mrcroc-blog

[mrcroc-blog]

"I just imagine you with your tough exterior, cool, calm and collected. And underneath, you're struggling for air, worried about things, digging yourself deeper and deeper... I thought it must be pretty sire for you to want to call me, after all we went through, Mary. But, then again, I could be very, very wrong. You might be just as perfect as everyone thinks you are. As I still believe you to be... Are you, Mary? Are you perfect?" Charles spoke teasingly, wanting to rile her, get her face red or at least entice some tension in her form. She was, after all, the one that got away.

Once she'd explained the situation, Charles sat upright, although his face never gave anything away. He was, of course, concerned. But he also knew that the Sheriff would never win. He was too conceited and bigoted; he'd never match up to Mary's skill and eloquence. Besides, the man fit right as the Sheriff anyway. "Mary. He'll never beat you. The town loves you. And in any case, they all know you have my support. Do you know how many people owe me favours? Do you know how many of these kids round town - with their gangs and their wars - look up to me fr guidance? Not that I'm bragging, of course, but I want you to know. I'll always vote for you. And people will follow suit."

Long Time Coming || Mary & Charles

Mary nodded when he turned down the offer, but she returned to him shortly the bottle of water in hand. She took a seat on one of the wing back chairs not that far from him, her legs crossing at the ankles. “Oh Charles, that’s funny.” She smirked then shook her head, “Fraud really? That is where your mind goes when I say I am in need of help?” She chuckled softly then looked down to her lap. “No fraud would be easy and I would call Mister Darling for that little problem. No, mine tends to be more about a person.” She tapped her fingers on the water bottle that now rested on her lap.

She rolled her shoulders back before looking back up to the man. Why did he have to still be handsome? Why couldn’t he have been in a horrific accident or something to disfigure him or at the very least take away that charming smile. She felt her stomach flutter slightly then she shook her head, pulling her eyes from him. She couldn’t look at him, no when she looked at him she saw – She shook her head again pushing thoughts out of her mind. “Anyway, our dear Sheriff has got it in his head that he wishes to up his status in the city. He want to run for mayor..” She felt her jaw tick slightly as she thought about the threats of what the man would bring to light if they had the ability to bring the media into this fight. “Now, I know you think that will only affect me Charles, but I do look the other way quite a bit when it comes to you.” Finally she forced herself to look back up to him, “I would hate to see you put into a tight spot.. or have to pay a hefty sum to continue to operate your small business.” She smirked slightly as a hand rose to her chest, “Not that I would invoke such changes, but I cannot speak for James.”

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Well. We can count on each other, can't we?

{he shoots her a playful wink before tucking the goods inside his jacket and stepping out of the car, leaning on the roof as he looks back inside}

By the way, you look real nice tonight.

Deal's A Deal // Tigerlily & Charles

[she smirked before giving him a wink]

Come again soon.

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Charles didn't mind waiting outside Mary's office for a little while. It gave him a moment to compose himself, and wipe off the cheeky smirk he had plastered on his face. Of course, he wanted to appear nothing but professional to Mary; he didn't want to lead her on or make her uncomfortable. But then again, if she offered, he wouldn't say no.

When Mary finally opened the door to her office, Charles nodded at her once, a pleasant grin sliding across his face for a brief second. She looked great, obviously, but he said nothing. Although, he did notice her look him over once or twice. "No, nothing for me thank you, Mary." he answered her politely, and made his way to the sofa she had indicated. Charles allowed himself one small, playful smirk at Mary before his face went dead pan straight again. He leaned one arm on the side of the sofa. "So, then, what is this predicament you're in? You're not being busted for fraud are you? Because I'm afraid that's not my area of expertise." he teased her. Charles watched her carefully for a reaction.

Long Time Coming || Mary & Charles

At least he was agreeing on the professionalism of this meeting, at least over the phone. Mary pressed her lips together as she listened to him on the other end. She knew her teasing him didn’t help the whole ‘this meeting is all business’ mentality she wanted him to have but she couldn’t help it. He hung up on her and she looked at the phone in her hand and shook her head slowly lowering it to the cradle before paging Patricia. “When Mister Dile arrives, show him in.” She paused a moment, “Actually page me then make him wait a bit..” She smirked to herself then shook her head, “When he is in here we are not to be disturbed for any reason..”

