The head of security. Makes more sense after seeing the interaction between the two. Antony maintained his indifferent expression. Only for a few seconds did he let his eyes examine Yasmin's expression. He returned the smile with a short head bow. A few strands of hair fell in front of his field of vision. Letting out a quiet sigh, he carefully brushed them away.
"Ah, yes. I'm Adrian Lee, pleased to meet you," He greeted. "I am afraid that Dorota has already shown me the security office. There's a note with my number on it at your desk in case you need me."
Yasmin nodded at him, her smile lingering. "Sounds good. I'll be on my way then." She turned to Dorota and squeezed her shoulder affectionately before leaving them.
Dorota looked over at Adrian. "You'll be working with her a lot from now on. She handles my schedule."
Yasmin knew everything Dorota knew, and was responsible for making sure that Dorota's two… conflicting jobs didn't meet one another.
Once Yasmin had left Dorota continued to her office, letting herself and Adrian in. She took a seat at her desk and set up some paper, pens, whatever she needed. "You can stand, if you like, or I can get you a chair?"
Antony decided to not attempt a smile again. Instead, he kept his eyes staring straight forward at Yasmin. As the head of security began to walk away from them, he gradually turned his head to look back, watching.
In order to get close to Dorota, he'll have to befriend Yasmin too. And with the wary expression he had noticed, it may take a while for that to happen.
He turned his head back, then gave a nod in response. Following the target into her office, he flicked his left wrist before closing the door behind him. Antony tried to relax his stiffened posture when he stood against the wall.
"I guess I could sit," He responded before adding, "I can get instead. Where should I go to get one?"
(sorry!! I just had a couple exams so I had to focus on that)
(hey omg I had an idea also that maybe at some point, dorota is off on some purple infantry mission and she's wearing a mask and antony happens to be there and he's also wearing a mask and so they fight but have no idea who each other is and THEN they fight together out in the open and one of them realizes who it was they fought that day??)
Dorota nodded. "Sure, yes. You should be able to get a spare chair from somewhere in the bar, as long as it's brought back."
Yasmin had gone from the lobby to leaning forward against the bar, immersed in what seemed to be a very intense conversation with one of the bartenders. Meanwhile, Dorota pulled out documents from her desk and fanned them out in front of her. Her meeting was indeed with suppliers for alcohol, but little would Adrian know that although vodka was vodka, Elyasia did not in fact serve liquor and liquor simply meant guns. A simple but effective cover that they had been using for a long time, and Dorota had to admit that having a supplier for both her businesses was very practical and saved her a lot of time.
(It's all good! My responses are going to be a bit delayed cause of finals and catching up on work. Also, I love your idea, it's great. Let's do it!)
"Thank you," He said, in a low tone. Stepping away from the wall, he turned to face the door. "I'll be back, soon." Wrapping his fingers around the door handle, be turned it then walked out of the office.
He checked the cameras before disappearing behind the corner of the hallway. Antony walked into the bar, stopping himself once he noticed Yasmin. He didn't bother saying hi or anything as the head of security was occupied with speaking to a bartender. What use would it be to pay any attention to the conversation?
After flicking his wrists twice, he fixed his cuffs. While doing so, his index finger lightly tapped on the crown of his watch. He picked up the chair and walked on the side closer to the other two before heading back to Dorota's office.
His footsteps were quick yet cautious. Antony held the chair up, making sure it wouldn't touch the floor or hit anyone passing by. And when he was at the door, he made sure to knock before heading in. Antony placed the chair in the same stop he was before, then sat down, keeping his eyes lowered to the floor.
(No problem, good luck! And awesome! )
It took only a moment for another sharp knock to come at the door. Quick as a flash Dorota was at the door, a diplomatic smile already fixed into her face. Two men in crisp grey suits walked in, accompanied by another man with a briefcase and a sweet-looking purple sweater vest.
“Very nice to see you all again, gentlemen,” Dorota said lightly. Her entire voice had changed, taken on a new colder quality. This was her professional voice. She waved at the chairs in front of her desk, welcoming them into the office. She took her own seat, sitting slowly down. The men who had not yet spoken looked over at Adrian.
“Who is this?” one of the suits asked.
“A friend,” Dorota said simply. “Introduce yourself,” she told Adrian, a hint of her usual warmth edging into her tone.
Just as he was gradually relaxing into the chair, he immediately sat up when hearing the knock. Tension arose in his feet, having the urge to make him stand up. Antony remained in the chair, watching as the two men walked into the office then glanced down once again.
