Private Finished If At First You Don't Succeed...

"Nah, I'm just flattering you because you're hot." She said with a wink back. "I can't help it sometimes. Though, I'm not objecting to you footing the bill either. I get the feeling your salary is a lot bigger than mine. Us cats are frugal like that."

The waiter returned quickly, leaving the refilled glasses in front of the women. Nat took hold of hers, and without taking her eyes of Rada, took one long drink, draining most of the glass quickly, a challenging look in her gaze the entire time.

Yep, she was going for it alright. Nat was never one to pass up an opportunity to enjoy herself, even if she was supposed to be taking her work seriously. Whether a little drinking loosened her lips or not, it was bound to make things interesting one way or another.

She put her empty glass down on the table, giving Rada an expectant look, her smile never fading.

"So, while the boys handle all the business, you're free to enjoy yourself however you see fit. I gotta admit, Rada, that sounds like a pretty good deal to me, I'd be almost envious of you if that's all there was too it."

She preemptively signalled for the waiter again, before interlacing her fingers and resting her hands on the table, head tilted down a little. She gave her the same inquisitive look from under the brim of her cap, and when she spoke again her voice took on a quiet, conspiratorial tone, even as she kept her flirty grin on her face.

"But, you know, I think you aren't nearly as carefree as you say you are."

"Well for starters, there's the way you haven't taken your eyes off me this whole time." She said with a coy smile. "I know that I'm so charming that a lot of people have trouble looking away, but that's not just what you're doing. You've been sizing me up from the moment we met. Cat's are natural predators you know, we can tell these kinds of things."

The waiter quickly hurried back with a bottle of whisky and a pair of glasses, leaving them at the table for the women. Nat took the bottle and begun pouring alcohol into both, continuing her explanation while she did.

"Then, of course, there's the way you fight. You don't exactly fight like the spoiled princess you're describing yourself as. I'm not an expert, but what you were doing didn't look like recreational boxing. You've had some serious training, haven't you? With the way you danced circles around that guy I'd think you'd give any professional a run for their money. Fighting is more than just a hobby to you, obviously, its a skill, one that I'm willing to bet you've gotten a lot of use out of."

The glasses filled, she put the bottle down and grabbed her own drink, holding it in front of her, her smile still on her face.

"Plus, I couldn't help but notice how...aggressive you were during that fight. I can't help but wonder whether that's normal for you, or if you just have some pent-up anger. Either way, it's obvious there's something else going on beneath the surface with you."

She downed the whiskey in one go, before slamming the glass back onto the table with a loud thud, as if to punctuate the point.

"People who are as sheltered as you claim aren't usually so vigilant, people who've had everything handed to them like you say you did aren't usually so driven, and people who really have no troubles don't seem so stressed. So, tell me,"

She leaned in again, almost raising herself off her seat, looking into Rada's eyes intently.

"What's it gonna take for me to talk to the real Rada Volkov?"

Nat's grin spread as soon as she noticed the change in posture. She didn't look at all concerned or intimidated by her demeanour, she just had a look of satisfaction on her face. Finally, they were getting to the real meat of this little talk.

"Hmm," She sat back down, canting her head to the side a little and batting her eyes, "Maybe if you keep playing, I might let you have a little nibble later~."

She grabbed her own glass, tapping a finger against the glass, her golden catlike eyes maintaining contact with Rada's own. Even as she flirted with her, Nat knew it was time to take things a little more seriously. No more skirting around the subject.

"Why are you here, Rada?" She asked, resting her elbow on the table, holding the glass near her head. "You and you're family. We both know it's not just so you can sell borsch to the island. I've done my research on Volkov Family International, there's plenty of dirt surrounding your company. What are they after?"

Nat downed her glass as Rada talked, starting to feel the light pleasant buzz in the back of her mind as the alcohol started to hit her. She had enough experience drinking to where this wasn’t enough to really affect her, but she still thought it best to keep track of how much she drank, especially while she was dealing with wolves.

Most of the sources she’d tracked down when researching the Volkov’s were on the island, and not many of them could find out much about Rada. However, the fact that her father seemed to want to let as little information about her out as possible told Nat plenty. The fact that her family wanted to keep info about her suppressed meant that she was either deep into the criminal element, or an embarrassment to them. For now, Nat was hedging her bets on the latter.

“If you really have nothing to hide, then why the act?” She asked. “Why the good little sister routine? Why pretend that you didn’t recognise me the moment I told you my name?”

They were dropping all pretences at this point, so Nat decided to finally address that particular elephant in the room. Her eye contact never wavered, even with Rada’s predatory grin. She could handle being bait if it helped her get what she wanted.

“Besides, I don’t think you fully answered my question there.” She continued, setting her glass down next to the bottle. “Why are you here, Rada? From the sounds of it you don’t think highly of your family, and somehow, I have the sneaking suspicion the feeling’s mutual. It can’t just be for the easy entry into the culinary business, can’t it?”

She smirked. “I guess you must have been quite the little rebel, huh?”

Nat had a certain appreciation for people who balked at authority, she had been quite the troublemaker when she first arrived on the island herself, and still enjoyed stirring the pot to this day. Though, criminal enterprises were a whole other game.

“So that’s all there is to it then?” She asked, pouring herself another glass and casually swirling the alcohol as she talked. “You came here because dear old dad told you to, and you’ve been working under your brother ever since?”

Nat shook her head, clicking her tongue in mock disappointed.

“I gotta say, Rada, you don’t strike me as the kind of woman to just do what you’re told. Especially when it's someone like Malakias doing the telling. Do you really plan to just…” She gestured vaguely with her hand. “Go along with what they say?”