alternate_girls (alternate_girls) wrote in btvsal, @ 2011-01-06 20:08:00 |
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Entry tags: | ben bale, place: la, ~janna crosby |
Becoming Part of the "Family"
Who: Ben & Janna
Where: Avarice
When: Monday night
With Skylar off doing something with her sister and Helena watching the kids, Ben decided to drop in at Avarice to see how the new bartenders were holding up. After being convinced they both were doing fine, the young entrepreneur took a seat at his usual table, dressed in blue jeans and a black silk shirt worn open over an old-school Eazy-E t-shirt.
Janna was just stepping down off the stage in a pair of black leather pants and zebra print tee when Ben took a seat at his usual table in the VIP section. Being one of the club's open mic nights, Janna couldn't resist taking the stage again. She had done it once before since arriving in L.A. and the temptation to do it again that night had been too overwhelming. With a parched throat the dark haired she-wolf maneuvered her way through the crowd toward the bar.
"Damn, Janna..." Ben grinned as he applauded his current house guest. "If I knew you'd be taking the stage tonight I'd have come sooner. Looking AND sounding good tonight." Was he slightly flirting? Well duh. This WAS Ben...
"It was a spur of the moment thing." Janna responded to the man as she headed for his table after getting herself a glass of ice water from the guy tending the bar. "So, where's the wife tonight?" The inquiry made lightly as she stood behind the chair opposite the one Ben was seated in.
"She's spending some bonding time with her younger sister, leaving my decadent self alllll by my lonesome. Are you here alone?" Jeez. Ben never really quit, did he?
"Well, that would depend on how you view the definition of alone, Mister Bale." Janna shot back with a wry little grin as she took a sip of her water.
"Alone as in... with a date? If not, Skylar won't mind if you join me for a while. I could use the company." He said with a sincere smile.
"Guess then I'm here alone." Janna gripped the back of the chair with a step taken to the side to slide it out from the table and take a seat opposite the man. Joining the man for a little bit of conversation and a couple of drinks was something she could do without feeling any pangs of guilt afterward.
"Fantastic." He said, flagging down the bartender to bring them fresh drinks. "Any word yet on the people that were after you and your brother? I'm... eager to have my family deal with them."
"None. Guess the two that found us in L.A. are quite familiar with the Bale name." Which could explain why there hadn't been any further attempts to get at her. Not that she should feel completely safe as the threat was still hovering, but Janna wasn't about to go into seclusion until all threat against her was wiped out.
"Typically my wife is the more... generous of us." Ben explained with a wink. "But I could never let a girl as good-looking as you be harmed. THAT would be a sin."
"Well, it's not exactly the girl someone is after." Janna clarified to the man. If it had merely been a stalker after her, Janna would have had no need to flee Chicago. Things would have been sufficiently handled in that city. "Though I am indebted to you and your family for your help." She smiled gently to the man. It was more so for helping in keeping her brother safe then herself.
"Touche, my dear." Ben laughed, tilting his head back. "And for now, don't worry about a debt. I'm sure if we need you, you'll find a way to help us."
"You have mine and my brother's word on that, Mister Bale. Help without question." She wasn't going to dwell on it, but the debt owed the Bales was something that wouldn't be forgotten by Janna.
"Fantastic. Then while you're here tonight, all your drinks and food are on the house. Compliments of the owner." He smirked, 'hrm'ing a little to himself. "Have you considered joining a band at all? I have several musicians on tap that are dying to form bands good enough to have a shot on my label..."
"Haven't considered that since coming to L.A. Guess I'm pretty much content with the occasional open mic night you have here." While she had been part of an up and coming band back in Illinois, Janna hadn't really looked into getting into that scene out here in the City of Angels.
"Girl in my wife's band is trying to get a side project together... I could always set up a meeting..." He'd heard Stephanie talking about doing some kind of... more upbeat band, and what the hell, right?
