Chapter 67: Only if you come out of the gates storming
"Oh, so this is like… a wholesaler?" I asked as we sat down in what was supposed to be a room yet turned out to be closer to a VIP-longue one could expect in a nightclub or some of the more obvious karaoke places.
The room itself consisted of large, perfectly comfy cushions arranged all around the room's edges with a massive, glass table filling its middle.
Right now, the room was lit up pretty evenly, killing the vibe this place was designed to have. Yet, judging by the switch box right by the entrance, one could return the proper atmosphere to this place with just a few flicks of switches and dials.
"Pretty much, yeah," Claire said as she put the bags down on the floor before happily jumping down onto the cushions and releasing a long, exhausted yet satisfied groan.
"Now, that hit a spot," she muttered while sinking further and further down into cushions like some alien form of quite the adorable slob.
"I'm glad that you enjoyed it," I said while carefully putting the bags down myself before moving over and taking a seat right by Claire's side.
'Damn, this feels nice,' I thought, pretty in awe over the boldness it took to just… casually sit by the side of such a beauty.
"What is that comfy smile?" Claire grinned when she caught me enjoying the view… But not of her exposed body in any way or form. Her current clothes covered everything that they should, keeping her attributes away from the view of all the passersby.
Still, even though she wore a simple, cotton top and a light, green-leather jacket on top… with the storm of brown, slightly curling hair reaching as far down as her bust while she kept those pretty brown eyes of hers behind the simple, black-framed glasses…
Watching such a natural and perfectly unexposed beauty relax on a cushion as she no longer held herself back from messing her outside-world image with groans or whining…
"I'm just happy that I got to live to see this day," I replied without holding anything back and even growing rather daring as I brought my arm up and over the back of Claire's head, all the way to the point where I rested it over her shoulders. "I have a comfy smile because it's perfectly comfy, that's all."
Pulling my arm just a little proved sufficient to have Claire lean a bit harder over me, resting her tiny head right where my arm met with my shoulder.
And just like that, we sat down and simply enjoyed the presence of the other in silence.
Even though Claire's body once again pressed down on me, this time, my body didn't react like it would in the past, opting to simply enjoy her warmth and cuddly softness rather than to translate those sensations into something more.
For now, just sitting like that with her was enough.
Claire leaned her head to the side before stealing a quick glance at my face… and then turning her head right away only to bring her hands up and cover her face with them. Then, she leaned her head again, prying her fingers apart just enough for her eyes to peek through as she stole another glimpse of my face.
In the meantime… I simply relaxed, sitting down and only moving whenever I felt Claire move, all in a bid to turn myself into the most comfortable pillow imaginable, always ready to adjust to whatever position Claire would put herself in.
"What is taking them so long?" Claire complained quite sometime later, pretty much right as I realized that all of her rustling and moving about… was actually nothing short of her starting to feel it herself and being not exactly sure how to deal with it.
"If we have to wait that long, then…" my eyes moved over to the light's switch-box. And we just so happened to sit down close enough for me to reach it… But doing so would force me to change the position, a position that Claire finally found comfortable enough to rest calmly at.
"Then…?" Claire leaned her head over, revealing the cloudy look in her eyes. And the way she just kept her hands sprawled back and her fingers curled up just a little bit…
'Just how can she look so adorable yet so defenseless?'
Even with how elegant if not outright prudish her outfit was, now that she rested down with her back on my chest, I could still see quite far into her cleavage. And while I tried not to look or to look away, perfectly aware of what would happen if I didn't hold myself back like that…
This time, my instincts prevailed. Following those, my eyes moved down, gazing into Claire's chest while savoring the newfound taste of having them hidden and thus making the whole thing feel like something illegal, accidental.
When Claire moved her hand, she merely grabbed my fingers before pulling my own hand down and placing it on her stomach.
The softness of her cotton top now mixed with the softness of warmth of her tummy, making it one of the best places for me to caress her in a non-sexual way…
Only for Claire's hands to stay locked on my wrist and pull my hand…
Knock, knock, knock.
As if a bomb exploded in the room, the two of us pretty much jumped on the spot, only to quickly sat back down as Claire rushed to pat her clothes down while I did the same with her now slightly disheveled hair.
"I'm coming in!" Whoever was behind the knock now announced themselves before pushing the doors open and invading what turned into our cozy, private spot for a while.
Whether by accident or because the staff noticed the unhappy looks I gave the male clerk who dared to approach Claire, the accountant turned out to be a woman appearing to be roughly in her late thirties. She was dressed for the job, sporting a proper and modest suit and carrying with her a small file seemingly full of papers.
"You've requested to open up a new banking line for your business, so I'm here to make that happen," the woman announced before leisurely taking a set across the table.
The very moment she did, as if orchestrated by some invisible strings, the doors swung open again, this time to let in a server who came in with a plate with three empty crystals.
The one that came after him came carrying a whole damn ice bucket with several bottles icing inside and the third and the last one came carrying two platters full of snacks, one plate filled with dried-out meats and other savory treats while the other one occupied by cakes, candies and elegant crystal-shaped pieces of chocolate.
"Now then, are we talking about a sub-account or a new enterprise?" the clerk asked as soon as she unpacked her files onto the table before pulling out a fancy pen and leaning over an empty form.
"I want it to be a new account, but I would like for all my outstanding benefits to transfer over to it," Claire got into her business mode right away, sitting up with her back as straight as my sexual orientation and her face as serious as I was about making her happy.
"That's certainly…" the clerk hesitated for a second. Yet, rather than refusing Claire's request outright, she first sorted through her papers as if she were looking for some clues before putting them away and raising her eyes again. "That's certainly doable, but only if you come out of the gates storming," she stated before straightening her back and locking her eyes against Claire's.
"How much are we talking?"
"At the very least…" the clerk hesitated again before squinting her eyes as if to calculate something on the go, "half a million would be the minimum, but I won't complain if you open with a full million instead. In this way, I could get the commission down by a further two percent points…"
"That will do, thanks," Claire quickly sealed the deal, even going as far as to pull out her fancy card and slide it over the table to the accountant's side. "Feel free to bill this card the decided amount, but in the meantime, I hope you came with the stock cards that I've requested!"