The next few days were rather odd in the Lysender home. Lyria was rarely one to display outward wear and tear, she was also only rarely enraged or showed frustration. Yet through the days Sam noted a shift in her as she grew increasingly short with him. Her grumpiness carried on through the day usually and the young man was smart enough to avoid triggering any of her rage towards him. Usually though it didn't take much. A simple question about her day had earned him an earful regarding 'knowing his place'.

It was very likely the frustration was centered around her work since she vanished into her home office on many occasions. Her morning runs were abandoned in favor of going in early at every chance. If his wellbeing didn't depend on Lyria being more or less amiable he likely would have found it amusing. The elf appeared almost human with how she stressed out over whatever was happening in her life at the moment. As it was however her mood was potentially becoming hazardous for him as her handling of him in general was rather rough and even hurt on occasion. Ironically he had cleaned up and looked rather well ever since accepting becoming Lyria's pet, yet she was slowly looking worse for wear.

This was why at breakfast on Thursday Sam managed to work of the courage to make a request. "Lyria, I'd like to go into work with you today."

The elf looked at him in slight irritation, the hint of dark rings around her eyes. "I would much prefer you didn't." She said, turning her attention back to her reading as though the conversation was terminated.

He swallowed hard and continued. "Well excuse me if I fucking insist. I'm getting a bit worried about you. What's bothering you so much at work?"

Lyria turned a glare on him that froze the blood in his veins. She set aside her reading and loomed over him as much as she could manage, causing him to take and involuntary step back. It was always a risk that she might take his pestering as a transgression worthy of punishment. However if the alternative was to have her keep being upset or possibly figure out what was wrong it was a risk worth taking. The elf wasn't as infallible as she liked to believe, she wore down like everyone else.

"Insist? Who do you think you are? Let me remind you who the head of the house is, pet. It's the one that isn't two inches tall. I said no so that's all that needs to be said on the matter." Lyria hissed.

"Isn't it in the pet's best interests if their... their owner is in a good mood? Shouldn't I be looking for why you've got such a shitty disposition lately?" Sam pushed.

"I'm warning you, Sam, drop it."

"You being a mega bitch lately is affecting me, ya know. You aren't the type to get so frustrated so seriously, what is the matter?"

Lyria's fist slammed against the table, shaking the utensils and knocking Sam on his ass. Her knuckles were white and her fingernails looked like they were biting into the palm of her hand rather painfully. One of her incisors was digging into her lower lip. Looking at the mask of fury on her face Sam half expected her to lift her fist up again and pulp him. He had never in his time knowing her seen Lyria so enraged. Her cool mask occasionally had faltered but this was pure and bare faced anger burning before him. A thrill of fear and adrenaline shot through him as he stared up at her, waiting for the axe to drop.

The chair screeched as she stood and turned away. He could vaguely make out the quiet sound of her counting to ten under her breath. Her fists were clenching and unclenching as the elf calmed herself down from the angered state. Sam allowed himself to release a breath he hadn't been aware he'd been holding in. At least he'd come out of the thing without being killed. Whether or not he was going to be punished for insubordinate behavior towards the elf still remained to be seen however.

"You are right." Lyria said, turning back to him while pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I have been stressed out as of late because of my work. I feel like I'm drowning on dry land! It's like everything that can go wrong this week went wrong. I swear I'm going to kill someone if something doesn't work like it's supposed to for one fucking minute!" She said at length, sitting back down and placing her head in her hands.

Sam was rather taken aback by this. He'd never seen Lyria so... vulnerable felt like the wrong word here. Defeated maybe? He could hear the frustration in her voice and she looked like she was on the brink of breaking down. The indomitable force of will he'd fought against for a month, the one that had beaten him, was being pretty badly battered by whatever was going on. That probably meant it was pretty bad. He found himself curious what could drive someone like Lyria of all people to such a state.

The young human cleared his throat. "Uh, so, that's a no on the punishment?" He said, chuckling as he hoped to lighten the mood.

To his relief that earned a slight bark of laughter from Lyria as she removed her face from her hands and gave him a bitter smirk. "Yes, though I probably should since you called me a 'mega-bitch'. Pretty disrespectful to your owner." She said.

Sam smirked. "What's that old saying about what to call a spade?"

"Careful, pet."

"Right, right, sorry Lyria."

The elf took a deep breath and took a drink of her soykaf, leaning back in her seat and staring up at the ceiling. At least she looked less angry at the moment so that was certainly something. Of course that might very well change any moment. Lyria wasn't exactly what he would call a mood swinger but at the moment she was much more unpredictable. His best bet on getting that ride along was probably now or never.

