..."I am going to need you to do something for me. Just between us ladies..." Marya holds her breath, hesitant to say anything that may offend Maryam, Idris's mother. "As I am sure you are aware, my son is not like many men, let alone people, in this world. He has been a distant thinker since he was a child. I noticed that he acts differently when you are are in his presence. I am unaware of what strange magic you have used to unnerve my son, but I am willing to plead that you continue to use it." Marya sighs a deep breath of relief as Maryam continues. "I have never known him to have a form of emotion such as bashfulness or embarrassment and it warms my heart to know that my steely son is indeed normal to some degree. I want you to enjoy yourself tonight and continue to make him squirm and blush. Can you do that for me dear?"

Marya lightly swallows sand softly tightens her face in response to the newfound pressure placed onto her. "Ma'am, it is already an honor of the highest order to be able to hold the company of Idris, yet I would be more than honored to learn more of his inner self."

Maryam laughs under her breath "I'm glad you understand. Just be sure to not have my abn drink too much. Good luck dear!"

Marya whispers graciously "I will do my best ma'am. That, I assure you."

"Very well. I will speak with you soon dear. Enjoy your evening." Maryam ends the call, leaving Marya with a bundle of thoughts.

"Well shit... No pressure at all." Marya slumps to the floor and reflects on the conversation. She now bears the thought of cancelling with Idris for tomorrow evening. She snaps out of her daze, pats her face and exclaims to herself. "I'm won't cancel, because I won't risk my job!"

As 5:30 approached, we cut to Marya putting in her silver crescent moon earrings. After placing her second earring in, her phone lights up and Idris's custom tone comes through the speaker. Answering rather quickly, she asks politely "Is everything still on schedule for tonight?"

"Of course. There have have been no disturbances to introduce such a notion. When you are ready, I am downstairs waiting."

"I'm heading down as we speak." She hangs up, grabs her phone and clutch, and heads out the door.

Downstairs, Idris sees her silhouette approaching and raises her eyebrows at her appearance. He rarely moved by the appearance of most people, however, Marya seemed as if she charged the air around her with every step. He composes himself and steps out of the car, walking over to the passenger side. He opens the door and greets her accordingly "Good evening, miss Marya. All is well, I presume?"

"Of course, Mr. Regas. Would I be wrong in assuming your day has been fair to you?"

"You would not. Let us proceed to the event."

Marya steps in and Idris closes the door. He then gets in the drivers seat and speeds off toward the venue.

Idris then begins an explanation of the evening. "As I stated before, they will be serving a five-course meal for us. However, this invitation to dinner happens to fall on the same day some of our shareholders gather to discuss their standing in the financial world. If we're lucky, these gentleman won't be present and I won't have to deal with nonsensical prattling. There are a total of five that attend this meeting, however, I've yet to meet the fifth and final one. Pardon my rambling. Did you have any questions before we arrive?"

Marya lightly replies "I currently have one. Is there something I should weary or cautious of Mr. Regas?"

Idris tilts his chin back as he continues driving. "Just one. You are an extremely articulate person who tends to downplay her abilities in front of others to seem like less of a threat. Tonight, however, I would like you to exude your personality to furthest extent. Oh, and of course, please address me as 'Idris'."

Marya grins and responds "Very well, Idris. Let us have a wonderful evening." The two continue to idly chat as they approach their destination.

They arrive at Maison de Gout and depart the vehicle. A valet receives the keys from Idris and slowly drives off to park the vehicle. Turning toward the two-story building, the two take in the all brick building wrapped expertly with decorative lights and aesthetically pleasing foliage. A quick look at the roof from below, there seemed to be a more calm environment than what was down here on the patio level. The two are then beckoned to follow the waitstaff into the building and up to the second floor. Upon entering on the first level, the restaurant is shown to have dark oak hardword floors that reflect the shine of the lanterns centered over each table. Placed along the far wall, sits a bar with a black basalt countertop and a vast, yet highly appealing, selection of various wines and spirits. Marya and Idris are then brought outside to the rooftop and directed to have a seat at table. After getting settled, their waiter comes toward their table.

