On Holiday

[Molly Black]

"Right! Be back in a jiffy."

Descending the stairs to the bar below, Molly stopped for a minute chatting it up cordially with the barmaid, who she seemed to be very familiar with. There was a lot of nodding and laughing. At one point, Molly pointed up through the Ison Lounge's levels toward the booth space she was sharing with Tonyh. In the end, the food was ordered out with the promise of a hefty tip for the delivery, and the other matter was being looked into. Just who was Tonyh?

Returning to the table, she gave him a thumbs-up. "Cloud Dance's freshest Mon Calamari crab-stuffed cream puffs are being prepared for us. I should tell you, it was extra for the delivery and the rush."

Tonyh seemed a touch more tense than when she had left him. "Everything alright?"

[Tonyh Vankar]

It took a lot for Tonyh to be overwhelmed with worry but anything happening to his daughter caused that. He kept exchanging messages with Arranea, while waiting for Molly to come back. His friend watching over Sonya kept her clear head no matter what, which also made her perfect for the job.

He was caught out of his rumination when Molly returned. A faint smile showed on his face. He didn't want to be a buzz-kill, especially since she had nothing to do with Sonya's predicament. "Oh that's wonderful. And of course about the extra. Good service is important."

When she asked whether everything was alright, he shook his head, a bit sheepishly. "Got a message that my daughter's at the medcenter to be checked. She's got sick. It should be nothing serious but..." He would normally keep such things to himself and be a rock, but he accepted to be human in front of Molly, which was normally blatant craziness in his view. "I hate when she's not well, especially when I'm not there."

[Molly Black]

His daughter? Molly's mind reeled that this obviously successful, very handsome, potential business contact was a family man.

"Your daughter?", her mouth finally caught up to her brains. "Sorry to hear that!"

"Listen, I was just joking about not being able to afford the tab. I can be a big girl and handle it, if you need to go check on her?" She offered him an easy out. Dinner with strangers in a bar did not trump a sick little kid.

[Tonyh Vankar]

Even worried about Sonya, Tonyh could tell that the revelation about his daughter was unexpected to Molly. He couldn't blame her because most people didn't imagine him with a child. He most often tried to keep his little one separated from his business talks anyway.

"No, no, it's all right. I apologize for my ramble. She's back home on Centares. So going to check on her would take me a few days." He relaxed a bit, knowing that Arranea was taking good care of her and would keep him updated. "She has the best nanny in the galaxy, so she's well watched over."

He offered an embarrassed smile, feeling a bit stupid for his mini freak out over Sonya's state, especially since everything should be okay.

[Molly Black]

It probably shouldn't have been such a shock to Molly. People did that sometimes. Had kids. Just not too many people that she was acquainted with. All of the kids she knew worked for her. They were easy enough to manage. The trick was to keep them focused. Treats after business. The little ankle biters all loved her cooking, and she loved feeding empty bellies, so it worked out well.

Tonyh's daughter though, Molly got the impression she had nothing to do with business. She had a nanny.

Smiling Molly returned to her seat. "Centares, huh? Never been. Well, if you are sure."

It was all kind of adorable, Tonyh not afraid to show his concern for his daughter. Added a whole 'nother delicious layer to the man. Dangerous...

"I don't have any kids, unless you count the one next door. I do feed her, but technically speaking she has a mother."

[Tonyh Vankar]

"Traveled a lot but always went back home, to Centares." He had grown up wanting to see the galaxy and had done as such, still did to a degree, but his love for Centares had never dwindled. "I am." He confirmed to Molly as she sat back down. He wasn't the kind of parent to strut around telling everyone how amazing his progeny was but he was proud of Sonya and loved her, regardless of how clueless he could feel as a father. Yet, he had never even considered a second to put her up for adoption when her mother had dropped her on his lap, quite literaly.

"Having more than one mother is better than having none." He said a little pensively. He would have nothing against Sonya having ties with her mother but that had never been something his one night stand had agreed to. "Does your feeding that kid means you have hidden cooking skills?" He teased with a slight grin.

[Molly Black]

Uhoh, he had a wicked smile.

That was bad news for Molly Black. She really couldn't help herself, her cheeks were suddenly no longer under her own command. They rose upward of their own accord, answering the challenge with a suitably sly grin of her own. "Perhaps.."

"I do agree with you, by the way. About the mother thing. Everyone should have a mother."

She got the impression his comment implied a lack thereof in his daughter's life. It could be an unfortunate thing, or maybe it was for the best. She had no way of knowing, but unless he was a damn good liar, that was genuine affection and concern she saw in his eyes when he spoke of her.