"I was serious about wanting to come along. If somethings got you worked up I should be there. To take notes, ya know?"

Lyria snorted. "It's hardly one thing. Well, not just one thing. One thing is certainly pissing me off more than the other things."

"And that is...?"

The elf sighed. "It's time for the annual inspection of the facilities. David Rowe, the inspector in question, is a corrupt bastard and his trying to coax bribes out of me. Along with trying to get in my pants."

"So just tell him to fuck off?" Sam suggested like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

A bark of laughter followed that statement. "Were it so easy. Unfortunately his reports dictate our budget for the next year. I already refused to pay him, stupid move in hindsight. He'd have been done in two hours with a glowing report if I'd just paid him off. Instead he's going over everything with a fine toothed comb. Of course that's just when the mainframe decides to get screwy and the air conditioning decides to die. So he's going to bend me over in the report most likely." Lyria explained.

Sam had never understood much of corporate life. He'd grown up in rough parts of the city, running with gangers and scum and never really given two shits about advancing himself that way. From what he did get from that however this Rowe character was trying to screw Lyria for not paying him off. A shake down made perfect sense to him but the fact it was in a corporate setting just weirded him out.

"So then why don't you just pay him now?" He asked.

"If I did that I'd look weak, so he'd think he could walk all over me. I just have to ride it out. I have a few strings I could pull if his report ends up screwing me completely, so there is that." The elf said.

"Anyway, speaking of that I should get a move on, I have a meeting with him first thing. I'll bring you along if you really want it, pet." Lyria said, standing and regarding Sam with a tight smile.

The young human returned the smile, feeling somewhat accomplished at having improved her mood a little bit. The whole pet thing was still something he was not 100% about for obvious reasons, but he found it didn't make him completely worthless. The elf was his tormenter; she had caused him heartache and distress; however he still didn't hate her. If anything he held a twisted affection towards her. Making her feel better helped make their relationship seemed more of a two way street in his eyes.

"Sure. Otherwise I'd be waiting around in your heel all day. I'm sure hanging around you will be more exciting."

She rolled her eyes and offered him a hand. "Hardly exciting. Anyway, I suppose I have been rather neglecting my poor little pet these past few days."

Sam had feared he'd be placed inside her purse once more and the very thought made him remember his first ride here. Lyria however unbuttoned the front of her suit with one hand, displaying the valley of her glorious cleavage. She offered him a rather naughty look as she pushed up the flesh orbs with her free hand and moved him over the valley. The elf shifted her grip so that he was dangling from her finger by the arm and lowered him towards her breasts despite his light struggles. He'd thought the pocket if not the purse but this... not expected.

His world soon changed as he was placed down between her breasts, finding himself forced to stand on her blue bra. All around him was a canyon of pale, soft flesh. In the distance he could hear the beating of her heart, the rhythmic drumbeat of her lifeblood. He stared up from his new dwelling and saw Lyria smirking down at him. If toying with him like this kept her from being as bitchy as she had been then Sam was willing to ride along for the fun. After all, it wasn't everyday someone got to say they were surrounded by a titanic pair of breasts.

"Comfy? I hope so. I remember you were groping them quite a bit when we first slept together. Well, now is your chance to get reacquainted." Lyria said.

Without another word or giving a chance for Sam to respond to that she buttoned up her uniform, shrouding the young man in relative darkness. Her suit was pretty common, white undershirt, black jacket and pants. Her black heels were regulation standard. None of her blue personalized touches, which he was certain annoyed her quite a bit. Honestly he thought she'd look better in a blue suit but Sam supposed corporate life was not exactly a fashion competition. The clothing allowed very little light to filter in as she buttoned herself up fully.

Sam's footing shook as she walked, causing him to stumble back and lean up against her chest. Her heartbeat was much louder when his ear pressed up against her chest, producing an almost hypnotic sound. Since he couldn't see much he had to rely on his other senses to help him out, so he opted to stay closer to her chest. If he moved too far away from it he'd end up tumbling down her shirt and that could very well be fatal. Besides, there were worse things to listen to than that great heart within her chest. It was so very soothing really; just the sound of Lyria's blood circulating was something he fancied he could listen to for hours.

A bit of interest crossed his mind as Lyria drove to her work. He knew she worked for Yamatetsu and in the same facility where this Formula 27 was located, but very little about what she actually did. The anecdotes she shared about her days were typically things that happened around her and not exactly what she herself did. She obviously had some oversight on matters in the facility itself, however Sam had to wonder if she ran the place itself or just a small aspect of it.