"Greetings and welcome to our establishment! My name is Tristan and I will have the honor of serving you tonight. We have a special course planned out for you. But before we get to that, would a bottle of Petrus Pomerol '93 be satisfactory to your taste?"

Marya tilts her chin and turns toward the bottle while addressing Idris "I haven't seen a bottle of Petrus that wasn't violently fought over since I was in Assisi as a child."

Idris addresses Tristan on a positive note "This is a surprise that I happen to enjoy. This bottle will be suitable." As Tristan pours their glasses, Idris asks "I was not aware that you were a fan of the old wines. If I may ask without meaning offense, how does someone so young become interested in such treasure?"

Marya stifles a giggle and retorts "I should ask the same of you. Since you must know, I cam across the name around the same time my mother forced me to get into world literature. After being so fascinated with Charles Baudelaire's Fleurs du Mal, I started to look for other creative forms that had French origin and became enchanted with the air of it all. To think that I would be able to enjoy such an esteemed privilege before turning thirty... You have already made this a most memorable night for me. For that I thank you dearly."

For the first time, Idris felt himself intrigued by not only Marya's character, but her knowledge and honesty as well.

As the two drank and shared views and interpretations of European literature, they were interrupted by a firm, yet playful, voice emanating from a tall olive skinned woman approaching the table. "If it isn't old Idris the Irritable!" Marya looked across the white tablecloth and searched Idris's bewildered eyes. He had kept his composure, yet he was stiff, as if he were frozen in fear. He cleared his throat and addressed the approaching woman. "I haven't been called that name in a long time. To whom do I have the honor of speaking with." Idris begins to sip from his glass.

When the woman arrived at the table, Marya took a few seconds to study this woman. Upon closer inspection, this woman had looks that could kill, if ever allowed. Her face bore perfect symmetry, with her high chiseled cheek bones framing her piercing eyes that were as green as cotton candy grapes. Her hair was as dark as a raven's feathers and it was set in curls that grew down to the small of her back. She had rather slim frame that was wrapped well in her ruffled white oxford and jet black pencil skirt that ended right below her knees. Here at the very bottom of her ensemble was the illusion breaker: 6-inch heels that sealed the deal. As Marya continued to study her, the woman spoke back to Idris.

"I suppose you can't recognize a queen without her servants." she retorted. "We were among the top three in our class back in university and you forgot lil' old Regina." Idris coughs hard and reigns himself in. The atmosphere around him shifted, becoming much colder. "I almost did not recognize you, you seem to have changed a bit in these past years." She dons a sly smirk "Life here in this (mortal Earth) of ours can cause you to change in more ways than we can expect."

He attempts to shift the attention from him onto Marya. "This here is a coworker of mine, Marya." Marya politely waves and utters "Evening ma'am." Idris continues "What brings you to this lovely establishment?

Regina loosens her stance and tells him "I'm here to make sure our business partner gets an excellent experience as a show of good faith. By the way- How was the Petrus?"

Idris looks at the bottle, then shifts focus to Marya, and finally to Regina and asks "Are you shitting me?" Marya smiles lightly and squints at hearing her boss speak like this. He continues "It's you, isn't it? The elusive fifth."

She throws her head back in laughter that sends shivers down Marya's spine. After gathering herself she states "You guessed correctly. I've always been busy before now but I have more than enough time for gestures such as this." Regina looks at Marya and admits "I'll have to say, you get to enjoy a decent meal with a genius of a man. One of these days, I'll tell you all about him." She hands Marya a business card from her bosom and then turns to walk away "Until then, enjoy the evening! I'll be downstairs if you need me Idris."

Marya turns to Idris as he stares at the floor, unable to continue their previous conversation. She builds up the nerve to finally ask in a stronger-than-intended voice "So, who was that?"

Idris sighs heavily and downs the rest of his glass in one go. "Allow me to open up to you for once and tell you a story from my younger days...