He could feel their eyes on him, yet he did not bother to look up. In the corner of his gaze, he looked at the purple sweater vest. To keep himself from looking attentively, he just bit the inside of his lip and kept on pretending to not notice anything.
Dorota's voice rang in his ears causing him to glimpse up at her then at the other men. "My name is Adrian Lee," He said. Standing up, he fixed his suit jacket then gave the two men a gentle yet respectful head bow. His eyes flickered over at the one and then the other. "I am Solene's personal bodyguard, it's a pleasure to meet you two."
(sorry!! I've had such a week. how were your exams?)
"And you," one of the suits said. He sat down, his hands primly set in his lap.
His colleague offered Adrian then Dorota a smile. "This is our legal representative, Daniel," he said, indicating the man in the purple sweater vest, who didn't smile, only nodded.
Dorota smiled widely at each of them in turn. "Okay, so the last shipment was five cases of vodka and four cases of liquor."
The men nodded. "Correct. Although, the liquor brand from last shipment was… put out of commission." He finished on what was clearly a rather loaded tone. Dorota nodded in understanding.
"That's quite alright. Whatever one you recommend. We will need an extra case of vodka. We ran through the last one quite fast," Dorota laughed.
(It's alright, I hope everything's going well. So far so good! Thanks for asking!)
Antony nodded then sat down at the same as the other man did. Like always, he was rigid, and kept his eyes on the two men. His finger traced along his knee, writing the name "Daniel". Purple vest, Daniel; he wonders if that serves any importance or not.
He turned his wrist so that his hand laid perfectly above his knee. Then he let his eyes lower to the floor once again. The watch rested at the end of his sleeve, revealing just a bit of itself. Even though he was staring at the floor, he was attentively listening to the conversation. Every now and then, he would look up at his "boss" and the two men before going back to staring at the floor.
Just like before, Dorota's laugh caught him off guard. His expression softened a little as he glanced up for a second. Biting the inside of his lip, he let out a quiet exhale. He let his shoulders drop as he sat back in the chair.
(thanks, and no problem I’m glad!)
Dorota heard Adrian rustle around but didn’t take her eyes off the three men before her— the first lesson her father had taught her was never to look away from who you were dealing with.
Her shoulders stiffened minutely. It didn’t feel right to be thinking of her father around other people. He was too much of a secret.
The grey suit in the center nodded drily at her laugh. « We will provide the brand we recommend then. Are you looking for something that will last you, or something stronger? »
Dorota paused, considering. « Something that will last, if you please. »
The man nodded and leaned over to mutter in Daniel’s ear. The latter nodded as well, scribbled a few notes onto a document in his folder and then picked it up gingerly. He set it onto the table, slid it around and over to Dorota, who already had a pen in a hand.
Only a moment later the document was signed and put away and the men got to their feet. They shook hands, and the man nearest Adrian offered his hand.
Keeping his head turned to the left side of the office, he stared at the shelves. His gaze wandered, observing the contents from where he was seated. Eventually, he switched so that he was staring at the other side. He didn't want to make it seem like he was trying to listen in, although he really wasn't able to.
He rolled both of his wrists slowly. Thankfully neither of them made a single crack. Although his watch did make a tiny sound as it slid forward. His fingers lightly held the bezel of it as he briefly checked the time. Then he let his hands rest on his lap.
The sound of the pen against the paper lead him to watch the three men and Dorota again. While observing, his head tilted to the right. Well that sure was a quick negotiation in his opinion, but it might not be the first have met nor may it be the last.
Antony's eyes trailed up, first gazing at the hand then up to the man. The corners of his lips quivered up into a light grin as he swiftly stood up. Without looking down, he grasped the man's hand and gently shook it.
"Thank you, Sir. Have a great evening," He said, staring into the man's eyes before looking over at the other two.
(ahhh damn I'm so sorry my exams are really intense atm but they're almost done)
The men packed up and left. Dorota stood and looked over at Adrian.
"So what did you think? The meetings are usually quite brief, since we just settle on the product we need and use the same contract we always have."
She glanced down at the little stained-glass clock on the desk, a gift from her father. It read just past 4 o'clock in the evening, which meant she'd have to start setting up for the evening show in about half an hour.
(It's all good, finals are so draining. You can do it and good luck! :D)
He watched as the men stepped put into the hallway and closed the door then gazed back over at Dorota. For a second he didn't say anything, but nodded in response. "Definitely more swift compared to previous meetings I've been in," He answered before adding, "It must have been very straightforward."
Antony kept standing, deciding it was better to copy what she was doing. Pushing up his sleeve, he quickly took a look at the time. In the corner of his eye, he picked up on her staring at the clock on the desk. "What's next Miss Dorota?" He asked while dropping his arms at his sides.
