Em reaches out, takes her wrist in her hand, and motions Maya Zabini to stop.
“Stay,” she says plainly, unsure of why she’s done it at all, and retracts her hand quickly, embarrassed. “Sorry. I…it’s a brand deal, isn’t it? I’m represented by Narcissa Black - I’m sure you know her. Or her team told you of me. Or told your team to tell you to know of me.”
Her words become a jumbled mess as she tries to pull herself together. She’s suddenly hyper aware of the space between her legs, the heat of the room in general. She pulls a stray hair from behind her head and puts it in front of her shoulder because a girl from her Hogwarts days told her that that’s when she looked her cutest.
The waiter returns with the check. Em turns to face him. “I’ll have whatever Maya was having, thank you.”
“Two more of these, please. Miss Vance has decided to be intelligent.” She addresses the waiter charmingly, who nods and immediately does as he’s asked.
“You see that?” Maya says softly, reaching forward to cover Emmeline’s hand with her own, pleased with herself when she feels the girl react.
“He’s doing what I tell him to do, because he knows that I can help him. And that I pay very well. He’s a smart man-and, if he plays his cards right, someday I might promote him to manager.”
She feels that Emmeline wants to pull away but Maya doesn’t relent.
“I’m partial owner here, did I fail to mention that? I think, Miss Vance, that now that you’re aware of my presence, you’ll be hard pressed not to find it everywhere.”
She finally pulls away, taking a long sip of her drink.
“It’s more than a brand deal. Philosphie is a lifestyle. Once you sign with us, every aspect of you reflects us-therefore, we only pursue people we feel can truly encompass it-and someone had a good feeling about you. It wasn’t me, darling, I hardly am unimportant enough to be having feelings about people, but, your challenge, if you agree to it, is to prove to me that you’re the type of person I want to to represent not only me, but my entire life’s work.”
“And, in return, my darling girl, I can show you things you’ve never even dreamed of. Philosphie can make aging something you hear about in vague nightmares, not a reality. You can become the legend I can tell you’re itching to be. And-”
Maya lets out a low chuckle.
“There’s something about you that I like. I can’t quite finger it but...”
She takes another large sip.
“I’ve been told I’m an excellent friend. If you play your cards right, perhaps you could experience that first hand. So!”
Maya smiles brilliantly, all of her teeth showing.
“Sell me. Tell me why I should give a shit about you, Emmeline Vance. Tell me why you’d be worth the investment.”
blakekathryn
andulkaphoto
tangentwithtanner
theartofmadeline
dailybridgerton
janainaart
