Lara rolled her eyes at the men who looked too wasted to act rationally. 'How troublesome! ' She hastily put some money on the table to cover her order and warned the two men in front of her. "We better leave now. There are some unwanted people approaching. I don't feel like dealing with them" She said as she started to walk towards the nearest exit.
To her surprise, Julian didn't seem bothered and just followed her serenely. Matthew left some money on their table as well and walked behind them after glaring menacingly at those thugs. As expected, the pesky guys backed off when in front of a stronger opposition. She didn't doubt that both of them have the skills to backup that light display of testosterone dropping. 'Well, well, well... good to know that he's somewhat capable. No wonder he's not afraid to approach a stranger.'
She was about to hail a cab when Julian stopped her. "You can come to my place now if it's okay with you so we can discuss the details"
She liked the fact that he didn't utter it as a command and even gave her the option to refuse. But of course she won't say no. Which crazy person would want to look for a place at this time of night so she nodded her assent. "Sure. It's better to have all the pertinent details on hand."
The whole car ride from the bar "Night Haven" to his place was a quiet one. However, the silence was not an uncomfortable one. Each of the three occupants seem to be lost in their own thoughts. She's actually taking note of the route that they were taking just in case. For some reason, the road seemed familiar to her. Finally, after an hour-long drive, they arrived to their destination - Casa Angelo.
'Huh! What a small world!' She had been there a few years ago on a retrieval operation. It was the first time that she bungled on a job. It was also the first time that she did something outside the mission. She was just 15 at the time and the boy was perhaps 11 or 12 when the incident happened. She wouldn't forget the fear in his eyes and the gratitude he expressed when she saved him. She was punished severely at the time and had been bedridden for two weeks but saving the boy's life was worth it. It was also the first time that she questioned if she's on the right path... the rest, of course, is history.
It happened 5 years ago. She doubts that people would remember it or even be able to recognize her. It was not publicized since high-level people were involved. So she followed them all the way to his 3-bedroom condo without any worries.
With the ease of someone used to doing it, Matthew prepared brewed coffee for everyone and settled comfortably on the sofa to practice their script writing.
Matthew sighed contentedly after sipping his coffee and proceded to share his input. "Okay. Meeting in a party is out. With so many women eyeing Julian, there's no way that people won't notice if he suddenly gets close to someone. And besides, he rarely attends one unless really needed." Lara and Julian both nodded in agreement. "So we can say that you both had some coffee at a local cafe and only one table is free so you've decided to share. How's that? "
Both of them burst in laughter. "Are you serious? That's so cliche!! Let's just tell them that it was raining so I let her share an umbrella with me while on the way to the cafe. "
"Bro, that's even more unbelievable! You don't even bring an umbrella when you go out! How about you found her surrounded with bad guys so you helped her and then she thanked you by buying you coffee?"
Lara looked highly affronted at the suggestion that she's a damsel in distress that needed saving so she said, "No! How about doing it the other way around. I saved him instead of him saving me?"
The two men looked at each other and shook their heads, "No one would believe that statement.... so how about..... "
The scenarios kept on coming...one more outrageous than the last including applying as his secretary which Lara didn't want to do, meeting using a dating app which both of them rejected since it's so out of their character and accidentally leaving his phone behind since they needed something that would allow them multiple meet ups. Finally, they all decided on Julian hiring Lara as a guitar instructor since it's something that he wanted to do for a long time now and his grandfather knows it. Lara considered it as something that they can do to pass the time once he's back from work so all are happy with that suggestion.
They then proceeded to discuss the family and educational background which proved to be a bit difficult. Lara said that she's an orphan so the family part has been addressed but they had a hard time deciding the school since they might be found out if it's from a prestigious school and his family might look down on her if it's a lowly school. Lara knows one that is highly respected despite not being widely known. No outsiders would be able to get any inside information from that school no matter how much connection you have unless you went to that school. Yes, it's a very secretive school but it has a great reputation so nobody questions them. So she reluctantly told them, "We can say that I went to Primrose Academy"
"You went to THAT school?!?" Both of them were shocked and their eyes were full of questions. Nobody... as in NOBODY would dare to claim that he/she went to THAT school unless they can back it up properly so why is she in a dire situation now?
"Yes. Don't worry. I can always invoke the secrecy code to avoid questions if needed." Lara told them evenly. Technically, she's not lying. She just said she went there but not that she studied there.
The guys agreed to that and decided to discuss how they should behave.
"My family is a bit old-fashioned. Thet don't like women who wear too revealing clothes. They also want me to be with someone who is mild mannered and has a good temper. My brother, Kyle, can be a bit annoying sometimes so the girl should be patient and understanding as well. since he stays here from time to time. "
Lara thought about what he said. Those are all reasonable. "Then we won't have any problem. All are doable aside from the temper part. Just to set your expectation, I have an abnormally large amount of patience. I don't get mad easily but when I do, I tend to be a bit violent. However, as long as no one pushes me to my limit, then everything is fine. People can try to piss me off however much they want and I won't even bat an eye but if they hurt the people I care about then they better ensure that I won't find out. That is my bottomline! "