...Dani...
Dani paused at the doorway of the cocktail lounge, unconsciously smoothing the fitted bodice of her royal blue cocktail dress. She loved the color – it highlighted the (current) blue of her eyes and complemented her (current) short red-brown hair. She liked this body, she thought absently. Small, petite, cute. Much better than her original.
~~if you like it so much, you'd better take care of it. It's mine, after all~~
Keep your snark to yourself, Innie-Me. I'll do what I want with it. It was yours. Now it's mine.
She swept the room with a glance. There was Frank seated at a table for two, shockingly handsome as always, chin-length blond hair and sharp Nordic features. He saw her, and raised his glass to her, subtly angling it to point out a man lounging at the bar. She nodded in return, and strolled toward him while surreptitiously checking out the man he had indicated.
Forties? Fifties? Short, trim build; neat black hair, black beard, black mustache, dark eyes; black tailored suit, black brocade silk shirt, dark tie, black shoes…there was even a black overcoat draped over the bar next to him. She rolled her eyes and twitched a tiny smile in amusement at the affectation. But, affectation aside, he had…"presence" was the word. Once you saw him, he kind of drew your eyes.
As she walked, she mentally reviewed the brief she had memorized. Used to power and luxury; dangerous and untrustworthy; impatient with fools; known to be devious and highly manipulative; a cheerful and thorough-going hedonist; thought dead in the May disaster – she momentarily shuddered at the memory of how things had been thrown into chaos after that. He had reappeared two months ago, not dead, much to everyone's surprise. He had not, of course, returned to his former high position. Her sources had mentioned frequent sudden disappearances. Some had noticed that he seemed to have amnesia; he had flatly denied knowing old subordinates. She and Frank had researched that little quirk and quietly fixed it. That would be a selling point…
"Frank," she greeted her partner when she reached the table. She moved her chair so that she was in line of sight of the mark – okay, "potential client" was a more polite way of categorizing him. She sat down, crossing her legs so the slit in her retro fifties-style dress displayed them nicely.
Frank smiled a slow, lazy smile. "Dee. You're looking elegant as always."
This time, she openly rolled her eyes, and it was exasperation, rather than amusement.
"Cut the crap, Frank. Business. Our…potential client…is rumored to be…receptive…to both men and women. Shall we flip a coin? Heads, you're the point of contact, tails, I am?"
He sighed, leaned back in his chair, rubbed his chin, and said, "Ugh. Frankly, Dee, I am not interested in guys, you know it, and I'd rather just go straight to you handling it. Besides, this job is a big gamble. There's no way of knowing if it'll pan out, no matter what we do."
No surprise that he wanted her to take the lead. In fact, given the way he had been slacking off lately, it would have surprised her if he had stepped up to do some sales pitches. She pursed her lips in irritation.
So. Show time.
~~well, at least we're not stuck with Frank for the evening~~
Shut up.
She pushed her alter-ego down again.
Dani looked at the client across the room, keeping her eyes on him until his wandering glance chanced on her, at which point she gave him a small smile, and slowly looked him from head to toe and back up again. A flickering golden glitter near his wrists caught her eye, and she nodded to herself absently. She glanced back at Frank and the table, and gave a small click of irritation.
"You didn't order me a drink?"
He shook his head. She sighed and stood up.
"Here I go."
"Knock him dead, partner!" Frank raised his glass to her again.
She sauntered over to the bar. When she got there, she stood next to him, just inside societal norms of personal space. She gestured to the bartender, who put down the glass she was drying and came over.
"What can I get you, ma'am?"
"Scotch and soda, please."
A hand covered hers on the bar. "Please. Allow me." It was a suave, mellow voice, slightly rough, with an English accent. She turned to look at him. He smiled at the bartender and flashed two fingers at her. "Drink for the lady, and another for me."
"Thank you," Dani said happily.
"My pleasure," he replied, lifting his glass in salute, raising his eyebrows.
