Ritual |{open} FINISHED

[LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH]

"Of course, ma'am. I'll let you know the instant I know, I promise. Well, no, if I find out too late or too early, I won't call until a more appropriate hour. I wouldn't want to interrupt your night,"

"Why thank you, Mr. Tormei," Lady Catherine said with another, more genuine smile, still not cottoning on at all to Hector's lack of true sincerity. "Your thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated."

"And I'd like to thank you for approaching me about this business and not one of the other small shops in the city. We need all the business we can get in this economy,"

Lady Catherine frowned a little. She understood the economy hadn't been doing too well as of late, but things were looking up if the numbers she had seen this morning were anything to go by. Then again, Hector's shop was one of the smaller ones in the city. Small shops generally needed more business than they got.

"You're very welcome Mr. Tormei; I'm the one who should be thanking you really."

ooc: Sorry I'm not giving you much to work with Kay! D:

[MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI]

"No, really. I have a small, specialty shop. We rely on large orders like yours to keep us afloat," Hector waved off Lady de Bourgh's gratitude and looked around for an escape route. It was nice and all to get a deal and get a chance to make some money but the politics that he had to deal with when it came to this woman were too tiring for him to continue. His mind worked swiftly to devise a way to get out without seeming rude.

"If you wouldn't mind, I could leave now to go to my shop and contact my friend that way you can get your books as soon as possible," Hector didn't let any of his annoyance slip into his voice, he kept it as pleasant as possible. Hopefully the woman would buy the act and leave him alone. He hadn't wanted to go back to his life so soon but he certainly didn't want to stick around Wall Street any longer. Even if her Ladyship wasn't there Hector figured that people would start to get suspicious if he hung around any longer. Since the location was a high security risk, any shady character would be spotted and eradicated almost imediately. And Hector was about three minutes away from being deemed shady and being escorted away. With that there was the risk of some rookie law enforcment officer recognizing and trying to take him in for processing because of who he was.

[LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH]

"No, really. I have a small, specialty shop. We rely on large orders like yours to keep us afloat,"

"Ah," Her Ladyship replied with a nod. "I see. Well, Mr. Tormei, I'm glad I could be of assistance, as it were."

"If you wouldn't mind, I could leave now to go to my shop and contact my friend that way you can get your books as soon as possible,"

"Would you really?" Lady Catherine said, with another, surprisingly genuine smile, her usual attitude and demeanour considered. "That would be most helpful Mr. Tormei, I don't mind at all."

[MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI]

Thank God this woman was fine with him leaving. Hector's patience was dangerously but now he was getting an out. "Well then, Lady de Bourgh," It was the first time he had used her proper name but Hector wanted to make sure that she knew that. It would help him get away with things if there was a personal connection and knowing names was pretty personal. "I'm going to go ahead and head back to my store and get on the phone about your books. Is there anything else you need or would like to inquire about before I leave?"

He hoped not, but this woman...Hector was certain that she could be as stubborn as a mule when she wanted to be.

[LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH]

"Well then, Lady de Bourgh, I'm going to go ahead and head back to my store and get on the phone about your books. Is there anything else you need or would like to inquire about before I leave?"

Lady Catherine shook her head, all the more pleased now the store owner had addressed her using her proper title (although, in truth she'd been so pleased at the success of the transaction she'd barely noticed when he called her ma'am).

"Why thank you Mr. Tormei. There's nothing else I wish to inquire about sir, this meeting has been most satisfactory. I hope to hear from you soon."

Her Ladyship was surprised at herself; ordinarily she would have been nitpicking at every last detail the man had provided her with. But she trusted Hector Tormei; he seemed like an intelligent and well meaning individual. For once in her life, she was most seriously pleased.


ooc: Thanks for a fantastic thread once again my dear Kay; you're amazing! I love Hector's new play-by! (: That's it for Lady C this time; she's clueless, isn't she? XD

[MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI]

"Anytime," Hector nodded his thanks to Lady Catherine de Bourgh. "I will call you the moment I find out. Until then...it was a pleasure meeting you," It hadn't been, but she didn't know that. She didn't know that Hector had gone to Wall Street to get away from his name and his face. de Bourgh didn't know that Hector wanted to be just another standerby and she didn't know that she ruined it by talking to him.

Of course, Hector couldn't get all that angry about the meeting. Afterall, the result was going to be a couple thousand dollars more in his pocket that he didn't have an hour ago. Being the successful business man he was, Hector Tormei was willing to sarcrifice his time if it meant good news for the business. With a short, polite bow at the waist, Hector turned on his heel and left the Lady de Bourgh standing amidst the investors.

Barely out of the door, Hector's cell phone rang. With practiced movements, he flipped it open and held it to his ear. One of his cronies was on the other end, blabbing about how Marko hadn't been behaving and was trying to cut in on Hector's profit. Hector grunted an affirmative into the phone to let the cronie know that he had heard everything and was going to take care of it. The only thing that Cronie had to do was get Marko into his 'office' and lock the door after Hector.

The mob boss would do the rest.