A Business Proposition

Disclaimer: I don't own ANYTHING! or the music by Prince.

The Next Morning…

Early hours in the morning, and of course, Clint is already working.

"Morse is going to fight. It's to be expected." He adjusted his black robe. "He's run his company for a long time. He's not ready to have his name taken off the stationary." He paid off the worker who brought up his breakfast.

"He wants to meet you face-to-face. I wouldn't do it." Stuckey replied.

"Sure you wouldn't, but I'll do it anyhow. Tonight. Dinner, set it up." Clint sat down at the table.

"Oh, Clint, it's really not a good idea that you see him, at least definitely not alone. He's a feisty old guy. I mean we say the wrong thing, and we could end up in court". He snapped.

"There's always a possibility thing's will go wrong. That's why I enjoy this so much". Clint leaned forward on the table and smirked. "By the way Phil, about your car"…

"Oh, god what"?

"It corners like it's on rails". Repeating the words that a certain someone girl happen to say yesterday.

"What?...Wait, what does that mean"?

Clint smirked and hung up the phone. He grabbed his newspaper, just as he was about to open it, he heard a voice behind him.

"Hi". Natasha was wearing a white robe; her hair was loose almost covering her face. She had both hands behind her back, making her look like a shy schoolgirl.

Clint looked at her. "Well, good morning".

Natasha awkwardly pointed to her hair. "Red". She simply put. Remembering that she had taken off her wig.

"Better". He smiled.

She smiled back. "You didn't wake me and I can see you're really busy". She pointed toward the load of papers on the table. "I'll be out in a minute."

He shook his head. "No, there's no hurry, but are you hungry? You must be." He stood up and grabbed her arm and guided her to the table. "Why don't you sit and have something to eat."

Natasha smiled in appreciation.

"I took the liberty of ordering everything on the menu. I didn't know what you'd like." He gestured towards the many breakfast plates in front of her.

"Thanks".

"Alright? Good".

Natasha looked at all the different variety of breakfast plates to choose from, but instead she decided to grab a croissant from the basket.

Clint sat down and starting writing down notes. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yea. Too good. I forgot where I was." She ripped the croissant in to pieces and started eating them.

"Occupational hazard?"

She laughed. "Yes". She made her way to sit on the edge of the table, next to Clint. "Did you sleep"?

"Uh, yes, a little on the couch. I was, uh, working late last night".

She nodded. "You don't sleep, you don't do drugs, and you don't drink. You hardly eat" She motioned to his barely touched food. "What do you do, Clint"? Not that she wanted to be nosy or anything, but she wanted to know what he did. "Because I know you're not a lawyer".

He smiled "That's right. Um there are four other chairs here". He pointed towards them.

"Oh" She can take a hint. Maybe he was just nervous around her. She took a seat next to him. "So what do you do"?

"Buy companies" He opened up his newspaper.

"What kind of companies" She pressed on.

"I buy companies that are in financial difficulty".

"Well, if they have problems, you must get them for a bargain, huh"? Natasha continued to devour her croissant.

He sighed. "Well, the company I'm buying this week, I'm getting for the bargain price of about one billion dollars."

Natasha almost choked on her croissant. "A billion dollars"? She shouted.

"Yes"

"Wow, you must be really smart, huh"?

He smiled and nodded.

"I only got through eleventh grade. How far did you go in school"?

"I went all the way". He simply put.

Natasha looked down for a second then looked up and smiled. "Your folks must be really proud" She stated.

He nodded.

She just looked at him and continued to eat.

A little while later, Clint was getting ready to head to work when Natasha bounced in the room. "So, you don't actually have a billion dollars." She emphasized. She still couldn't get over the fact if this man had that much money.

Clint was focused on his tie. "Um, No, I get some of it from banks, investors. It's not an easy thing to do."

Natasha stood in front of him. "So you don't make anything and you don't build anything"?

"No" Still distracted by his tie.

"So what do you do with the company after you've bought them"?

"I sell them."

Natasha noticed that Clint was having trouble with tie. "Here let me help do that. So, you sell them"?

"Well, I don't sell the whole company; I break it off into pieces and sell that off if it's worth more than the whole."

"So, it's like, um, stealing cars and selling them for the parts"?

Clint thought about it. "Yeah, sort of…but legal."

"Mh-mm" Natasha finished with his tie, adjusted it a little bit. "See. There, now's it's perfect."

Clint looked himself in the mirror and check himself out. "Not bad. Not bad at all. Where'd you learn to do that"?

Natasha smirked and went to grab his jacket. "Well, I screwed the debate team in high school."

Clint's eyes widen and looked at her.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "I had a grandpa. He was nice to me, he liked ties on Sundays." She helped him put on his suit jacket. Well she did have to admit, he looked cute with a suit on. "Mind if I take a swim in your tub before I go"?

Clint buttoned his jacket. "Not at all. Just stay at the shallow end"?

She smiled.

Clint before he left, he was once again on the phone with Stuckey.

"Hey I wanted to let you know, before I head out the door that Morse is set for tonight."

"Well that's good" Clint grabbed his suitcase and set it on the table.

"He's bringing his grandson; He's grooming him to take over".

"Oh, yes, a very intense young man named, David. I believe he plays polo or something."

