Debutantes and Drama Queens

[Damian Starchaser]

[member="Cassandra Paige"]. When Damian has met her it wasn't his most crowning moment. He was at a simple Gala being hosted by Chase Fashion when he accidentally copped a feel on [member="Joza Perl"] and blushed and looked all lusty at the woman. It wasn't great, wasn't optimal and given his first impression of the woman he had no doubt she'd come into this meeting assuming he had some sort of odd crush on her.

Today they were meeting on the Tion Trade Nexus, which seemed an appropriate neutral ground. He had rented a conference room and hired a local catering company to serve dinner while they negotiated. Alright so he asked her to a date, there might be an advantage in negotiation if she thought that he was trying to impress a crush, although offhand he wasn't sure what that would be.

Smiling he prepared himself for the meeting gathering data collected and rolling in several garments for the woman to try and take as samples.

 

[Cassandra Paige]

Cass was mostly bemused more than anything else. She had largely forgotten the awkward young man from the Chase Gala until he had sent her the invitation to dinner. It had surprised her, truth told, and not much surprised Cassandra Paige. Oh, that he had remembered her was not in question. She had that affect on people (though not for the reasons she tended to think). But that he would have the guts to actually ask her on a date?

She'd almost turned it down. She was exceedingly busy with GenPals after all. And on the rare occasion she stepped away from her desk it was usually to see [member="Itash Mecetti"]. But this appealed to her vanity just enough, and besides, sometimes she was bored.

She wore the green suit- she hadn't actually come straight from the office but it suited her to imply that she had.

It wasn't until she actually arrived and was directed to where she was meant to go that she realized how appropriate it was. A conference room? She had assumed that 'The Blue Room' was the name of a restaurant.

Cass stepped inside- she wasn't going to knock for a conference room, grey eyes clearly evaluating all of it.

"Not quite what I was expecting, Mister Starchaster," she commented, tone a touch dry.

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

 

[Damian Starchaser]

"Oh?" Damian asked as a mischievous grin passed over his face, "What exactly were you expecting?" he diverted his eyes from hers last moment, a move practiced long ago. It was something then younger men did with women they were attracted to or embarrassed about. Keep playing to Cassandra's vanity."You're as pretty as the first time I met you." A confident smile crept back onto his face. "It is a pleasure to see you again Ms. Paige."

Damian waived a hand over to the table, "I hope you don't think it imprudent of me to have arranged for a more private affair." Words were chosen carefully as a serving droid came out and offered a holographic menu. "Quieter and more intimate."

[member="Cassandra Paige"]

 

[Cassandra Paige]

He had a crush.

Or was pretending he had one.

To be completely honest, Cass wasn't certain which it was. However, when you spend your entire life faking emotions at people, there is a certain assumption, a scrutiny of motives that left the same possible of everyone. Not just possible.

But probable.

That said, there was enough ego in the redhead to let it ride for now. No harm in that. So she smiled and chuckled, shaking her head.

"Well, I am rarely invited on a date to a conference room. We hardly know each other well enough for any particular intimacy, Mister Starchaser."

But her tone was friendly, almost a little teasing. There was no danger here, though she didn't much appreciate the presumption of the whole set up. She was, however, curious as to just what he wanted (her, as his apparent crush indicated? Or something more interesting to her? He was cute but heavens never in a million years).

"You are looking very well yourself," she said with a slight inclination of her head, ignoring the compliment for now- there was no response to it that suited in the moment at least. Pretty? She managed not to roll her eyes. Cassandra was gorgeous and she knew it.

She wandered over to the table, taking in the set up and filing it away. Adding it to the growing mental file of 'Damien Starchaser.'

"I will admit I was surprised to get your call," she said, head tilting and offering him another smile. "You strike me as a very busy man."

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

 

[Damian Starchaser]

[member="Cassandra Paige"]

Damian smiled at her compliment which rang hollow in his head. Then he walked over to grab bottle of wine and two glasses. Setting the glass on the table he poured for himself and Cassandra. "I'm exceedingly busy," Damian replied to her. "But when you're life becomes filled with duty I feel it's your duty to live." Where had that come from? "So I like to mix business with pleasure." Alright that was a true enough statement.

