Jules and Sinead; and an unexpected meeting...

“What are you doing on Saturday night?” Jules asked.

Sinead had her cell phone pinned between her cheek and her shoulder as she shuffled papers at her desk, a pen loosely held between her lips like a cigarette. She knew she looked a bit of a mess - she hadn’t washed her hair in a few days and it was pulled back into a rough ponytail, and her rushed makeup wasn’t doing her any favours. The problem was that chasing the little leads she’d gained during her ‘undercover night out’ with Marc had been hectic. Things moved quickly in the underworld sometimes, and if Sinead was going to get any use out of the risk she’d taken without going back to Marc, she needed to do it now.

“I don’t know,” Sinead muttered to her friend. “Working, probably?”

“On a Saturday night?” Jules asked. “Did your hours- wait, you’re not still doing unpaid overtime, are you?”

“....” Sinead felt a bit of shame and didn’t want to answer. That silent pause was more than enough for Jules to read her though.

“When was the last time you took a night off and had some fun, bitch?” Jules demanded.

Sinead’s mind immediately flashed to sitting with Marc in one of the fanciest restaurants in the city. Dressed up to the nines, her hair and nails professionally done. She still had the dress hanging by itself in her closet. It was the single nicest piece of clothing she owned and she didn’t know what to do with it. The jewellery had gotten mixed in with her various other accessories, but every time she looked at the small box she kept them in they stood out like they didn’t belong with the rest.

“A while,” she said. She didn’t have to say ‘a week,’ because she’d been working that night so it didn’t count.

“Well, you’re not working Saturday,” Jules said. “I know a guy. He’s a month out of a serious relationship and he wasn’t the problem, so he’s not ready for something serious but he’s fun and charming and I think you too would be good for each other.”

“If he’s so good-”

“It’s my cousin, Sinead,” Jules said. “So no, I can’t date him instead.”

“Oh,” Sinead sighed.

“Saturday. He’ll pick you up,” Jules said. “Dress up nice. Feel pretty. Let him buy you dinner.”

“A blind date, though?” Sinead asked. “Can’t you at least tell me his name, or his social media accounts so I can snoop?”

“No,” Jules said. “Because then you’ll convince yourself you should work instead. Saturday. You are going on this date.”

“Fine,” Sinead muttered. “I’ll go on the date.”

“I’ve received a meeting request that isn’t associated with a contact, Mr Fornier,” Jillian said from the doorway of Marc's office. She was slender, dirty-blonde, and the kind of pretty that would distract most of the various clients who stepped onto Marc's floor looking to hire his services. She was also an excellent lead secretary for his division despite her youth, which made her a total package when it came to his professional needs. “The name associated was a ‘Victor.’”

“Ah, Victor,” Marc said, leaning back in his chair and tapping a finger on his lips thoughtfully. “Please do, Jillian. But push it back. Late next week sometime, I think.”

“Actually, Mr Fornier, he’s waiting down the hall,” she said, pursing her lips just slightly. It was enough to tell Marc that she was unimpressed by whatever line that Victor had used on her, but that the man hadn’t pressed his advances into something unbecoming.

“Mmm,” Marc hummed. “That changes things then, doesn’t it? Alright, keep him waiting for ten minutes then bring him back here.”

Jillian nodded and went to step back out of his doorway, but Marc held up a hand. “Actually, Jillian,” he said. “Do me a favour and send an email to Astrid asking if she could call me later today. I’ll have some work for her to do. Actually, scratch the email. Send her a gift. Une bouteille de parfum, I think. And purchase one for yourself as well.”

With a warm smile, Jillian nodded again. “Gladly, Mr Fornier.”

Marc had ten minutes to make sure everything was set just right for a meeting with a scheming little scumbag like Berisha, but it didn’t take him too long to get his office just right. Shift some documents out of view, shift others into view so he could peek and see things with big financial numbers even if the papers themselves were meaningless. Then Marc loosened his tie and used his fingers to change the neat, tight way he wore his hair into something a little more rakish. Less banker, more stock trader. He also swapped out his watch for a flashier one and affected a pinky ring to match it.

By the time he was finished adjusting himself and his office, he still had time to finish reading the report he’d been skimming through before Jillian returned with Victor in tow.

“Victor,” Marc said, standing up with a grin and coming around from behind his desk to meet the man with a firm handshake. “It’s good to see you. Désolé for keeping you waiting. Money doesn’t sleep, eh?”

“I was in the neighbourhood and thought I’d drop in,” Victor said with a chuckle, his eyes quickly scanning around the office and taking in the neat, aristocratic layout and decor of the room. Marc thought the man’s pupils almost turned into dollar signs. “Sorry to interrupt your day. This shouldn’t take long though.”

“Non, non,” Marc said. “No problem at all, my friend. Please, come, sit. Were you offered refreshment?”

“Yes, I’m good,” Victor said, flashing a grin at Jillian. Marc gestured and, out of sight of Victor, gave her a little wink. Jillian nodded and backed away, heading to her desk.

“So tell me, is this purely a social call, or can I help you with something?” Marc asked as he sat down across from Victor in the comfortable chairs at the back corner of his office.

“A little of this, a little of that,” Victor said, leaning forward. “I’ll admit, I looked you up. You do interesting work. There are whole business articles about you.”

“Ah, those,” Marc said, waving them off even though he was actually quite proud of most of them. “All work and no play, as they say.”

“Hmmm, too true,” Victor grinned. “So, here’s the thing. I work with some… quiet clientele, you could say. Folks with large operations, lots of money changing hands. Sometimes things get a little chaotic, and get mixed up, and I try to connect them with people who can help. Right now, my own finances could use a little bit of the microscope treatment; between investments and real estate and holdings and cash transfers, well, it’s gotten a little messy. I was thinking that maybe if I see how you work, I’d be comfortable with adding you to my contact list to forward to some of my bigger clients.”

Marc nodded, a smile on his lips but internally rolling his eyes. This was too easy and almost insulting. He dealt with Fortune 500 companies. Mergers that had touched the billions of dollars. Acquisitions and hostile takeovers that changed industries, at times. And Victor Berisha wanted him to try out for the chance to work with his criminal clientele.

“Sounds interesting,” Marc said with a smile. “Tell me more.”

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