"This is my friend, Sophia," Sebastian continued.
"Lovely to meet you," Thomas said, extending a hand.
"You too," I replied.
He clapped. "So, what are you two drinking?"
"I'll get something in a minute," said Sebastian, scanning the room. "I want to have a word with Gabriel. Do you mind?" He gave me an apologetic smile.
"It's fine, go play businessman." He nodded thanks, turned and disappeared into the crowd.
"Well, what about you, Sophia?" Thomas asked. "Drink?"
"I wouldn't say no to a glass of red."
"I have just the thing. Come with me."
I attracted more than a few appraising glances as we headed for the balcony. Although everyone appeared to be having a good time, there was a certain cattiness in the air that the men seemed largely oblivious to. I could see it in the girls' postures and smiles and the way they sized each other up when they thought nobody was looking. It was the same vibe I had felt that first night in the bar, that this was all a competition and they were fighting tooth and nail for the best position. Anyone new was a threat. It made me feel decidedly uncomfortable.
"So, you and Sebastian work together?" I asked, trying my best to distract myself.
He nodded. "Locky and I started at Fraiser around the same time."
I snorted. "Locky?" I couldn't imagine anyone addressing Sebastian like that. He didn't seem like the sort of man who people made nicknames for.
Thomas grinned. "Yeah, an old joke from way back when. He hates it, so I save it for special occasions. Use it well."
I laughed. "I'll do that."
I strolled over to the balcony edge while he poured the wine. "You have a beautiful place here. The view is amazing."
He came over to join me, two glasses in hand. "Thanks. I've been lucky. Fraiser Capital has been good to me."
"It seems like it's been good to all of its staff," I replied, gazing around. "No offence, it's just all a bit surreal."
Thomas laughed. "Believe me, I know what you mean. You kind of just get numb to it after a while. To be honest I barely come out here anymore. I know it makes me look like an asshole, but at some point you just start taking it all for granted."
I decided that I liked him. His self-deprecating humour was refreshingly different from the sort of stuffy, self-important conversation I'd been expecting. He felt like the sort of guy who'd be more at home in a local bar than a ritzy penthouse apartment.
"I don't think you're an asshole," I replied. "It's just hard to get your head around, you know?"
He nodded. "I know. When I first started actually making real money, it took me a solid year to adjust. I spent the first six months living off spaghetti and toasted sandwiches like I always had. I couldn't believe that people lived like this. Sometimes I actually think it might all be too much. Then again," he held up his glass, "it does have its perks.
I took a sip of my own wine and swished it lightly in my mouth. It was delicious, a cavalcade of flavours I didn't have the vocabulary or palate to identify. I had to agree; I wouldn't be complaining.
"So you weren't born into all this?" I asked.
He laughed. "Hell no. I grew up in a shitty little two bedroom fibro house down on the outskirts of Melbourne. I never had more than a few hundred bucks to my name until I started at Fraiser."
"Sorry. I just kind of assumed this was an old money sort of crowd."
"Oh it is, for the most part. But a few of us worked our way in from the ground up. Sebastian is one of them actually."
My eyes widened. "No way. Really?" Thomas nodded. "But he seems so... comfortable here. So in control."
"He's always been like that. But yeah, he comes from some little town in Europe somewhere."
"So how did he wind up here?"
Thomas shrugged. "Not sure exactly. Fraiser Capital is multinational. We've got branches all over the place, so I assume he got recruited by one of them, but beyond that I don't know. He doesn't talk much about his past. He's kind of a private guy."
I laughed. "I'd noticed. He's got the dark and mysterious thing down to a T."
Thomas studied me for a few seconds, his expression growing sober. "You haven't been with Sebastian long, have you?"
I shook my head. "We only met a little over a month ago."
"Right. Well, can I offer you a piece of advice?"
"Sure, I guess."
"Try not to get in too deep."
I shifted uncomfortably. "What do you mean by that?"
He sighed. "Look, I don't know what sort of relationship you have with him and I don't want to know. It's none of my business. I'm just saying, be careful. He's a great guy, but he's also not the sort who stays put for very long, if you catch my drift. You seem like a nice girl and I'd hate to see you get hurt."
He was the third person tonight who'd seemed to think that maybe my feelings for Sebastian ran a little stronger than a casual fling. It made me uneasy. I'd thought I had a fairly good grasp on what our relationship was, but now I was starting to question that.
"I can take care of myself," I replied, a little more forcefully than I'd intended.
He raised his hands defensively. "Hey, I don't doubt it."
At that moment, we were approached by another man. "Hiding all the beautiful women outside again, Thomas?" he said, with a friendly grin. He was incredibly young looking, with a smooth round face that barely seemed like it should be out of high school.
"How else am I meant to protect them from the likes of you?" replied Thomas.
The stranger gave a little laugh. "Hi, I'm Trey," he said, extending his hand.
"Sophia," I said.
"Lovely to meet you. Please don't tell me you're here with this lout."
"Actually," replied Thomas, "she came with Sebastian."
"Ah," said the other man. "Well that makes more sense."
"Trey here is another of our illustrious colleagues," continued Thomas. "He's what you might call the baby of the group."
Trey sighed good-naturedly and rolled his eyes. "I'm twenty six," he said to me. "Thomas here is just threatened by my youthful exuberance. He knows it's only a matter of time before he's the one answering to me."