Meeting the man

During the car ride, you think about what questions you're going to ask Bruno Riley and how he'll respond to your story. You wonder if he knows what his daughter Carmen is up to, fighting crime in New York City like a comic book vigilante. The billionaire is an intriguing figure and his very public outings with beautiful, famous women makes you think of someone: Margot Robbie.

You decide to text her in the car.

"Hey. Have you heard of Bruno Riley?"

She responds immediately. "Duh. Rich playboy."

"Do you know anyone who's dated him?"

"I've heard of a few. Pretty sure my neighbor went out with him a couple times. I hear it's mostly charm, but the word is he's willing to pay too." You've met her neighbor of course, Emily Ratajkowski.

"Have you ever...?"

"No :P. I think there was once his secretary reached out to me, but I was filming Wolf of Wall St. and was too busy to meet with him."

That text is the end of the conversation, as you realize the car is pulling into Bruno Riley's private airfield. It's not a big airfield, but it's enough to house a couple of hangers and a runway. At the beginning of the runway, you see a plane, though it's not what you're expecting. You thought it would be a small private jet, the kind you usually see rich people travel in, but it's not. It's a full-size commercial airliner, but with a big logo of "Riley Industries" on its side.

The car pulls up to the plane, right at the base of the steps leading up, and the driver opens and holds the door for you. A pretty stewardess greets you and escorts you up the stairs, then steps aside and motions for you to walk into the plane. You hear the door shut behind you as you walk in, amazed by how luxurious the inside of the plane is. As you enter the large front cabin, instead of rows of seats, you see that it's furnished like the lobby of a hotel with soft, cushy sofas and seats, lamps and tables. Your eyes are immediately drawn to the 2 people in the cabin.

One is seated in a tall leather chair in a sharp white suit. It's Bruno Riley, and his right arm is on the armrest, holding a glass of whiskey, while his left arm is on the lap of his companion, who's sitting on the other armrest. You recognize her from the pictures online as the Russian tennis player Bruno was seen with yesterday, Karolína Plíšková. The blonde Russian looks stunning in her black dress with a opening down the front that shows off her cleavage, and she smiles at you as you approach. Even seated, she's almost as tall as you.

Bruno gets up and shakes your hand, then offers you another glass of whiskey that's already poured, before he sits back down. You take the seat in front of him, with about 10 feet between you 2.

"Mister Riley-"

"Please, Bruno is fine," the silver fox says with a smile. It almost seems like the smile is stuck on his face. It's not exactly a warm or friendly smile, but you can see why women give in to his charms.

"Okay, Bruno, I'm working on a story about your daughter," you start to say, but he cuts you off again and holds out his hand.

"Let's just cut to the chase. Helen said you had photos. Show me," Bruno says. You awkwardly hand the tablet over and Bruno starts swiping through what you have. You can see Karolína peer over his shoulder too, though he doesn't seem to mind or care. You hear one of the video clips playing, the one of Carmen dispatching an armed robber. It takes Bruno a few more minutes after that to finish looking through what you have, before he sets the tablet aside.

"Carmen's been busy," he remarks as a matter of factly. He's a tough man to read, and you can't tell if this is news to him. No wonder he's such a successful man.

"Yes. Did you know about her activities? Do you have any comment?" you ask, just as you feel the engines of the plane humming. "Wait, is the plane taking off?"

"Yes. I have to be in Dubai for a business deal. I thought we could talk on the way there, hope you don't mind."

"Uh... I don't have a passport."

Bruno laughs. "Don't worry about that. Money is all the passport you need, and I'm footing the bill. You'll come back with me in 2 days after my business is done."

"So... about Carmen..."

"Ah, yes. Carmen. Daughter of billionaire Bruno Riley, fighting crime dressed like a ninja. That wouldn't look good in the news."

"I guess not?"

"No, it would be bad. The shareholders and board members would go crazy. You wrote the story on the celebrity escort service, right?"

"Yup, that was me," you reply with a little pride.

"You know, they wanted me to join at some point, to become their premier customer. I declined. I don't need a service to do that for me," Bruno says as he runs his hand up Karolína's thigh, pulling her dress up slightly to expose her slender, strong legs. You stare at the Russian's legs, perhaps for a little too long, and when you realize it and look back at Bruno, he winks at you with one eye. "I assume you went undercover for that story? As a client?"

"Uh... yes. But I'm not here to discuss that-"

"Who did you have?" Bruno asks, leaning forward in his seat. He takes a sip of his whiskey and you subconsciously mirror his actions, bringing the glass in your hand to your lips too.

"I really shouldn't say..."

"Come on, it's just us guys here. What happens on the plane stays on the plane, right?"

"Uh... Candice Swanepoel."

Bruno lets out a whistle. "Mmm-mmm.... I remember Candice... You must join me at the next Victoria's Secret fashion show coming soon. You won't believe the amount of access someone like me has. Riley Industries is a major sponsor."

"Okay... Anyway, about my story..." you say, trying to get Bruno back on track. He doesn't seem too concerned despite what he said earlier.

"Yes! Your story. I promise you, we'll discuss it on the way back. You'll have time to think of more questions, and maybe you'll have a better perspective after spending some time with me. In the meantime, let's just enjoy ourselves, yeah?" Bruno downs the rest of his whiskey and motions for you to do the same. You're completely thrown off by his behavior right now and all you can do is go along. You feel a little dizzy after the shot of whiskey and Bruno shows his approval by clapping his hands.