Well there were reasons Patricia knew that superseded that order but Mary didn’t need to voice them. Now she was standing and pulling on her suit’s jacket and buttoning it. She smoothed her skirt before walking over towards her mirror to make sure her hair was still perfect. She paused realizing that she was primping herself for Charles and felt herself blush. “Come now Mary.. it has been eighteen years. He doesn’t think about it anymore.” She closed her eyes for a moment then finished giving herself a once over. By the time she was finished getting her office in order the page came that the man was there waiting. Of course, she waited before moving towards her office door to open it. “Charles.. thank you for seeing me. Please.. come in.” She opened the door wide and stepped out of his way. Once he had entered the door closed firmly behind him and she motioned to the couch to the side of the office. There was no reason for her to be sitting behind her desk. “Care for anything, while I catch you up to our little problem.” She walked towards that bar as she snagged herself a bottle of water she looked over her shoulder to the man. She couldn’t help but look him over and he was of course as handsome as ever and she could have cursed him for it. But she wouldn’t she had always enjoyed looking at him, even in those brief exchanges they had around town.

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Well, aren't you a sweetheart?

{slips the twenty out of his top pocket and hands it to her}

Pleasure doing business with you, Tigerlily. 

Deal's A Deal // Tigerlily & Charles

*opens the bag, pulling out four nuggets*

*puts them in a smaller bag*

I’m being generous because it’s your first time.

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    "Oh, strictly professional, of course." Charles conceded, not really caring either way. Even just a moment with Mary would be enough for him to satisfy the eighteen years of longing. He just wanted to know she was alright. So, he now knew the situation was important enough to affect him as well, so he decided not to play around with this meeting too much. He'd leave immediately, he decided.Charles heard the teasing tone in her voice, and it was as if there had never been almost two decades between their voices sounding in conversation. Private business. It sent a small shiver down his spine.

"Fine." he said abruptly and hung up on her. Of course, he wanted to provoke her - Mary was sexy when she was angry at him.

    Standing from his office chair, he marched out of the room and searched for the maid. "Rosa, I'm going out. I'll be back later, but if I'm not here in time to see you out, you can just leave when you've finished your work here. There's food in the fridge, help yourself." And with that, Charles snatched up his car keys and wallet and left his house. The drive to Grand Island was a peaceful one. As he pulled up outside Town Hall twenty minutes later, he chuckled softly to himself and strode up towards the entrance. Marching through the lobby, he went straight to Patricia and asked to see Mary.

Long Time Coming || Mary & Charles

Mary sighed listening to him going mm hm. She could actually see him nodding in her head. She wouldn’t have called if she didn’t have to. Even then she was already starting to regret it. She cleared her throat as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “It is strictly a professional matter, Charles. Nothing more.”  She really hoped it was nothing more, of course things in the back of her mind nagged at her that she needed to talk to him about things but she silenced the voice as she thought of those whom it would affect.

She rolled her eyes at the sound of amusement in his voice at the request and she leaned back in her chair looking up to the ceiling. “Well, you don’t have to come now, but it would be prudent for you to do so. After all, this could very well affect you just as much as it will me.” She shrugged then pressed her lips together, “If not more. I have other things I can do with my free time..” She paused a moment then looked towards the base for her phone and shook her head. “What time do I want you, Charles?” Her voice not a little lower and she smirked to herself, “Well, dear whenever you think you’ll have time to handle this private business with me.” Her voice almost purred as she spoke, she could tease him if he was going to push the memories of want into her head. Finally she stood, “I shall tell Patricia that I am expecting you. I shall see you whenever you wish to grace me with your presence, Charles.

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I love him!!!!

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I Solemnly Swear... // Character Witness

    "As a long time upstanding, respected member of this community, with connections to almost every single person in this town, the evidence I can provide for you pertaining to the character of Mr Alden is quite extensive. 

    I have known Jack for quite a few years and have never seen or heard him committing or speaking of committing a violent or aggressive act. I have never known the young man to cause arguments or fights, and he has been nothing but incredibly polite and forthcoming with me on every occasion I have had the pleasure to speak with him. Jack is an amiable and helpful member of this town's community. I trust Jack completely, and see no cause for him to have committed this crime.

    I trust in the jury and committee that the right decision will be made in this instance - which I believe is that the perpetrator has not yet been found. I hope I place my faith accurately in the police service that every effort will be exerted to find those responsible."

