Chapter 485

The building was beautiful, a massive concert hall in the middle of the Petronas Twin Towers. The Malaysian Symphonic Orchestra had a very good reputation, even worldwide. Helped when you had a lot of talent to draw upon thanks to a bunch of kiasu parents, though if you were a pianist; it was a pain and a half to get a job.

Overall, though, Arthur knew that their reputation was quite high. Even now, with AI music and individuals able to replicate the music using a single computer and a lot of time; there was still something unique and powerful about a live orchestra. Or so they said, at least. Certainly true for other forms of live music, but this was his first time to this building.

"Do I have to dress up like this?" Arthur grumbled, moving to tug on his collar and stopping. He actually did not need to do so, since there was actually quite a lot of space there. A simple trick - adding an extra half inch to the collar so that one never felt strangled by the tie. "Not everyone does!"

He spoke the truth, as while the majority of those attending - especially in the balcony boxes and the orchestra level - were dressed in their finest, posh clothing; the hoipoloi were all in whatever they could find. Smart and formal clothing, of course, no shorts or slippers allowed; but they had relaxed enough to allow t-shirts, jeans and simpler dresses for the women. 

"Tak boleh lah." Mel elbowed him in the side. "They're not sitting where we are."

"She's right. You need to match the others here." Casey gestured to the group they were nearing, a polite and friendly smile glued to her face as she spoke. "Now, be good. Smile and nod, make small talk. Don't make any promises, and get cards."

"Cards." Arthur sighed. It was so anachronistic, when you could just tap smart phones and pass contacts between one another that way. Giving out personal contact information was still necessary since public and private information were vastly separated at these levels. Still... "Why cards?"

"Because it's cooler." Jan muttered behind him, looking even more uncomfortable than he did. Of them all, it was Uswah who looked happiest, dressed up in a full all black dress that hugged her figure and with a gorgeous, embroidered gold and black tudiung on her head. When news of his impending trip had arrived, she had unceremoniously insisted that she come rather than Yao Jing.

Arthur  couldn't tell if she was happier to come because of the chance to dress up, to play spy and listen in on conversations or because she actually enjoyed the symphony. Maybe a little bit of all three.

As it was, Jan had rolled her eyes more than once when Uswah had drifted off, to get a drink, to stare at some piece of artwork or over the railing rather than trail along discreetly near me. It still made Arthur intensely uncomfortable to realise that he was one of the only few people here with a bodyguard, though at least with the ladies being, well ladies; it was significantly less obvious than the hulking brutes of men that most others had. 

It amused him, a little, to think that his bodyguards were likely significantly more dangerous than the brutes. Unless they were Climbers too, of course, but few had the money to afford to pay Climbers to play bodyguard, especially with the time limits the Tower put in play for them all.

"Now, come on. Stop complaining. We have people to talk to," Casey muttered, dragging him on. She had a hand hooked into his arm and he noticed, she occasionally leaned into him, pressing warm and giving flesh against his arm. It was a nice feeling, but the part of him that was powered by the Yin Body wondered if she was doing that out of habit or intention.

Relations with Casey would be... complicated. Fun, perhaps, but he was wondering how much the Yin Body changed those equations. Certainly, he had seen a significant drop in desire - thankfully, not function - since he had gained it; but also a cooling of passions. 

Probably a good thing, if his exes - if you could call them that - would have agreed upon.

"Yes, ma'am." Arthur pasted on a smile, one that had even taken a few minutes to practise. Polite, charming and social - and all of it benefitting from the belt knife he had tucked into the side of his suit. The next few minutes, nearly a half hour, were a blur of faces. He would remember them later, thanks to his Perfect Recall, for the most part along with the slew of facts and gossip Casey so casually dropped; but for now, he made nice, nodded along and gathered cards.

All very boring and pedestrian, a game for the richie richs. That was, until one of the few others with a bodyguard made their appearance before him.

"Puan Chin." A nod inclined to Casey, then cold brown eyes stared at Arthur. Upwards, since the speaker was short, even for the older generation. Barely five two, with a pencil thin mustache and tanned skin of someone who had golfed too much. Decent set of muscles, for an older man, but nothing special; nor did he have the athletic grace that most Climbers had. Unlike his two bodyguards. "You must be the new Durians head."

"I am." Arthur chose not to introduce himself, letting his assessment run and then flick over to the pair. He noted how Uswah had drifted back, around to the blind spot of one of the bodyguards while Jan had shifted to face the other. Not that it mattered, because both of them seemed to know where his people were. A part of him caressed the Refined Energy Dart in his Pocket Simpanan as the clear hostility in the man's voice echoed on.

"Datuk Izzah. I didn't expect to meet you here." Casey detached her arm from Arthur's, gestured to Mel. "This is Ms. Tang, the Benevolent Durian's chief of staff. Arthur, Mel, Datuk Izzah is the chief operating officer of TG Inc."

"Oh! You have the really big superstores in the Beginner Tower." Arthur smiled, tried for charming and diffusing. "We actually bought some stuff from your store when we were in." Brows drew together as he thought. "Don't think I noticed a presence in the Kuching Tower though."

"We have a small branch there, but the returns have been minimal. We don't invest in areas that lose out. The Penang Tower is our other major focus in Malaysia," Datuk Izzah said. "Which you'll see, if you ever manage to make it there."

Arthur mentally sighed, realising that they were not going to get a chance to be pleasant. "We will. Just a matter of time, you know."

"I wouldn't." Datuk Izzah smiled thinly. "I'm not a Climber. The role of COO is best managed by one who isn't always leaving the work behind."

"Maybe, but you'll also never-" Arthur stopped as his foot was gently nudged by Casey shifting weight. "But you're certainly right. It's good to have non-Climbers in the organisation. Something I'll have to look into." A bright smile. "Thank you for reminding me."

Datuk Izzah sniffed, turned to Casey and ignored Arthur's reply. "It seems Prime Group has found another to latch onto. Are you going to hide behind them again to get yourself an advantage?"

"I don't know what you're speaking of," Casey said, still smiling. "Arthur and I are friends and allies. Helping the Durians benefits the company, of course, but also; Malaysia."

"Always trying to play the nationalist card." Datuk Izzah rolled his eyes. "I bet you're trying to work with the government too, eh?"

"Why not?"

"Because they're disposable. The politicians, the bureaucrats, they all come and go. Better to make money, get international allies. Look outside and grow." A growing smirk that pulled that thin mustache even thinner. "It's what the government wants, no? International organisations."

"Not at the expense of selling out Malaysia-!"

Before she could continue, the intercom chimed, a soft note that called the audience to their seats. Datuk Izzah’s smirk grew even more, as though he had won a point and turned, leaving the pair without even saying goodbye. His guards trailed along behind after a beat, the one who Uswah had shadowed giving the woman a flat stare as he left.

Arthur, bemused, stared at Casey as she fumed standing and waited a moment for the crowd to take their recent conversational partner away before speaking.

“What was that about?”

“Later. I’ll tell you later.” Then, grabbing his arm again, she dragged him off into the entrance and their seats.