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 Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 10:19 am
Natalie nodded. "Yes, please," she murmured, finally lifting her face from her hands. She was obviously holding back a few tears, though she still seemed better than how the two men had found her.
"... yes, though... I wouldn't call him that..." A tiny laugh. "b*****d, yes. Beast? Not quite. And I highly doubt that last bit. She looks almost as young as I do - botox and stuff, probably - but is so much more... more... mature. Sophisticated. What Michael's looking for."
Was she trying to rationalize things? Or maybe she was just coming to grips with reality.
Michael looked up at the server, looking a bit surprised. It sounded... interesting. Especially since the table was so small. But, as much as he longed to talk with Natalie and smooth things over, he didn't want to sit across from her and make her cry the entire night. That wasn't even close to what he was after.
But Candice was eyeing Thorn and, especially, Hadrian. She turned to Michael with a sly, foxy smile. "I think we shall, since they took the trouble of inviting us."
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 10:26 am
"And far more arrogant."
Hadrian hadn't cared much for that haughty look Candice had given the table, and was personally inclined to think that someone who seemed more natural was preferrable to someone fake, like that. Though with him it was kind of a moot point anyway.
After all, it wasn't like there were many men around who got botox and other random things done.
If he had known that Thorn had just invited the other two over, he would have been slightly ticked off.
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 10:36 am
Thorn smiled. Ordering something rich and creamy, alcoholic but not too over the edge (he was a little bit concerned that she might do something too dramatic. In public. Without him.) he shook his head.
"Botox is an atrocious habit." he said, frowning. Well. Sometimes it looked very good. But he could pretend. The server came back with their answer, and Thorn smiled, delighted.
"Hadrian, Natalie. Why don't we pull our chairs closer together? The table is rather small, and we do need to make room for some guests." he smiled, looking slightly exasperated.
"It seems they'll be joining us."
Just in case, he reached out and patted Natalie on the elbow. "Don't worry, we'll protect you."
Well. He would, if things got too messy. He smiled. And Hadrian? How would he react?
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 10:46 am
"... well, yeah, but.." she said, trying to come back with more rationalizations when Thorn dropped that particular bomb. Instantly, she came close to bolting out her chair again, but settled for scooting it (quickly, very quickly) closer to Thorn. All the confusion, though, nearly made her fall, and she sat down hard.
"Some days," she said, quietly, "I really hate my life."
Chairs were brought over to their table and Michael held out Candice's. Candice sat next to Hadrian, and Michael sat down next to Natalie.
Natalie had never felt so trapped in her life. Here she was, between the two older men in her life. One of whom she'd really rather not be close to at the moment. She took a deep breath - time to try acting.
"You left early tonight," she managed, voice sounding surprisingly normal.
"The delay rushed my plans a little," he said lightly, smiling at her faintly. Ah. The delay. Natalie shook her head, trying to clear those unwanted thoughts away. "Candice," he said, changing the subject, "this is Natalie - the girl who played Jane."
"Oh, what a pleasure to finally meet you," Candice purred, voice pure poisoned honey.
"Ah. Same," Natalie said, managing to pull off a small smile. Luckily, Candice quickly turned her attention back to her Mr. Peanut Man - Hadrian.
"And you are...?"
Natalie sunk back, slightly relieved - at least the fiance wasn't watching her fully anymore. But even through all of that, her nerves were frazzled and jumping - she could feel Thorn and Michael close on either side.
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 10:57 am
"Hadrian."
He had also scooted closer to Thorn, and amusingly enough, it was similar to the situation of Natalie's. Natalie was between a man she had been with, and a man she (maybe?) liked. Hadrian was also between a man he had been with (though drunk at the time), and a woman who seemed to like him.
Though of course, the mage was oblivious enough that he didn't notice.
He didn't think much of Candice from what he had seen of her already, and that opinion would likely be going downhill soon.