    Charles himself did not believe that Jack or Peter were the culprit. He had known each of them for a long time, and neither seemed the type to be so... criminalistic. Sure, they'd all broken the laws here, but none of them were violent, and none of them worked to harm other people. He just hoped things could go back to how they were before, when the businesses just ran smoothly, and two of his best customers weren't pitted against one another in a court of law. 

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Charles was surprised that Mary was inviting him to the Town Hall, but he also thought that the encounter could be very interesting. He'd purposely stayed away from there, for her sake, and the sake of her children. Charles didn't know what would happen if her family ever found out about their affair. Of course, he wouldn't care, but it could ruin their lives. He nodded, even though she couldn't see him. "Mm hm," he hummed. "Private knowledge, got it." he confirmed, his face a picture of humour. A wry grin had taken over his mouth entirely. Shifting back in his office chair, he rested his legs on his desk and sipped his cup of coffee slowly while she spoke.

"You want me to come over now?" he asked her, almost surprised by the lack of notice. Sure, he wasn't actually busy, but he wanted her to think he was doing her a big favour - as if he was dropping his schedule to help her out. He was tricky like that, and his charm covered it up smoothly on a daily basis. People never knew what he was thinking, unless he told them. And even then, he could have been lying. "I suppose I could re-jig my plans for today and make an appearance. What time to you want me, Mary?" he asked, putting the slightest emphasis on the word 'want'. Oh, how he loved those memories of her. She was the only one he'd ever really cared about as an equal.

Long Time Coming || Mary & Charles

Mary held in the sigh as she listened to him say her name. She closed her eyes her tongue sliding over her lips as some memories flashed before her eyes: limbs tangled together, kisses on exposed flesh, grabbing of hands and her back arching – Soon she was shaking her head clear as he asked about coffee. She would have rather have seen him somewhere out in public but there were things she didn’t want overheard. “As lovely as coffee would be, I am afraid this may require a bit more.. privacy.” She bit the inside of her cheek realizing how that sounded. “There are things I need to speak with you about, that I really do not need to be public knowledge, as of this moment.”

She leaned over and drummed her nails on her desk as she tried to keep herself focused on the task at hand. “If you have the time, Charles, I would greatly appreciate if you came by town hall..” She was not about to invite him into her home. At least here, it was almost neutral ground. Plus when he came in and she closed the door they could be in a meeting. Well, that was what they were going to be doing. A meeting. She needed to repeat that in her head, there wasn’t going to be anything else!

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"I don't doubt that for a second." Charles responded. He started that car, and chuckled when she turned up the radio. "Missy, I think you're drunk already." Not that he cared, really. After all this time, he was finally about to give in to Vidia. It had been a long time coming, of course, and he supposed she was happy about it. As long as everyone's happy, he thought, and as soon as the car had pulled away from the lot, his hand moved from the gear stick to Vidia's thigh. He squeezed her leg gently, and shot her a playful smirk before turning his focus to the road.

The Devil Wears A Suit // Charles & Vidia

Vidia followed him out the door, noting the challenge in his voice. “Trust me, I can do all sorts of things in heels," she said with a grin. She hopped in his car, putting one of her black thigh-highs on the dash. She winked at him and turned the music up. “Let’s go!" she squealed.

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Charles hadnt a lot of work to do recently. The summer sun had given him plenty to do while e was unoccupied and feeling restless; he lounged the days away in his study reading, or else playing online poker which had earned him a packet. One particular afternoon he had just got off the phone with his elderly mother, someone who like to natter away about irrelevant topics. She had begun to remind him of Mrs Goldfarb from the film 'Requiem for a Dream'. As soon as the opportunity arose, Charles had made an excuse and hung up.

Then, when the phone immediately started ringing again, he was fairly irritated and was about ready to ignore it when he realised it wasn't his mother's number. He held the receiver to his ear and heard a woman's voice. A voice he hadn't heard for longer than a second in many years. Laughing, Charles had to admit to himself he was surprised. "Mary, Mary, Mary. How can I help? Shall we meet for coffee? It might be better to talk in person if the matter is as serious as it sounds." Charles suggested. A flash of memory popped into his mind; skin on skin, lips, soft brown hair, her eyes - just parts of her as a puzzle, snapshots of them together.

Long Time Coming || Mary & Charles

After her talk with Isaac, Mary was dreading this phone call. She had his business card, after all why wouldn’t she. She lightly tapped it on her desk glaring at it then the phone. Why was she so angry? She hadn’t really spoken to the man in almost 18 years. At least not more than a passing hello and a quick escape. She swallowed hard then pushed away all the doubt and questions in her mind and picked up the phone.

