Clumsy

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Marie looked to him as he spoke, smiling a bit before she notice the boy bringing over the wine. At the offer of another drink, she shook her head. She really shouldn't have any more and even then, it might effect the taste of the food and that was not something she wanted to do at Mystique of all places.

"Water will be fine for me, it's better for pallet cleaning anyway and I want to be able to enjoy the food. I know that I won't be able to come to this place very often after all, especially with the prices. Though, the idea of trying a little of everything does sound nice." She said with a grin as she looked at him. "Of course, you've been here before so I will take anything that you recommend to me."
 
Damon smiled a bit, saying nothing at first. What an extraordinary woman. She had been a waitress wasting her life away in some boring little diner cafe, and yet here she was in one of the top restaurants of the city, speaking of cleansing her palet and eating sushi. He had a feeling that she was full of quite a few surprises.


"Fair enough. A pitcher of water and a class for my companion," he said, speaking to the boy who had come back. "Also, I would prefer a bottle of sake to this wine. The usual food order will do," he added, handing the bottle back and watching the boy scurry off before he turned his eyes back to Marie.


"They'll bring us each one plate at a time, usually with three or four samples on the plate. When you're done trying them, just let me know and I'll make sure they bring over the next ones. It's a nice little system that they have here," he explained, then tilted his head a fraction. "So, Miss Marie. Would you care to tell me about yourself? I find that I know nearly nothing about you.."
 
Marie relaxed a bit as the server took away the wine and had been instructed to bring her water and him sake. It was strange to feel this comfortable with someone she just met, and on top of that he was also her new boss. Talk about a twist right there! Still, Mr. Ricardo was being so kind, and in a way spoiling her as well. She was going to enjoy every moment and make sure to express her gratitude as well. She was getting excited though as the order was placed, curious to see what she would soon be getting.

"It sounds lovely, I can't wait to see what they bring. I mean, I've been to plenty of little sushi bars in this city, they are all over the place these days...but Mystique is an experience, even famous food critics have had issues getting in because of the reservation list and now here I am, in the hottest sushi spot in town. I feel lucky...or terribly spoiled." She said at first, her face full of joy as she spoke.

When he asked about her she seemed a bit startled, though not in a bad way. She just didn't really know what to say. What was proper to tell you boss? She had never been in such a close relationship with the person who was paying her after all. Well, she could give him some background on herself, it was the best she could think of at the moment.

"Well, There isn't much. I'm a southern girl at heart, born and raised in Texas. Lost the accent a long time ago though, city life does have it's effects. But I have all my family still down there, My Father and Mother and all five of my brothers, none of them could ever leave that place." She said with a light laugh.
 
"Five brothers? That must have been loads of fun on the holidays. I imagine that experiencing your first winter up here was quite different than a Texan winter," he said, smiling a bit at her. He had been to Texas a few times, but the heat didn't agree with him if he stayed more than a week. Personally, he preferred the middle climates around the Carolinas or even Pennsylvania. Still, it was easier to maintain control in New York, which explained his living here. Plus, he loved the city.


"Ah, here we go," he said as the first plates were brought out, along with their drinks. On each plate were a variety of rolls - four each, one of each kind. The waiter bowed and left quickly so as not to disturb the flow of conversation further. Damon picked up the polished chopsticks provided and scooped up a roll easily. "These ones are my favorite - they mix nuts in with the rice. Unexpected, yet delightfully crunchy, I find."
 
Marie let out a small laughed as he commented on her family. It certainly was fun, though winter was far from snowy. Still, getting to go on walks or on horse rides without to much trouble was quite nice. It was one of the few things she missed about Texas. Because in New York, walking could be deadly, especially in winter time.

"It was, it was far colder and snowier than I have ever seen it be. I was so frightened I stocked up for the end of the world my first year here. I've gotten better though...now I only stock for small blizzards." She joked lightly as she looked at him.

When the food arrived she smiled a little move and looked over the four rolls provided to her. She picked up her chopsticks and smiled as she reached for the same roll that he grabbed off of his own plate. She placed the whole piece into her mouth and smiled happily, the flavor just so amazing from such a small bite. She couldn't even speak, only giggle as she placed a hand over to lips to keep from looking impolite. When she did finally get it down, she looked it him.

"It's amazing, I never knew sushi could taste like this!"
 
Damon smiled and nodded as she described how she had reacted to her first New York winter. Ah, she would be lost if she had gone further north! He imagined her panicking at the sight of the twenty foot snowbanks he had seen in Maine last year, during a business trip. Shaking his head a little with amusement, he ate the crunchy roll and took a sip of his sake.


"I imagine the cashier who rang you up when you were stocking canned goods wondered what it was for," he commented with a small grin. "Small blizzards are always good to stock for," he added, chuckling as she looked at him.


He watched her eat the roll, her delight obvious. Her happiness made him smile and he pointed with his chopsticks to another one on his plate.


