Night of a Thousand Secrets (Masquerade Ball) - PM for invite

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

"I would hope not, you are far too interesting for a single conversation to just end like this." He remained where he was sitting, alone and shutting off the audio and visual scramblers first before turning off the recording the device and then pulling up the file and deleting everything about her reasons for staying with the sith. He was a monster but he was not heartless and he would not place this woman's family in the danger that she has invited onto herself, then out of impulse he also deleted her name from the records. His mind alone would remember the name of this interesting sith. He did wonder if anyone would come by this place in the Maze though, not heading back to the mansion itself for now.

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Tmoxin put a long, slender finger to her full, cupid-bow lips. She didn't want Alex Gaillard to reveal who she was and she could sense the same from the CEO. Right now there were secrets between them but secrets were extremely bad for business, she reasoned. "I need to talk to you," she said to the CEO. He was distracted and looking around at other guests. Tmoxin wasn't sure that she would have his full attention. "Do you want to go into the secret room, Mr. Gaillard?" she asked addressing him formally. "I have something to run by you. Your council has always been valuable to me."

[member="Aleksandyr Gaillard"]

 

[Aleksandyr Gaillard]

The CEO smirked, but due to the way the mask encased his face it wasn't obvious. "Of course.", he said with a charm before nodding to the others that he would be leaving with her. As eccentric as Aleksandyr was, he knew very well when to play it safe and not take the limelight. This was not his party and unlike the ones held by the Ravens there was a certain sense of hostility in the air as if things could go wrong at any moment; likely they would. With that he awaited the Hapan's leave.

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Tmoxin took Mr. Gaillard by the hand and led him over to the Secret Room which was according to a bodyguard was occupied. The guard used air quotes around the word "occupied" which made the Hapan Officer raise her eyebrows and murmur to the CEO: "Wow, I didn't know the Rebels threw that kind of party."

But then she remembered the second most secret location on the estate was the hedge maze so they made their way through the revelry and into the front garden. It was dark now and the hedge maze was lit only with torches giving it a distinctly baroque feel. Since a swamp had been leveled to make room for the topiary puzzle, it still smelled vaguely like a marsh but the odor was not overly unpleasant. Tmoxin Temi removed her feathered mask. Her eyelids sparkled with glitterdust and rouge stained her cheeks.

"Mr. Gaillard, I trust you are well," she started. It would be rude to not at least acknowledge his welfare. "I wanted to inform you that I have severed ties with the Red Ravens. But I'd like to remain business partners in some capacity." Her brown eyes glanced downward and back up to land on Alex's face. She was having trouble reading his expression with the mask on. And it was also a pity that it hid his handsome face. "I know you are close with the Ravens so I would understand if your answer was no."

[member="Aleksandyr Gaillard"]

 

[Aleksandyr Gaillard]

Well of course the handsome CEO kept himself hidden behind a mask. Maybe there really wasn't much reason to; neither the Ravens nor the Rebels hated him... Entirely. As far as this deal went he didn't give a Feth what happened with the Ravens. [member="Cryax Bane"] was just a source of income, now with his company in Sith hands he'd have to play his cards right, however. The Ravens were their allies and depending on what kind of 'business' she wanted to get into he might end up having both powers weighing down on him. "Business with you is always a pleasure.", he spoke softly without a stutter.

Looking off in the general direction they came in he realized the two were not being followed. Good, it's not a trap. "What kind of business did you have in mind?" He stepped closer.

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

As he stepped closer, she did not move away. The Hapan Officer took a sip of her drink to steady her nerves. She prided herself on being able to read intentions by someone's facial movements. "You should do business wearing that mask all the time, Mr. Gaillard. I have to say it's quite intimidating," she joked.

Tmoxin was also about to ask him to help her with something bold. She quickly composed herself and got on with it.

"When we made our first deal together on Balmorra, you asked for a specific percentage of the Raven's profits. I can't remember what it was, only that we negotiated to something lower." She spoke all of this softly in case there were any agents hiding in the bushes. "I was the sole executor of that contract and I can change it at any time." She smiled hoping he was catching her drift. But if not, she added: "I will grant you the original percentage of profits you asked for. The funds will go into a private account on Nar Shaddaa, only accessible by you." Tmoxin softly stroked the feathers on the mask as she spoke next.

