The Meeting

"I'll get you for that," Athena told Jason after trying to think long and hard about what had just transpired.

"Get me for what exactly?" Jason asked.

"For your little stunt. You know... the one that you just did," she responded. Never had Athena met a man like Jason before. She knew he took great pleasure in teasing her. Yet, he was so bold that she questioned what he couldn't do instead of what he could do. He was always in control and took charge of any situation, despite the circumstances. All of this made her want to spend more time with him to get to know him better.

Jason finally responded, "I don't do stunts, Athena." He then continued as he lifted his thumb for her to see, "Everything I do, I do it for a reason." His hand then dropped back to the table.

"So, whatever you..." She started, but her phone started to ring. She picked it up and answered, "Hello, yes, I'm around. I'll be there in a few." She hung up the phone and looked at Jason, who had an inquiring look. "It's the office. Alpha has set up a meeting with one of our biggest clients, and he has asked me to be there in five minutes. I'm sorry I have to leave so suddenly," she said as she started to leave. "But I have relieved you of your duties in the office, so you can probably have the rest of the day off."

She headed to the booth exit only to be stopped by Jason's words. "Hey," he called out, "thank you for the lunch. It was tasty." He finished with a teasing wink at Athena.

At the utterance of his last two statements, Athena realized that he still had her underwear. She turned around and walked slowly to where he sat and stretched out her hand.

"My underwear, please," she said.

Jason gave a chuckle and responded,

"You'll only get it when I want you to have it back." She was about to say something when he cut her off and continued by saying, "If I'm not wrong, you should be going to that meeting and time's running out on you. Tick-tock, tick-tock..."

Athena had no time to argue, literally. She would rather continue this argument later. She turned and left. Jason opened another tab and ordered a margarita to drink as time passed and as he enjoyed the privacy of the place. As he sipped his drink, his phone rang, and the name Tyler popped up. He picked it up and, as he eyed his surroundings, he said hello.

"Tyler, I'm still around Sin City. I just had lunch with Athena. I can say it went well, actually it went perfectly." He then kept quiet for a brief moment and continued, "Now's not the time, Tyler. I'll tell you when everything is in place. Trust me." After another brief silence, he said, "I'll let you know when the time is right. Sure, bye." He hung up and placed the phone back on the table. It didn't take long for the phone to ring again. This time it was Athena. He picked it up.

"Miss me already?" He asked with a smirk on his face.

"Oh please, don't flatter yourself. The boss wants you here ASAP," she responded.

"Me? Why?" He inquired.

"I don't know. He said that the meeting will start with your presence here. So don't ask me any questions and get back here," she said.

"Fine, give me five."

Jason checked out as he picked up his coat and flagged down a taxi, asking him to step on it. Jason walked into the building and headed for the reception.

"Kay, can you please..."

"Fourth floor, third room on your right. They have been waiting for you," Kayla interrupted.

"Thank you," he shouted as he entered the lift.

"Took you long enough," Athena said as he stepped out of the lift and guided him to the room. Inside the room, there was a rectangular table with two chairs on each side. According to what he had heard, it's said that this room was soundproof, so any meeting held here was of the highest confidentiality. To his left, he was approached by a man in a suit and a tie. He had on dark glasses that made him unreadable. Jason noticed that he was the only person in the firm that had his hair styled. It was long and rolled into clean dreadlocks that rested on his shoulders.

"Mr. Jason, it's good to finally meet you in person," he said in a voice that carried authority. Athena, who was standing beside them, shook hands with Jason and said, "Jason, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Legit Alpha, the CEO and founder of LA Associates."

"The pleasure is all mine," Jason replied as they let go of the handshake.

"Please, have a seat," Alpha gestured for him to sit as he took a seat on one of the narrower sides of the table.

"Athena," he turned to her, "please have a seat next to Jason. I need you two to work on this case together."

Immediately, the doors to the room opened, and Kayla led three men and a lady into the room. Two of the men were in official wear, while the other man and the lady were in casual wear. As they exchanged pleasantries, Kayla left, shutting the door behind her. Alpha did the introductions, and they all sat down, with the two men in suits seating on one of the longer sides of the table and the couple seating opposite of them. Jason and Athena both sat opposite Alpha at the other end of the table.

Alpha cleared his throat, and after everyone had settled in their seats, he began, "Mr. and Mrs. Magraff, thank you for agreeing to meet us." He then turned to the two gents, "The Krovacic brothers, always a pleasure. Now, to start things off, I'm sure you have all noticed that we have a new face in the room. He will be part of this meeting as we need his level of expertise in the field of law."

"And who is he that gets to sit among us?" One of the brothers asked with a voice that had a very strong Russian accent and with a not so happy look on his face.

"I'm glad you asked, Mikhail," Alpha started. "In front of you is a man named Jason West. He came to us from the Metropolitan, one of the biggest advocacy firms in the whole of Europe. His track record is virtually undefeated in any case given to him. As young as he looks, don't underestimate him. Sitting down with him in this room should be considered a privilege to most of you. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce all of you to LA Associate's newest hotshot. The man better known as The Ghost of Europe!"

Athena noticed that the two brothers suddenly became uncomfortable in their seats.

"Impossible!" Mikhail exclaimed as he turned to his brother. "Djokovic, tell me..."

"It can't be!" Djokovic interjected, "it can't possibly be!"

Athena couldn't take it anymore, so she found herself asking, "Who the hell is the Ghost of Europe?"