"So, how old is she? What's her name? Details man!" She leveled her skewer, designed to look like a miniature lightsaber bearing fruit, at him before plucking off a cherry.

[Tonyh Vankar]

Gods be damned, he liked her. That hadn't been the plan when he had decided to take the evening off, but for sure fate had a twisted sense of humor. Nothing new there, though, Tonyh mused.

He nodded to her agreement about the mother matter. He couldn't fathom why Sonya's mother had erased her from her life. That baffled him and angered him, but he had done what he could for the woman to reconsider, to no avail, so he had given up. Sonya was better off with people who loved her, like he did, like the Vankars did and like her nanny Arranea did.

He couldn't help chuckling at her series of questions about his daughter and his laughter turned into a howl that killed his lungs when she used her skewer like some kind of lightsaber. A good sense of humor was always a treat.

"Beware what you wish for! In three minutes, you'll beg me to stop raving over Sonya. I can easily turn into the annoying kind of father who brags, just so you're warned. Or you'll try to choke me with one of the puffs you ordered." He suddenly had a mischievous and somewhat conspirator-like expression. "That's why you brought these delicious treats up, isn't it? So you'd have an extra weapon against me, hmm?"

He winked and then sat upright again, answering her question properly. "Sonya's three years old. She is as curious as a kid can be, asking the most direct and sometimes embarrassing questions. She is a prankster and I've heard a lot from her daycare director more than once." He laughed, remembering how he had cheered for his daughter's mischief talents, much to the director's annoyance. "She has a good heart and if I make sure not to brush what she wants to talk about off, she's rather easy going."

[Molly Black]

Molly was fully prepared to smother the man in expensive imported cuisine if he turned out to be the sort to blather on about some boring subject. Unexpectedly though she found herself continuing to wear the grin, listening to him talk about his daughter. Sonya.. "No promises.", she said, of the death by seafood.

"Well, Sonya sounds wonderful." Molly admitted it honestly, the kid sounded cute. "Sounds a bit like me when I was that age actually."

Sore subject. Pick another, Mol.

She was spared by the arrival of their delivery, brought up the stairs to their booth by a rose-skinned female in a white chef's coat, her likewise pink hair was braided into a knot at the back of her head, very cute. Molly noted the style for later..

"Did you order the Mon Calamari crab?", the near-human woman wanted to know lifting two steaming handled bags.

[Tonyh Vankar]

"Noted." He replied with a chuckle, to what she said about death by seafood.

He grinned when she didn't mind hearing about Sonya. He adored his daughter and as much as she drove him crazy at times, and that he didn't feel he was anywhere prepared to be a father even after three years, he was delighted to have her in his life. "I can picture you being already full of mischief when a kid," he remarked right before the food delivery arrived.

He smiled to the near human and nodded. "We did, thank you for coming so swiftly," he confirmed before picking the bill and then organizing the payment, with a generous tip. "Here you go. Have a good evening," he added to the delivery woman.

[Molly Black]

Molly watched Tonyh with a critical eye as he paid for the food. He did not balk at the price for the rush, or hesitate to leave the Cloud Dance employee with a generous tip, either. He must have very deep pockets indeed, Molly thought with a greedy look that had nothing to do with the crab.

"It smells wonderful."

Making herself useful, Molly extracted the covered portions from the bag, setting them both up with dinner with practiced efficiency. It was clear that she was not just used to working with food, but at making people feel comfortable and cared for. People talked more when they were cozy like..

Sitting back with a fork in hand, she grinned. "Dig in!"

[Tonyh Vankar]

"It does!" Tonyh agreed with hungry enthusiam. He noted how Molly organized the delivered food and he couldn't help smiling. "If it wasn't for the challenging decor, I'd feel like home. Oh and Sonya would either be digging in the food already or ask what this new weird dish is."

He chuckled and dug in with his fork right when the brunette said to do as such. He lost his impeccable manner when he made a very satisfied moan at the sampling of the crab puff. It was absolutely divine. Damn, she knew what she talked about when she picked good food.

After regaining some measure of composure, he winked to her. "Perfect choice of place to order these little devils from!"

[Molly Black]

"Well, at least she's the type to be curious about new foods! That's a sign of excellent taste."

Smiling, Molly went about carving her food into bite sized chunks before sampling a bite and closing her eyes in relish. "So good."

"Yes, the Cloud Dance. They tend to have a higher standard than some. They have some brilliant menu choices. Definitely the sort of thing I would do, were I in charge. Which I am not..", she laughed.

