Sometimes It's Best Not to Ask

[Drew Conner]

Drew sat in one of the small room in the back of the library.  He wasn't there with a study group, nor was the library itself all that busy on this bright, summer afternoon.  Drew always preferred solitude when he was working.  In this case, he had a couple hours to kill between morning football practice and a Sophomore orientation meeting.  Rather than bother with making the trip back home, Drew opted to take up a peaceful spot out of the way and pour himself over the long term projections of a few investments he'd poured some of the capital provided from his parents into.

Movement from outside the study room window caught Drew's attention.  With a quirked brow he closed the laptop sitting on the table in front of him and placed the pen he'd been scribbling notes with onto his notebook and pushed it aside.  Leaning back in the office chair he watched as the door opened and a small, brunette girl stepped in.  Propping his elbows on the chair armrests, Drew laced his fingers together and looked to the girl.  He knew her by name and face, though they'd ever met.  She was on the short list of people Drew felt it imperative to know as well as possible.  He'd been keeping an eye on her since he'd caught wind of her recent business endeavors.  "Addison Sloane."  He said the name before the girl had the chance to speak.  "And what reason does Bellefonte's resident songbird have to come find me, of all people?"

[Addison Sloane]

Addison wasn't entirely certain why she was even going to Drew Conner of all people to get information about Isaac. She should have just grown some balls and walked up to Isaac and talked to him about it. But she knew Isaac wasn't going to be upfront about it. But why she sought out Drew Conner, she still didn't know.

The reception she got from the guy made her bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing. How old was this guy, twenty going on sixty?

From the way he sat and the diction he possessed, he might as well have been a Bond villain without the cat. She snorted in the end, holding up a hand in apology while the other clapped over her mouth. "I'm sorry." She squeaked. "You suddenly reminded me of Blofeld from that Bond movie." She wiped her face in an attempt to hide the grin before running her fingers through her hair.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. I had a reason yes." She nodded and walked over to the empty chair across from Drew and sat down without even asking. "I know you've given up on the whole less than legal thing but you can still find out some information about people, right?" She started, diving straight into the deep end.

[Drew Conner]

Drew paused a moment. He then gave a bit of a frown, sighed and shrugged his shoulders at Addie's unorthodox response. "Yeah. I get that a lot these days." He replied without missing a beat or being the slightest thrown off by the humorous reply that came from the brunette girl. It wasn't as if this was the first time he'd been liken to a Bond villain or similar criminal mastermind. There was, after all, a certain sense of confidence and control over his own life that many people found intimidating. The fact that he, at one time, just about was something that may have resembled a criminal mastermind was merely coincidence.

"Then you know more than most." Drew commented idly. His transition away from the 'game' as many people would call it hadn't been nearly as cut and dry as he'd hoped. There was still a high demand for his services that hadn't gone away with his decision to quit. It sometimes seemed the majority of his day was telling people 'no' these days. "I may have ways and means of finding things out." He answered vaguely. One could never be too careful. "Who are you curious about and why, of all people, have you come to me instead of asking them what you want to know yourself?"

[Addison Sloane]

Addison looked at Drew for a moment as he responded to her joke. It was half-hearted at best but at least he wasn't like his sister. Now that girl didn't know how to take a joke. Shrugging, she let it slide and continued with the topic at hand.

She was a little surprise at Drew asking why but she supposed she should have expected it. "He won't tell me if I asked. He isn't exactly a sharing is caring kind of person. Neither am I but...no we're not here to talk about me." She shook her head and leaned forward in her seat, suddenly looking smaller than her five foot two stature.

"Isaac Monroe. When he came here, what he's been up to since and how come he's doing work on school grounds."

[Drew Conner]

Drew's eyes remained locked upon the young woman sitting across from him. He studied her features, taking in every subtle nuance of her body language. Every tiny inflection of her voice or glimpse of emotion that flashed in her eyes. There was far more to this story that even Drew found himself curious of. He knew enough of Addison's background (or, at least what was on file in the Academy records) to have formed a decent idea of who she was and how she operated. This Isaac guy, however, was little more than a blip on the radar. A violent, oft-in trouble, violent blip, sure, but a blip nonetheless.

"Isaac Monroe?" Drew repeated the name as he mulled over this information. He remembered looking into the other guy a while back when he'd come under fire for a string of violent altercations but nothing in his file indicated Isaac was worth anything other than avoiding at all costs. "Okay." He said calmly with a nod of his head. "I can give you what I know of him." It wasn't as if the crazy kid was holding Academy secrets or anything. "Of course I'm sure you're aware that nothing these days comes free."

