Private Finished Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth

Zora

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At first, Zora thought Stefan was serious and glanced up at his handsome face, a perplexed look on hers. But when she saw his grin, she gave his leg a small playful tap with hers under the table.

"You had me there for a moment, you know," she said with a smile, feeling some of the tension leaving her body.

"And you needn't worry, stealing me away from a demi-god like yourself will be no easy feat. You have captured me completely with your godly wiles," she stated jokingly as she squeezed his hand lightly.

And when Stefan kissed the knuckles of her one hand, Zora, despite his words of concern being slightly ominous, felt herself and her worries melt away at the gesture.

"I don't want that either," she told him with a sigh as her thumb caressed the hand that he had lifted to her lips.

"I imagine it won't go that far. I mean it's just been pastries, no? " she pointed out, now wanting to reassure not only Stefan but herself that everything would be okay.
 

Stefan

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Seeing the physical tension in her body leave, it made his smile come more natural. Stefan didn't even notice he was at the moment. He wanted nothing more than for Zora to be safe and happy.

"I dunno...you are quite the catch. Might have to start beating people off you with a stick."

He had to admit the image made him chuckle. With his strength if he hit someone with a stick he might kill them, but all he would picture was him swing a stick that amounted to nothing more than a pool noodle.

"Please just let me know if anything weird starts happening, or if the gifts get darker."

Stefan had genuine care in his voice. If he had to go back home and bring several of his sisters back to keep Zora safe he would. The price he'd pay in the embarrassing stories if he did would be high...very high.
 

Zora

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"More like the other way around," Zora said with a loving smile. She felt the same way about Stefan as he did about her. She could easily see herself having to shoo people away from him. It was a good thing she was telekinetic and could just push them away if she had to.

"You are the sexy love god here," she teased. Zora was not overly jealous, and fully trusted Stefan - she knew she had to - his power made it so. If she didn't she'd go nuts worrying that women and men alike would be throwing themselves at him.

Interlacing her fingers with Stefan's, Zora nodded. "Don't worry, I will. I promise you that you'll be the first to know if things change," she assured Stefan.

"Besides, I'm honestly afraid that on Monday I'll go back into work and find the office full of roses or expensive chocolates," she admitted with a tiny grimace.

The idea of her office being filled up with bouquets of flowers sent by an anonymous admirer made her skin crawl a little. She hated to think her admirer could also be a stalker.
 

Stefan

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"No way. People know they can't compete you."

He smiled lovingly to her as their fingers interlaced together. Stefan didn't understand how he had gotten as lucky as he did with Zora. He knew better than to doubt or question fate (should it exist) so he wasn't about to start.

The slight grimace was noticed and while the thought of the consequences of what that could mean could be upsetting, Stefan, in his usual fashion, tried to make light of the situation.

"If that's the case, means you'll have all the flowers and chocolate you'd need and i don't have to buy you any."

His boyish grin came out as he shot her a wink. It was reminiscent of their first meeting where he had gotten about his mirrored lenses.

"That was a wink again...."
 

Zora

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Zora burst out laughing at Stefan's silly, yet very endearing, attempt to lighten the mood and get her mind off all the dreaded "what ifs" she had been obsessing over for a good part of the day.

"Nice try.... but I still expect a large box of fancy chocolates from you, gorgeous boyfriend of mine," she stated matter-of-factly, playfully admonishing him just as a waitress came over to take their order.

Deciding that she wasn't too overly hungry... at least not for dinner. Zora ordered herself a large piece of Tres Leches cake and a side order of fresh berries along with a pot of Earl Grey tea.

She then waited patiently while Stefan ordered before she asked him how his day had been.
 

Stefan

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Stefan smiled to her as she told him she still expected gifts from him. He would of course still get her gifts, but he'd do it in his own way of course. The jest seemed to do its job in keeping her from going down the what if rabbit hole. It was a needless place until they had more to go off of.

"You know I'm gonna shower you with all the gifts and surprises big boss lady.

When the waitress came he smiled to her and let Zora give her order first. Stefan ordered the chicken pesto sandwich with an order of fries. The mood had definitely improved significantly since ge first sat down.

"So things going well at work?"
 

Zora

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"Work has been good," Zora replied as she leaned forward in her seat and rested her folded arms on the table.

"Busy as usual, we acquired a new client a few days ago. Big investor, though we had to go to him instead of him coming to the office," she explained. It was unusual for a client to insist on meeting in situ , but not too unheard of.

"How about you? You had a meeting with Shiloh after the concert, no?" she asked curiously as their food started appearing at the table.
 

Stefan

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"Well that sounds fun. Little break from the usual it seems."

He understood how things could get monotonous day in and day out, so something unusual, even if tedious to get a deal done, was sometimes a welcome change. Zora seemed to always know what she was doing, and her confidence was just as attractive as her looks.

"If you were working on it it was in the bag anyways."

The smell of their food wafted up to his nose. He shut his eyes briefly and took in the aroma of his sandwich. Opening them back up he took a bite of his chicken pesto sandwich, chewing and swallowing quickly as she asked how meeting Shiloh had gone.

"I did. Apparently they had been looking for me for a bit."
 

Zora

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Zora couldn't help but blush softly and in pleasure under Stefan's high praise of her. The way in which he believed in her was .... well, moving... and it made Zora want to do better, to live up to his expectations.

"Thank you .. though it really is a team effort," she admitted as her cake and fruit arrived at the table. "Without my them, I'd probably not have made it as far as I have," she conceded as her pot of hot tea arrived at their table.

When the waitress had left, Zora smiled warmly at Stefan. She was happy that Shiloh was considering them as part of her growing list of artists.

"That's great. It means they are really interested in you and your music, no?" she inquired as she searched his face questioningly.

"I have heard they are quietly snatching up artists from private labels...? she added as she broke a piece of cake off with her fork.
 

Stefan

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"'Great leaders can see the greatness in others when they can't see it themselves and lead them to their highest potential they don't even know.' You bring out the greatness in them."

Stefan smiled to Zora. She was humble, and it was a great trait for someone in her position. Confidence without being humble leads to arrogance and failure while being humble with confidence leads to success by pushing a team through hard times, but falling back on their strengths when needed. A great lesson he had beaten into him by the Valkyries when he was younger.

He shrugged slightly. Shiloh seemed interested, but there was a lot more to the industry than he had realized. It was going to take a little bit to figure it all out.

"I guess so. You're probably more in the know than I am with the connections you have. You have to of heard some kinda rumors."
 
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