Confidentiality and Business Ethics (Invite)

[Mortll]

Mortll stood there She had taken a bit to get dressed this was a upscale place. The simple white dress fit snug and perfectly manicured fingers grasped the matching clutch. She had plans tonight and it didn't include her actually consuming food at Chez Andre. She was here to pillage the chef. You would think with the areas strong French root that a French chef would be easy to come by. Mortll however was finding this was not the case and the chef at La Bete du Gevaudan Café had given her a months notice last week.

She took her seat at the table and the waiter rattled off tonight's menu. It was a shame that whatever she ordered was going to go to waste. From what she heard this guy was very talented at what he did. She paused a moment then ordered the beer fondue and the duck and a glass of red wine. She sat back looking around taking stock of the place . It was nice her eyes wandered over the décor and the patrons. Her eyes glinted as they fell on the couple at the table just in the alcove near the windows. She watched carefully they were engrossed in conversation she doubted that they had even noticed her presence and that was indeed strange for Doc who was normally quite keen on his surroundings and who was in them.


She watched them a few moments more the waiter brought her wine. She gestured to the table and Ordered the best bottle of champagne they had to be delivered to Doc and Amaleas table. She waited until he had delivered the bottle and they had looked in her direction before she stood and walked slowly in their direction.

"Doc ... Amalea fancy seeing you here I hope I'm not interrupting your date " She winked at Doc .

[Amalea]

It didn’t escape the red-head’s notice that Doc referred to the case in both the past and present tenses. She supposed that it was possible that a single match wasn’t enough to close it out. There was also the prospect that the match had been made to the case sample outside of the case parameters. Given it sounded like Genesis worked with law enforcement, it didn’t seem too farfetched an idea.

Initially, she hadn’t been sure what to make of his response to her apology. With a moment to consider it, she drew the conclusion that everything had happened as it should have. In truth, without the drawn out process involved, she’d probably not uncovered the web of lies that seemed to cover the rabbit hole in which she had found herself. The blood thief could only hope there wasn’t a Jabberwocky within that needed slaying.

Given the subject matter at hand, Amalea was paying attention to all the little details. The look of having more to say, therefore, was caught. Taking a sip of her drink, she gave him a slight nod and a gentle look of encouragement. She did manage to refrain from shaking her head in quiet amusement as he brought the conversation back around to weighing the impact on her life. Given his love of sayings this evening, she was rather surprised he hadn’t mentioned it being ‘the lady’s choice’.

You can pick your friends... But you can’t pick your family. How very true and ironic in her case. Given recent revelations, the red-head was quite sure that if she could pick her family that she wouldn't lay claim to 99% of them. Well, at least of the ones she knew about; if they were even actual blood relatives. Her mother was the worst offender of them all, but she supposed failing to ‘pick’ her might result in her never being born which would be problematic. As much as she currently disliked her relations, she did like the life she had built for herself in recent years.

The red-head decided that all expectations for the night needed to be tossed out and buried six feet deep with the way things were going. Not in her wildest dreams would she have anticipated this line of conversation. Hence, the choice to just go with the flow and let what was to be present itself naturally. Initially, she was confused by the topic as it seemed to take the discussion on a tangent. Subconsciously her mind worked through the possibilities as she actively listened. It took a couple minutes but she did come to a conclusion of what she thought he was trying to get at – she was her own person with her own accomplishments; she wasn’t defined by her family. Or at least that’s how she was reading it.

Amalea shook her head in amusement as he spoke about Cyril. She was pleased that someone had recognized the work that the company put into vetting all their contracts. Usually, most were just annoyed by all the red tape. That the business manager had a crush on her wasn’t surprising; they’d discussed it before in passing. The reasoning behind it, though, was news. She acknowledged his request with a slight nod, as not to interrupt his train of thought.

“It doesn’t feel that way,” the red-head commented softly. She paused for a moment; logically, she knew he was right even if there were those that felt she had no business being in one world or the other. If it came to it, she could live solely in either or with no issues. It would take a bit of adjusting, but was doable. “Some days it’s as if I don’t belong anywhere,” she finally continued, giving him a shy smile even as the light blush crept its way onto her cheeks, “but thank you. It does mean a lot.” That was an understatement, if she was honest; it was just hard to put into words.

Amalea caught sight of the server heading in their direction. A slight, nearly-imperceptible nod towards his direction was given to her companion in silent warning. Given he wasn’t bearing plates of food, she assumed he was just passing by on the way to another table to deliver their drinks and the conversation could resume shortly. It was quite the surprise, then, when he came to a stop alongside theirs. She hadn’t been fully been paying attention earlier when orders had been taken, but she’d like to think she would have recalled this. The server’s comment that it was ‘courtesy of the Mademoiselle seated below’ piqued her curiosity. Taking a peek, she had to stifle a groan. Apparently it wasn’t Voodoo that was cursed; it was her, as there was no mistaking Mortll anywhere.