Moving across the room Damian sat down next to the woman as the he selected a dish from the menu and looked back over to her. "I thought there was an opportunity here to indulge a bit while we discuss a mutually beneficial arrangement."

"I have to admit I'd been intrigued by you since we first met." Of course for all the wrong reasons. Still Damian always felt it best to give second chances or to try and change people. It was one of his character flaws he was sure, at least that is what his dominant suspicious mind thought when he self examined his traits. Introspection was a hell of an eye opener. "So shall we enjoy ourselves? I could think of worse ways to spend my time."

 

[Cassandra Paige]

"But when you're life becomes filled with duty I feel it's your duty to live."

Oh lovely. Had he read that on a soda cap or the back of a cereal box? But she let her smile widen, giving him a small nod as thought he'd said something wise instead of insipid and trite, and accepted the glass of wine.

Ah, this made more sense. If the whole thing was a prelude to a business discussion, she knew they were both playing a game- at least in part. No one, in Cass's opinion, was actually as nice as Damian Starchaser tried to pretend he was. Everyone acted, everyone faked it. Everyone was out for their own benefit, always, no matter what they said otherwise. Everyone lied to everyone else. Some people lied to themselves about it, and Cass was the most dismissive of those people. Here he revealed at least part of what was in this for him, and it made the whole thing slightly easier.

"Intrigued? Really? Such an interesting choice of words," she said with a smile, toying with the stem of the wineglass. "And here I thought I was so straight forward. Well, a toast then before we begin?" She arched an eyebrow, raising her glass in the air.

"To the duty of indulgence," she murmured, eyes on his.

She smiled, taking a sip of the wine and relaxing slightly.

She could 'play' now that she knew the end goal. Know the rules of the game and anyone could win it.

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

 

[Damian Starchaser]

"The duty of indulgence," Alright Marek your line seemed to worked at least a little. A shiver ran up his spine. Marek Starchaser was a Jackass. Damian had to remember that whenever his Marek thoughts came to the forefront. He raised the glass and sipped the fine wine. "Being straight forward is what makes you intriguing. So many people hide their motives under honeys words." Alright so what if he had done that? He was still being honest, at least to an extent. She was pretty and she was intriguing in her own little way, and if Damian was being honest with himself he did enjoy the company of a rather gorgeous looking... no. Another Marek thought.

"I have a prospectus on a pad. My company has made some inroads with various fabrics and materials." Damian nodded, "While our synthetic fibers are popular organic ones, natural fibers, fetch a higher price. We've done a bit of research though a third party scientist into the idea of modifying these natural fibers in order to better mass produce them. Lowers my costs and raises my profit margin. Of course you'd be paid handsomely."

A smile crossed his face, "I'd love to fit you by the way. Perhaps a slinky dress with some personalized touches? Or something for a more casual encounter?" It was Damian's line. Playing his part with all the pretty ladies. At least this time he didn't ask her to model for him. That wouldn't get him anywhere with a wealthy woman regardless although... "Perhaps you can even model for me. Let the plebs see how glamorous you are."

[member="Cassandra Paige"]

 

[Cassandra Paige]

Straight forward. Oh. He was adorable. Cass faked almost every emotion most people ever saw. Sure some were genuine, or at least, natural responses. But most of them? It had been years since she had allowed herself to not hide behind a mask. The alternative, she had realized after one particular instance with her sister, were consequences that simply did not suit.

She took a sip of the wine (a very fine vintage), and gave him a knowing smile over the rim.

"You've already discovered my secret then," she teased. "That I have none. And I hardly know yet exactly what makes you intriguing. I'll have to muddle that through will we talk, yes?"

He wasn't, in the slightest, intriguing. Adorable. Earnest. Acts, as surely as her own was, she had no doubt.

But that was because she assumed everyone did that, put on a mask. That everyone lied.

She listened with polite interest to his.... textile talk. It was hideously dull. Of course, that would change once he actually showed her the pad. In her head she was already assuming he was simply looking for..... oh, banthas with longer hair or something. As it happened, it would turn out to be much more interesting.

