Who: Chuuya, Irina, and Karl What: Karl meets Irina Where: the casino When: UPDATE Warnings: Probably Irina is the warning? Status: completed g-doc
Karl should probably have brought Hope with him to this meeting, but he also didn’t quite know if she’d be too distracted by all of the chaos vibes in the casino. His wife usually did a good job of keeping Karl from being too growly, but he could be charming when needed. If he planned on joining in on this business venture, the werewolf figured he should be as charming as possible to Irina.
After checking himself in the mirror, the werewolf made his way to the casino, dressed in a stylish suit. Karl loved clothes as much as Nick, but dressed more formally than his Pack mate.
He made his way to the bar to meet the pair.
Chuuya had been meaning to introduce Irina to Karl, but either something happened or he'd simply got too busy. Not surprising as he had been helping Irina start the jewelery business and he still worked at the casino (though he'd probably quit once the business was up and running). And when he and Irina had free time, it was Karl who was busy with his wife and kid.
But now all three finally had time to meet up and discuss the business venture. Chuuya didn't have to work at the casino tonight but he still suggested it as a place to meet. He arrived with Irina, heading to the bar once he spotted Karl after a quick scan of the room.
"Evening," he greeted the other man. "This is Irina. Irina, this is Karl," he introduced them quickly before turning to order a drink from the bar real quick.
Irina definitely wanted to meet Karl. She felt she should vet Chuuya’s business partner if they were going to do this. This wouldn’t be even close to her first time running a front. Back home, she and her brother dealt arms and weapons through high end antique import/exports. Fencing jewelry in a place almost guaranteed to keep them from getting caught would be child’s play.
However, it had begun to become infuriating how often the meeting got delayed. More than once Irina displayed her annoyance to Chuuya which led to some of their more memorable shouting matches. The angry sex that followed more than made up for it.
Finally, they had scheduled the introductions. Irina wasn’t going to show off her best for a man she hadn’t met yet so she kept to a well fit, sapphire blue dress with matching stilettos. Hair and makeup were perfect, of course. They made a proper entrance in her opinion.
The abrupt and tactless introduction earned Chuuya a slight glower from Irina before she put on a polite smile and held out her hand. “A pleasure to finally meet you.”
*** Karl ordered scotch for himself, but hadn’t lifted the glass yet, not wanting a damp cold hand to shake Irina’s. That sort of defeated a good first impression, and he had spent enough time around society people thanks to his wife. Unfortunately, his wife and daughter came first, so he’d needed to reschedule a few times.
He nodded, friendly, towards Chuuya. “Good to see you again.” Karl took in Irina. While he had zero desire to stray, objectively she looked beautiful. The werewolf took her hand and raised it to kiss her knuckles briefly. “Lovely to meet you, Irina. The colour looks beautiful on you.”
After he picked up his scotch, Karl did add, “My apologies it took this long to meet. My nine-month old has been going through a teething phase.” The werewolf waited patiently for the other two to order their drinks.
Chuuya was busy ordering drinks for him and Irina, he hadn't noticed the look she gave him. If he had, then he didn't know what the problem was. He said he'd introduced them and he did. There wasn't anything said about how he would.
He couldn't say he was too happy seeing Karl being oh so charming to Irina, but he knew the werewolf was too devoted to his wife and daughter and would never go beyond that. Plus, they were meeting to discuss business, something he was quite familiar with and also did the same thing back home.
"That's too bad. What about your wife? How's she been?" he asked, handing Irina's drink to her while sipping his own. She still hadn't met Hope or Nita yet, though to be honest, he wasn't in any hurry to meet his daughter. He wouldn't know how to deal with an infant.
Annoyance for the delay melted away when Karl kissed her hand. She recognized the ploy for what it was, but approved. Karl wasn’t uncomely by any stretch of the imagination. She wouldn’t cheat on Chuuya, but she would and has done things to make him jealous. He had the best reactions that fed her ego.
“Thank you,” she purred. “My favorite color. Chuuya gave me some jewelry to match, but I felt it would be a bit ostentatious for this evening.” To be honest, Irina didn’t want to risk losing a piece. They were absolutely stunning.
Mention of an infant turned her off entirely, however. She hid a wrinkle of her nose behind the act of taking a drink.
Karl grinned at Chuuya’s question, a rare and genuine smile the werewolf usually only reserved for his wife, and maybe his Alpha. “Hope continues to be the best person in my life outside of Nita. We’re finally house hunting. As nice as the help was in the early days of Nita’s life, we need more space.” And some quiet. Karl might be Pack now, but he had lived as a mutt for all but the last decade.
“Well you chose a beautiful colour.” Karl nodded, understanding why she might not want to wear the jewelry. He didn’t comment on the change in demeanour, not wanting to cause an issue. Besides, not everyone liked babies. The werewolf just happened to like his.
Chuuya knew Irina would never go beyond a little flirting and he also knew she did it on purpose to piss him off and make him jealous. It pissed him off even more that he knew what she was doing and it still worked, so he was often annoyed at both her and himself whenever it happened.
"That's good to hear. And hopefully you guys find the perfect house soon." He didn't blame Karl for wanting more space and especially more quiet. He imagined the Pack House was similar to the mafia and that it was loud and chaotic on the best of days. Chuuya was usually the one who wrangled them and made sure they didn't cause too much trouble, so he always looked forward to the end of the day where he could finally sit in peace.
