Chapter 47
Arthur pulls out the casual navy-blue suit he'd rented from a local tailor shop, which was not cheap to rent. He showers and touches up with his hair dye. He pops in his contact lenses and combs his hair until it is a desirable style. He then pulls on the suit and tries to tie his tie accordingly. He wasn't used to doing such things because Gwen often did it for him and even then, the two of them didn't go out for very fancy dinners.
He pauses for a moment and swallows a lump in his through when he thinks of Gwen, Megan, and Ben. They felt like a distant memory now, more than half a year had passed since he saw them last. He wonders what they are doing now. No doubt they went to live with her parents and are under Protective Custody because according to the news, he's a "danger to society" which might be true to some degree. The thing was, he would never ever hurt his children, nor his former wife… to a certain extent. He still loved them deep down and he wanted to do all this to complete their family, but of course, he was labelled as a "rapist" and a "threat to all women and children." This again was only partially true, he was a threat, but not to his family.
He struggles and eventually makes it look at least presentable. He adds some cologne which he had shoplifted from a local mall. He then stares at himself in the cracked mirror. He did not look like Arthur King, but Jacob Hart, a local to the Boston area. He smiles at himself and then grabs the "gifts" he was giving to Zelena Mills. He managed to buy two red roses, as that was the cheapest he could get them for and a small box of cream-filled chocolates. He sighs before exiting and locking his apartment door.
Everything that had happened in the past week had been a struggle for him, he could not buy booze or cigarettes in order to save for this date, which was killing him on the inside, but he kept telling himself that it would all be worth it in the end. Tonight, was more than a date, it was the first step in his plan.
He takes his truck, which he had cleaned out to the best of his abilities and made it at least presentable for this very vapid and likely spoiled woman. He grins to himself as he drives to the nicer part of town, knowing that this lawyer was loaded beyond his wildest imagination. She was going to be especially useful eventually.
He goes to the address she had given him and parks. He then gets out with his gifts and walks to the door of the apartment building. He buzzes her apartment.
"Yes?" her voice says over the speaker.
"A Mr. Hart to pick up a Miss Mills."
"I'll be right down," she says in an almost seductive voice.
Arthur smirks to himself, eager to get this relationship going. He knew this was going to be very important overall, and besides, he hadn't dated in a long time. There were even some butterflies in his stomach, unusual for the smug bastard that he was.
He can hear the sharp heels echoing through the main lobby as the vision of beauty approaches him.
Zelena was dressed in her very best. A silky green dress that wrapped around her shoulders, revealed some cleavage down the front and a silt up the leg. She wore a dark green velvet shawl, draped over her shoulders and at least 3-inch black high heels. She wore an emerald green necklace with matching earrings and had her fiery red hair curled into strong-holding ringlets. Her face was covered in bold makeup to show her dominance and her lips were as red as the roses her date was holding. She looked ever so powerful and unwavering as she approached her date. Her heart fluttered slightly, he cleaned up well, his blonde hair shone ever so slightly in the light of the front building. He wore a very smug grin, that matched hers to a certain degree.
She stopped once to check herself in the reflection of the window and it should have been her cue to turn around and abandon this date completely because of the part she would play in the bizarre scheme being set in motion the moment she stepped out of the building. There was nothing protecting her from this monstrous man once she was outside, who stood there with tempting gifts in his arms. She could have listened to her gut, telling her this man was dangerous and kept the door locked, rejecting him, and throwing a wrench into his carefully laid plans, but Zelena Mills played with fire, and this time she would be burned.
…
She exits the building. Arthur takes her hand and kisses it like an old-fashioned gentleman would do.
"Good evening Madame," he says in a smooth voice.
"Good evening yourself," she says in a sort of snappy tone, deciding to test his patience first to see if he was ready for the rollercoaster ride that was courting her.
Arthur then presents her with the roses.
"Unfortunately, poppies are not in season right now, but I find roses to be the more traditional choice."
Zelena takes them
"One for you and one for your child, which I'm sure will be as equally beautiful as you."
What a line, Zelena thought. Cheesy as hell, but she did appreciate the effort he put into getting her the gifts.
"And Madame, une boite de chocolats," he presents the box of chocolates.
Zelena grins like the Cheshire Cat, giving a small approval of his gifts. Now that the introduction was out of the way, their date could truly begin.
"My apologies for the ride tonight, my budget did not allow me to splurge for a limo," he says.