"I know first-hand that Mr.Bane doesn't monitor his financial dealings which is ludicrous coming from someone so obsessed with encryption."

For Edge's sake, she wished she could see his face so she could get an early read on his reaction. "By the time Cryax Bane notices, you can blame me for everything and say that I siphoned off the additional profits from you, he'll bounty me, and well the rest will be a profitable little bedtime story for us." Tmoxin let that last flirtatious hint linger between them.

[member="Aleksandyr Gaillard"]

 

[Aleksandyr Gaillard]

This deal could potentially bankrupt the Red Ravens... Even though it was only 17%, that would be a critical blow to their financing if the rumors are true that the Ravens spend excessively. Of course he was intrigued despite the mask's cold and somewhat relentless expression. "Deal." That was all that needed to be said -- on business, at least.

Aleksandyr pushed closer, his masked face would be softly pressing against the thin blanket of air between her neck and shoulder; whispering distance. "I don't care much about the Chiss, I've always had my eyes on more alluring attractions." The soft breath of his hummed through the mask, slightly muffled. The CEO always had a reckless personality, it could very well be that this woman was loyal to Bane and part of some ploy to find constructive evidence on Gaillard's backdoor dealings. Although for Bane a hard truth might be realized... It's always been quite in the open.
Ever since Makeb the man had been intrigued by the Hapan. Was it their beauty? Her Intelligence? Perhaps it was that they both seemed to take bold risks and Kark with the consequences.

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Tmoxin was surprised that Aleksandyr accepted so readily but it dawned on her that perhaps the businessman had been looking for the opportunity to punish Bane as well. Form an orderly queue for that, she thought. There were literally dozens of galaxians at the masquerade ball who wanted nothing more than to see the blue-skinned crime lord suffer harm - either to his body or his assets and preferably both.

Then again Gaillard didn't seem too interested in their deal anymore as he pressed closer to her. When he whispered "I don't care much about the Chiss, I've always had my eyes on more alluring attractions" she placed her hand up to her exposed collarbone and let it stay there for a few moments. Then she reached up to Aleksandyr's face and stroked the back of his neck. "Keep the mask on," she whispered in his ear.

Next Tmoxin urged him closer with her hands, running them up and down the lapels of his jacket and opening the collar of his shirt. With the movement of her body against his, she allowed his hands to roam her curves if he wished. She supposed the mysterious CEO could now tell how much vengeance turned her on.

[member="Aleksandyr Gaillard"]

 

[Aleksandyr Gaillard]

The hush sanctification of a kiss never had as he felt closer to her than ever before... The scene before the two lovers faded into a pleasant passion within the hidden grove. The time passed as soft light hid amongst the hedges, the two ended by picking up the articles of clothing tossed away in the heat of a moment. It was... Exhilarating to say the least and bizarre enough of him, Aleksandyr was still wearing the mask as he buttoned the collar over a shallow bruise.

Alek turned to her. "I would be happy to extend our partnership... Indefinitely."

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Tmoxin straightened her black strapless dress and picked some leaves out of her hair. As she bent over to place her delicate bare foot back into her stiletto heels, she gave him a good last look at the "assets" he had just had his way with. She found her feathered mask and put it back onto her face.

"Good Mr. Gaillard," she said rising. "I'll be in touch." Her tone was all-business as if they were in a boardroom and hadn't just been rolling around in the grass with wild abandon. She turned and went the other way into the maze, assuming it to be the exit of the party. But it wasn't and for awhile she was lost in it just wandering around. Whoever designed this thing is truly a sadist, she thought frustrated that she couldn't find her way out. After her encounter with Alek all she wanted to do was curl up in her ship with a nice glass of Smuggler's Red and watch the Financial Report on HoloNet News.

Eventually she ran into Solan Charr who was also in the maze as all of this was going on. "Oh hello there," she said to him. He would see her hair was tousled and her dress was askew. It was doubtful that he caught any of the verbal exchange as that had been done in whispers. but he may have heard what went on afterwards.

[member="Aleksandyr Gaillard"] [member="Solan Charr"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

His eyes shot up frrom the information he had been going over and stowed it in his coat pocket before smiling and looking at the woman behind the mask. Her voice seemed familiar but something far more important seemed to be obvious to him. "Well, seems like you were having some fun in the maze my dear." He smiled and leaned back a bit on the bench. This one was curious in that he wondered who she was but sadly he knew he would likely not find out.