The ride was not too bad where he was if, though the darkness was certainly stifling. Her fruity scent was rather heavy for the closeness he had to her, the intoxicating aroma filling his nose and lightening his head a bit. Not being able to see the outside world was certainly crippling but he figured that he could at least hear what was going on. He kept mostly in one place for the journey though the more mischievous side was tempted to mess with Lyria a bit. Perhaps later, distracting her while she was driving seemed a bit too dangerous even for his tastes.

When the car came to a halt and Lyria started moving again Sam gripped onto her bra as she forward, presumably having dropped something. Gravity shifted for a few moments before Lyria stood up straight once more. It felt much like riding in her purse had, only without the threat of immediate suffocation. Her movements acutely affected his footing and his position. There was room for him to try and squirm down further between where the middle section of her bra met the part of her chest between her breasts, however he feared slipping down that might be rather easy.

After walking for a long while she finally stopped, sitting down at her desk presumably. A heavy sigh left her lips as she slumped back in her chair. A few moments later she leaned forward and he heard a light beeping noise as she activated a comm. "Irene, when Mr. Rowe arrives send him in for our appointment."

A pause followed by a rather heavy German accent. "Yes Ms. Lysender."

________________________________________________________________

Lyria sighed heavily as she waited for the fall of the headsmen's axe to fall squarely on her neck. By far these appointments were the things she had grown to hate this week. Each day that smug, pompous, arrogant bastard walked into her office and laid into her facilities. He lacerated her procedures, her employees, and areas he claimed were 'over-budgeted'. He was a corrupt man but he was also a corrupt man who was very good at his job. She supposed that was one reason the higher ups hadn't terminated him ages ago.

She grumbled slightly, removing her pocket mirror from her purse to give her complexion a quick once over. The elf tucked a loose bang behind her triangular ear, a tad irritated when it didn't stay there. Just because she hated the man's guts didn't mean she could afford to let her appearance falter. She had to be unshakable, to be without a chink in her armor or weakness he could exploit. Corporate politics were as cutthroat as they came in the wretched world, a single flaw might spell disaster for her.

The mirror snapped shut and was deposited in her purse once more. A giggle almost left her lips involuntarily as Sam's fingers brushed against her chest. If only other men and women could be so easily handled as him. Lyria briefly allowed herself a fantasy of squeezing Rowe in her fingers so hard his head popped off, smiling contently. Ah well, such pleasant distractions were at least attainable in her mind. It was in that moment when her door slid open and in walked her greatest headache this past week.

David Rowe was an older human, his hair grey as much as it was black. His wrinkled face was hawk-like and might once have been attractive but his aging had certainly not been kind to his appearance. Sharp black eyes zeroed in on her as he smoothed out his crisp black suit. He offered her a rather wintery smile as he moved towards her desk. A slight incline of his head was the only difference he offered to her before taking his seat across from her. A flare of anger crossed her mind that he hadn't even asked for permission first.

"Good morning Ms. Lysender, I trust you had a pleasant drive." He said, the heavy scent of aftershave wafting from him.

Until you showed up it was well enough, she thought. "Good morning Mr. Rowe. It was well enough, thank you so much for asking. Shall we review your findings yesterday?" Lyria said, offering him a smile she was certain would cause her face to crack.

Rowe nodded, producing a little note book. Old fashioned indeed, most notes Lyria herself took were digital. "Indeed, best to get down to business. To be quite honest, inspection of the laboratory facilities was quite... disappointing." He noted with a prominent frown.

Of course it was. "I'm sorry to hear that. Would you please clarify what you find lacking?"

"For starters I noted that in your reports you stated you would be phasing out human testing for Formula 27. Yet in your specimen holding areas I noted no less that twenty humans. This has increased budget allocation to specimen health." He noted.

"As you well know, Mr Rowe, does not just exist to test Formula 27. We also research experimental Cyberware and Bioware for possible Yamatetsu patenting. Human specimens will always be vital to ensuring the most complete results for the testing phase." Lyria responded.

Rowe made a little mmmhmm sound before scribbling some notes into his little book. That scratch of pen on paper was a noise Lyria had come to associate with the man and she found herself hating it. Every answer she gave was recorded by writing when she knew for a fact the bastard recorded her vocal responses. Perhaps it was some tactic to get under her skin, something to make her sweat.

"Regulations require specimens possess a certain level of health up to testing. I've noted the quality in quite a few of yours to be lacking." He continued.