She glanced at him with a small smile and locked eyes, then swiftly glanced away. Suddenly, she was intensely aware of him. She could smell his scent, a mix of men's cologne and a tiny whiff of sulfur.
Oh, dear. This could be awkward.
~~what?~~ asked Innie-Me.
I'm…um…very attracted to him.
~~and that's a problem? better him than Frank~~
You really don't like Frank, do you?
~~eh~~
"Jamie Redmond, moderately successful New York literary rep," he introduced himself, holding out his hand.
"Danielle Lippmann, equally 'moderately successful' freelance research analyst," she replied with a laugh, taking his hand and shaking it. It was dry and warm and solid, and she noticed the impeccably neat fingernails. In fact, she was noticing a lot of things about him that attracted her, now that she was close. "My friends call me Dani."
"Forgive me for noticing, love, but weren't you just with that extraordinarily pretty young man?" He slanted a look at Frank.
She sat on the bar stool next to him and spun it around so that she could lean on her elbows on the bar behind her while she looked back at Frank. She frowned slightly, pursing her lips.
"Oh, yes, he's a very pretty boy," she said sourly.
Redmond cocked an eyebrow at her, intrigued. "But…" he prompted her.
"Well. Frankly, I loathe pretty boys in general." She turned to look at him, and paused, distracted, as his dark brown eyes locked with hers. She recovered and continued, "They usually know they're pretty, y'know? They think they're 'all that'. And they think that's enough. Ugh." She looked back at Frank, a perfect representative of what she was talking about, and frowned again thoughtfully. "I like my men more…mature. Mature men know how to make a lady…feel good…about herself." She slid a glance at Redmond. He was intensely focused on her, leaning in. She suddenly realized what she had said and how it could be taken, and blushed.
Damn. Well. Might as well enjoy myself with this pitch, eh? Business and pleasure.
"You, for instance. You seem – on our very short acquaintance! – to have…depth."
He laughed lightly. "'Depth'. I'm not sure how to take that."
Dani snorted and glanced back at Frank. "Well, at the least it means you don't seem to be so self-absorbed that chatting with you is a chore. Like with my business partner over there." She waved a hand to indicate Frank.
"Oh, I assure you, my dear. I have a vast store of interesting chat!" He winked. "And I am…very 'mature'." He smiled slowly at her and Dani blushed again.
She reached out and took his hand, turning it palm up. "So let's see. 'Mature…' What does your lifeline say?" She peered down at his hand, and lightly, slowly traced the lifeline with a finger. The gentle, sensual touch made her swallow. She looked up at his face, smiling, slightly breathless, then looked back down. She followed the crease on his palm to the edge of his hand, then puffed a small, amused breath and turned the palm over. "Now look at that! It goes around the hand! A very, very long life!" She continued, "That is, if you believe in that sort of silliness."
"Oh, quite long." He was amused. She knew why.
She stared down at his hand, which she was still holding. The flirting was fun, but, really, it was more than time to make the sales pitch. She took a deep breath and plunged right in. Damn, she hated sales!
"So. I have a business proposition for you."
There was silence. Then he was pulling his hand from hers. She looked up at him, and watched, fascinated, as his expression changed from warm and very interested to something slightly chilly. He tilted his head back to look down at her.
"Oh, dear, pet. I do think you may have gotten the wrong impression." His drawling voice was suddenly harder. "I have a policy, darling, of never, ever, paying for things I can get for free."
Dani was appalled.
"Oh. My. God. I am so sorry! That definitely came out the wrong way!"
~~what did you expect? coming on to him all hot and heavy, and then saying that? i'd think you were a hooker, too~~
Good lord, you're a judgemental prude, Innie-Me. Go away.