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:02 am
Thorn smiled, bemused at the way the blonde was talking. Silly, tactless little thing. If he had trouble with Hadrian, what made her think that she would have any success?
Pity. If only he wasn't so intent on the two beside him. She would have been fun to play with too.
"She was wonderful, wasn't she?" He smiled, squeezing her hand in a show of admiration and intimacy that was closer than it should have been. But his smile was gentle. Not adoring, but not polite either.
An inside joke almost, as if he was laughing about something only Hadrian and Natalie would understand.
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:12 am
"You don't see many monocles, these days," Candice commented lightly, taking a sip of her wine - they had already gotten their drinks and simply brought them over. "And fewer men who can pull them off. Bravo."
Michael nodded, taking Natalie's other hand and giving it a slight squeeze - was this going to be a battle of possession? So be it. He was game. He had the slight disadvantage of his fiance sitting beside him, but...
"Absolutely. She gets better by the day." His tone was light, but there was a slight undercurrent that Natalie picked up. She blushed, wanting to curl up and die right there. Both men... maybe they didn't really mean it, but she kept thinking they were talking about more than her on-stage performance.
And while it really didn't matter if Michael found out about that one kiss now, that didn't make her any more comfortable with it.
"Do you come here often?" Michael asked, taking his hand away - but only slightly. It wasn't as conspicuous, especially at such a small, crowded table, if his hand merely rested flush against hers, side to side.
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:19 am
While the drama began to unfold with the other three people at the table, Hadrian was wondering why the fiance, Candice, was choosing to focus on him. Why wasn't she glaring daggers at Natalie? Or being possessive of Michael?
"Thank you, but I don't wear it for appearance." and he didn't. Most people probably just got some sort of surgery to even out their vision - but that was the sort of thing that would never occur to him, as they didn't have that sort of thing at his homeworld.
While he didn't particularly appreciate the attention, he had yet to notice that it was more then just a bit friendly - so, he was willing to be polite.
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:25 am
Thorn heard Hadrian's comment to the blonde's and his smile deepened. It was a normal, public smile as he nodded his head at Michael, transferring it from one subject to another.
"There are better resteraunts that demand my attention." he responded. " It is quite enchanting though, and Natalie deserves the night out." he saw the hand. He couldn't miss it.
"Natalie, I believe our drinks are here." he nodded.
"Have you ordered anything to eat?" he asked the other two, smiling politely. As the drinks were set before them, the tall, elegant glass filled of something pale and soft, he leaned towards Natalie.
"I hope you enjoy it."
His smile darkened, just slightly.
Thorn should have known something interesting would happen with Hadrian around.
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:31 am
The truth was, Candice wasn't marrying Michael for love. She wasn't marrying him for his money, either - she had quite enough of that. It was more of an... unofficial alliance between companies, arranged by their parents. Lovely. They'd been engaged for years now, waiting for just the right time in their corporate lives to tie the knot. In the interim, she'd had many lovers. And Michael knew about quite a few of them.
Which was why she was willing to let little flings slip. She knew, come curtain fall, Natalie and Michael would never see each other again. So, there was nothing to worry about. And she could focus on other things.
Like Hadrian.
She really did like this arrangement with Michael, at times.
"Oh, really? Well, still - it's very flattering. Much better than just a pair of glasses would be." She crossed her legs, short slinky skirt riding up a little farther. She took another sip of her wine, licking her painted lips.
"So. What do you do for a living...?"
"Quite true. And they did just finish renovations. I'm impressed that you managed to get reservations - a fellow business man, perhaps?" Michael eyed the drinks being set down.
"Yes, we have," he answered for the two of them, as Candice was obviously... occupied. "I take it you have not, however?"
Natalie shook her head, picking up her glass as delicately as she could with trembling fingers, and took a sip. Then she turned her head slightly, and smiled at Thorn. "It's delicious," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "Thank you."
Michael eyed the glass. Was that... alcoholic? Was this Thorn trying to make his Natalie more pliable? Hm.