Her mind went through several rephrases of the question that popped up first. ‘What the **** are you doing here?’ wasn’t really polite, even if they had been in Voodoo and not their current location. How she kept her greeting polite was a mystery that she wasn’t sure she wanted to delve into. “Good evening, Mortll. Fancy seeing you here.”

She’d let Doc field the woman’s statement about interrupting their ‘date.’ It was likely a joke, but she was quite nervous, and didn’t want to unintentionally take it out in her.

[Doc]

At first Doc was amused when he saw Mortll, here in a restaurant. He knew full well she wasn’t here for the food. Amalea had made an off hand comment earlier about Mortll had this uncanny timing, to show up just at the most embarrassing moments. This time Amalea was safe. Nothing embarrassing here.

“Date.”

Nothing embarrassing until Mortll uttered that word.

That word reverberated in his head. ****. Of course it looked like they were on a date. But this was far from a date. Doc wanted to immediately shut down that thought, except.. Only he knew the full story here. If Amalea decided she didn’t want to know.. Then .. it was in her best interest to allow Mortll to think this -was- a date. It was a galling situation. How would Amalea feel, if he went on with the charade of a ‘date’, when she knew as well as he, it wasn’t a date?

Then a millisecond of horrible yet perfectly plausible inspiration hit him.

What if Amalea too, thought this was a date.. What if she thought the business of the DNA match, was just a clever ploy to ensure she went out with him? He had hit on Amalea in the past, but she turned him down flat. Doc stared at Amalea, as though the harder he stared, the more chance that she would bail out the situation herself, by saying it was merely business.

****. What if Amalea thought this was a date?

Doc looked between Amalea and Mortll. The silence stretched out. He was in a no-win-situation.

If Doc admitted it wasn’t a date.. then Mortll would have information that, thought not a breach of ethics, would cause Mortll to wonder. And when Mortll had the whiff of a mystery, she would not let it go. She would devil Amalea until she had an answer. And that may unduly pressure Amalea to ask for information that Amalea might not really want.

If Doc let on it was a date, he risked the idea that Amalea would then believe it could be a date too. And that would be unacceptable!

There was nothing else to do.. Except ignore it. And redirect things at Mortll. This was tricky. He and Mortll had just gotten back to being .. normal. Things have been abnormal since the Chain Incident. He really did not want to have things go back to the awkward stiffness. But of the two.. The one he didn’t want to hurt most was Amalea.

Completely ignoring the ‘date’ comment, Doc looked at Mortll, “What brings you here..?”

He slid a look at Amalea, wondering belatedly, was Mortll wanting Amalea? Had she been stalking Amalea? Doc’s lips compressed into a thin line. ****.

[Mortll]

Mortll smiled as Docs silence grew long after Amalea had shared her greetings. Not a hello just a "What brings you here " Yep she had most defiantly interrupted something. Doc was thinking you could see it in his eyes and that long silence was him thinking of a way out of something ... but what had she ... "Mortll's smile broadened Only thing she had said was it was a Date So someone was squirming at that thought.... Why the **** would Doc be squirming at the thought of a Date with Amalea ... The way he used to pursue her He should be happy that she said yes to a date with him. Unless it wasn't a date ...

Mortll looked in between them her mind racing she answered Docs question. " Well I wouldn't get too used to the food quality here I'm doing a little business with the Chef tonight. I am planning to offer him a lucrative contract to work at La Bete du Gevaudan Café. I've heard he makes a mean Lobster Bisque. You will have to tell me how you like it Amalea since I cant quite taste for myself. And hello to you as well Charles. "

Mortll saw that the Waiter was heading their way with plates of food "I see your food is coming I will leave you two be I will catch you at the voodoo later maybe ?" She went to find the concierge. She gave him a $200 dollar tip and asked him to have the violin player to please serenade the couple there with a lovely rendition of That's Amore. If Doc felt uncomfortable with it being a date now ... wait until he got a load of this ... He was either going to kill her or tell her what the **** was going on.

[Amalea]

Amalea quietly kept an eye on the pair; her mind was running amuck with all the possible reasons the woman had come here, tonight of all nights. She was fairly certain that she, like Doc, wasn’t here to enjoy the food. Had she somehow found out that they would be meeting here? She wouldn’t rule out the possibility that she was being stalked, however unlikely it seemed; after all, what were the chances the woman was here on her own business?

That Mortll thought they were on a date really was nothing new. She was always making some comment or the other about her and Doc. Amalea had grown used to them, though sometimes they still bothered her. She knew she’d likely never live down her unwitting rejection just as she knew that window of opportunity was long since closed. It was something she had accepted and knew it was likely others would not until she had a special someone in her life. Even then, she wasn’t entirely sure everyone would.

