Dinner Theatre...
There were literally hundreds of lawyers who worked at the Black Law Firm, but only a small percentage of those were Senior Partners. The majority were Junior Partners or Associates. Alexander Black, Junior Partner, did not intend to stay Junior for long. Perhaps this is part of the reason that over the past year or so, he had, one by one, met with each of the Senior Partners and had dinner with them. Perhaps it was expensive, perhaps the cost was high...Alexander did not care. Not a whit, not a fig, not a single iota of him cared about the expense.
It was an investment. For you see, quite simply, there was always something to be gained in dining with one of the Senior Partners. Perhaps a bit of fatherly advice, perhaps, after a few glasses of wine, they would let something slip about an important upcoming case, possibly a landmark case that might help make a young lawyer's name for him...or, even more tantalizing, there was the possibility that they might let slip something that should have been kept secret...perhaps one of their secrets might come into the light where it can be glimpsed, if only briefly, by an ambitious young lawyer with glamour in his veins and magic dancing at his fingertips...
Alexander laughed. It sounded genuine, to almost all ears. It fell false only on a single pair, and that pair was wrapped up tight in a cigarette. The trick with smiles and laughter is letting them touch the eyes. If you can master that trick, you can fool almost anyone. And Alexander Black had mastered more than his share of tricks. Blame his mother. If you dare. But yes, he laughed at the joke. An entirely unfunny joke about lawyers, told by a lawyer, to a lawyer. The old man was canny, Alexander would give him that. Came off as jovial, fat and merry...not to mention more than a touch absent minded, but no, Elias Heathrow was sharp as a razor and twice as deadly.
Too bad. Alexander may have the body of a 21 year old mortal man, but he had the mind and soul of a centuries old Sidhe noble, and there wasn't any way this mortal was outfoxing this Fae. He was skilled, Alexander would give him that...but Arawn wasn't averse to using magic to cheat when necessary...or when it was convenient, for that matter. Mortals, mortals...lord what fools these mortals be...well, for all that, they do rule the world, and are enormously entertaining...
The first sally came when Alexander ordered his dessert first. The waiter was a bit thrown, but Elias handled it well, laughing delightedly and following suit. Alexander got a point for the unexpected (although he had pulled this trick before, and often) and Elias got a point for not being thrown by it. Even game. Nothing gained nor lost to either side. So it continued, with a bit of verbal maneuvering here and there. Alexander was forced, on at least two occasions, to let slip slightly more than he would have liked...but the backwards meals continued, course by course until they were finishing with the appetizer.
The old man slipped up, ever so slightly, and Alexander managed to weasel out a bit of advance notice on a high profile case that would be upcoming. Point for Alexander. A point he lost in spades when Elias craftily maneuvered him into picking up the entire cheque. Foxy old man. Alexander just smiled and paid it. It was only money, after all. One can always get more money. But information...no, information was priceless...
Elias Heathrow rose to leave. Alexander rose and shook his hand...and as the old man ambled off, Duke Arawn ap Ailil tapped his Rolex three times...and the Veil of Time parted. You can do a lot in a year...a whole lot...good things, bad things...and if you're a lawyer, chances are, you've done a lot things, good and bad...and if someone knows...
...Alexander Black leaned back in his chair, a cup of Earl Grey steaming in front of him as the past year of Elias Heathrow's life unfolded before him. Oh lookie lookie loo...embezzlement...and a lot of it...bingo.
Game.
Set.
Match.
It was an investment. For you see, quite simply, there was always something to be gained in dining with one of the Senior Partners. Perhaps a bit of fatherly advice, perhaps, after a few glasses of wine, they would let something slip about an important upcoming case, possibly a landmark case that might help make a young lawyer's name for him...or, even more tantalizing, there was the possibility that they might let slip something that should have been kept secret...perhaps one of their secrets might come into the light where it can be glimpsed, if only briefly, by an ambitious young lawyer with glamour in his veins and magic dancing at his fingertips...
Alexander laughed. It sounded genuine, to almost all ears. It fell false only on a single pair, and that pair was wrapped up tight in a cigarette. The trick with smiles and laughter is letting them touch the eyes. If you can master that trick, you can fool almost anyone. And Alexander Black had mastered more than his share of tricks. Blame his mother. If you dare. But yes, he laughed at the joke. An entirely unfunny joke about lawyers, told by a lawyer, to a lawyer. The old man was canny, Alexander would give him that. Came off as jovial, fat and merry...not to mention more than a touch absent minded, but no, Elias Heathrow was sharp as a razor and twice as deadly.
Too bad. Alexander may have the body of a 21 year old mortal man, but he had the mind and soul of a centuries old Sidhe noble, and there wasn't any way this mortal was outfoxing this Fae. He was skilled, Alexander would give him that...but Arawn wasn't averse to using magic to cheat when necessary...or when it was convenient, for that matter. Mortals, mortals...lord what fools these mortals be...well, for all that, they do rule the world, and are enormously entertaining...
The first sally came when Alexander ordered his dessert first. The waiter was a bit thrown, but Elias handled it well, laughing delightedly and following suit. Alexander got a point for the unexpected (although he had pulled this trick before, and often) and Elias got a point for not being thrown by it. Even game. Nothing gained nor lost to either side. So it continued, with a bit of verbal maneuvering here and there. Alexander was forced, on at least two occasions, to let slip slightly more than he would have liked...but the backwards meals continued, course by course until they were finishing with the appetizer.
The old man slipped up, ever so slightly, and Alexander managed to weasel out a bit of advance notice on a high profile case that would be upcoming. Point for Alexander. A point he lost in spades when Elias craftily maneuvered him into picking up the entire cheque. Foxy old man. Alexander just smiled and paid it. It was only money, after all. One can always get more money. But information...no, information was priceless...
Elias Heathrow rose to leave. Alexander rose and shook his hand...and as the old man ambled off, Duke Arawn ap Ailil tapped his Rolex three times...and the Veil of Time parted. You can do a lot in a year...a whole lot...good things, bad things...and if you're a lawyer, chances are, you've done a lot things, good and bad...and if someone knows...
...Alexander Black leaned back in his chair, a cup of Earl Grey steaming in front of him as the past year of Elias Heathrow's life unfolded before him. Oh lookie lookie loo...embezzlement...and a lot of it...bingo.
Game.
Set.
Match.