once how he got so much ivory.  Then thought better of the question.  The steps were white marble.  He had to be convinced to make the steps and floors marble as ivory would be too fragile for continued use.  But he insisted on the most pure white marble that could be found in order to blend with the bleached ivory above.  The walls were likewise painted white.  The whole mansion shone at night even though there were no flood lights on it.  In the moonlight it had a particularly eerie glow.

Connie hated this mansion.  But he was a client.  And he paid well.  She parked her motorcycle near the rose bushes that were, of course, pure white.  She walked up the steps and then knocked on the door.

A short man who stood about four foot ten opened the door and sniffed haughtily.  “I suppose you are here to see the master?”

Connie nodded.  Of course she was here to see the master.  Why else would she possibly be here?

The man turned on his heel and began to stroll away.  She followed and shut the door behind her.  This man was Burgess.  He was Marcus Cole’s butler.  He hated Connie.  She didn’t exactly hold a high opinion of him.  But they were both servants to the same master.  Only difference was, she could leave.  She followed him up the stairs and into Marcus’s bedroom.

“The lady is here to see you, sir,” said Burgess.

“Lady?” he asked lazily.

Connie stepped into the room behind Burgess.

“Oh Connie!  Yes, yes, please leave us Burgess.”

The short man let out a snort of disapproval, turned around, and walked out.

“Come in Connie, don’t be shy!”

Connie sighed and took another step into the room.  He was naked.  Again.  “I think I made myself clear the last time I came here.  If you continue to act like this when I come over, you will draw attention not only to yourself but to me.  And that’s not something either of us needs.”

“Oh come on!  I’m rich!  I’m powerful!  I’m the son of one of the most powerful men in government.  And I mean… look at me!”

Connie wouldn’t deny, he was handsome.  Years of good healthcare and the finest trainers had given him a physique most would die for.  In fact some had.  But his arrogance made him unspeakably ugly to her.  Not to mention his overconfidence.  “Marcus.  Tell me what you need for your birthday package and I will have it done.  That’s all I need from you right now.  I am on a very tight schedule today.”

“I thought we could… have a little fun?”

“I’m not the one you want Marcus.  We both know that.  What do you want?”

“I want someone to talk to!”  His words rang off the pure white walls.  “You know?  Talk?  Just anyone.  Anyone to talk to.”

“You can have someone to talk to on your birthday.  Now seriously-”

“Every time you come over here you act like you want to leave as quickly as possible.”

“That’s because I do.  You are under surveillance Marcus.  And I know you’ve gotten to a point where you can ignore all the little cameras staring at you.  But Sinners like me have to keep a low profile.”

“I want to have my birthday here.”

“Out of the question.”

“I don’t like going over to your place where it’s so dark and dreary and-”

“Filled with naked men who want to do your bidding?”

He bit his lip.  “Why can’t they come here?”

“Again, Marcus, it’s because you are watched.  And if you are watched, we are watched.  We don’t like being watched.  That gets a Sinner disappeared.  Now, are we done?”

“My birthday will be here or there’s no birthday.”

“Fine.  No birthday.  I’ll cancel your plans.”  She turned on her heel and walked down the hall.  He was yelling after her and screaming like a child.  She rolled her eyes.  Why did she even come?

Burgess was standing at the door when she got there.

“Conceded to his demands did you?” he asked.  There was a twinkle in his eye.

Connie smirked.  “Does it sound like I did?”  She slipped a card into his breast pocket and gave him a wink.

He opened the door for her and she comfortably strolled out.  She looked at her watch.

“Doing okay, doing fine… gotta get to the church on time.”