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In the light of day, I realized he was much older than I had realized from our first meeting. I also realized that his excitement was solely directed at Sophie.
He rose to his feet and ended his call, offering out his hand for a handshake. I accepted and took my seat; however, when Sophie's turn came, he ignored her handshake altogether and instead opted for kissing her on the cheek. She accepted it, however, I watched her reaction, and her eyes were significantly lowered as she took her seat.
I looked at him then and truly hoped this meeting would not drag on.
“I'm in your city now,” he said, and I nodded.
“Indeed you are.”
“We're immediately ready to get back to work. I just want to give you the chance to host me a welcome like I did with you.”
“Sure,” I replied, and he nodded awkwardly at me. Then he turned his attention to Sophie.
“We'll be taking a lot of trips to the casinos in Atlantic City as we work on this project together,” he says. “You'll be escorting me, I presume?”
She stared at him, and then she gave me a look. I didn't want to step in because I was sure she knew how to protect herself, and sure enough, she didn't disappoint.
“Of course,” she replied. “I go wherever Mr. Montgomery goes, so if he'll be in Atlantic City, then I will be there as well.”
“What a great worker,” he said. “Lucien, I might have to steal her from you.”
I looked forward and grabbed the bottle of water that had been left for us. “We're on a first-name basis now?”
He seemed quite startled at this comment, but then he quickly recovered. His expression, however, darkened as he stared at me.
“Well, I am significantly older than you, and even all the money in the world cannot buy that,” he said.
I didn't respond to this. Instead, I called the waiter over to come take our order.
“Sophie darling,” he called in his mixed British accent, “what do you usually call your boss?”
“Mr. Montgomery,” she replied, and he nodded. “Respectful. I guess I'll extend the same courtesy, then, if this is what you prefer.”
“No need,” I said. “We'll be working together extensively, so it's best to be comfortable with each other. You can call me Lucien, and I'll call you Gregory.”
I could feel the frustration in his gaze and expression at this. However, I didn't owe him ease in any ramifications, so I ignored it and focused on the menu.
I ordered a salad with a turkey sandwich, and then I handed the menu over to the waiter. I turned then to watch Sophie, and I could see that she was a bit indecisive. I knew that she was looking at the exorbitant price, especially because she tended not to want to eat in situations like this. And so, I leaned forward and whispered in her ear.
“You haven't eaten anything besides some pie, have you? I'll cover the bill, so order whatever you like.”
I pulled away then, and she stared at me, and then she smiled and nodded.
She made her order then and soon enough, the waiter was on his way.
“So,” Gregory leaned forward, all smiles. “I've been to New York several times in the past, but I've never had the time to dilly-dally around. This time, though, I think I might be staying much longer to oversee the project with your company, Lucien. And I imagine it will be much more fun and eventful, seeing that for once I have utmostly favorable company.”
Once again, he rested that creepy, distasteful smile on Sophie, and I could physically feel her shudder beside me.
Shaking my head, I leaned forward and began the meeting.
“What's your schedule like?” I asked. I brought Sophie along so that she could record our plans and know how to communicate this with the team. Then we can put something concrete in place and immediately get started on work.
“Right, right,” he said and finally focused on his work.
We talked for over an hour about all the steps to be taken and our proposal for expanding the casinos and their current revenue. By the time we came up for air, once again with all the notes and plans recorded, an hour and a half had passed. We'd had a huge lunch, and it was making me sluggish. Sophie, though, I could see remained quite sharp.
Gregory, on the other hand, was beginning to act restless, and so I decided to bring it to an end.