"I'd been wondering what those racks were for," she said with a small smile. "Are you saying that you'd like to get me out of my clothes, Mister Starchaser?" A little coy, looking more amused than annoyed or upset. If he liked straight forward, she pushed it just a touch.

"I've had neither nearly enough wine, nor enough of a chance to figure out your secret to say yes to anything of the sort," she teased.

It wasn't a no. She wondered if she could make him blush.

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

 

[Damian Starchaser]

That was a Marek thought. No he didn't want to see her naked. I mean he obviously did, but pushed the idea behind off in the distance. Then again he could play the flirting game. Averting his gaze for a moment and playing up to the adorable aspect aforementioned Damian blushed. "I uh, wouldn't be requiring that of you Miss Paige." Suggestive glance before looking back at the datapad.

Looking up he stared at the red head examining her for a moment. He knew that she was cold inside despite her outwardly warm appearance. And yet this was a business deal. "Well perhaps in a bit of time we can discover my secrets." Locking eyes with her he considered for a moment. "We do have a deal to discuss first before we should delve into anything more personal."

Indicating the datapad he began anew. "I know this isn't in your normal wheelhouse. but I believe its within your companies capabilities."

[member="Cassandra Paige"]

 

[Cassandra Paige]

She laughed, light and amused but friendly- not at him, but as if she were breaking the 'tension' of the moment. There really wasn't any to break, but that was irrelevant. They were playing a game, taking turns moving their pieces, and it was just all part of it.

Accepting the data pad with light fingers just shy of brushing his, she turned her attention toward it, more to be polite than because she expected it to be all that interesting.

A moment later, she blinked.

"This is....." some of the act melted away in the face of the sheer brilliance of the idea on the pad. "Intriguing."

She glanced up, a small half smile reforming. "Intelligent, daring and attractive, however do you manage it all at once?"

Only some.

She went over the information in more detail then. Cass wasn't a scientist. But she had learned far more in that field since creating GenPals than she had ever expected to. She nodded thoughtfully, taking another sip of wine.

"Yes," she said slowly, "I do believe something like this is possible. We've never done anything like it before. How many units would you expect your company will need?"

Units, as if they weren't talking about living creatures.

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

 

[Damian Starchaser]

There was a flirtation in the air and yet Damian felt nothing for this woman. Sure she was pretty and on a purely cosmetic level she was attractive. "I don't know," Damian said practically fluttering his lashes at the woman. Embarrassed, at least in appearance Damian considered for a moment. "You'd have to tell me." His eyes averted he considered the woman again. She was in many ways detestable and Damian had only scratched the surface.

"We will need enough banthas to create a stable breeding population." Potentially a long term commitment from you to help in any mutations or abnormalities that may crop up. Although Damian didn't say that out loud, he didn't trust this woman not to take advantage of that and engineering a flaw in the banthas genetics. "We already have some bantha ranches we use for food and leather so we already have a stable population in one of them for you to work your magic on."

Contemplating he looked back at the woman. "So you're intrigued?" he said with a smile that was perhaps a bit too predatory letting her read into the comment what she would. Standing he walked up over towards a rack with several dresses and found a particularly slinky silk dress before holding it up for Cassandra to examine.

[member="Cassandra Paige"]

 

[Cassandra Paige]

"It seems like a good challenge for my scientists, so yes, colour me intrigued," she said with a smile.

She rose from the seat, wine glass in hand as he held out the offering of the dress. She reached out, fingering the fabric lightly. Oh it was fine indeed but far more revealing than she usually went for. She had a rule about accenting a single feature, rather than letting it all hang out, so to speak and this dress left nothing to the imagination.

Gauche. Suitable more for his zeltron friend she assumed.

"Is this one of your natural fabrics? It stretches like a synthetic, but doesn't have that feel," she tilted her head with a coy smile. Deliberately, she started flicking through the other items on the rack- just the very idea of 'off the rack' made her want to roll her eyes.

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

 

[Damian Starchaser]

"Spider silk," Damian said reaching for the fabric that she held. Smooth and soft the natural fiber had the ability to stretch far past that of other conventional fabrics. As his hand touched the fabric it brushed against Cass's causing his skin to flush red as his eyes darted towards hers. All in the game.