"Blue always looks good on her." Oddly enough, he never really noticed the colour. He always preferred black, sometimes red, but never blue. He liked it on Irina, though. It always brought out her eyes.
He also noticed Irina's change in demeanour, which didn't surprise him at all. She wasn't a fan of children, though she didn't seem to mind the twins last year. "Is his having an infant daughter going to be a problem?" he asked her.
“Of course not.” Irina sniffed indignantly. “A wife and child is his problem, not ours.” Eyes a few hues lighter than her dress centered on Karl. “Unless it might cause some sort of hesitation whilst on the job.” Irina recalled how besotted her brother had become with his family while they still drew breath. It had been such a shame to eliminate his second wife to get him focused again. She wouldn’t do that with Karl, but she would be willing to remove him from the retrieval part of their enterprise if necessary.
Karl managed to not roll his eyes, because he’d never think of his wife or child as a problem. They were the best parts of his life and he wanted to give them the world, especially Hope. “No. My wife knows what I do and, as long as I provide her some chaos vibes afterwards, she doesn’t care.” The werewolf couldn’t change completely, not even with fatherhood.
“Hope understands I have to go away at times, but my Pack will always look out for her when I’m gone.” Karl knew how lucky he was to be part of the Pack after the mutt uprising a decade before his arrival here.
"That's what I meant, but I figured it wouldn't be a problem." He had gone on one trip with Karl and it went by without any trouble. But it was only once so far, although Chuuya couldn't imagine there'd be any problems with more heists. But he had a feeling if it ever came down to it, Karl probably would choose his family first. It wouldn't surprise Chuuya but again, he couldn't think of a possible situation where that might happen.
"Unless there's something else," he turned to Irina. He couldn't think of anything else that might be a problem, but maybe she did.
“Of course there is, darling.” Irina managed to not sound terribly condescending to Chuuya. She’s been worse, at least. She even gave him that overly sweet smile that meant nothing at all, then turned it on Karl.
“We haven’t discussed terms.” She paused to take a sip of her drink. “You two, of course, will be doing the grunt work, but I will be the face and proprietor of the shop. Granted, the risk is heavier on you both. I’m thinking 35-35-30 for the split in profits. I believe that's fair, hmm?”
It could be more fair on their end, but she had no intention of budging.
Karl could negotiate, but chose not to do so. That should still net him a decent chunk of change for Hope and Nita. Irina reminded the werewolf way too much of Cassandra, and he knew better than to try and negotiate with Cass. So, best to not bother with Irina. Besides, he could always go in a portal and grab some stuff with Kate again in the future if he needed some extra funds. He said nothing, though, choosing to let Chuuya negotiate with his romantic partner if he so chose.
It was still not quite what Chuuya meant, but he just ignored Irina this time.
He sipped his drink, letting Karl negotiate if he wanted. A few moments and the werewolf didn't say anything and Chuuya guessed he decided against it. Which, fair enough. Irina could be quite stubborn, something Chuuya knew very well, much to his constant annoyance.
"I'm fine with those terms," he said. Sure, they'd get a little more than Karl but he was sure the werewolf had other means to get extra funds if needed. And Irina was better suited to be the face of the shop anyway. "But I'll only do this if I'm also co-owner of the shop." It was the only way he could see himself working with Irina is if they were equal partners. He'd rather shit bricks than work with her while she was in charge.
Irina was beginning to like this Karl. He knew when to keep his mouth shut. He knew his place. She approved. Perhaps she might even come to consider him someone she could consider more than a business partner. Stranger things have happened.
Her brows lifted as she paused in the act of taking a drink. She blinked exactly once then turned a solid gaze to Chuuya. The smile that formed on her face was not to be trusted. “I believe we can discuss those terms. In private.”
There might be a lot of shouting involved.
Karl did not want to witness that conversation. At all. He took a sip of his drink and watched the pair with amusement. However their relationship worked, Karl felt glad to have Hope. Although, he found that he kind of liked Irina and obviously liked Chuuya.
“The terms sound fair to me.” He gave a look to Chuuya and shook his head. “I don’t think I need to be around for that topic of conversation. Do we have a plan and a place for our next outing?” This he directed to the pair, although given he and Chuuya were more involved in that part, he expected more of an answer from him than Irina. And, he agreed that Irina would be the best face of the business.
"Fine by me," Chuuya shrugged. He never cared for arguing with her in public and always preferred they fought at home. And he had a feeling that's what will happen when they do discuss it. Maybe he should grab a bottle of bloodwine from Pepper before they leave. Maybe two.
He turned to Karl. "Not yet, but maybe we can meet up again and talk about it. Maybe after Irina and I have our discussion," he suggested. It'll depend on how that goes, although he wouldn't mind going on another outing with Karl regardless.
Oh this one might be epic even for them. She felt she held some power and had no intention of sharing it. Not even with the man she loved. She was looking forward to their…discussion.
While Chuuya settled things with Karl, Irina sipped at her wine. “We have to procure a storefront before all else,” she said. They had nowhere else to store whatever the two of them brought back.
Then she gave that crocodile smile once more. “However, I have a few locations in mind that I’ll be looking at. Why don’t I leave you two boys to scheme away.” Those ice blue eyes slid to Chuuya. “Darling, I’ll see you at home.” He got an air kiss to the cheek.
“Lovely to meet you, Karl.” She smiled at him then turned to leave.