Doctor Stewart and Isabella were alone. The others had been sent away after the cleanup, and they had migrated to the main office, where it was warmer and more comfortably furnished. The weather outside had turned to rain, and the calming pitter-patter on the roof could be heard throughout the building.

“I’m not sure whether to be furious, or just impressed,” he said.

“Maybe a little of both. And you don’t even know the half of what I went through to pull this off.” She pouted. “But you could never stay mad at little old me, could you?”

“I could. I definitely could.”

He stood up to stretch his legs and wandered over to the window.

“Oh,” she said. “Well I guess in that case you’d better punish me for it. I have been so bad lately.”

“I’m not in the mood.”

“Oh come now. This is the best for all of us. Think about it. Everyone gets what they want. You stay out of prison. You get to keep running your business,” she said. She walked over to the window and took him by the hand. “And most importantly, I’m still your dirty. Little. Whore.”

She guided his hand into her mouth and started sucking on his index finger as she stared up into his eyes. In a way, he admired her. She was resourceful and intelligent. She was beautiful and seductive. He almost got lost in her pale blue gaze.

“What’s to stop me from undoing all of your hard work here?” he said.

“Well”, she said. “I guess you could try. You might even succeed. But we’ll be keeping in touch. We’ll be checking in on each other.” She paused and cocked her head to the side. “Would it really be so bad if you leave things how they are?”

He stopped and thought about it for a moment.

“There could be worse fates. But this isn’t stable. Things were the way they were for a reason. I’m worried it’s going to fall apart – completely this time.”

She smiled again and pulled in close.

“If you really wanted stable, I don’t think you would have made me.”

“Hmm. I think you might be on to something,” he said.

Their lips met, and they kissed passionately.