Phoenix and Pegasus 2

Chapter 1

A/N: For this story to make sense you need to have read the first book of this series titled Phoenix and Pegasus .

Warning: This is a dystopian universe - a filthy world with vile people.

FYI: xiao long bao - soup dumplings, laoban - boss, xiansheng - mister

~X~

            If the atmosphere at The Pearl could be described with two colours, then they would be blue and green.  But not the blue and green in relation to beautiful clear skies or lush flourishing hills, but the blue of a burning fire fueled by lust, and the green of undisguised envy and dirty money. Tonight, amongst the usual crowd that frequented the club, there were several new faces; young executives and directors, newly appointed, and some former ones with their status recently increased.  Suit jackets had been taken off, the men had removed their ties, and some of the female executives had unbuttoned the top few buttons of their blouses.  The air was thick with the lingering scent of expensive cologne and perfume mixed in with the stench of unconstrained desire. 

They had gathered at The Pearl because word had gotten out that tonight's entertainment consisted of five new performers who were new and without Patrons.  Thus the games had begun, the posturing of the executives against each other, flexing their bank accounts to the utter delight of the club's owner, Deng Ziming.   It had become widely known that the astute owner of the club had an eye for talent and could find the hidden gems.  In addition, word had spread in the underground where many performers were in hiding, on how Deng Ziming was a fair man, therefore attributing to the number of performers showing up on the club's doorstop looking for a meal. And since being able to possess a performer attributed to an executive's prowess and a way to demonstrate ones loyalty to the ideals of the current regime, the would-be-Patrons that were currently in the club were putting on more of a show than the actual performers on the stage.

            Xiao Zhan couldn't help but smirk at the absurdity of it all.  Most of the young executives that had been newly appointed didn't realize it wasn't how much money you had, but rather who you were with.   Hence many were disappointed when every new performer was lead over to where Xiao Zhan was seated after their performance.  In his usual spot seated in a boudoir styled booth further back from the stage but dead center, he had a clear view of the performers on the stage and of the pompous fools just below it.  He reached forward to place his empty glass on the low mahogany table in front of him just as another performance ended.

A few of the more observant executives had come over to introduce themselves to Xiao Zhan in hopes that they would be invited to sit with him.  Xiao Zhan had smiled politely and congratulated them on their new positions.  He had A-Feng collect their digital imprints when they offered them, storing the information for future reference, because one never knew who could be of use in the future.  Then he would offer them a glass of the most expensive alcohol at The Pearl and direct their attention to the figure that was currently occupying one of his two armchairs and introduce them to Liu Haikuan, the newly appointed CEO of Trimco Plastics, a company that Xiao Zhan had acquired quite recently.   However, he didn't invite any of them to take a seat in the other armchair, and after the introduction, A-Feng would motion for the disappointed executive to take their leave.  They did so bowing politely to the young but seasoned CEO of Pegasus and the new but well-connected CEO of Trimco.

It was known that the former CEO of Trimco Plastics, Mu Xian, had been extremely distressed when news broke of Pegasus Ltd's hostile takeover of the company.  And many knew his anxiety was likely caused by a memory of how he had aggressively tried to convince Xiao Zhan to trade Phoenix for one of his lesser performers.  In his defence (if anyone were to be foolish enough to defend him) Mu Xian had been a little drunk at the time and his lust for Xiao Zhan's performer had clouded his judgment.  Had he been fully sober he would have remembered the rumours of how possessive Xiao Zhan was of his belongings and would've never suggested the trade, despite how fuckable Phoenix had looked that night.  In the end his fears were justified when he received his dismissal from the company, one he couldn't refute given the package they had provided him for a quick and swift exit.