Shall We Dance?, Reines, Valon

It seemed that none of them were ever going to be available at this rate.

Now, he could very much have taken offense from Mr. Gamble's suggestion that Valon understand the dictionary definitions available. Valon knew dozens of language, spoke 6 demonic tongues and had absorbed English like water into a sponge. It was not Valon's fault that the suggestion had been there that the alternative use of the word mistress had been the one to come to mind. Reines certainly did not situate himself in any better of a situation. Either he suspected something and was referring to him as a devil, or he did not and he attributed Amaranth to be the one in control. In either case, the compliments were certainly not flying very fast, nor were they particularly plentiful.

On second thought, perhaps he was taking some offense to the implications the other man was attempting to subtly imply.

And the discomforting of Amaranth was certainly not his concerns.

Reines said he owned clubs, and that was another interesting notion for Valon. Club owners in this realm had been limited to Estabez, whose idea of a club was an orgy of bodies in a poorly-designed and haphazardly decorated building. From the ground floor up, each floor had been designed for a specific purpose, and his experience had been one focused mainly around the plethora of vampires that had inhabited the dance floor. Valon did not need to own clubs to be a competition for him, though. His work was more in the supply and demand area of the market, and there was plenty he could acquire if he needed it. He could very easily be competition for Reines, though he wouldn't be drawing away customers so much as just making things very difficult for him and causing him problems regarding operating his business.

For example.

"Yes, I think we're both rather exhausted and could use the coming week to collect ourselves in preparation for this next meeting. I'll possibly be in touch earlier, though - I'll certainly be researching you and your business to be more up-to-date. I wouldn't want to be at as much of a disadvantage then when meeting you as I have been tonight, and I'll be certain to be on my game once we get to the interesting things."

He smiled to both of them as they had finally made their farewell greetings, reaching out to shake Valon's hand and place yet another small farewell kiss to Amaranth's hand. She was right when she stated they had plenty to do the next day, but Reines would start tonight and hopefully research tomorrow before the club even opened. Valon had made a good point about not coming to dinner unprepared and so if that was the case, it might benefit Reines to do the same in case this demon had any plans on getting the upper hand on him. By no means was he trying to compete with this devil nor was he trying to insult him or wrong him in any way. The man had done nothing wrong to deserve such treatment so far, but if by some chance their next meeting were to go south, he'd better be prepared for the next encounter. Releasing Amaranth's hand, he gave a small bow in respect and departed from their presence, making his way through the crowd and shaking a few hands along the way. He chatted it up a little with a few delegates here and there, but his main focus was heading straight for the door to make his exit. Unfortunately, he wasn't getting away without a small confrontation from Mrs. Hatsfield herself who was still a little uptight about his earlier comment.

"Mr. Reines, I do hope you expect to apologize for your rudeness."

"Madam, with all due respect, I meant nothing to offend you. I was only stating the truth that we are merely business partners. The only times we ever see one another is when I am handing over a check at functions such as this. I meant no disrespect, but please, I must be going for now. We shall keep in touch, now if you'll please excuse me." he said as he opened the double glass doors and walked outside into the night and along the path to his awaiting limo.

"Was it a good evening , sir?"

"It was alright. If you can take me back to Excalibur, please."

"Very well, sir." the driver opened the door and let Reines in, closing the door behind him.

Before the car even started moving, Reines was pulling out a small micro chip from his tie tack and loading it into his phone. From out of his pocket, he pulled his blue tooth out and connected it, dialing a number and waiting for the phone to be picked up.

"Nation Financial, Please state your member number."

"V752937."

"Thank you. You are now being transferred to a secure connection. Please stand by."

He waited a brief second before a familiar voice came over the phone.

"Reines, What can I do for you?"

"I have a couple more for you. I'm sending their pictures to you now. The female is known as Amaranth Kyne- Angel- and Valon Eurynome- demon but I don't think he's your average type. Try looking in another universe or whatever it is you call it. His presence felt unfamiliar compared to most. Oh, and also, run it through Royalty. I over heard Miss Kyne mention him as Highness. I need all the information you can find on them by tomorrow."

"We'll try to get what we can."

"Make it work and thanks."

Reines hung up the phone and allowed himself to stare out the window in contemplation as they drove off. To be honest, he wasn't looking forward to dinner with both of them. His only interest had been in Amaranth and the third would only make it a little crowded than it had to be. Perhaps a surprise visit might be called for. She had mentioned working late most nights and not having much time for pleasure. Perhaps it was time she experienced some pleasure and it came to her for once.....

(Reines out)