"I'll give it some consideration." Janna replied before taking a small drink of her ice water. She wasn't completely shooting down the idea, Janna just wasn't sure if she wanted to commit herself to a band just starting out, or one that was semi established for that matter.
"Just an idea, dear... nothing more. You're a guest of Skylar and myself. It's my duty to make you feel comfortable and at home." Was Ben really becoming, well... NICE? Wow. Maybe marriage WAS a good thing for some people...
"You and Skylar have done that and more for my brother and me." The Alphas of the city made Janna and her brother feel more like family then guests in their home. And that was something else Janna was exceedingly grateful to the Bale family for.
"Good. I don't appreciate anyone hunting our kind... and anything I can do to help you out, or ANYONE like us being hunted... well... I consider it my responsibility. Especially in this town." He nodded there, emphatically, as he considered any wolves in LA under his protection unless otherwise stated.
"I think we are of mutual agreement there, Mister Bale. I don't care at all for anyone hunting any of our kind. Especially without a given cause." Janna told the man before drinking down a bit more of her water.
"Well. Then perhaps we should discuss your... fighting prowess. Because with a little bit of additional training..." He gave a knowing grin, "I think I might know EXACTLY how you can repay me."
Janna had been a bit relieved to hear that from Ben. She had been living with the Bales long enough to figure out the type of man Ben Bale was and what kind of repayment he preferred as a show of gratitude. "Perhaps we should, Mister Bale." Janna said with a slow, upward curve of her lips. It didn't take a genius to know what the man was hinting to, and Janna was more then willing to take up the challenge.
Oddly enough, the fact that she'd shown no physical interest in him was the ONLY reason he didn't go for 'that' kind of payment. Ben had FAR too much ego to try to guilt a woman to sleep with him, when most would do it gladly. "I have... a small group of employees that go rarely seen. Truth be told... if you DO see them? Most of the time they're the LAST thing you ever see. I've often been compared to a 'mafia don', and honestly... that's not far from the truth. And all mob bosses... have enforcers. Do you think you have what it takes to be that? Someone who can, if need be, maim or kill on my command, no questions asked?"
Well... it seems, after all these years... The Bale Family was making it known that the rumors? Were TRUE.
"For you and Skylar I would do anything without question." Janna answered quite serious in her response. She didn't take either Bale for someone who would order a hit on someone just because that person looked at them in the wrong way. "I have just one thing to ask of you in return for my undying loyalty."
"The fact that I'm not hearing 'undying loyalty' and requesting hot, messy sex right now should show you how seriously I take this. What is your request?" He asked, still unable to resist giving her a once-over. STFU. Chick was HOT.
"If it can be prevented I don't want Jaycen to know about our discussion." The last thing she was wanting was for her brother to find out and possibly try talking her out of her verbal contract with Benjamin Bale, or worse, decide that he wanted work as one of the man's "employees". And though she noted the way the man looked at her, Janna wisely refrained from commenting on it. Hadn't been the first time she received a once over like that and most likely wouldn't be the last. At least he wasn't trying to guilt her into a sexual tryst with him.
"Consider it done. I prefer as few people as possible to know who my enforcers are anyway. As it is, the only one you MAY have met so far is my Uncle. David Cromwell." And jeez oh man... if most of the enforcers were stealthy, ninja-like assassins? David was like a tank rolling down Park Avenue. No stealth, alllll destruction.
"Giant of a man, vibe of a cuddly teddy bear? Yeah I believe I've made his acquaintance." Janna confirmed. She had gone to Avarice on more then one occasion when the man was positioned outside as a bouncer type. "I believe then, Mister Bale, that you have yourself a 'bodyguard'." Janna said, though they both knew that what she was now to the Bale clan was more then a mere bodyguard. And with that, Janna stood to extend her hand out to the man to seal the deal in the best way she knew. A handshake.
He gave a hearty laugh as he reached over to shake her hand. "You'll begin meeting the others shortly. To get... the 'additional training' we spoke of." Because tough or not... she was going to need to learn some things to be an effective part of the group.