"If you enjoyed that, you will adore this one. I believe their secret is lemon custard mixed in with the rice, but I can't be certain. The center is a species of salmon that tastes absolutely divine with lemon if you cook it normally," he said, picking up the roll and munching on it contentedly.
 
Marie gave a small giggle as she reached for her own glass of water, taking a small sip before she spoke to him.

"He started to get concerned about getting locked in the store. Though When I mentioned the weather report he just chuckled at me, when he say my old drivers license from Texas it just sort of all came together for him. Now there, it's not nearly as bad as it could be, and I've learned to adjust. "

She then reached for the next one that he had pointed to, also popping it into her mouth and smiling at the delightful lemony taste. It was wonderful and the salmon was divine, as if it was a fish made in heaven. She savored every moment before she finished her piece and took another sip of water from her glass.

"Wonderful, absolutely wonderful...Thank you for bringing me here, Mr. Ricardo." She said with a content smile.
 
"Of course, Miss Marie, you are most welcome. However, I feel as though I'm the one who should be thanking you. Without company, tonight would have been rather terrible. That 'business meeting' would have probably dragged on for quite a while if I didn't have such a beautiful excuse," Damon explained with an easy smile. It was true - she had probably helped him dodge some boredom tonight. That wasn't her sole purpose in coming out with him - but what a fabulous perk it was!


"Perhaps this winter you can assist me on my annual business trip. It usually takes place in northern Maine, near Canada. Having an extra set of hands would be extremely useful, and you could see what a real storm is like," he suggested, then chuckled. "Of course, we'll have plenty of time to discuss all of that later. I feel badly dumping all of this on you when you have yet to even truly begin!"
 
Marie found herself blushing a bit at his comment as he took another piece of sushi, her for pieces finally finished and her plate empty. She set her chopsticks down gently to the side and smiled at him as she spoke softly.

"Well, I am glad I was able to help you out there." She said lightly. "And I really don't mind you asking me to help you out at all, I like challenges, it's one of the reasons I applied as the coffee maker, they use a french press system along with an impressive espresso machine at my old job. It took me a month alone to figure out how to get the cream to froth. So please, I love being given a challenge to try, it keeps my mind at the top of it's game."

She smiled then and sat back in her chair, feeling a little more relaxed now with it just being her boss and herself. It just felt to strange to be at the party with so many people.
 
Damon smiled and gestured for the waiter. One came over and took their empty plates, and another came with fresh plates of new things to try. Everything, of course, looked and smelled absolutely delicious. He picked up a roll with his chopsticks and looked over at her thoughtfully.


"I've never thought of it that way - honing the mind. It makes a lot of sense," he said, nodding slowly. "I'll have to remember that when I give you something truly challenging," he added, giving her a dimpled grin before eating the roll.
 
Marie sat back as her plate was taken away, smiling at the waiter before looking to the plate and observing the next four choices. They all looked as fabulous as the last plate had. She picked up her chopsticks and glanced at Mr. Ricardo. She just smiled and nodded her head a bit as she picked up her piece of sushi.

"I'm up for any challenge that you have, Mr. Racardo." She said with a light and confident grin before she placed the piece into her mouth and let out a content 'hmm' of joy.
 
"I'll keep that in mind," he promised, watching her for a moment with a smile before returning his focus to his own food. Damon knew, of course, that she had no idea what her words might be implying to a man such as himself. It would be ungentlemanly to assume that she did. He knew what she meant, and he recognized a light teasing when he heard one. She would be absolutely brilliant at her job, he knew. He ate a roll and looked around the restaurant thoughtfully. Business was booming, as usual.


"So, Miss Marie, is there anything else you require? Moving wise, I mean. I know that you were set up with a moving company, but I also know that changing residences can be difficult. As your move is purely for my benefit as you are my employee, I want to make the transition as easy as possible," he said, smiling kindly at her.
 
"Oh no, I am completely settled there. I love it really, so nice and open. All I really have to do is inform my family about the new address that I have so that my Christmas cards don't get sent to my old apartment. That and I also have to finish putting my clothing away and little organizing things but other than that everything is in place for me." She said with a happy grin as she paused her eating to answer her.

She reached for her water and took a sip before continuing along the plate in silence, only letting out sound of happiness here and there as she ate.
 
Damon chuckled a bit and nodded his agreement.


"That is the worst part of moving. To me, anyway. I don't have the patience necessary to put out all of the little things and make sure they all go where I want them to. That's why whenever I buy a new house, I either hire somebody to decorate it, or just buy all new things to fill it with. It takes away the packing nonsense," he explained carelessly, shrugging a little. Right now he had over a dozen residences, and half weren't even in the country.


"It's nice to hear that you're settling in fine, though," he added with a dimpled smile, finishing off his plate and sitting back to sip at his sake. Once she was done, the waiter came back over to take the plates again, and another came to replace them with fresh food.