The red-head felt his eyes upon her as the silence stretched on. ****, she wasn’t really good at the silent look thing. He knew she knew this wasn’t a date, right; that she had zero expectations of any outing ever being a date? She had to wonder if he was silently requesting she say something. This was not her strong suit at all. The easy answer would to be to tell Mortll the truth – it was a business dinner and to leave it at that. Of course, there was the chance she would keep digging; and if Doc was the one to tell Mortll that, there was no guarantee she’d accept it at face value.

The silence had gotten to the point that the red-head was ready to answer Mortll herself. Just as she was ready to spit out the words, Doc had found his to question Mortll’s purpose for frequenting this precise restaurant on this particular night. She hadn’t expected Mortll’s statement about attempting to acquire the Chef for Mortll’s own restaurant. To be honest, Amalea was unaware, before this moment that the restaurant the woman owned was French. The red-head supposed headhunting a good chef was standard affair in the restaurant business but the timing was still suspicious. So was her waiting to greet Doc at the end of explanation; she didn’t need a look from him to know that her use of his name was a bad sign.

“If you’re successful in your endeavor to… persuade… the Chef to come work for you, then I would be happy to taste test dishes for you,” Amalea offered, though she wasn’t about to offer up the information that she had no idea how a decent Lobster Bisque was meant to taste. For a New-England bred woman, that would be considered blasphemy.

The red-head was pleasantly surprised at the perfect timing of their food; it was the ultimate, polite way to tell their ‘guest’ she had to go. That Mortll saw the server and excused herself was even better in Amalea’s mind. “Have a good evening, Mortll. Good luck in your venture.” Amalea didn’t dare tell her that they might see her at Voodoo later given she still had no idea what kind of information was to be had. She didn’t make plans she didn’t plan to keep; never mind that if she broke them, Mortll would likely hunt her down and want the full reasoning. Reasoning Amalea wasn’t sure she was even going to be willing to share.

Amalea politely thanked the server as he set her plate before her. At the customary question on whether or not anything else could be gotten, she indicated that she herself did not. Honestly, if everything tasted even half as good as it looked, she was in for a treat. Waiting till the server was well out of earshot, she sighed softly before apologizing, “I should have told her it was business and hoped she left it that. Sorry to put you on the spot like that.” The reasoning for the why behind it was not suitable to disclose in polite company, so she offered none.

The red-head had been reaching for her wine glass when the violin player made his appearance. It was the opening bars of the song that had her releasing the glass. There was definitely no mistaking that particular number given how well-known it was; just as she was quite sure on who was behind this lovely entertainment. The musician was quite talented; Amalea could admit that, it was the selection to which she took exception. She stole a quick glance at her dinner companion as she mentally asked the question she wasn’t about to voice, ~Is it me, or does killing her about now sound like a positively lovely idea?~ There was no reason to elaborate who ‘she’ was, she was sure.

Amalea had been relieved when the three-minutes of musical torture were over and the musician had moved on to the next table. As intended before the interruption, she retrieved her glass and took a sip of the pinkish liquid. Setting the glass back on the table, “That was certainly interesting. I’ll have to find a way to repay the favor,” she smiled lightly, a touch of wickedness evident to one who knew her. What was done was done, there was no use dwelling on it currently and allowing it to spoil the evening.

[Doc]

Doc could have hugged the server for arriving when they did. Because it helped move Mortll to be on her way. Scoping a new chef was she? Doubtful, in Doc’s mind. He had a feeling she was stalking Amalea. He knew that Mortll thought Amalea was intelligent and well spoken, and therefore would make a great vampire, but Doc wasn’t sure it was that alone. Perhaps it was his ego, but he had a feeling that Mortll thought he was interested in Amalea in a sexual way; and she competing for Amalea’s attention, to get back at him. Yes, he and Mortll had been a thing at one time, but they weren’t now, and Enzo, her husband, was MIA, so he could easily see Mortll playing about at this sort of thing.

Normally Doc wouldn’t give Mortll’s intentions a second thought. She could do what she did, and it was none of his business. But.. he did not like the thought of someone toying with Amalea to get at him. That was always going to be a risk. That his enemies would use his family or friends as bait ro tools to get to him, but Amalea was Human, and for that reason, he told himself, she should be off limits. So to have Mortll playing games, it irked him.

Therefore, when Doc got the mental thought from Amalea, as he watched Mortll cross the restaurant, his expression gave Amalea the knowledge that he approved wholeheartedly with her impromptu thought about killing Mortll. As he watched Mortll leave his field of range, he turned his gaze back to Amalea, “You do not have to repay it.. But it would be nice to do this again.”