After a quick succession of numbers she heard the first ring. She could feel color draining from her face as time seemed to extend forever. Again that want to slam the phone down rose. She started to fidget with the cord and her eyes closed as she fought back the want to do it. She was just about to throw the phone on the receiver after the third ring, she just couldn’t handle the self torture she was putting herself through. She froze as she heard someone pick up and the initial hello came and she opened her mouth and nothing came out. When the second hello came she shook her head and cleared her throat, “Charles?" She waited for a moment and closed her eyes as she pinched her nose, “Charles.. I have a situation and.. I need your help." She mumbled the last bit, she didn’t want to ask him for help. It meant she was going to have to be around him more than she had been in a very long time and she didn’t trust herself with that.

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"Oh, dear." Charles said. "Well I guess you and I are getting drunk then." he joked. Finishing off his steak as quick as he could, the arms dealer swiped the two bottles of wine and jerked his head towards the exit for Vidia to follow him out. He winked at the bar staff; they'd put the meal on his tab. "Hope you can keep up in those boots, V." he said slyly.

The Devil Wears A Suit // Charles & Vidia

“Don’t drink too fast, V. Especially before you’ve eaten - I wouldn’t want you clonking your head on my favourite table." Charles joked, sending her a playful wink to let her know he was in a good mood. “How is your food, anyway? I can always ask for another if you aren’t finding it satisfactory. I would like you to be satisfied, Vidia." Charles said, feeling like he was playing a game with her; who can tease the most. He knew Vidia would probably win - he was a sucker for blondes, and she knew which buttons to press.

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"Don't drink too fast, V. Especially before you've eaten - I wouldn't want you clonking your head on my favourite table." Charles joked, sending her a playful wink to let her know he was in a good mood. "How is your food, anyway? I can always ask for another if you aren't finding it satisfactory. I would like you to be satisfied, Vidia." Charles said, feeling like he was playing a game with her; who can tease the most. He knew Vidia would probably win - he was a sucker for blondes, and she knew which buttons to press.

The Devil Wears A Suit // Charles & Vidia

"Good." Charles said, nodding once. He finished his red wine, which was promptly topped up as soon as the waiter returned with Vidia’s drink. As their food arrived, he prodded at the steak and, satisfied that it was properly cooked to the way he liked it, nodded at their server. They did their best to please him here, which he appreciated. Charles lost his train of thought when he felt Vidia’s foot on his leg. Smirking at her, he rolled his eyes playfully. The woman would never desist, he knew that. Keeping his mysterious smile, Charles pretended to ignore the advances, and continue the conversation about their business, like she had done a moment ago.

"So, the cost for each of my security guards will be seventeen bucks per hour, and if they work longer than six hours in a row, I like them to have a thirty minute break to keep them alert." Charles instructed Vidia.

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{cocks an eyebrow}

Nice. Well I've got a twenty sheet on me now, how much will that get me?

Deal's A Deal // Tigerlily & Charles

[points a finger at him, a smile on her face]

If relaxation is what you want, then you ought to meet my dear friend Mary Jane.

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"Good." Charles said, nodding once. He finished his red wine, which was promptly topped up as soon as the waiter returned with Vidia's drink. As their food arrived, he prodded at the steak and, satisfied that it was properly cooked to the way he liked it, nodded at their server. They did their best to please him here, which he appreciated. Charles lost his train of thought when he felt Vidia's foot on his leg. Smirking at her, he rolled his eyes playfully. The woman would never desist, he knew that. Keeping his mysterious smile, Charles pretended to ignore the advances, and continue the conversation about their business, like she had done a moment ago.

"So, the cost for each of my security guards will be seventeen bucks per hour, and if they work longer than six hours in a row, I like them to have a thirty minute break to keep them alert." Charles instructed Vidia.

The Devil Wears A Suit // Charles & Vidia

"Oh, honey, my girls know better than to mess with protection. Besides, if they bothered your guys, they’d have to answer to me." Vidia was well aware of the power that she held over people, and she used it wisely. She finished off her drink, nodding to the waiter that she’d like another. It came a few moments later, along with their food. Vidia realized she hadn’t eaten much that day, and they sat in silence for a little bit as they ate. Taking a carefully balanced bite of salad, she looked up at Charles as she slowly extended a well-heeled foot and nudged his leg underneath the table. She winked.