It had now been about two weeks since Firmin's assault, and since then, another had taken place. Yet another leather glove was left at the crime scene. Who was attacking the manager, and why did they keep dropping gloves? Erik was certain it was on purpose.
   Firmin had been a nervous wreck since the second assault. He hadn't left his house once, leaving Erik to temporarily co-manage the Opera Populaire.
   One day, Apollo and Demetrius claimed that they were going to go off and do "guy things", leaving Aphrodite alone. Erik invited his daughter to help him with his duties as temporary co-manager. She excepted with excitement and immediately began helping.
   Aphrodite's first assignment was to talk to the scene shifter. He hadn't replaced the ropes that held up one of the backdrops and he needed to be reminded to do so.

   "Monsieur James Buquet!" Aphrodite called out.

   "Yes, Mademoiselle?" James responded.

   "Monsieur-"

   "Please, call me James."

   "James, you'll need to replace these worn ropes and replace them with the new ones over there by the end of the day," Aphrodite said, and began to walk away.

   "Wait. I didn't catch your name," the boy called.

   Aphrodite took a good look at the boy. He was about five feet eleven inches tall. He had short, kept, dark brown hair and brown eyes to match. He was slender, yet muscular. She thought hard before responding. Did she want to be mysterious or should she just tell him her name? She finally made her decision and answered, "Aphrodite Destler."

   "Beautiful name. I hope I'll see you again soon, Aphrodite Destler," James said before he kissed the back of her hand.

   Aphrodite blushed. "Same to you," she replied with a smile. She returned to her father in a daze.

   "Did he get it done?" Erik asked.

   Aphrodite snapped from her daze. "Did who get what done?"

   "Did Buquet replace the ropes?"

   "No, I didn't watch James replace the ropes."

   "Would you mind supervising him?" Erik inquired.

   "Not at all," Aphrodite said with a smile. She happily went back to watch the older boy work. He looked so handsome with his muscles bulging the way they were. "Oh my goodness, do I really have a crush on James?" Aphrodite thought. "He is cute." She bit her bottom lip.

   "Hey Destler!" James said, noticing her presence. "Back so soon?"

   "I just couldn't stay away from you," Aphrodite teased.

   James looked the girl up and down. She was tall for her age and very beautiful too. She had curly, long, light brown hair and big, bright, blue eyes. She was slender in an attractive way.

   "How old are you?" James asked, after a moment.

   "Nine. Yourself?"

   "Fourteen," the boy replied.

   "What's a boy your age doing a job like this for?" Aphrodite asked.

   "It's sort of a family job. You see, my grandfather, Joseph Bouquet, had this job, but he was murdered. My father never knew him, as he wasn't born until a few months after Joseph was killed. Once my father was old enough, he took this job to feel closer to his father. Now, I work here. I guess you could say that it's family tradition," James explained.

   "Joseph Buquet. I've heard that name before. How was he killed, or don't you know?" Aphrodite questioned.

   "He was strangled by the Opera Ghost. Have you ever heard the legend of the Phantom of the Opera?" James inquired.

   "Many times," the young girl replied. She watched him finish the job in silence and then announced that she had some other business to attend to. Though she left the room and James was no longer in her sight, he was still in her mind. Very much so. Was it possible that she was beginning to have feelings for this boy that she hardly knew.