"Don't worry, it's not a never-ending train. If you get full, just let me know and we can stop the constant plates," he said, chuckling a bit. "The last time I brought a business associate here, he thought it was some type of challenge. Eat one of everything and win a prize or some such nonsense. He had a rather bad stomach ache later that night, if I recall correctly."
 
"Oh, thank you, I shall make sure to stop when I am full. But I'll admit, I forgot to eat lunch today so I'm rather hungry. I might not be stopping any time soon." She said with a small blush before she looked down at her next plate.

Picking up her chopsticks she took another piece and started to eat again, her mind thinking about his comment a bit. He bought houses and then bought furniture for them all? If he could do that then he certainly must have had quite the bank account. She could only imagine what he might have the money for, and her imagination was pretty crazy. Sitting back a bit, she took a sip of water before looking to him.

"I know you are rather wealthy, but can you really have so much that you prefer to just fill a house with new furniture instead of moving? I can't even imagine doing that? Heck, I can hardly believe the penthouse you gave me came furnished!"
 
"Oh, eat your fill. There is plenty to go around," he assured her with a kind smile. It was rather refreshing to see a woman with an appetite. Usually if he took a female to dinner, they entertained crazy notions of only eating a small salad because anything else was too messy or too filled with calories. What happened to the days when one could order a doughboy at the state fair and cover it with powdered sugar to split with his loved one? Far gone, apparently, but Marie gave him a glimmer of hope.


He chuckled as she mentioned his wealth, leaning back to sip at his sake as he grinned and shrugged in a lazy gesture.


"My income averages about a million a day," he said easily, as though it was the most normal thing in the world. "Furnishing a house is around that, if I have my way and get all that I want. Sometimes more if my designer steps in and makes demands. Losing a day of pay is well worth the reward of not packing endless boxes and dealing with the possibility of losing something in the moving process."
 
Marie continued to eat as he answered her question, finishing yet another plate and setting her chop sticks to the side as she sat back and listened to him. Wow, A million a day? She couldn't imagine making a million in a year! It must have been terribly wealthy at this point, probably to where if he settled down to one home and sold everything else he could retire at that very moment! She looked at him with some awe and respect, though mostly awe, before shaking her head.

"That is amazing. I can't imagine having that much money, heck, half the time I get excited over a three hundred dollar paycheck. I mean, that kind of money isn't something I'm used to at all. The penthouse still has me staring a bit. What do you do with all that money? Invest it? I mean, you must put it to some use in the city." She asked, looking at him curiously.

Mr. Ricardo was terribly interesting to her, mostly because of how interesting he was. And though she was interested in his wealth, she was more interested in learning what a man like him did with it than trying to get any of it for herself. She couldn't imagine having so much money that price did not matter, so she was curious to see what kind of man he was like with his dollars.
 
Damon grinned and nodded.


"I invest quite a bit of it, yes. It would be folly not to. Even I can not spend that much in a day, despite having tastes for restaurants like these. I have a great deal of stock in several large technology companies, as well as gas and oil companies. If somebody has a promising company, I invest in them. Everybody deserves a chance to prove themselves, don't you agree?" he said, giving a half shrug and sipping at his sake.


"Besides stocks, I also invest in small businesses that are in danger of going under. Give them enough to keep going along, if I think it's worth it. Other than that, I squander my money as any good trillionaire would do. Cars, houses, favors," he added, chuckling a little bit as he fondly thought of his hobbies. He paused for a moment, then looked at her thoughtfully.


"Actually, I'd like to show you one of my larger squanderings after dinner, if you'd like."
 
"Wow, I can only imagine the wealth you gain from your investments alone...It's amazing really. You must find it difficult just to spend a small fraction of it. Though I do agree with you on giving people chances, everyone deserves a chance no matter their situation." She said lightly before she looked to him again. "Oh, and I'd love to see what you have to show me, I mean I can only start to imagine what you could possibly have bought."

She continued to smile at him as she sat there in her seat, sipping her water silently before setting her glass down. She was still rather hungry, but she didn't want to seem like she was eating to much either, after all this was probably by the piece in price and even though he was flaunting the fact that he could afford it she did not want him to spend so much on her. She was raised with to many manners to let another person's wealth make her selfish.
 
"It does tend to add up over time," Damon admitted easily. "There are times, usually about two or three times a year, when I just feel a bit too wealthy. So I choose a charity at random and throw a very elaborate donating party. I usually donate a billion or so alone and everybody who is invited is required to donate as well," he explained with a bit of a smile.


"Are you still hungry? There is no time limit for this place, you know. They'll stay open all night anyway," he assured her, signalling for another round of plates because he was still a bit hungry himself. This would probably be his last plate personally, but he had no issue in waiting on Miss Marie.
 
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