She waved her hands in wild negation, took a deep breath, leaned forward, and placed a finger against his lips to stop him. "I didn't mean that!" She moved her head so it was next to his, and whispered into his ear, "If I look at you out of the corner of my eyes, I can see the golden bindings wrapped around your wrists, Crowley. You are someone's bitch, and I think we both know whose. I can help find a way to remove the binding – "
His hand shot out to pin her wrist down on the bar. His eyes and voice were cold as he asked harshly, "Who exactly are you, pet? And what do you think you could possibly do for me? Why should I trust you?"
Dani sat back down on the bar stool and bit her lip, looking at him. "First, don't trust anybody. Second: I'm Dani. Low mid-level demon." She flashed beetle-blacks at him. "Dual masters in Library Science and Computer Science from MIT, 1999. NSA research analyst for ten years – before my deal came due. Third: I can research the hell out of anything. If there's a way to remove that binding, I'll find it."
He slitted his eyes suspiciously at her. "And just what, my darling Dani, would you want in return for doing such a…large…favor?" He leaned on her wrist in emphasis.
She said intensely, "When – if – you get back in power, let me be your personal research analyst and intelligence-meister. Give me your hardest puzzles to crack, your most elusive enemies to track. Give me hard – impossible – cases to solve. I'll be in heaven."
He blinked. Then he rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "Let me see if I've got this straight. Not wealth," he said pensively. She shook her head. "Not power." She shook her head again. "Not even – dare I say it - glory." He tilted a skeptical eyebrow.
"Nah. Puzzles. Give me puzzles."
There was a pause. He slowly released her wrist and relaxed back against the bar. If anything, he seemed more amused and interested than before. He shook a finger at her. "Why on earth should I believe you can do this, eh, pet?"
"Up until a month ago, you truly thought you were Jamie Redmond, literary agent. You would disappear for days, then return with no memory of those days. But then you woke up one day remembering who you are, and what was happening during those missing days."
He nodded slowly, never taking his eyes off her. "And this would be relevant…how?"
"We - well, I - " She paused and turned her head to glare over at Frank. "I researched that little part of the spell and found the way to break it." She looked back at Redmond – Crowley – and smiled a small, crooked, triumphant smile. "Consider it proof of product."
"Ahhhhh," Crowley breathed. "And an excellent proof of product it is, Dani-girl." He smiled at her.
"So." Dani tapped the bar with a fingernail. "Do we have a deal?" she asked. "I break the binding. You make me your head research honcho."
"Y'know, my love, I think we do." He stood up, and patted his suit pocket. "I always keep a standard contract here – what say we sign that puppy and you get to work tout suite?"
Dani stood up, also. They were very close. She placed her hand on his to stop him from pulling out the contract. "Y'know…I do like the more traditional way of sealing a deal," she said suggestively, looking up at him.
He smiled slowly at her, his eyelids drooping down sensually. "I appreciate people who appreciate traditions," he murmured with an amused lilt.
She reached out and pulled him slowly toward her by his tie. Her breath was suddenly coming short and quick, her heart was pounding, and she was intensely aware of him – his breathing, his scent, his eyes, his overall physical presence. She slowly traced his lips with a finger, then leaned in and kissed him, a long, slow, sensuous kiss. As she broke away, she caught his bottom lip between her teeth and nipped. He drew in a sharp breath, then slid his hand around her waist and pulled her body closer to his.
"Dani-girl," he breathed huskily, "As memory serves me, that wasn't – quite – done right. We obviously need to re-do it." He leaned his head down and kissed her again, longer and deeper. Her body sagged against his in pleasure and longing, every sense tingling. The bar faded away from her senses.
When they finally broke apart, he murmured into her ear, "You do know that a deal of this magnitude with someone at my level usually requires a…bit more…than just a kiss to properly seal it." He cupped her chin with a hand and ran his thumb gently down her jawline.
She locked eyes with him again and smiled. "Oh, I had an idea."
"Then I suggest we adjourn this meeting to a more suitable venue." He pulled her even closer, and leaned in for another passionate kiss.
"What an excellent suggestion!" she breathed when they were done.
He snapped his fingers, and they disappeared from the bar.
