Tara tucked the rogue strand of chestnut hair behind her ear as she walked through the doors. It had been a long time since she visited the studio... things had gotten out of hand. There was her normal work for the Godfather, her recent serious illness, and the recent craziness with Gavin. But... she was back. Finally.

She slid into the chair at the back of the recording booth, nodding at the sound engineer. Alex was singing something and she had no desire to intrude... but she did want to catch up with him when he was finished.

"Fuck!" Alexander exclaimed and smashed his glass of iced tea forcefully behind him as he spun away in frustration at having misjudged the tempo. It was his 4th mistake in a row and the musicians had started giving him awkward glances. Standing with his hands on his hips he lowered his head and sighed as he apologized to his employees again. No matter how much he tried to force it, he just couldn't slip into a good rhythm today. 

Pulling the cigarette out from behind his ear, he placed it on his lips and lit it slowly with his lighter while shielding the flame. Taking a long drag, he felt the familiar burn at the back of his throat and ran his hand through his unruly hair as he looked up and blew smoke at the ceiling. Catching a glimpse of Tara sitting in the viewing area through the glass wall he decided it was time to call it a day. Bidding his farewell to the crew with a promise to return better prepared the next day, he pushed past the studio doors and entered the hallway beside them. As he walked towards Tara, he held the cigarette between his lips while trying to half-tuck his shirt in and somewhat roll his sleeves down in a failed attempt at looking more presentable.

Pulling the cigarette out of his mouth as he saw her he brought a hand to his chest and exclaimed overdramatically. "My! My! Miss Byrne! This is a real surprise indeed. If I didn't know better I'd begin to worry you'd gotten bored of me." Pausing to lean in and give a quick formal peck to her cheek he breathed in her intoxicating scent and slid onto the sofa a few feet away from her. 

Placing the cigarette between his lips again and took in a small drag as he muttered through clenched teeth. "You look as radiant as ever." She did, she always did even as he subtly admired her appearance, his eyes burned with questions and grievances pertaining to her absence and her lack of support with respect to his recent troubles.

Tara smirked.

"Thank you. I don't feel it, but I believe a wise man once said 'fake it 'til you make it', which would seemingly apply here. And I wasn't bored in the slightest, but I did have a couple emergencies rear their heads. An illness. Some family trouble. Should be mostly finished now, I hope. How are you? How's business?"

She frowned.

"I do apologize for vanishing at an inopportune moment... it was not my choice."

"That is unfortunate." Pausing to throw back his head and blow smoke against the ceiling he returned his gaze to her mesmerising eyes and continued. "I trust that you were more than capable of handling whatever came your way, but nevertheless if I can offer any small measure of assistance I hope you wouldn't hesitate to ask." While he was somewhat upset at her for her prolonged absence, he had grown rather fond of their association and he meant what he said.

"Business though profitable since the release of Emergence, has been rather complicated as of late. Most of my nights are spent buried under paperwork in the office trying to bolster some semblance of a defence against the barrage of suits and countersuits that NOMA seems to be levelling our way."  He sighed dejectedly while rubbing his temple before adding. "And when, if, I do manage to find some time to enter my supposed safe space here in the studio, I am just too stressed to enjoy it as you undoubtedly just saw."

A memory flashed through his head, a vivid image of Tara's office with a bed tucked away in a corner and a large stack of paper on her desk. He remembered teasing her for it and the though elicited a dry chuckle out of his throat.  "It seems I'm turning into you, Miss Byrne. Perhaps I need a gorgeous stranger to come rescue me with a pleasant night out as well." He smiled sombrely.

Tara smiled at the offer of assistance.

"Thank you. Perhaps I should be better at accepting help. I have a tendency to try to handle far too much on my own."

Quickly, she spun the subject forward.

"What can I do to help relieve your stress, Mr. Knight? My lawyer can undoubtedly take a closer look at these legal matters... but I'd be happy to handle a pleasant night out personally. Was there anything particular you had in mind?"