Lyria wanted to scream at that. First he commented on too much budget allocation for human specimen health and then went on to say she wasn't spending enough overall? After three days of dealing with his contradictory reports she was feeling quite ready to leap across the desk and strangle him. Violence was never her first answer to a problem but David Rowe was like a tick stuck to her back. She couldn't touch him and he was sucking her dry. Instead of that however she grinned and bore it.

"We often have to accept lack of quality specimens as a compromise to ease of access to them. It is difficult to establish channels to get access to consistently good specimens. Given the option between wasting budget and on getting them to healthy condition and just using them as they are I opt for the latter." Lyria responded.

"Your intentions are admirable but such cutting of corners can skew results."

"Perhaps, however I am confident in the lab team I've assembled and their ability to compensate."

"Ah yes, speaking of your team..."

Lyria sat at her desk and endured every single little 'issue' the man brought up, addressing them as best she was able. To his credit he did notice some problems that were lying beneath her nose. She had not been aware, for instance, that one of the technicians was a Cram addict. With that in mind she made a mental note to terminate him the next chance she had. For the most part the 'problems' he brought her attention were either thing she was in the process of fixing or things that were that way for a reason.

The most galling thing about this to her was that a number of the higher ups would listen to and see his report and consider it reason to slash her budget. Not enough to terminate the project but enough to really hurt where it mattered. Of course, she could just make it all go away by paying him off. Something he subtly hinted at twice in this appointment of course. Something she'd never do even if it might make things easier in the short term. In the long run it would show her to be weak then others would think they could squeeze money out of her. It only needed to start with one before the floodgates opened.

Sitting in one place for two hours was terrible naturally. She could feel her ass starting to numb and more than once she had caught herself starting to fidget. Lyria couldn't slump back, she couldn't relax, and she couldn't do anything that wasn't businesslike and proper. She had to sit there, her back straight, nodding occasionally, and without removing eye contact from Rowe. After all, she was also being inspected. His notes weren't on just what she said but on how she looked as she defended herself. She couldn't look 'slovenly' at any point in time when interacting with him. He also conducted himself with utmost dryness. It was like cleaning her ears out with fucking sandpaper!

Finally and mercifully the old inspector starting wrapping things up. "Well, I think that concludes the lab facilities. Today I'll be taking a look over your mainframe and cybersecurity systems. Do inform your people to be ready for me." Rowe said, standing slowly.

"Of course, Mr. Rowe, I'll call them as soon as I can." Lyria said, standing and moving to slide the door open for him.

As the man gathered up his things, he halted at the door. "Actually there is one more matter..." He said, looking towards the office cameras.

At this Lyria actually rolled her eyes. "I am very sorry sir; however I'd prefer to avoid... office entanglements." She said, anticipating his offer.

He lowered his voice. "Nothing to do with that. Its regarding your... break in a while back."

That was all Lyria needed to hear to prompt her to deactivate the cameras with a press of the switch near the wall. Her tongue felt dry as she anticipated the very worst from Rowe at this. She might actually need to pay him off if he was talking about Sam's little team that had broken in. The specifics had been left out of her reports so if he found out it was a group of shadowrunners that would jeopardize things quite a bit. Having them snooping around was very bad for business and could ruin many people.

He moved closer to her, his voice a nasally whisper. "We have reason to believe someone on the inside orchestrated the whole thing."

Lyria blinked at that, certainly not having expected to hear that come out of his mouth. "What? Are you serious?"

He nodded. "They knocked out power to a certain floor; it is extremely likely they could only have done that with inside help."

"Right... but they only took out one part of the system. If it was an inside job wouldn't they know better?" Lyria inquired, her mind whirling with the possibilities.

"I thought so as well. However it's probable that whatever the runners were after was not what this insider was after. It explains why the runners could only take out the one." He continued.

"This isn't me saying this, its Mr. Sato."

Lyria felt her blood freeze and her heart skip a beat. If she had a possible insider and it had someone that far up the food chain concerned that wasn't good. Yamakaze Sato was her chief supporter and immediate superior. She had a good enough relationship with him, however if he thought that this insider could compromise the project then the threat of him withdrawing support was very real. Her fists clenched at that thought; if the project failed she'd be under review. That was not a place she wanted to be.

The elf nodded wordlessly before switching the cameras back on. Rowe walked out the door and Lyria found herself seated back behind her desk. This... was really the worst case scenario. Rowe was an irritation but the threat of an insider was a very real danger to everything she had managed to build. It could quite literally ruin her. She was above suspicion if Sato had ordered Rowe to keep her in the loop; however some key staff might get pulled from their stations for interrogation if something went wrong. Which meant Lyria needed to deal with this before it blew up in her face. Quietly.