He opens the passenger door for her and helps her into the vehicle. He then goes around and climbs in next to her. While the setting was not exactly the most romantic, Zelena had been in much worse. He asks her what kind of music she prefers and changes it to that exact station.
They drive along in relative silence except for the music. Once they come to the restaurant, which was nice, but not too expensive or fancy, Arthur hurries around and opens the door for his date. He offers her his arm to escort her inside.
"Good evening Sir and Madame," the host at the door says.
"Reservation under Hart for two."
"Ah yes, come this way please."
The couple follows the man to their table, which looks out onto the main streets of Boston, which looked rather beautiful in the evening light.
"And your waiter will be right with you,"
Both look at their menus in silence again. Arthur is wary of the prices and decides to pick for himself, the cheapest and let the lady have whatever she wanted, plus with her being pregnant, he'd save a fortune on wine.
"Good evening Sir and Madame, I will be your waiter this evening, may I get you something to drink? Would you like to see the wine list?"
"No thank you, just water please," Arthur says.
"And for you?"
"A Perrier please," Zelena says. Her date was pleased he picked something relatively cheap to drink.
Once they have their drinks, Arthur decides to toast.
"What is the occasion?" the lawyer asks with her eyebrow raised.
"The first official date, with the hopes of more to come."
"Maybe," the red-head says playfully. Once they've ordered their food, Arthur turns his attention to the pregnant lawyer.
"So, Miss Mills, tell me about yourself"
Zelena decides to play it rather quiet, releasing bits and pieces of information and forcing him to fill in the blanks. However, Arthur was not stupid, he noticed her pattern and began asking deeper questions, while revealing fictional pieces of information about himself.
"So, you're a Queens man originally?"
"I am."
"And what was that like?"
"Not particularly interesting for the longest time, I often scared my parents with my tendency to drag race."
"Really?"
The two continue to chat as the waiter brings them their food. Arthur continues making up more details about his life, talking about him backpacking through parts of Europe, when he'd never been out of the United States, he was a vegetarian, which was a total lie, his charity work when he'd never given anything to anyone and he at one point offered his services overseas. These fables were particularly interesting, and he knew that Zelena would hunger for more as he kept talking. Of course, he'd only share a few tales before he asked for more information on her. He knew her type and she loved to talk about herself. He asked more probing questions as evening melted into the night.
Zelena loved that he seemed interested in her life. He supported her when she told him about being kicked out of the house and how her sister was so evil for putting her in that position. He played to all her sensitive spots, knowing that he would reel her in for the catch.
By the time the bill, came Arthur knew he had built up her trust enough. He paid without batting an eye and then offered to buy her an ice cream, knowing she'd probably be craving something sweet from being pregnant. The two sits on a bench and eat their sweet treat. It's then that Arthur begins to ask her questions about her former friends and tells her if she needs to vent, then he is more than willing to listen.
Once the red-head says one mean statement, it all comes out like a waterfall and she can't stop. She complains about the way they were treating her and how she deserved their respect. She said she was entitled to be considered their "friend." The more she talks, the more Arthur likes her. She describes the way she forced her sister to break up with her boyfriend and then seduced him after getting him drunk. He laughed and encouraged it, calling her a wolf in sheep's clothing and a siren in disguise. He told her how he thought she could get any man into bed with her with just a wave of her hand.
"Except for me of course," he chuckles.
Zelena raises her eyebrow. "Is that so?"
"Yes, because I respect woman and I definitely don't sleep with them on the first date."
Even though this had been exactly what happened with him and Gwen. He wanted to make this woman believe that he had honourable intentions and good, moral standards.
"Good to know," the red-head says with a smirk.
The two eventually go back to Zelena's apartment, he escorts her to the door.
"You sure you don't want to come in?" she purrs, putting that final part to the test.
Arthur bit his lip but shook his head. "Perhaps next time my lady. But would you mind if I kissed you good night?"
"No, I would not mind at all." Holding back his passion, Arthur kisses the woman as gently as he possibly can. It takes all his self-control not to merely jump on her. He had to be smart about this, gain her trust and have her respect him. He pulls apart and kisses her hand once.
"Goodnight Madame Mills," he says before holding the door to let her in.
He waves to her once before heading to his truck. She waves back as he gets in and pulls away. She felt that he had passed the first test, ticking off all the right boxes. He was dangerous and tempting, but she'd make him beg for it. She knew this relationship was going to be the most interesting she's ever had.
A/N: Who is manipulating who?