****.

Did that sound like he was asking her out on a date? Because that was not was he was doing, “In a purely platonic way..”

****! That sounded like a backhanded insult. That was not what he meant.

“What I mean to say is.. “ He stopped speaking, sighed, and gave her an honest frustrated look, “There are extenuating circumstances that would be preclude that.” Great. Just dig yourself deeper Doc, change the subject!

“However, the file.. Your file. There were photos in the file. From some of them, I get the impression you were unaware of the recent development about your biological…” Should he say ‘father’? Or was she even aware that the man in some of those photos was not her father? Perhaps she thought there was a lost sibling.. Which would be true, she had a sister she did not know about.. yet. But he amended his word choice from ‘father’ to ‘family’. “...family..?”

[Amalea]

Amalea had to admit that as far as the curse went, this had been relatively mild. There wasn’t a room full of vampires or friends present to witness it, so it was unlikely to be spoken of again. At least until Mortll herself brought it up, but that could and would be ignored. The woman’s payback for this bit of entertainment would come much later. The red-head just needed to come up with something suitable and wait for the most opportune moment to set it loose.

In truth, Amalea was more relaxed now than she had been before the necromancer had made her appearance. Though they were meeting outside Voodoo, the red-head had been wondering, subconsciously, if Mortll would find them anyway and cause mayhem. Sure, she’d likely get grilled later by the woman, but she could easily redirect that; for the time being, they were safe from future interruptions from her.

The red-head smiled as her attention returned to Doc fully; his words having drawn her from her own thoughts. She would have to agree it would be nice to do this again and was ready to say so when he continued. A singular eyebrow was raised as the man seemed to attempt to dig himself into a hole before she finally broke down into soft giggles. The blood-thief wasn’t quite sure why he felt the need to ensure he meant it as a platonic outing; she had known that from the start. The remark about extenuating circumstances was noted but not commented on as his reason were his alone unless he felt like sharing – she wasn’t one to pry.

“It would be nice. I’ve always enjoyed your company and conversation,” she replied, shaking her tresses in light amusement. She smiled mischievously as she winked, “As friends, of course.” The red-head missed those nights in the Necropolis. While she didn’t spare a thought for the pub-vibe of the time, the conversations and comradery had been plentiful and engaging.

Given that Doc seemed to be attempting to dig himself a deep hole, Amalea wasn’t surprised by the abrupt change of subject; the contents of the file were a relatively safe topic of discussion. She just hadn’t expected him to come to such a conclusion from the photos. Given the other pieces of the file, the blood-thief would have normally assumed he was referring to the fact that the man pictured in most of the photos wasn’t actually her father. However with the way the evening was going, she knew better than assume anything. There was still the mythological half-sibling that stories had been told about.

“Until Troy contacted me about the match initially,” she sighed softly. “At that point, the main assumption was that the match would be to the man I believed was my father. It was a bit of a surprise when the testing my lab did showed there was no biological connection there.” Pausing for a moment, she took a sip of her drink as she collected her thoughts, “Though, I am aware of the rumor that I have a half-sibling floating somewhere. I’m just not sure how much stock I’d put into it given the source.”

Red tresses shook lightly, “Every time there was a family gathering, the existence of a half-sibling was brought up by one family member or another. I was four or five when I had asked my mother why they couldn’t come to the gatherings and play. I forget precisely what she said, but it was along the lines that bad girls didn’t deserve people to play with. What stood out most, though, was that was the last time the subject was ever brought up. I have no idea what to think of that entire situation, honestly.”

She looked at him, curiously, “Were there any photos in particular that raised a question?”

[Doc]

Were there any photos in particular? Oh boy, was there. He stared at her for what seemed to him, to be an eternity. This was the opening he needed. This would be the moment when everything changes. The point of no return. He knew that this moment could be viewed as a happy moment, but he also knew it could be viewed as the moment her world as she knew it, ended. Trampled to death by him.

Was he ready to do that to her? Ignorance is bliss. He knew that phrase well enough. He knew it intimately, and had his own youthful moments of painful regret when his blissful ignorance was replaced with the cold hard truth. Could he not just live with the knowledge himself? And let her remain blissfully unaware of the facts? Watch over her in silence?

But would that be fair? As many times as he had his own blissful ignorance ripped away, he never regretted it long term. Yes in the heat of the moment, when it first happens, there is regret, anger, and righteous indignation. But after that wanes, and the full extent of the truth is revealed, he always preferred the truth. So how he could he play god and take that away from her? She had a right to know. She was here because she wanted to know.

“Yes.. actually.” He pulled out the photo in question. The one that stunned him when he first saw it. Amalea had included it because it was a photo of her mother at the age she would been right before she found out she was pregnant. He looked at it again, before handing it to Amalea.

In for a penny, in for a pound, so they say.

“I look so young there.”