Lifting her fizzy pop up, she smiled. "New friends?"

[Tonyh Vankar]

"She is curious about everything," Tonyh drawled before making a face and chuckling, remembering when Sonya had recently found her nanny's sex toy. That had caused a very entertaining - and frightening - conversation. His expression sombered a bit as he checked his comlink, finding no update from Arranea. He really hoped this stop at the medcenter was nothing serious.

He focused on the moment, the divine food and enjoyable company. "Cloud Dance? I'll have to remember that. What else would you do if you were in charge?" He queried with a grin, wondering about what her answer would be.

He nodded and smiled, raising his own drink. "New friends," he gladly agreed.

[Molly Black]

Wiping her mouth on her napkin, Molly smiled into the linen a minute before answering. "I'd expand! I'd take my smart menu choices and make them available all over the city."

It seemed a theoretical question, but in truth it was something she'd had on her mind for years. How could she increase the business and reputation of Cloud 9, and expand her own information trading business. The answer was incredibly simple. Food trucks. She could revamp the menu at Cloud 9 to include items easy to eat on the go, find an investor to help her get set up, and make sure the people manning the portable food dispensaries were people who worked for her. From the tourist levels right down to where the workers refined and froze the tibanna gas. Even Ugnaughts had to eat, right? Hold the bacon on theirs..

"There is a lot of potential here, if you are smart about it."

[Tonyh Vankar]

"Availability can be a strong component in business development. As long as you are careful to go for an organic growth, it can present so many possibilities," Tonyh mused in between enjoying the food. He liked the way Molly was thinking and he businessman in him couldn't help mulling over options.

"Having a stronger presence can also be good for keeping up with what others in your branch are doing." He wasn't just speaking about purely legal business but also keeping your ear to the ground about what else might be going on. Having developed as a weapon and military equipment provider in the black market for the past years had definitely helped me be sharper about the market.

"Money is a good means to multiple ends for certain."

[Molly Black]

Molly found herself putting things together in her head, just from listening to Tonyh talk. Damn if she couldn't see all the little pieces lining up. It was hard to trust a thing when it felt too good to be true, but at the same time, she could hardly refuse a stroke of good old fashioned luck for a change. Particularly when it came with such a charming smile. It could be that they were mutually beneficial to each other..

"So Tonyh, I'm terribly interested now. Obviously you know what you're talking about. I can tell instantly when I'm being conned, it's a gift..", she grinned. "And not at all the case with you."

"Would you ever consider investing in a business?", Molly wondered out loud.

[Tonyh Vankar]

Tonyh had strong boundaries and gods forbade stopping him from making people pay when they harmed him or his business; but he knew when he saw an opportunity, and he valued solid partnerships both in his personal and professional life. That was why he hadn't hesitated putting some things on the table and being frank with Molly already. He had good instincts, and not just because of having been in legal and illegal business for years, or even being one hell of a sabacc player.

He grinned at the brunette's statement about her gift. "That's one perk you don't see that often." He raised his half-empty glass. "Also, thank you."

When she inquired whether he would consider investing in a business. "Now, I am the one terribly interested. Yes, I would consider it." He waited for her to tell him more about what she had in mind.

[Molly Black]

One thing she did have in addition to a great pair of legs, was excellent intuition. It was rare for her to meet anyone, human, near-human or freakish alien, that she could not get a bead on after a few exchanges. She was very interested in learning as much as she could about Tonyh, and telling him about her operation, but not so much that she was going to risk being overheard by anyone just sitting about.

Taking a last sip of her fizzy pop, Molly smiled. "Great. Want to dance with me?"

The Ison Lounge didn't have a dance floor to boast about, it was a casino not a club, it was small, but it was noisy and the constant motion would keep her sassy lips from being read. The rest she could manage herself..

[Tonyh Vankar]

Molly's reaction was interesting, and puzzled Tonyh for a moment, although he didn't show it. Military and dealing with black markets had taught him a lot over the years. Without missing a beat, he finished his own drink and was on his feet. Offering his arm in a slightly theatrical way, with a bright grin, though his gaze remained serious, he waited for the brunette to get on her feet.

"I'd be a fool to say no."

As they headed to the dance floor, he realized that it was more crowded than he thought it'd be for such a small one, and the sound level was definitely louder. A perfect place to discuss business if one wished to avoid people prying.

"Oh..." He gave a pointed look at his new friend. "Cunning plan, another good reason to do business with you." Beautiful and intelligent was a deadly combination and Molly certainly had it.