Private Finished You know what they say about curiousity

Malakias had to agree with Natalie, the food did smell wonderful. Rada had obviously outdone herself again.

"I will send my sister your regards then," he said with a wolfish grin, "She is the head chef here and in charge of the menu planning and the kitchens," he explained as he helped himself to the Makarony po-flotski first. The simple, yet delicious, pasta and meat dish had always been a favourite of his.

Nodding at the question about his father, unfazed by it, he took a bite of his pasta and took his time chewing it before swallowing. Deliberately acting like he was considering it, though he wasn't really... Malakias had expected she would ask after him. Most people in the know, business associates, reporters, all asked the same or similar question. A question that implied - either his father didn't trust him, saw him as insignificant since it was just a restaurant he was in charge of when Volkov was a huge company; or there had to be more to it since he was Dimitri's son and a restaurant would, in theory, be beneath him.

Either way, Malakias cocked his head at Miss Kurono and smiled patiently at her, "Have you ever ran a restaurant, Miss Kuron? One like this?" he asked her evenly, "I assure you it's no easy task. And the distillery is also a lot of work." he explained.

"But to answer your question, I am just here to help set things up, get them going and hopefully start expanding the business," he told her quite truthfully, or as truthfully as he could.

"You are quite the inquisitive one, aren't you, Miss Kurono?" Malakias laughed good-naturedly when she asked him if he could tell her what plans the family had for their future expansion on the island.

"I really can't say," he said, not at all offended by her question, "We have not decided exactly where we are taking the business yet," he told her as he decided to try the stroganoff and placed a scoop on his plate as he studied her for a moment.

"What about you, Miss Kurono? What future plans do you have?" Malakias asked her suddenly as he picked up his third shot of vodka and downed it.

"Oh my..." Malakias let out a loud guffaw when Natalie asked, most innocently, her question about the family dealing in drugs, extortion or some sort of violent activities... whatever she was imagining in her mind, made Malakias smile, a real genuine smile. He was also amazed and, yes, somewhat impressed at her audacity and chutzpah. Even though such inquisitiveness could bring her problems, but he suspected that she already knew that.

"I am not sure what you heard about the Volkov family and its businesses, but we are not the Italian mafia, that I can assure you," he remarked with a chuckle, deliberately not answering her question as he helped himself to the Pelmeni and waved the waiter over and asked him to bring a bottle of their best plain vodka. He liked the flavoured vodkas but found them cloying after a while, and therefore preferred just a simple vodka on ice.

Nodding his thanks as the waiter placed the vodka on the table with tumblers of ice, Malakias started pouring himself a liberal amount, holding up the bottle slightly to of Natalie some if she wanted it.

"Are you worried about my welfare, Miss Kurono?" Malakias quipped lightly when she had finished warning him about bringing any illegal or potentially criminal or harm-causing activities to the island.

Then, "Is your veal okay?" he asked her curiously, glancing at her plate then. He had noticed her playing with her food, and wondered if there might be something wrong with it.

As she spoke, he almost nodded approvingly when Natalie took some pelmeni onto her plate. Him and his sister, Rada, may not see eye to eye on most things. However, when it came to food, they agreed, and Malakias had to admit that she knew her stuff.

Malakias then sat back against the booth, relaxing a bit now, and eyed her over, her face, upper body, definitely liking what he was seeing. She was a very attractive, if not beautiful woman. Taking a drink of his drink, swirling his ice, he flashed her wolfish grin.

"I don't know, Miss Kuronos," he started, "Do you think I am the right person?" he asked pointedly, and then added after a short pause, "For your article..." he said in a teasing tone.