Hey Hot Stuff [Sumana, Alex]

There were plenty of perks that came with being the boss, even if it was all just a great deception. This was a veritable palace of her own making, a kingdom that might have been built in another's image but was hers at its core, and so 'Safira' would do her best to live it up when she could. It was important that she got her face out there, amongst the people, and was seen just as much as she wasn't after all.

This morning, she had set herself up on one of the resort's many idyllic beaches and set about her favourite hobby of people-watching. Most might have been forgiven for thinking that she was little more than another tourist, decked out in casual beach attire that left little to the imagination, but there were a few who knew quite well who she was and to steer clear of this siren call. Still, she lounged about her domain with little care for the beating sun above. It was quite impressive that her skin remained a shade close to alabaster, given the amount of time she spent outside, but that was simply another benefit of this position.

Her emerald gaze wandered in the direction of the other occupants of this stretch of sand, eventually falling upon a hunk of a man with a flaming mop atop his head. She had not seen him around before, but that was not all that made him interesting. Still, she waited until he happened to look in her direction before tactfully tossing her own hair over one shoulder. It was up to him to decide if that was an invitation or not.

Alex was almost shocked at how much this place had changed since he'd sold it a few years back. If he were a greedier man, more materialistic, he might have felt like he got robbed, but he couldn't really give less of a shit about things like that. The fuck would he even do with all that money? He got along just fine the way he was.

So here he was, on the beach, a pina colada in hand. He'd told his little girl that he'd try a coconut milkshake down here, since it was tropical and all that, but he hadn't been able to find one yet. This was probably close enough, right? He took a sip as he scanned the beach, mostly just thinking about his current trip down here-

Well, wasn't that something. It wasn't exactly an old friend, but it was certainly a familiar face, and Alex strolled up with a small grin as he leaned down to greet the lady in question.

"Nice to see you've been really getting this place going since you bought it. My girl said yes, by the way. Thanks again for the ring. How you been?"

Might as well catch up, right?

Safira watched as the man she had been so blatantly eyeballing looked at her with unmistakable recognition. There was a flash of surprise that danced across her eyes long before the redhead was anywhere close to her as she wracked her brain for any recollection of him or anything about him at all, but by the time he had approached her expression had rested on a smug little grin. Either this was an elaborate pickup attempt the likes of which she had never seen, or he thought she was her boss. Both options were equally enticing.

"I'm glad you like what I've been doing with the place, it did take a lot of effort to make something out of what we picked up."

That was the easy part of the statement to process, it wasn't even a lie. Then there was the ring. Now that was a challenge that she couldn't simply refuse.

"I'm doing pretty good though, working on my tan amongst other things. It has been a while, though. I would love to see that ring again sometime, but I take it your girl isn't around?"

"Not for now. She's off looking into some stuff right now, but she'll be around soon enough."

Not like there was much that was gonna get in Nel's way, after all. Even Alex wasn't really that confident he could stop her if she was serious about something, so he sure as hell doubted most people could. As to the rest of their little back and forth, though...

"Well, tan's coming in well, I imagine. Especially if you're spending enough time out here dressed like that. Good to get some time in the sun though, show off after you made a good effort."

Alex could have taken a seat in the sand, but he preferred to keep some degree of awareness of the situation, and besides, he was actually curious about what had become of everything.

"Still, never would've guessed it'd end up like this. You made out like a bandit gettin' this much just for a diamond ring, eh?"

"Oh, I suppose it is, or rather it isn't but that was the intention." She chuckled lightly at the mention of her tan, or lack thereof. It was a pleasant thing not to have to worry about preserving this shell or anything so mundane. "Spend enough time out here and you'll learn to love the sun too."

Still, though, this guy was appealing to her achievements in developing this resort and so Safira could do little but bask a little in that praise. It would be quite rude to gloat, and yet she had the feeling that he might be a good sport about it, so why not take that risk?

"I think there was something similar that once happened to the Native Americans, getting swindled out of their land and then it turning into casinos. Perhaps the details have been mixed around, but I think you get my point. I hope you're not looking for any take-backs, hehe."

"Somethin' like that."

Truth be told, Alex was at least aware enough of what had happened in his own childhood homeland that he knew this lady's summary of what had happened was a bit off the mark, but he also wasn't nearly interested enough in that to actually correct her. Besides, he wasn't nearly interested enough in running something like this to give a shit that he'd lost out on it in some abstract way.

"Nah, wouldn't exactly have much leg to stand on if I said you owed me it back now, would I? Besides, this kinda seems like a headache to manage, I'd rather leave that all to smart folks like you."

Still, Alex was familiar enough with what was going on beneath the surface around here. He'd long known how to get around the seedier parts of any given place; it was what'd brought him into everything out in Vegas a few years back, after all. This sure reminded him of Vegas in a lot of ways, and he had to say that, just like Vegas, this place had brought some good into his life too.

At the same time, though, maybe that meant this place was on the road to hell just like Vegas before it.

"I see you haven't lost your silver tongue, that's a relief. Running this place can be quite a hassle, especially with all the unique clientele that darken my door, but that's just apples and oranges. But you didn't come here to talk business, did you?"

Her gaze suddenly focused on him with a surprising intensity, as if she was almost challenging him to prove her wrong. There was nothing more delightful than reeling in a new client, even one with some history like this stranger, so why not push the ticket and see? Besides, he carried himself like he was a big deal and that usually meant they had bigger problems.

"Or is the missus looking into that and you're just here for a bit of fun on the beach?"