TASTES LIKE LOVE

The Adult Sleep-Over

Mark's place was a cozy apartment downtown, with a sleek kitchen, balcony overlooking the Hudson and a single bedroom. He had no room mates and was super neat, and Lauren found herself being extra careful not to move his stuff around as she gave herself a little tour. He was currently in the kitchen, fixing some ramen for them, and even though she'd never had it in her life, if he said it was good then it definitely would be.

A few pictures were on display, Mark as a child, 4-5 year old, smirking into the camera. CUTE. Another one as a teenager, high school graduation, and one in his early 20's where it looked like he was performing on stage. Interesting. She noticed that he didn't have any pictures with family, but she wasn't nosy enough to ask.

"It's all done," he called out, and she smiled, heading over to the kitchen island where two bowls of piping hot spicy ramen were waiting. It looked absolutely delicious, and he handed her a pair of chopsticks. "Go on, try it," he said, and she dug in. It was just perfect for the mood she was in, and a couple bites in and she was hooked.

"This tastes amazing, wow. What's it called again?" she asked, watching as he also took a several bites. "The correct name is 'ramyeon' and this specific recipe was taught to me by my mother. Its sort of like a family recipe although it can be made many different ways with different toppings," he explained. She nodded, loving the way he shared little pieces of his culture with her. They didn't talk much as they ate, and soon the bowls were empty and he got up to place them in the sink.

"How was it?" he asked, and she chuckled. "I might not be able to move an inch because of how full I am. It was very nice, thank you," she said. He nodded, and gestured for them to move to the living room. "I have ice-cream in the fridge, do you want some?" he asked, and she shook her head. "Thank you, but no I don't think I can eat anymore," she said, and he chuckled a little, sitting next to her.

"So, about that share holders thing. We should come up with tactics for that," he said, and she got a little taken aback. We?  "We?" she asked, turning to face him. He calmly picked her legs up and placed them on his lap, and commenced to give her a very much needed foot massage.
"Yes, we. We're a team, remember? Plus, if this thing has to work, I can't let my partner be in any danger now can I?" he said, and maybe it was his voice or maybe it was the soothing massage but she found herself nodding without a fight.
"You don't have to do this," she said, and he sighed. "You're in those pretty but deadly heels all day, I know your feet hurt. This is the least I can do for you," he said, and with a more stern voice he added, "Don't fight me on this, Lauren. You won't win."
She nodded, and let herself enjoy the little pleasures. She had a long and tough battle ahead, and she needed al the comfort she could get while she still could.

"Since the majority of the shareholders will be on Dominic's side, I need to go for some drastic measures. I only need to get the 3 biggest shareholders whose total shares equal at least 30%. I have around 15%, so that makes it 45. Without that 30 and his own being 10 and his mothers' 10 that means he will have 20%, and I win. All the other shareholders wont add up to more than 20% so he will at most have 40," she said. He nodded, not really getting any of that but trying very hard to.

"My performance is good and the financial statements can back me up. Now for the 3 big sharks I have to catch, all I need to do is find out their biggest weaknesses and use them against them. They'll have no choice but to follow me," she said. Mark frowned.
"Is that really the only way?" he said, watching her closely.
"Yes of course! Those old jerks wouldn't listen to me otherwise! Plus Dominic went to school with their sons, I can't compete with that!" she said.

"What if you can? Instead of threatening them, try making friends with them. Spend a little time doing the stuff they like, and convince them that you are the better option," he said, setting her legs down as one of his cats approached them. He picked him up, and placed a little kiss on his head. "Oh so who's this guy?" she asked, reaching out to pat his head. He meowed a little, but let her pet him. Mark scoffed. "This is Dori. He's a little menace, usually, I don't know why he's being so nice to you," he said, setting Dori down, and getting on the floor to pet his other cat, who'd also decided to show up.