"Hello. May I come in?"

Lawrence seriously considered slapping himself for a second.

Then he reacted. The fact that he was keeping a nice you lady at bay hit him.

"I'm sorry, lady. Do I know you?" Of course he did. Small problem. She had no way of knowing that.

"Please, Mr. Lakewood. Am I really such a plain woman? Have you completely forgotten our little encounter earlier today?"

He wouldn't be able to. Mainly because he didn't have short-term memory loss. But the fact this lady was beautiful in an out-of-the-ordinary way helped just a little, too.

Still, he couldn't openly admit that~

Wait a second. She knew his name. How did she know his name..?!

An enemy? Someone from Exodus, maybe? Did Johnny decide Lawrence wasn't worth the effort, after all...? No, that wasn't it. Probably not. Lawrence had made sure to play his cards as well as he could. Johnny wouldn't back out from their deal, at least not in this moment... Which meant she wasn't affiliated to him. The other party, then? A part of the other criminal organization? No, they had no reason to know his name just yet. As good as they were, unless they had someone who could read the future by their side, they couldn't know he was planning on taking them down just yet...

Then, who in the world was this woman?

"Then?" She tilted her head. "May I come in or not?"

Lawrence wondered. Should he let her in? Or should he deny completely any ties with her and close the door shut? But if he did that, then he would never know how she knew his name... Yes, the best option for now seemed to be letting her in. He would deal with her in the guestroom, somewhere far Mika. Her presence would probably make this matter more complicated. He didn't want to show to any possible enemy his cards. The thing with Johnny was a calculated move, and a gamble. This time, doing it would only be stupid.

"Very well. Come in, then." Immediately, he assumed his villain personality. There was a small chance this woman wasn't at all involved in that world, but he wouldn't take his chances.

He led her through the hallway and to the guestroom.

"What lovely house. It must be wonderful to live here, isn't it?"

She was starting a conversation. Trying to get information out of him? Or just breaking the ice? He couldn't tell. Something, a sixth sense, if you like it, warned him to beware of this woman.

"Indeed it is" he answered. Then, trying not to look too cold, he added: "It does, however, become a little troublesome when I have to tidy the house."

"Yes" she agreed. "I can see why. Maybe you should consider hiring someone to take care of such troublesome things?"

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Lawrence laughed softly, politely. "Please. What kind of man would I be if I didn't know how to take care of the place I call home?"

"That's a wonderful answer" the woman answered. "Not many men think like that. Most think it's a woman's duty to keep their husband's house clean and tidy."

"That is also not wrong. It's a duty both on the husband and the wife, as they are both share the same house, and therefor the same obligations. I will not go as far as saying men and woman are equal, as that's biologically wrong, however, they should be treated with equality while taking those biological differences into consideration."

"Why, that's even more of an interesting answer. But I'm afraid I didn't completely understand it."

"Allow me to explain, then" he said, as he opened the guestroom door. Instead of taking Johnny's approach, when Lawrence got this room built, he specifically asked the construction company to design it so that every aspect of it would be as 'warm' and 'comfortable' as possible. As a result, both him and his guests could relax as they spent an enjoyable time together. Last time his brother came, they had a couple of drinks in this very same room, maybe three months ago, if he recalled correctly.

But he was getting way off track.

"Please, take a sit" he said the the young woman, pointing a wooden chair next to a coffee table. She accommodated her skirt so it wouldn't get in the way and took a sit, placing her hands above her tights.

"Do you care for a drink?" Lawrence asked. He took a liquor bottle from one of the wall cabinets, as well as two glasses that, if well weren't near as magnificent as Johnny's, were presentable enough for the occasion.

As far as Lawrence was concerned, every important conversation should happen with an enjoyable drink in the middle.

"I wouldn't see why not" she agreed.

Lawrence took a sit in the chair opposite to her, placing the bottle and both glasses in the coffee table. He took the cap off, pouring liquor in both glasses, then sealed it off again.

The lady took her glass, and the liquor's smell reached her nose.

"Banana liquor?" she asked.

Lawrence shrugged. "I'm a strange man with strange tastes."

She nodded and sipped from her glass.

"As I was saying" Lawrence resumed his conversation. "Men and women should be treated equally, but their physiological and psychological differences should be taken into consideration as well. For example: both men and women can perfectly take care of their child. However, ages of evolution have prepared women best to deal with this situation. On the opposite case, a woman can try her luck as a stevedore. However, a man is much more apt to this, as they are, by default, more powerful than a woman. Then, the contractor would be leaned to hire the man rather than the woman. This could be seen as gender discrimination, but is actually just taking the best option at hand."

"I see."

"Even so, there are many things in this society that are defined by gender that shouldn't. But as I am right now, I couldn't point them all out, even less a practical way to solve them. I am no philanthropist, just an ordinary programmer."

"Mr. Lakewood, you way of thinking is fantastic. Visionary, even. However, you made two mistakes."

Lawrence downed his drink in one gulp, then looked at her in amusement. "Please, enlighten me."

"First, not all men are born with more power than a woman."

"That is true" Lawrence accepted. "And the other is?"

The young lady finished her drink, putting the glass in the table with a clink that Lawrence found somewhat eerie. She accommodated her glasses, then looked straight at him. Here sapphire blue eyes seemed to pierce his very soul, and they gleamed brighter for a second...

Gleamed?!

Lawrence jumped from his chair, backing down and putting up his best fighting stance, which was by now something similar to krav-maga, with a lightly shifted stance.

He used his Evileye power.

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Christiane Agatha

???

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Unknown. Not nothing, but unknown.

This woman was dangerous.

"You are not an ordinary programmer, are you?"

Tension made Lawrence grin. Not a smile, but the ready-go smile of a soldier that knows the battle he's about to fight.

"You're one to talk!"