The Good and The Bad

°6°

"So I hear that you're interested in becoming business partners. I must say, I wasn't expecting you to be such a vision, Miss Campbell."

"Please, call me Lola." I say sickeningly sweet, smiling innocently. I have to lay it on pretty thick if I want to get anywhere with him. But judging by the already pleased look on his face, it's not going to take much convincing.

"And yes, I've been looking for a partner for awhile now but no had seemed to stand out for me. Then Ruby mentioned you and I just knew that working with you would be the perfect choice."

He looks at me still smiling, seeming to be too distracted by my face to think too much about what I've said.

"Well I'm glad you think so. I'd really enjoy your company, both professionally and maybe in other senses."

I have to hold back the cringe I feel after hearing his words. I knew he was a creep but I didn't think he'd start "flirting" this quickly.

"So, Lola, what exactly do you propose? From what I've heard from our gracious hostess, you own quite the number of shares in several companies and own a successful logistics company. Why exactly would you need to partner up with me when you are doing so well for yourself?" He asks me, finally getting to business.

Crossing my legs and smiling, I lean a little closer to give an answer that'll hopefully seal the deal.

"Well you see, I've been craving to grow my business for awhile now but the things I've tried so far are taking too long. So I thought what better way to speed things up than to partner up with a great businessman such as yourself."

He smiles as I inflate his ego. Now I have to mention using criminal activities to him without him suspecting me.

Taking a silent breath and praying it works, I continue.

"And I've heard that you dabble in exchanging items that are seen to be quite dangerous." He stares at me with a raised eyebrow now while taking a sip of his whiskey, as if contemplating whether or not I can be trusted.

'say something that makes you more believable.'

"I've done some dealings myself but only for smaller items, you know like lead and straps." I have to use the slang terms for guns so he knows I know what I'm doing. "With my logistics business, it makes doing this quite easy to discreetly move such items, don't you think?"

He smiles and leans towards me, making him a few inches close to me but stays silent just looking at me. I don't dare move back no matter how uncomfortable I am, that'd ruin my progress.

"You're not only gorgeous, but smart as well." I smile back not saying anything waiting for him to continue.

From my peripheral view, I see a waitress come to our table with a bottle of red wine. This causes Alfonsi to lean back a little annoyed by the interruption while I'm extremely relieved. I take this chance to glance to the side where Ruby disappeared to, finding her standing there in perfect view of what we're doing of course. She glances up from the book she's pretending to be writing in to send a glare at Alfonsi for getting close to me.

Catching my eyes, I give her a look to show I'm grateful for the interruption she caused. She smiles and looks back to her notebook as I turn to the waitress who was about to pour the wine in my glass.

"It's alright. Leave the wine and I'll pour for the lovely lady." Alfonsi says dismissing the girl to continue our private chat.

"Amore, I can see that you are very intelligent so I'm not going to mess around and pretend that I'm not involved in arms dealing." He says as he pours me a generous amount of wine, clearly wanting to get me drunk. I really want to roll my eyes.