Alistair stopped, and smiled. Women were all the same to him, just rats that he carefully traps with different arrays of skills. Since he was a businessman, he had this perfect understanding on how humans tick. Each and everyone had a default way of acting and he knew how to pick those pieces one after the other. Of course, Lacey could be virtuous yet she wouldn't let virtue get into the way of her goal. She was that disciplined and goal oriented, so he knew leaving her with no option would do the trick.
He'd almost slapped Bill earlier trying to make a move on his prey. He was the hunter in this scenario and he didn't share his game. He turned back, and chuckled. The alluring posture of this woman, making him bite his lips hard. What he would do to her… he smiled and shook his head.
"And what proposal is that?" he asked, turning back slowly, adding to that swag that he's already got. That air of confidence that oozed from his presence pushing her to a corner.
She glanced at him and she knew this was it. She needed to do something. There were two things she hated in life: failure and helplessness. Now she'd been given a choice by fate to choose one. If she accepted the proposal, she would helplessly have to dance to the tune of this man.
"But first," she said, her voice shaking. "Can I ask a question?"
"Go on," he replied, his face still holding a dominating smirk. She so badly wanted to wipe that smirk off his face, but as of now, she had no choice.
"What about your wife?" she asked.
"Yes?" he replied. "What about her?" The grin from his face faded a bit turning into an annoying gaze.
"I .. I just… I mean," she stuttered. Get a hold of yourself. She told herself. "I am just wondering, isn't she here?" she inquired, steadying herself trying as much as possible not to show weakness.
"And what if she is?" he inquired again, in the same stern demeanor. In his head, he was grinning. With every word she said, he knew he had her cornered. He only needed to add little pushes, to show her that he is in complete control of the situation and there isn't any trick that could free her from his grasp.
"Wouldn't it cause a stir. I mean. I… I am here, and she is here and…" she began to stutter again, Alistair's demeanor obviously shaking her.
"And so…?" he said with a raised eyebrow.
She was speechless this time and just tried gesticulating with her hand and all she could do was just point backwards.
He chuckled a bit before replying to her. "Did you think I didn't see my wife before coming to meet you?" he asked.
"Huh?" she said in surprise.
"I understand how you must feel. But you should try and get a good grasp of the situation. This…" he spread his arms signaling the entire party. "... is all mine and do you think someone like me could be tamed by a woman?
Her head was screaming red flags with those statements but choice wasn't a part of her schedule today, it seemed to have taken a break. She exhaled and then stared at him. "I just don't want to be in trouble."
"You cannot." he replied sharply.
She nodded, tapping her foot gently on the pavement. She needed to get this deal done by all means. Her boss back at the office had told her it was her only chance. If she failed, everything was going to turn into a big mess for her and she'd have no way of surviving and her life would be practically over. She knew this man knew that, and he was ready to play that card as much as he could. He didn't hide his intentions from the start, she'd been the one trying to ignore it and shrug it all off but now that it was all out and said, she decided to pacify him. Give him something that would at least let her get the contract.
"How about we take things slow," she began.
He raised his eyes. "What do you mean by slow?"
"I mean, just little by little, try to… um… be friends at least for now…" she then quickly added. "So we get to know each other, you get me?"
He smiled, realizing her cheap shots to trick him. She probably didn't know who she was dealing with. He was Alistair and he wasn't like every other girl, he knew what he wanted and went for it always. He decided to play along with her little game. He smiled coyly, looked her in the eye for a bit before shifting backwards to reply.
"I don't make friendships with women…" he said. "I mean I barely do friends with men." he said with a smile.
Then Lacey squinted her eyes, wondering if every single one of the girls he'd met with him were all… Did he sleep with them all? Every single one? She couldn't help but bulge her eyes in realization.
"What did you think we were doing together?" he asked as he sensed her thoughts with the look of surprise on her face. It wasn't the first time he'd seen that look. He knew she would probably wonder if he was just going to use her and he'd given her the answer. It was her turn to decide for herself.
She shook her head and glanced at him with determination. "Can we be friends?" she repeated her question, deciding to be brave for once. She had to stand by her word and not just falter because of his obvious tricks. She exhaled, almost closing her eyes awaiting his answer that seemed to be keeping her in wait forever.
"Yes," he replied, deciding to play her game. "We can be friends."
She exhaled and nodded. Her head almost flew from her neck. She'd manage to escape this moment, but what about next time, she thought staring into the eyes of the man as he smiled coyly.