"Look I got to say this again, I don't like you going alone."

Clint was about to answer when he heard singing coming from the bathroom.

I just want your extra time!

"I just think it would be better if you went with a date. Keep it social."

Clint walked over the bathroom and slowly opened the door, to find Natasha lying in a bubble bath, with her headphones, singing with her eyes closed.

"You got to not talk dirty, baby"

"Um, do you hear me"? Stuckey said after Clint didn't respond to him.

"Yes, I am here." Although he was distracted by the scene in front of him.

"If you want to impress me."

"Um, what is that"? Confusion noted on his voice.

"Housekeeping is singing".

"You can't be too flirty, mama. I know how to undress me."

After some hesitation, he continued. "Um, yea, I know a lot of nice girls."

Clint scoffed. "No you don't."

"I just want your extra time and your…kiss."

"Besides, I already have one." He looked at Natasha. "Just find out what Morse is up to. I'm on my way." He hung up the phone and sat down on the chair that was next to tub.

"You can't be too flirty, mama. I know how to undress me

Mm, baby, I just want to be your fantasy

Well, maybe you could be mine, Mmm-mmm

You just leave it all up to me"

Natasha in that moment opened her eyes and blushed in embarrassment when she saw Clint next to her.

Clint laughed and smiled back at her.

She took off the headphones. "Umm, Don't you just love Prince"?

"More than life itself." He smiled.

She cleared her throat and motioned towards the door. "Don't you knock."?

"Natasha, I have a business proposition for you."

"What do you want"?

"I'm gonna be in town until Sunday, I'd like you to spend the week with me."

Her jaw dropped. "Really"? She smiled.

"Yes, I will like you hire you as an employee. Would you consider spending the week with me"?

She laughed

"I will pay you to be my beck and call."

She looked at him. "Look, I would love to be your 'beck and call' girl, but you're a rich, good-looking guy, you could get a million girls free."

"I want a professional" Without hesitation he replied. "I don't need any romantic hassles this week."

"Well, if you're talking 24 hours a day, it's gonna cost you."

He stood up. "Oh, yes of course, here we go. Give me a ballpark figure. How much"? He crossed his arms.

"Six full nights, days too…11 thousand". She knew that was too much but hey, he could afford it. Might as well milk him for what he's worth.

"Six nights at $900 is $5400 hundred." She wasn't about to stiff him.

"Well you want days to right"? Ok well, maybe she had a point there, Clint thought.

"Nine thousand". He offered.

"Ten thousand." She pressed on.

"Done". He confirmed.

Natasha smiled. "Holy shit. " She laughed and went under the water.

Clint approached the tub and leaned over. "Natasha is that a yes"? He shouted just in case she didn't hear him.

Natasha popped her head out the water with soap suds all over her face. "Yes" She squealed. "Oh" She puffed out and tried to wipe her face. "Yes"!

Clint smiled and grabbed a towel to wipe her face.

"I'll be gone most of the day. I want you to buy some clothes." He handed her money.

Natasha's eyes widen, there must be over three thousand dollars in here. "You should really think about traveler's checks." She joked.

"We may be going out on evenings. You'll need something to wear."

She shrugged "Like what"?

"Nothing too flashy, not too sexy, something conservative."

She nodded in understanding. "Boring".

"Elegant." He corrected. He grabbed his suitcase. "Any questions"?

"Yea, can I call you Clinty"? She innocently smiled.

"Not if you expect me to answer".

"I would've stayed for fifty-four hundred.'

Clint stopped in a halt. He walked back over to her and leaned in close to her face. "I would've paid eleven thousand. I'll see you tonight." He smiled and head for the door.

"Baby, I'm gonna treat you so nice, you're never gonna want to let me go." She smiled seductively and batted her eyelashes.

He smiled, she was cute. "Ten thousand for six days…and Natasha I will let you go." He closed the door behind him.

Natasha almost lost her smile, but immediately perked up. "But, I'm here now." She quickly ran and hopped on the bed and screamed. "TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS"! She kicked her legs on the bed. Then she remembered her roommate, Kit. She had to tell her. She grabbed the phone that was on the nightstand. "Kit, I tried calling you last night. Where were you"?

"Ma"? She exclaimed.

She rolled her eyes. "It's Natasha; you will never guess where I am. Do you remember the guy, the car, the Lotus? I'm in his hotel room, the penthouse in Beverly Hills. His bathroom is bigger than The Blue Banana. He just asked me to spend the week with him and you're never going to guess what he is going to pay me? Kit, he is going to give me Ten thousand dollars."

"Bullshit"! She shouted

Natasha winced. "Yep, and extra money to buy clothes."

"Ugh, I'm so bummed I gave that guy to you! So is he twisted."?

"No".

"He's ugly, isn't he"?

"He's good-looking." She defended Clint.

"When is he going to give you the money."?

"By the end of the week."

"Oh, that's what's wrong with him."

"Kit, I'm going to give you some money, I'll leave it on the front desk. I'm at the Regent Beverly Wilshire. Write it down, because I know you will forget.'

"Ok. Reg. Bev. Wil." She wrote down.

"Oh, and more thing, Where can I buy clothes? You know the good stuff, on him"?

"In Beverly Hills? Rodeo Drive, baby"! Kit smiled.