17 Turning it Up a Notch

Hearing his reply made her laugh out loud, he stood in front of her with a cocky persona and the best he could come up with was "drag her out and ban from mall"? Wasn't this just the natural course of action? How can it be considered a threat when she expected this development?

"BOO, negative one. I'm also taking back the one star I gave previously for that lame response. Drag me out of the mall? Again I'm asking you is there a manual you like to follow or has the creative portion of your brain dried up?" She tilted her head to the side and stuck her chin out in defiance.

'Yes the caterpillars reappeared! Trying to look cold and intimidating? Not in this life!' Her response again prompted the reaction she expected. His previous magnanimous image crumbled and the angry counterpart returned. It pleased her to see that the words she spoke had some effect on him and there was no fear that he would assault her because of it. Even when lifting her up from her seat he held a napkin against her skin either to protect her or him. Which was besides the point, what mattered is that he would not initiate skin to skin contact himself. If he threw guards at her she would just run. When he came closer she was prepared to defend herself but there was a part of her that said it would not get that far. It was mainly her survival instincts at work letting her know that at this moment there was no immediate harm. Living besides her parents and brother, who truly had it out for her, made her better at judging the levels.

There was also this innate sense that he was the type to look down on women but not go out of his way to hurt one. As if touching a woman like her would be beneath him, though, she was not dumb enough to think that this moral standard will always last. A man that screamed storybook villain would definitely not have endless patience but she would run away when it was done. For now, his reactions and internal feeling of being safe from physical harm pushed her to keep going.

The man opened his mouth to speak again but she cut him off. Just based on the last two sentences, if she did not remind him, her critique on his threats would be moot. The comment was only funny so many times.

"May I so kindly interrupt to remind you that you're already at a negative score. if you're thinking of threatening me than either say something creative or switch topics. I'm also interested in discussing your hatred of women? Is it all women or do you simply find them beneath you? Is it because you aren't interested in them? Of course I don't judge, love is love." It did not take a genius to see that this man had something against women. Just now as she had cut him off, there was a wave of hatred that went through his eyes. She had unconsciously moved forward a bit as she spoke and thats when his eyes slightly shifted. It felt like she had made another discovery about him to use in her teasing and use she did.

Her eyes switched from their original hostile manner to include a bit of joy. While every line was meant to be infuriating, she would also not deny gossip when it came her way. Maybe because this man was the first person she spoke to in so long and he had not done anything out right, she had gotten a little carried away. However, she was no awaiting what he would say in response to her comment. 'Was he going to say yes? Threaten her more? Or just walk away?'

There was a deep sigh that left his body but his face returned to a neutral expression. "Are you asking me what my type is? I think there are lot more direct ways to ask if you want to get close to me so badly?"

As soon as he said those words there were figurative question marks around her. From one casual sentence her entire aggressive stance almost seemed like a snarky lover instead a woman of vengeance. She almost wanted to cry tears of blood at the unjust title thrown at her. There was pause before she spoke, realizing their distance she quickly took a couple of steps back. Initially she stayed in place to show that she was not afraid but standing there now would only burn her feet. Feeling that they were at a good distance she quickly rejected his assumption.

"Pah pah I have to throw salt behind my back after those ominous words. I beg you not to put such a curse on me, my eyes are still quite good, okay? If you are looking for such a woman I'm sure the women you left inside is more than willing to accept such a claim. Please stay on topic, we were discussing you and your inability to be creative. Or more my favourite topic, your internal trauma."

There was absolute silence between them as they both stared each other down.

"For someone who says they do not like me, you have a high interest in my matters. I think its best to be honest with yourself but I do not have the time to entertain this any longer. List what you want or I will take the time I have given you listening to this nonsense as my payment. Even without, as you say 'a creative bone in my body' I will not hesitate to throw you out of here. A threat not need be creative as long as it is done."

Hearing the slight warning in his voice she realized that he was at his limit. Yet it had gone longer than she had expected it too, she was thankful that she was able to jab him many times before this conversation had ended. Her previous anger had settled into a dull satisfaction with this mini revenge. Even if this man thought that she was crazy, she knew that her words had bothered him greatly. 'For looking down on her the other can only vomit blood in anger! Hmph.'

"I think I have stated this multiple times but all I need is 12 million. Did I hold you hostage and make you listen to his conversation? It was a conversation so two parties were involved, I'd rather you not assume that it was only you wasting time. However, I am quite kind. I can see that you do not have the money so I will let this remain a debt until you can pay me back. I need nothing less or more, of course you can chose to ignore me but a debt will remain."