"Soft, and rather extravagant." Damian let the fabric fall out of his hands and glide down to Cassandras hand. "My tailors had an approximation of your measurements and we had these custom made for you. Samples to be provided. Anything you want you may keep of course and our tailors are prepared to make a trip for a proper fitting should you desire."

[member="Cassandra Paige"]

 

[Cassandra Paige]

She pretended that she hadn't seen. Let him choose a bolder action if he would risk it to catch her attention.

"Weeeelllll...."

There were two things that Cass specifically enjoyed. Shopping.... and receiving gifts for no reason other than because of who she was. The combination of that played to her vanity?

"Maybe just.... one or two."

*****

Of course she didn't let him pick the first two. And by the time she'd tried on two, she was sold enough on the fabric itself and the skill of the tailors in question to try on a third, mollified enough to let him pick it. Changing each time behind a screen provided, they continued to banter, to trade moves in the game they were playing, but when she stepped out wearing the last, she had to hide a smirk at his reaction.

"So, does it look like you'd hoped it would?" She asked lazily, head tilting and smile nearly smug at the look on his face.

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

 

[Damian Starchaser]

Damian gulped visibly as [member="Cassandra Paige"] stepped out from behind the curtain with a rather revealing and utterly gorgeous dress. Through guile or shock he appeared a moment stunned staring at the woman. Her eyes glanced over her, examining her form within the slinky little red dress.

It was a good pick, a nice little number that the tailors had picked out specifically for her. He wish he could have taken credit for it in truth, but he had simply pulled one of the dresses off the rack at near random after being allowed to pick for the woman.

So how did she look? "Beautiful," he said, "then again I'm sure you'd look good in anything."

That much was true. But there was more to a person than just being drop dead gorgeous. From Damians small interactions with the woman he would describe her as ugly despite her outwardly appearance. "Don't know how much my dress selection mattered in that regards." He stepped forward and reached a hand out swiping a hair away from the woman's eyes.

 

[Cassandra Paige]

They played the game. It was difficult to tell who knew how deep it ran, but they smiled and flirted, each thinking the other at least meant some of it, while inwardly loathing the face across the board.

Oddly, it worked for them.

People were strange.

"Anything?" She teased, arching an eyebrow at him. The implication being that was he really meant of course was 'nothing'. But the game wasn't that level of gauche, and she smiled when he blushed.

"So..... shall we get back to business then? Or are you finally hungry for.... something else?"

Her smile made it clear that she intended to continue wearing the potentially distracting number. Cass didn't normally blend business and pleasure, but the feigned 'pleasure' at the game was more business anyway so it hardly counted.

She did appreciate the dresses however.

"The food, of course," she clarified after a pause that was just a touch too long.

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

 

[Damian Starchaser]

"Dinner than?" Damian asked as he looked over at the woman leaning in close. "Someplace private, with good food and wine selection." He believed he had the measure of the woman. A formal place with suits and dresses, upscale where one might have have privacy and be treated to expensive and overly indulgent meals. That was here type by Damian's estimation.

"An intimate setting with good food. I'm sure one of the establishments on this station would be able to cater to such refined tastes." Of hers, not his. He could eat ration bars or cook a raw fish in a survival exercise and be nearly as content as with the most lavish of meals. There was something to be said from simplicity. That was how Damian saw himself, and yet he doubted that many people who truly knew him would call him simple.

"Other than that, I believe our proposal has been agreed to so all that's left is to have a pleasant night together." Of course he meant dinner and nothing else, but didn't let that ruin the 'fun'.

[member="Cassandra Paige"]

 

[Cassandra Paige]

"Well, when you ask so nicely," she teased.

Cass could think of a dozen things she'd rather do than spend the rest of the evening with [member="Damian Starchaser"]. But this was good business, and so much the better if he thought she was swayable with such things. Of course she'd never consider anyone unable to supply the level of comfort she was accustomed to, but that was irrelevant.

For a moment she paused, a small devilish smile flickering over her face.

"I suggest a deal," she said, tilting her head.

"I'll pick the restaurant...... and you pick the dress. I'll wear whichever one you like most."

Since that likely meant he'd be more distracted anyway, it suited Cass just fine.

[member="Damian Starchaser"]