Feelings Sold Separately - Aemond Targaryen

Chapter Three - The First Meeting

Maysie Farrin

"Should we begin?" Aemond asked as he sat down, Maysie's eyes stuck on his forearm as he placed a few pages he must have had in his coat on the table.

"Mhm." She didn't trust herself to talk, too enamoured with the dragon tattoo and the way his arm muscles rippled as he moved. She wasn't sure what was happening right now, somehow the man was a Targaryen, and according to Eyla he was the most violent Targaryen. Just her luck.

He didn't seem too scary though, sure the eyepatch alluded to something more sinister, but his attire was similar to most of the business men she served everyday, and he was far more polite than any other guy she had talked to. 'It's only been five minutes' she reminded herself, well aware that his nice guy facade could drop at any moment.

"I need you to sign this NDA, then we can begin." He slid the paper and a fancy black pen across the table. The wording was simple, and it only took her a few moments to read through all she needed to. "Thank you." He smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes, as he took the page and pen back.

"Um, I had a few questions written down, if it's okay to ask them?" She said, hating how meek she sounded.

"That's what I'm here for." He sounded intrigued yet bored at the same time as he peeled the lid off his coffee and took a sip. His hand around the cup caught her eye, a few silver rings adorned his fingers, a few blue gems embedded in two of them.

"Um." She shook her head, pulling out the napkin she hastily jotted notes on from her pocket. "Have you had an arrangement like this before? And if yes, how many times?" She flattened the napkin out, her nervous jitters needing an outlet of some sort.

She felt Aemond's gaze on her but ignored it, keeping her eyes glued to her melting iced coffee instead. "Why don't you eat a few bites of your bagel, and then I'll answer your questions?" His deep voice fluttered around her.

When she looked up she noticed he had sat back in his chair, arms crossed against his chest, he was comfortable, and she was anything but. "I'm not hungry." She smiled through the lie. Maysie hated eating in front of people, even Eyla hadn't seen her take a bit of anything, ever.

It was learned behaviour and something she wasn't able to get over even years after the shrill of the mean kids voices had vanished. "You had lunch?" Aemond asked, holding her eye contact. "And please don't lie to me again, or, at least do better this time."

He was an ass, but Maysie found it kind of funny, unable to keep the smirk back she smiled. "Yes, I'm hungry, and no, I didn't have lunch." She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "While I appreciate your concern, I don't want to eat right now, this is a meeting, not a meal." She mentally patted herself on her back for that turnaround.

"That was a better lie." Aemond smirked, adjusting in his seat. "But okay, we can act like this is a business meeting, Little Dragon." The nickname made her heart flutter, her head jerking slightly in confusion. It was cute, but random.

"So, my question?" She playfully asked, now comfortable with her situation. He was just a guy, one who liked to be in control of his surroundings, sure, but also one willing to let her do what she wished.

"I've had four Sugar Babies in the past year and a half." He admitted, eyes still trained on Maysie.

"If I get hired how long will I be employed?" She asked, his turnaround sounded fast, but at the same time she wasn't actually too sure how these types of arrangements worked.

"I hope to have you employed for as long as possible." His answer was confusing. "I've been used as arm candy for the past year and a half." He began explaining, as if he read her mind. "I want my money to actually help someone, I want my presence to positively impact someone. I don't want to be used as a designer purse dispensary, I want to be someone's support system."

Maysie nodded her head. "Is that normal? Wanting to be, wanting to be so vital to someone's livelihood?" She questioned, aware that if she was to do this and let it positively impact her life, she would be extremely reliant on him. While that made sense in the grand scheme of things, Vysessa had decided she didn't need a full-time job anymore after getting a Sugar Daddy, Maysie couldn't help but worry about how big the financial gap was here.

"Yes and no." Aemond took another sip of his coffee, reminding Maysie to do the same. "Most men become Sugar Daddies so they can have social contact without any strings, and many of them enjoy providing for someone." He shrugged his shoulders, and for the first time he looked away from Maysie, his gaze now lingering on the wall behind her. "I don't have the best reputation."

"I really don't care or know about that. I'm not really big on the whole tabloid thing." Maysie added.

"Well, if you're going to be my Sugar Baby you need to know that I have been labelled as violent. I'm the unpredictable Targaryen."

"Shuffle." Maysie said as Aemond shuffled in his chair. "I don't know?" She softened her gaze, hoping the pity she felt wasn't too obvious. "You seem pretty predictable to me." She chuckled, Aemond staring at her with a huge smile on his face, one that finally and truly met his eyes.

"Well," He continued. "Because of this reputation you clearly disagree with," She laughed again. "I'm often avoided. I find it easier to buy someone's time than to earn it for free." His smile flattened. "And to answer your question inside your question, I need to be needed, I need to feel like someone needs me. It's selfish, asking someone to put all of their trust in me to make sure I take care of them, but it's something I can't help."

Maysie nodded her head. She understood what it was like to want to feel needed, wanted even. "My other question was how much are you going to pay me?" She moved the conversation along, hoping Aemond was okay with moving along too.

"Well how much do you make here?" Aemond asked, moving to lean against his arms on the table, he didn't seem to be able to sit still.

"Because I live in Flea Bottom I make Flea Bottom regulated minimum wage." She told a half truth, she did live in Flea Bottom, and that's how much money she would be making if her boss could pay her on time and what she deserved.

"And what does that cover in regards to your living expenses?" He countered.

"My rent, utilities, and groceries." Another half truth. "Sometimes I have some extra spending money, but I like to save it." She said with her head held high, she was proud of herself. Sure she wasn't always able to take care of everything she needed to, but she was better off than some people who lived in Flea Bottom.

"What would you do with the money you make while working for me?" He asked.

"Save a good chunk of it, I think." She answered honestly for the first time. "But, there's a new book store that opened up a few blocks away, so I would probably buy a few new books." She smiled, wistfully thinking about the classical book series that she had seen in the window a few days back. Cloth bound with ribbons for bookmarks, she needed them.

Aemond chuckled. "That's not what I was expecting."

"What should I have said?" She immediately backtracked, worried about how inadequate she might sound, or that maybe she had said the wrong thing.

"You didn't say anything wrong, you're just a breath of fresh air, Little Dragon."