Were women usually so difficult to impress? If not, Rose seemed to be in a league of her own. Zane thought for certain the little magic trick would've worked in his favor. While certainly intrigued, the woman didn't seem nearly as impressed as he hoped.
Especially with how much of a hassle it had been to get everything together. He already owed Clive too much for this to have been a failure as well. Zane would need to consider adding a vacation to the list of the other's upcoming benefits.
"How do you know so much about me?" Rose stared at the marigolds for a few seconds longer before setting them down on the table.
"I doubt you could figure out so much about on your own simple from our meetings."
"Your wallet is a magic portal to quite a bit of interesting information. Perhaps that isn't something you were well aware of before." Rose felt an instinctively need to check her pocket until she remembered she no longer kept her wallet there.
"You're right though. I do have quite an extensive network for information collecting. Like anything else, it could be better but it works for what I need."
"And what exactly do you need?" Rose shifted the flowers when their food arrived. The waiter paid them little heed as he ensured they had everything they needed.
"Depends on the day and what is going on. Very much like the cases you work on, I Have various reasons to need to pull information." Zane lifted the top bread off his sandwich. They were cheap on the ranch. Despite the fact that he made sure to ask them for extra. Perhaps this wasn't the best food place he thought it was at first.
"What do you need to be collecting information about me for? I thought that we took care of all the business between us." Rose checked her sandwich as well but for different reasons. She couldn't trust the man sitting across from her.
"That's exactly what we are here to talk about today actually. My reason for wanting to know about you. More so in terms of what exactly I can do for you and what I want in return." Rose stopped before she took another bite. Good thing the sandwich was strong otherwise her toppings would've flopped out onto the plat.
"What you can do for me? The best thing you can do for me is to leave and stop harassing me. No way is there anything that would make help someone like you."
"Really? Even if it just happened I might be able to help you with the case you're working on? I'm sure you don't need me to say much as you already know I know about it." Zane wiped his hands on the napkin. Even if there wasn't enough ranch, the vegetables were at least crisp and fresh. Point reduction for the smoke on the meat not being quite up to par with his expectations.
"You really think that whatever I want you to do is bad enough to throw away my help on this case?"
"What can someone like you actually do to help? You do realize that the reason they're in this pinch is due to people like?" The cold fire returned to Rose's eyes as she took a hard bite out of her sandwich.
"That's why I'm doing what I can to help. She doesn't need people like you to come along and make things worse."
"I love how you act like you know exactly what I'm planning before I say anything. Tell me, did that help you out with the woman from a few days ago, hmm?" A smug look crossed Zane's face. The little flower's anger gave her away.
"That's exactly what I thought. Exactly why you should give me a chance and listen as well. I'm not going to cheat you out of anything." Zane reached into his left pant pocket and pulled out a piece of paper he tossed across the table to the other.
"You can look at everything I have there yourself. It will assure you I'm not lying or hiding anything."
"And what in here could possibly make me change my mind?" The young mafioso shrugged his shoulders.
"It could be something or nothing at all. I think that is something that you can decide for yourself. Know that the moment you open that up, I'm going to be expecting something back from you in return." Rose stopped before she finished unfolding the paper.
"What exactly are you talking about?" Did he give her the paper as some kind of trick? Perhaps he wanted to use her commitment for the case against her.
"Quid Pro Quo really. Nothing that I think you would have too much of a problem with really." Zane let the other blatant lie slip past his lips.
"At least, I don't think you will find it as heavy a price to pay for the information that I'm giving you." Rose pushed the paper back to the middle of the table.
"Why don't you let me make that decision myself? I didn't say that I was done asking questions yet. There are still a few things I would like to know."
"About the information that I collected together for you or perhaps about me?" The young mafioso remained patiently quiet while eating his sandwich as he waited for the reply.
"I don't care to know more about you as a person. I already know more than enough to know what type of person you are. I want to know more about this information collecting. Such as who told you about this case? It isn't one that a lot of people are aware of."
"I thought that we just went over that a few moments ago? Information travels fast in my area. Even for things outside of it, I generally know what's going on within a day or two." Technically, he could know most things within a few hours if he so desired to. Often though, it wouldn't end up being worth the people power. Which reminded him...
"Actually in regards to that case, there is a little something I think we should talk about well. Directly pertaining to the case you're working. If it turns out that it's not that big of a deal. In fact, I won't bother you again. On the other hand, if you do agree it's serious, how about you take some time to listen to my request?" An unsettling feeling began to form in the pit of Rose's stomach in response to the other's words.
"And what exactly would that be?"