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:35 am
"I'm a...scientist."
No, Hadrian wasn't about to tell her what he did for a living. Though it was true - he was a scientist. He was also a mage, and his work was a good bit different then just 'scientist' implied...
Taking a sip of his coffee, Hadrian noticed that Candice was - well, showing herself off. For some strange reason, it seemed like this happened everywhre, both men and women flirting with him...and he had yet figured out to discourage them without being rude.
So he just shifted uncomfortably, keeping his eyes fixed on his coffee.
And, for the sake of conversation, returned the question.
"And what do you do?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:43 am
Had Thorn been a little bit more distracted, he would have laughed and whisked Hadrian off. Having said that, he looked over at the woman, admiring. She had spunk.
Maybe he wouldn't scare Hadrian away yet.
"A business man? You could say that." he smiled in the indulgent smile a parent smiles to a child dressed up in adult clothes. One that the rich smile on the middle class, whenever they tried to fool they were of equal rank. It was supposed to be annoying.
Supposed to be.
"I'm glad you think so." he smiled. "Now, why don't I just ask the chef to surprise us for the meals?" he looked over at Hadrian for confirmation. "Unless you'd like to keep the alcohol out of the food too."
He said this seriously, concerned, almost.
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 5:19 pm
"A scientist, hm?" Candice raised a brow, slightly, lips parting gently in interest. She'd never.... been friends with a scientist. "What field?"
She watched him squirm, expression becoming slightly dark. While making men uncomfortable was sometimes fun, she wasn't really in the mood for it that night. She just wanted somebody aside from Michael. Hadrian would probably take more work than he was worth. Still, it was a nice diversion for the course of the meal.
"I'm in business, as is Michael. Bit of a family business, really... I work for my father, up at Leracorp." Leracorp was big, but of no real importance outside the business world. She probably couldn't call down hell on Hadrian's head if he ran away from her. Sadly.
Michael got the smile, and wasn't all too pleased with it. But not knowing the man's employment, he could think of no real response. He couldn't whip out his business card, trying to prove his seniority or something of the sort. That would be childish. So instead, he turned his attention more to Natalie.
"Oh, I think that might be an interesting adventure - the food here is all rather good and diverse, though I've had much better. And our little table is so intimate, if somebody doesn't like what they get - which I highly doubt - I, at least, wouldn't mind sharing my own meal.
"I usually wouldn't want to do that in a restaurant like this, but Natalie, since you're not used to it..." He shrugged, lightly.
Natalie took another, largeish sip, and set her glass back down. Michael made sure his hand was close by. He was rewarded when her cheeks flushed a little more than from the drink alone.
"No, that's fine. I'm sure I'll like whatever I get," she whispered, sending a quick 'Save me, what do I do, he's right next to me!' glance to Thorn.
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:10 pm
"Genetics."
It was...partially true. It did sort of fit into what he did, and as there was no actual name for the 'field' of Morphing energy and Souls into bodies, genetics would work just fine as an explanation.
The wry glance he shot at Thorn suggested that the comment was a silly one; of course he didn't mind it in the food.
"I'm not that picky."
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:34 am
Genetic scientist, was it? Thorn almost, almost smirked.
Thorn smiled, nodding his head. "Very well then." he said, inclining his head towards Hadrian. He would ask for the best. And then, if Hadrian decided he liked it... well. Thorn had one more thing he could hold over Marc's head. How long had it been since those two had gone to a fancy resteraunt? Alone, in private?
Thorn smiled, a private smile as he looked down at Natalie. She was like a little pet he wanted to take up and rear, twist to become something darker, edgier, or protect so that she would always be so naive. It was this side of him that kept Thorn in his business, that kept in entertained, when live should have started to lose it's sadistic glory.
"That won't be necessary." he inclined his head and nodded towards Natalie. "Natalie, if you don't like it, just let me know."
He arched a brow. Sending a 'that won't be a problem, will it?' look at Michael's direction.
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