[Addison Sloane]

One of the things Addison didn't like despite her profession calling for it was someone giving her their undivided attention. It made her feel self-conscious. Especially when there was only one person doing it. Especially when that one person was probably reading her mind right then.

It never occurred to her that she was probably going to the wrong person for something so sensitive because he would know everything; her intentions, her desires...everything. But it was too late to back out of this. She was in it for the long haul.

Doesn't mean she would look him in the eye, though.

That he had to remind her of a fee she undoubtedly had to pay, did give her a sense of relief that he probably didn't know everything about her. She of all people knew there was always a price to pay for everything.

"Money is obviously no object." She said, waving a dismissive hand. She shouldn't have been so flippant about the money she was spending, she knew that, but she needed answers.

[Drew Conner]

Drew didn't plan on studying every tiny nuance of someone's body language when they spoke to him. It was merely a habit that stemmed from years of being pushed to make use of every advantage available when it came to dealing with people. Drew supposed he could blame his parents for this point of view. Even someone as disarming and harmless as Addie was watched with a skeptical, scrutinizing eye.

"Money?" Drew smirked that smirk of his that seemed to say he knew a great number of things the recipient of the smirk didn't. Granted, this was usually because Drew often did know many things they didn't, though he wasn't about to hold that over anyone's head. "What makes you think I'm out for money?" He gave a faint shrug, a brow quirking just faintly. "I have money. Anyway. I told you. I'm not in that business anymore." He let that settle for a moment, but he wasn't finished. "I wouldn't be against helping an associate, though."

[Addison Sloane]

She looked at him weirdly when he repeated the word and that smirk came out. If he didn't want money, what did he want? Could he please not smirk like that? Why was he so disturbing!

She sat there, finding it hard not to just stare at him like a moron. Associate?

"Excuse me? Associate? As in work with you? What for? I have my own business I'm quite good at running already."

[Drew Conner]

Drew let out a sigh, his shoulders slumping, head lowering. A hand came up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Why did this all have to be so difficult? Everyone here was so melodramatic and thought the worst. Where there really that many teenagers running around trying to make Bond-villain like backroom deals? Why was everything he said taken so seriously and largely out of context.

"No, Addison, that's not what I meant." He said with an exasperated exhale of breath. He lifted his head to look at her. "You're an entertainer, right? That's what you do. Our respective businesses could reach a mutually beneficial partnership." He squared himself up again as talk of business took over his demeanor. "I'll give you everything I can find on your 'friend' and, in return, I want nothing more than the opportunity to present a proposition for future endeavors." Drew hadn't planned on needing someone with Addie's particular talents, though he certainly could see the benefit of partnering with someone like her.

[Addison Sloane]

Addison felt the urge to say something rather cheesy like: 'Not just an entertainer, I inspire people' but she knew enough that this was no time for jokes. Hadn't she been thinking of teaming up with a bigger corporation so she could get the word out for herself and her label? This was a win-win situation as far as she was concerned.

She pretended to mull it over, crossing and uncrossing her legs, chewing on the insides of her cheek, possibly irritating Drew in the process before she shrugged. "If I say yes, and that's a big if, would I be able to say no to the propositions you raise to me?"

[Drew Conner]

"My dear, Addison." Drew smirked, although in the back of his mind he was cringing at how terribly Bond villain-esque he was sounding like right now. No matter. Without missing a beat he continued. "You always have the option of saying no. Otherwise it wouldn't be a proposition." Yes there was a certain predatory gleam that shone in his dark eyes. It wasn't that he felt as though he'd be taking advantage of Addison, not by a long shot. Drew was simply confident enough to believe if he could get her to sit down and discuss business she would have no choice but to follow along with the idea that was rapidly growing in his mind. He was that sure of his own genius.

"Why don't you give me your number." Drew said, sliding his notepad across the table toward Addison and tapping on the empty margin at the top with a pen. "Let me find out what I can and I'll get back to you within 24 hours with everything you need to know."

[Addison Sloane]

Addison reeled back a little when she was called dear. She did not expect something like that from someone who looked a lot younger than her. And she already looked like a twelve year old boy. She did continue to listen to him but kept a wary eye on him.

This guy was just all words wasn't he?

Her eyes slid down to the notepad being presented to her before rummaging through her bag and giving him her card. "My number's at the back." She zipped up her bag and slung it over her head. Adjusting it, she got out of the chair and walked around it.

"Hey thanks. I uh...I appreciate you helping me. It's important to me so..." Addison nodded awkwardly before giving him a two-finger salute. Why did she do that? He just seemed like the type to be saluted. Yeah, nothing to do with her not knowing what to do with her hands.

She nodded at him again and turned to leave.