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"Talk about an age gap between possible siblings," she said lightly. "Unless Giovanni has a few others laying in wait." Other than, possibly, Aidan and Giulia. "Uncle Marlo." The thought of him prancing around with a couple toddlers- well. She bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Well, it is good to know you're keeping your progeny under control." Jada wasn't certain she'd had a need for the details, but she had just finished telling Marlo he could tell her anything- though not in those words.

His leg wiggled, and his face fell into a familiar expression. "I didn't forget." her head shook, dark curls bouncing around her face. "Could always trust your taste in food. And shoes." She popped her stolen morsel into her mouth and gave him a grin. Marlo had excellent culinary skills, and taste in food. His taste in shoes was more dubious- okay, no, it wasn't, he just had more of a fetish for heels, where Jada appreciated the comfort of a cute pair of flats every now and then.

Hmmm. Something to fill her mansion. "I don't think Castor would appreciate an elephant for a roommate." But maybe she could look back into those Wolfhounds she'd liked so much. Or a Mastiff. As he pushed her hand away she let him, pulling it into herself and giving him a smug grin. "Paparazzi are surprisingly less interested in someone who isn't an heiress or a CEO." Hmm, she was out of sake and had forgotten to refill. Oh well- tea time it was. "I usually run into them in New York and London more than anywhere else."

Her chopsticks waved at him. "Pardon, but did you forget my mother? How many men did I get sent to dinner with, who were probably those girls fathers? I quite think they're looking out for their daughters, finding a young CEO to pimp them out to. Not that there are many options for a CEO under 23."

We can discuss us later. She didn't know that there was much us to discuss, but then- she also hadn't been expecting a dinner invitation.

"If we had more to drink, I'd raise a toast." Giovanni was more than a bit of a waste of space. The thought that after her parents had divorced- ugh. Everyone on both sides of the family deserved better than Giovanni. The only thing he'd done right was- no, no, she couldn't think of anything, and she wasn't even related to him by blood. "Oh, come on, you'd be a fantastic uncle." She twisted a noodle around her utensils, peering at him. "Besides, assuming Elzo doesn't rob a cradle, 30 is right around that age when complications could start." She eyed her food, considering. "Besides, haven't you managed him over 20 years already?"

He stabbed at his plate, and she decided to call a cease and desist on family chatter. Paparazzi it was. "It depends," she countered. "If I can get my career to the next level, I'll have to contend with them everywhere I go. My father protected me legally til 18, and my lack of scandal after that, but as my manager is constantly pointing out, any press can be good press. The voting is in for some local scandal, or any kind of trouble that will get some media attention on me. Meanwhile, I'm still staring at old pictures of myself and reveling in the fact I was in a magazine."

Her head shook at Marlo's later question. "No, Mother never had to drug me. Just point out how very important it was for the family. And never was I to do more than flirt. She was antiquated in a sense. One use, and then the only value is what a man will pay." Her lips twisted bitterly. "And she thought she was doing what was best for me, ensuring a future."

She'd been so relieved when her parents divorced. And even now... "She and Giovanni rather would have deserved each other if they'd met earlier."

She clucked her tongue and waved a chopstick at him. If she knew his thoughts, she could have said something to help fight the darkness of his thoughts, guide him back towards something happier. Or tried. Instead, she focused on his suggestions of a 'scandal' that he could offer. "I would never end up wasted in a bin." her lips quirked. "I have a taxi cab on speed dial. If it gets too bad I call, and shove my ID at them when they show up."

His suggestion of kidnapping her made her laugh. "CEO escorts lush to a safe place to let her rest. Is accused of kidnapping, and begins to resent his ex." Oh. Hell. Ex? They'd never had a name for what they had been, before, or for its impact. "As for the times I was a bit wild- I still am, I'm just more careful about it now. One can't be boring, after all. they just have to be quieter about it."

His quiet little jab about her drinking made her set the sake down quietly. "No worries about me turning into your mother any time soon, though I appreciate the concern." She jabbed at her plate, appetite draining away. "Having two babies to care for when I was not working certainly made my budding alcoholism a thing of the past." Her half siblings were three now, and just as precocious and loving as she vaguely remembered Lucas being. She missed them, actually. She'd have to make a day trip to see them soon.

"No classes, not after I left DCU. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do anymore. I'd dabbled in legal classes, business, gotten a basic AA, but... I'm a model. Not exactly something I can get a degree in. Pass Elzo my congratulations though." She smiled, and it was genuine happiness that crossed her face. "I'm glad he took steps towards something for himself. And what about you? Have you found something for yourself other than the businesses?" He was taking on so much- but money was only so warm when you held it in-hand.

She grinned at him. "That much business. Sometimes legitimate, sometimes just an excuse to get out of a potentially sticky situation. You're right. Sometimes people think a leg up means a leg over, and when someone's worried about their paycheck... male or female, you might be surprised at the number of people who don't care about gender as much as obedience and fear." She was privileged enough to not have to worry about a paycheck as much as others- even if she had to be careful in her refusals for appearances sake.

Shaking her head, Jada gave a wry laugh. "Two years is a long time, Xanis. My eyes still may betray me, but there are some changes that you don't know yet." Two years wasn't a long time, but it was a lot of it, and she liked to think she had grown beyond the young girl who hadn't known her own mind or her own power. She wasn't an infatuated teen anymore, she was a woman. A young woman, but still a woman.

Leaning back, the model watched him polish off his drink. "That is incredibly ambitious," she said at last, and couldn't help feeling a little proud of him for having a goal like that. It would take him beyond anything his uncle had ever been able to accomplish, and put him in a position... "Look at you," she said with a sigh. "Big time dreams, and I'm still off dancing in dream land. A little rich girl who wants to be a pop star and a model instead of a realist."

She set down her chopsticks, pushing aside her plate. "That's a shame," she told him, "I always enjoyed your cooking. Elzo should suck it up and eat what he's told. So is he living with you now?"