AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Mr. Lauder," she greeted, sliding into the other side of the booth as him. Renly followed suit and slid in on the side next to her. She wanted to hang her head in her hands…lies and more lies were starting to build up in front of her.
"Mykie, dear. How did your meeting go?" he asked as he set his menu down. He lifted two fingers and gestured to his glass as he glanced at the waiter who led them over to the table. "Get them glasses then leave the bottle."
"Yes, Sir," he said, nodding his head quickly before he went off to collect two more wine glasses.
"It went as well as I should have expected," Mykie said with a sigh.
Their waiter came back quickly and refilled Chance's glass before filling Renly and Mykie's to a moderate amount. She picked up the glass and drank it down in a few gulps before refilling the glass herself.
"That bad?" Chance asked. He raised his eyebrows as she drank down another half of her drink before she set it down.
"I wasn't happy with the results. I'll be back to change them whenever you decide on another meeting with them. That is, if you're willing to still negotiate." Mykie smirked.
"Wait, I don't think you should give up yet," Renly said with a nervous chuckle. "He might still change his mind."
"Who is this?" Chance asked, tipping his glass at the blonde opposite of him.
"This is Renly Harper.” Mykie could already see Chance’s mind running a mile a minute, catching up on where he was in his own mental chess game. “I met him last week, but I didn't realize his connections to this deal until today when I walked into the meeting."
"Mykie Vesper not prepared for something?" Chance smirked over his glass. "I didn't think I'd live to see the day."
"Aren't you fucking funny?" Mykie grumbled. “You knew something, didn’t you?”
"Mykie," Renly hissed. She looked at him confused and saw that he gestured to Chance with his head. What was he trying to say?
"I'm not bothered by a little swearing if that's what irked you. In my line of business, I'd be more off put if no one swore. It means they aren't speaking their minds," Chance explained, taking another sip of his wine.
The waiter took that moment to come back with a pen poised over a notebook. The trio quickly picked something to eat off the menu Chance had, and the waiter scurried away as quickly as he came.
"So, where'd you meet Mykie?" Chance asked, leaning forward on his hand. He may have been in one of the fanciest restaurants in town, but the way he stared Renly down was as if he was behind his desk in the Snake Pit.
"At Pearl's, Sir," Renly said. He gulped down some of his drink while Chance looked him over.
“You sure met a lot of people last week while I was gone,” Chance murmured.
“Thatismy job. To meet and talk to people as a bartender to sell more drinks,” Mykie stressed. She did not need Chance revealing anything about the Cantil to Renly. What Earl Harper knew could not get back to his son if she ever thought she’d have a chance with him.
"I had just never seen him around before." Chance shrugged. "I’m pretty active in the businesses I own, and Mykie and I are quite close. I would think I would have heard of you before now."
"Like I said, I've only known him for a week," Mykie butted in. "We came out to dinner and were going to discuss the chance of a deal and see if it's possible. If not, I won't waste my time."
"Wait, you're just going to... back off?" Renly asked.
The waiter came back, and with him came an older gentleman. When the two of them reached the table, Mykie noticed that the waiter was shaking. She'd been there before with Chance, but she didn't notice the waiters being all that shaky or afraid. Maybe it was the fact that Caspar could have easily been standing in this guy’s position that made her feel sympathetic and take notice of the man?
"I'm the chef here at Les Beautés and I wanted to personally make sure the food was to you and your guests’ satisfaction," the elder man said, waving a hand to his waiter, who carried the food. He helped set out on the table before he took a step back and waited for all three of them to take a bite of food.
"Good? Yes? Yes?" he asked, looking around at them.
'Wonderful. I knew I picked the right place, but this just enforced it," Chance said, setting down his knife and nodding to the chef.
The chef grinned and turned around with the waiter to go back to the kitchen.
"That," Chance said, pointing with his knife towards the retreating figures, "proves exactly why we won't back off. We are very respectful towards our partners and businesses, and we earn that respect back. When things don't go our way, people start to cower and hide. They know not to confront me, but they aren't given a choice."
“I’m not sure if I’m talking out of turn, Sir—” Renly waiting for Chance to gesture for him to continue to speak, “—but is this normal with all the Cantil members? I’ve heard that you are a very high-ranking member, but I never imagined the kind of…”
"Control?” Chance supplied, catching Mykie’s eye. What was Chance trying to ask? How much he knew, or how much she wanted him to mention? It was in moments like that when she realized how lucky she was to be attached to him. Dexter was right about how much Chance valued her and cared about her. He would not hesitant to talk about the Cantil, their business, and whatever he wished with anyone else, but held back for Mykie’s sake.
