The Thief and the Heiress

"Sorry," Stephanie says as her attempt at small talk fails. She's never been good at that sort of thing, even before her divorce and voluntary seclusion in her estate.

"Don't be." Josh shrugs one shoulder, grimacing in pain. Certain movements were still painful. Hopefully he won't need any kind of rehab.

"I know it's probably taboo to ask, but why did you turn to this sort of life? Be you wealthy or poor surely there were other ways to make money," shrugged Stephanie.

Considering how rude he was before, Josh decides to at least answer this question. It doesn't reveal anything about his past. "I got good at it. Initially, it was necessity, but as I got better, I realized that it was one of the few things in life I could really excel at."

"It sounds like we did what we were good at." Stephanie kindly smiled. "My father trained me and I got good at this: being a business woman and making sure that I was alone."

Josh cocks his head. "Maybe the party will do some good for your image. People are undoubtedly intrigued by the beautiful woman locked away in her mansion, it'll do your image good to stick your head out once in a while."

In his life, Josh has sometimes found himself acting as a counselor of sorts to the rich reclusive types. Certain people who isolated themselves needed a little company once in a while. And what the hell? A few minutes of conversation can lead to more jobs.

Though if Josh is honest, he doesn't mind talking.

Stephanie smiles, "I can see why people hire you, you've got a way with words." She sits back, crossing one leg over the other. "And perhaps the party will, though if you don't mind me saying I don't like a lot of the people who attend those things. They're all so...pretentious."

Josh shrugs. "It's not like matters of importance are being discussed at these things, but they are necessary sometimes. The trick is to never say anything more than you plan."

He remembers his mother giving him that speech before the occasions. He used to hate dressing up in the stiff suits and making small talk with idiots, but they were important to people in these circles.

"For once in my life, I'd like to do something I want to do without it being known to everyone in the world," Stephanie sighed. She knew that the world waited on pins and needles to see what was going to happen. And she knew that she hated it. But right now? She felt semi-normal.

Josh cocks his head to the side. "You hired me and got your ring back. The only people in the world who know about that are you, me and my agent." His eyes widen. "Was my phone damaged when I arrived?" Without it, his agent would have no way of getting in touch with him. That was not good.

Stephanie gave a sheepish look before rubbing the back of her head, "Well...it's not good I can tell you that much. We tried to get it to work, we really did but the battery was...." she sighed, "Long story short your agent probably has no way to get a hold of you now."

Josh's eyes widen; and he feels that much more vulnerable.

The relationship is a complicated one. His agent scopes jobs, weighs in on them and gives Josh only the best options to choose from. Once Josh decides which jobs to take on, his agent handles everything. Stephanie is one of only a select few clients that Josh has ever met in person.

Still, the communication is kept to a minimum. Chatter alerted the feds, emails could be saved and tracked, that phone only had his agent's number in it.

It's like his safety net is gone. "Oh." Is all he can manage to say.

Stephanie frowned, "I'll...I'll buy you a new one. A better one. One that's so private only you, I, and your agent will know about it." Somehow she feels guilty about this whole thing. Had she not sent Josh after her ring, none of this would have happened to the young man.

Josh cocks his head. "You look like you have something on your mind," he says guardedly. While some rich people like to talk, some don't. Some really REALLY don't. Still, he's got the feeling that Stephanie is one of the former. "Second thoughts?"

"Not for myself no. What could possibly be wrong with me? You on the other man, the thief laying in one of the beds in my home who my husband is probably manhunting for? I'm more than a bit worried." she tries to make it seem like a joke but it's true. She doesn' feel a bit of remorse because she knows if Hunter were to catch him, Hunter wouldn't bother to let the courts in on this. Hunter would kill him.

"Due respect, ma'am," Josh tries to straighten, but the stitches in his side protect mightily. He finally has to sit back down. Even being up on his feet for a few minutes is proving difficult. "Your husband has no clue that I exist. He didn't see my face and even if he did, he'd have no idea who I am."

"You'd be surprised," Stephanie softly said, "Though he doesn't look it my husband is a smart man with lots of resources. He's almost mafia good I'd say. I just want to make sure my...uh...investment is safe."

Josh arches an eyebrow. "Ma'am, so long as your ring is well hidden, it will be just fine."

Of course she's talking about the ring, he figures. Josh does not see himself as an investment. He's an employee, one to be hired and discarded when his services are no longer useful.

Stephanie suddenly feels foolish. Why would he think that she cared about his well being? After all, she had only made sure he was taken care of over the last few days. "It is well hidden," she softly says.

Josh cocks his head. "You've done a lot to help me." He's choosing his words carefully, because she could still just be doing this as a professional courtesy. Josh is used to being discarded. He's not someone who is really allowed to have friends. "Why?"

Stephanie looked away, staring outside the window for a few minutes. She doesn't want to insult the man but she wants him to know the truth. "Why? I guess I get lonely in here alone all the time. Helping you was not only a way to get to have someone here. Besides, it's just kind to help someone else. I'm not like other rich people."

Josh shrugs one shoulder. "Not all rich people are bad." He offers. Hell, he's done jobs where the rich person surprised him later, donating the ill-gotten goods to museums or even charities. His own parents... He shakes his head sharply, as if rebuking himself. He doesn't think of his parents that way. Hell, he prefers not to think of them at all.

"You got taken in by a smooth talking jackass who knows how to play the game. You're not the first beautiful woman it's happened to, you won't be the last. Some people have an innate ability to know what to say and how to say it and it cuts through your defenses. That's what he did. It doesn't make you stupid or weak; it makes you human."

Josh is a little surprised at his own words. It's probably more than he's spoken in a few years. He's learned to keep his mouth shut. It was safer that way.

"No not all rich people are," Stephanie nodded. "But more often than not, people who have money tend to want more money. Ever notice how most wars aren't started by those without power and money? Most wars are fought by people who don't have much, sure, but most wars are started by those who have it."

She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Over the years I guess I just started to believe it was my fault. Hell, my mom and dad disowned me after I married him. I had to take what little money I had already made and make my own fortune. You? I bet your parents cared alot about you, that you came from some little town somewhere and decided that this was the better life."

"Wars aren't really my forte. You tend to find yourself surrounded by the tools of your trade. Guns and bullets don't appeal. Jewels and art aren't lethal unless you're handling them in a profoundly stupid way."

Humor - a rarity from Josh. The mention of his parents causes a smile to appear on his lips - an even rarer occurence. Yes, his parents taught him respect for his wealth, but also humility. And when everything happened, when his parents were destroyed, that humility came in handy.

Sometimes he wonders if they would approve of his line of work. Would they be impressed at his success or disappointed at his life choices? He assumes it'd be the latter, so he decides not to dwell on it.

"Maybe with the marriage behind you, you can mend the bridges with your family. There's nothing stopping that now, is there?"

Stephanie chuckled at his comment about art and jewels, something that she couldn't remember the last time that she had done. He was a smooth talker, somewhat of a charmer even if he didn't mean it. When he asked her about mending bridges with her parents, she took a minute. She could but she doubted that her parents would listen. They had always been stubborn when it came to who was right and who was wrong.

With a small smile Stephanie nodded, "I suppose I could. But my mother and father would probably gloat themselves to death over my apology."