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3: Negroni

The Ritz looked pristine and classy, with dim lights, high bar stools with beautiful fabrics, polished tables and bar. The spotless golden framed mirrors behind the bartenders were strategically set.

So where the entrances and exits, the stairs in the back of the room and the balconies. It was happy hour for white collars, time for quick office romances that'd end by Monday morning. The moment he walked through the doors he felt slightly overdressed for the occasion. He adjusted his cufflinks as he'd do to reassure himself. Tiny little trick, imperceptible for anyone in front of the self-confident charming Mr. Bond. But not for Q, he could never fool Q.

And there she was, taller than what she had seemed from the pictures. Broad smile, wavy strawberry blond hair carefully placed over her shoulder. Long sleeveless dress and pump shoes... She was slowly rubbing her finger along the rim of her glass, looking bored at the man trying to chat her up.

James walked slowly towards her, nodding here and there to unfamiliar faces that wouldn't admit not knowing him. She sighed towards the lame conversation the young man was trying to pin on her "I believe I already told you that I'm waiting for someone, can I have another one of these? Thank you"

She smiled broadly to the bartender and made eye contact, she was smooth but harsh enough not to be bothered by the white collar idiot apparently. James came near the blond and placed a hand on the small of his back "Oh, there you are darling!"

Their eyes met for the first time, when she turned to face him, hiding her clenched teeth in a half smile. "Hi, told you I was waiting for someone" he bloke took one look at James, nod and took off. She paid her drink and tipped the bartender while he ordered Vesper's drink. No, his drink.

"Thank you for saving me from that obnoxious idiot, Mr…?"

"Bond, James Bond. And you are?"

"Jamie Thomas, nice to meet you" she extended her hand and raised her eyebrow slowly, accompanying her half grin. Oh this is going to be fun.

"Been here long?"

"Just 20 minutes, I am waiting for a friend. Well, an acquaintance for the time being"

"And are you sure this person will come?"

"Oh I certainly hope so." She took a small sip from her drink while his piercing eyes run over her eyes, her lips, her neck... admiring the way her hair fell on her back now "I meant here in London"

"Not really. My folks were English, I was raised abroad. It was time to come back I guess" she kept sipping slowly from the glass, looking at his intense eyes.

"Business or pleasure?" she sighed, "Is there a difference these days?"

He nodded and kept doing some small talk about how life in London was quick and dump, just like a trip on the tube during rush hour. Q's snort in his intercom mirrored the blond's in front of him.

She started playing with her chain slowly. A luck charm, similar to Vesper's necklace. Not now. Don't. Not now.

"Well Mr. Bond, what do you do at the Ritz this lovely evening?"

"I work nearby and it's Friday"

"Cheap drinks then, fair enough" and just like that she drank the rest of her Negroni in one shot. Impressive. Let's see if she remembers to look flushed afterwards.

She did. She waved her hand at her face as if wanting more air. "Are you alright?" She smiled "Oh I'm perfectly content, thank you. Can I have another one? Thanks" She gave him a straightforward look.

"And what do you do for a living Mr. Bond? Security consulting?" James frowned amused, licking his lips while smiling. She wanted to play but not that much. Interesting. "And how did you reach that conclusion?"

"It was a wild guess due to your ear piece. You may be partially deaf too. The Gods couldn't have blessed you with that complexion without a little flaw or two" she cleared her throat staring at his lips with a smirk "We have a lot of spy shows back home, I should probably watch a bit less"

"Well, I'm quite sure there are spies in this place. We could try to spot them together if you'd like" She lifted her eyebrow again while biting the orange wheel garnishing her drink. "Sure, you go first"

"Well, behind you in the balcony, grey suit chatting up some woman" She moved slowly while sipping her drink. Check. "Well, I can't see any earpiece on him from this distance, but yeah, he's not paying enough attention to that woman's neckline" James laughed and looked at her. She was funny. Too bad she had earned a bullet in her forehead. "Well, he's either a spy or gay. Or both. Should we try another? Oh, I have the perfect candidate."

She was looking past over his shoulder. "Lovely woman with curly hair and tight designer dress. Dark complexion. I'm pretty sure she has something in her thigh by the way she's walking" The blond smirked at James while taking a second too long to drink. Q had tapped into the Ritz cams and confirmed Moneypenny was there. Shit.

"You know what's odd? A friend of mine has your exact same name" She sighed with what seemed disappointment. She put her drink on the bar and looked straight to his eyes, "Well, Jamie is a very common name. Is she English too?"

"He. And yes, he is"

"Maybe he's a long lost cousin or something. You could call him and we can go over our family tree" Q's voice in his ear was throwing curses he never thought he'd hear from the young nerd.

James leaned closer to her "Well, I could give him a call and he could join us for dinner. At my place if you're up for it" she smiled and got up next to him, getting a little card from her white vintage purse. "Maybe some other time, here's my card, in case your cousin wants to check my family records"

He stopped her by placing his hand on her waist. Her smile was gone, "I don't really appreciate being touched Mr. Bond." She cleared her throat. "That's too bad Miss Thomas, I had some very interesting ideas for the rest of the evening"

She couldn't help half smiling at his charm. "As lovely as that may sound, I really need to get going. You wouldn't want me to start screaming in this nice place, would you?"

He brushed her side slowly "That could sound appealing depending on the circumstances. One last drink" She took a deep breath and sat by him "You are very confident Mr. Bond, too confident, wouldn't you agree?"

Q's voice agreed over the com. James felt like smashing it to the floor, but he didn't need to draw even more attention. There were at least two men backing her up and for some stupid reason Moneypenny was here. James ordered a last round of their drinks and she held hers near his "What should we toast to?"

James raised his martini "The Jamies of the world" Q had to contain the "fuck you James" that was on the tip of his tongue.

They giggled a bit more, testing each other's boundaries and once her drink was gone, she got up again and tripped on him, but he got her. "I think I should drive you home"

"No need Mr. Bond, I have a car waiting" He once again grabbed her by her waist. She resented the touch, but hid it this time, giving him a scornful look. He reached for the small gun in his pocket but it was gone. Classic move. She wouldn't be able to use it anyway. No more games then.

"James, Moneypenny is gone. I can't- I can't find her on the video feed." James clenched his teeth slightly but kept his game up, "Then you could drive me to your home Miss Thomas" She sighed again looking at his lips and then snorted loudly.

"Ok, time out. Does that really work with anyone James? Really?" He got closer to her, enough to whisper on her ear. "It does, quite often actually. So, shall we?" Then he realized someone was behind him, holding a gun to his liver. It could be his own, which meant they couldn't use it. It could be someone else's. He figured they wouldn't dare shooting with her in front of him, the bullet could get her too. He looked up and the man in grey on the balcony was looking directly at him, keeping a gun barely concealed and he couldn't spot Moneypenny anywhere. Shit.

She mimicked his move "Maybe some other time. Give me a call, I'd love to have that dinner with your Jamie." She gave him a little kiss on the cheek and walked away. When he tried to get up to incapacitate the man behind him and follow her, he felt incredibly dizzy. His drink was gone, and so was the bartender.

The last thing he saw before collapsing to the floor was Moneypenny rushing towards him.