(ahh thank you!! only two more and then I'm done)
"Well, their company, RoyCo, has been working with Elyasia a long time." In fact, their company had been one of the first ones her father had put her in contact with. "We have a long standing relationship and a long standing standard agreement."
She dusted her skirts, unnecessarily, and walked out from behind her desk. "Well, it's already getting just a bit late. I have a bit of leisure time before I need to head for the bar and the kitchen to handle everything for this evening."
A small blue note lay on her desk and she had not forgotten it. It reminded her of the rebel official that would be joining them tonight. She was to send one of her people, probably Yasmin, to work out the details of a mission coming up.
"We have half an hour free before the evening bustle settles in. Do you play cards, Adrian?"
(I don't play cards, so I may just have to bullshit my way through ^^')
(Awesome, that's great! I hope it all goes well.)
(Also it's all good, I only so much about cards too.)
RoyCo. He'll have to do some research on them later. Maybe he's looking too deep into the fact that one of them had on a purple vest, but still, he isn't familiar with the company. Even after weeks of preparing for this mission, there is still so much he doesn't know. "Ah I see…"
Antony looked over to the right as he brushed his hair. The weight of his feet rested between the two after shifting to his right for a moment. His posture was more relaxed compared to before, yet it was professional as it should be. While he let his hand drop to his side, he stared back at Dorota.
The corners of his lips slightly curved up into a light grin. He nodded, "Of course, I used to play a lot during my army days, but that doesn't mean I just played cards." Doing something like playing cards this early into the game is a great opportunity, it's one not everyone gets this early. "Any particular one? Go fish? Pairs?"
( thanks :) )
Dorota pulled out a very nice deck of cards from the desk and sat back down.
She spread the cards out in front of her. They were dark coloured and hand-painted and painted over with polish.
"I'm not bothered, I'll let you decide."
She was looking forward to trying to crack Adrian's facade. He looked very guarded, and Dorota had made a hobby of figuring people out.
Glancing down at the floor for a moment, he rolled his right wrist. By the time he gazed up, he took a look at the deck of cards she placed. It had been a while since he had seen a deck, especially in a calm setting. He bit the inside of his bottom lip while nodding.
Adrian turned to push the chair back against the wall then made his way over to the desk. "Go fish should be appropriate given the time," He said. Sitting down in one of the chairs by the desk, he gently pushed it forward to be a bit closer. "Would you like to go first?"
Dorota nodded quickly, offering him a knowing smile. She cut the deck, handed out the cards and fanned her own deck in front of her. She prodded a few of her cards, running through the strategy in her head.
"Alright. Adrian, I'd like your fives," she said finally. She looked up at the man before her and watched him, keeping her face blank.
Sliding the cards towards him, he waited till she picked up hers before doing the same. He held them in his left hand, each being spread out a little so he can read the corners of them. Antony tilted his head to the left as she spoke. A soft chuckle left his lips as he took the card from his hand then slid it back over to Dorota. "Woah, you must be a psyche," He joked. "Off to a good start I must say."
Dorota smiled in quiet triumph. "Ha! Don't worry, I'll make your defeat swift and painless." She picked the card up and slid it into her deck. "My entire childhood was strategy," she continued. "Now, your… Jacks."
Curling his bottom lip back, he shook his head while trying to hold in his laughter. Antony lightly smiled while watching as she put the card into her deck before glimpsing back down at his own. "Did you play cards with your parents?" He asked. When she asked for a jack, his brow quirked up. As he shook his head, his eyes squinted for a moment. "Go fish, Miss Dorota."
She hesitated just a moment at his question. "All the time. With my father especially, though he favoured chess or backgammon." She clicked her tongue and reached for the deck facedown, pulling a 5 and sliding it into her deck. "All yours then. And you? Where did you learn cards?"
Antony chuckled a little, "My parents taught me after I was adopted as a way to bond, but as a seven year old, it didn't interest me then." He stared at his deck while biting the inside of his lip. As he thought about a card, he tilted his head to the right before glancing back at Dorota. "Any hearts?"
Although she didn't show it, her interest showed itself– he had offered backstory and she tucked the information away for later. "I can tell it didn't interest you. You should be asking me for a number, not a suit," she reprimanded lightly.
Antony found himself laughing a little again. This time though, it came more more freely rather than it being forced himself. Ah, at least he made a small mistake that could be quickly covered up. He gave a small shrug. "I suppose I am more interested in the players and not the cards," He added on. "Nine?"
