Marie studied her appearance in the full length mirror.  Turning one way and then the other she scrutinized every detail to make sure it was exactly the way she wanted it.  Presentation was everything in sort of thing and that included how one presented themselves.  Today she had chosen a simple sleeveless black dress, long elbow length white gloves, and matching black with white poke-a-dots hat and purse.  She pursed her lips as she considered losing the hat.  Deciding after a moment that it was not needed, she removed the hat and fussed with her hair to fix where the hat had messed it up.

When she was satisfied she moved to the bed and began picking up the papers that laid on top of the comforter.  She organized them in a logical and meaning manner -- current financing; expected revenue sources; a detail operating and marketing plan; a summary of what she had done to this point and what still needed to be done; and lastly her 3 and 5 year projections.  All in all she was rather impressed with it all.  She only hoped that Don Rick would be as well.

Placing the paperwork in a protective sleeve she grabbed her purse and went downstairs.   At the bottom of the stairs stood her driver, Rand and her new bodyguard, Johnathan, whom Luca had hired to protect her.  Marie had wondered why she needed one of his guards when she had a slew of her own guys, but it was obviously of great importance to her husband so she had accepted him.  "Everything ready?" she asked both of them.  They responded in the affirmative and Rand opened the door for her to leave the house.

The drive was not that far and soon they were pulling to a stop at the address the Don had given Marie.  She was glad she did not have to fly out to Philly to have this meeting.  Before exiting the vehicle, she closed her eyes and ran through her litany of positive affirmations that were intended to give her an air of confidence about her mannerism.  When she was mentally ready she got out of the car and made her way towards what she hoped would be a lasting and beneficial business partnership.

Rick sat on his balcony in his Robe, with his favourite tumbler of whisky in hand, he was just about to drift off to sleep when he heard a knock at the door. He paused for a second trying to remember if he had forgotten that somebody was coming to see him he made his way to the door. Opening it he was a little shocked.

"Marie..." Marie was standing at his front door with a strange man he had never seen before. "You changed you mind about our business venture, or is this man you are with sent by Luca to teach me a lesson?" Rick let off a smirk

"I suppose you better come in, can I offer you or your friend a drink? I just brought in the finest whiskey from Philly, it truly is the best" Rick walked Marie through his home towards the balcony where he was originally sitting.

"Take a seat and tell me what brings you here"

Marie's eyes widen a bit of seeing the Don in a robe.  He was obviously not expecting her.  She would have to have words with her new secretary when she got done here.  As he lead her inside his home she motioned for Johnathan to stay outside.  She would not insult the don in such a manner.  She was a guest in his home and to bring her guy inside would imply that she did not believe he was capable of securing her safety or that he was a threat himself.

She declined the offer of whiskey.  It was too strong of a drink for her tastes and besides she needed to keep a clear head.  As they stepped out onto the balcony she smiled at the view.  It was very beautiful.  A view she would have one day for herself.  That brought her thoughts back to the present and the business at hand.

"I apologize if I came by at a bad time?  I can come back another time to talk business if you would rather?"

She took a seat and placed her purse on the ground beside her and pulled out her business papers.

Rick took a second to admire Marie she had clearly made alot of effort in her apperance today and it showed and he was totally under dressed.

"You stay, its not a bad time, i have nothing planned for today and would be nice to sort this buisness out. So tell me what sort of partnership you have in mind?"

Rick poured himself another drink and lit a cigarette,

"You sure you dont want a drink? I promise not to get you drunk" He said to her cheekily.  

Marie smiled at his humor.  While her husband did not find it humorous she understood it.  At least she thought she did.  She could not deny that Rick might have a more sinister nature that he masked with the humor, but her gut told her this was not the case. 

"I am certain Don Rick." 

She waited until he had settled in with his drink and smoke and then began, "What I have in mind is a 51%/49% partnership in a horse racing track here in LA.  I would retain the controlling interest, and in exchange I will personally take on more of the long-term liability and you will receive a larger percent of the short-term profits.  With the help of a 3rd party business firm here in LA, I put together some numbers and figures for you to consider that include a 3 and 5 year projection.  You will also find a written proposal outlining the terms of the partnership itself.  All of which, of course, can be negotiated."  

She handed him the papers to look at and added, "I think you will agree that opportunity for profits for both of us look quite promising should we agree to enter into this partnership together."

Marie had no idea what to expect from Rick.  Would he be as laid back in his business affairs as he seemed to be with the rest of his life?  Or was all that a mask for a cunning Great White shark that showed no mercy in business deals?

Rick took a few notes as Marie spoke to him, he had terrible memory he would only forget what was said. He took the papers from her.

Rick studied the papers Marie handed him carefully, he took in everything she had said, he thought it was all sounding pretty good.

Rick looked up from the papers and studied her facial expressions to see if he could work out if she had a tell.

"Im curious," He said to her her "Me and your husband dont seem to see eye to eye, what involvment does he have in this deal?" 

It was a fair question and one she was quite willing to answer.  "My husband is an adviser to me in this business deal and that shall be his only role.  Of course, should something happen to me as my husband he would inherit my interests in the partnership.  If you would like, we can add a clause giving you the right to buy my interest at a fair market value should something happen to me."  Marie added an after thought, "And likewise I can have the option to buy your interests from your heirs at fair market value."

Marie smiled and leaned back into her chair a bit.  "I know from your perception it seems like my husband controls my actions and my life.  That is not the case.  I am my own woman.  I make my own decisions.  That said, I am a traditionalist raised in the old country.  My view of marriage and my role and responsibilities within that marriage differ somewhat from those found here in the states by many in the woman suffrage movement.  While I support the right of ever woman in this great country to be able to vote, own their own business, and determine their own way in this world; I have a resolute belief that society must maintain its foundation to reach its fullest and greatest potential."

Marie tilted her head and studied the Don.  "I hope my traditional beliefs will not be a deal breaker, but I will understand if they are."

Rick like the sound of a option to buy the interest should anything happen.The deal sound more and more appealing to him.

"This deal sounds like the sort of deal i can get on board with i certainly am interested in working close with you" Rick winked at Marie than chuckled to himself.

Rick took a swig of his drink and paused a second.

"I guess he question is how much will this cost me? And you say the racetrack shall host races, did you think about using it for other benefits such as holding parties?" Rick liked nothing more than a good old party.

Rick pulled out another smoke, and offer Marie one.

"May i also say while we are here i know that yes i may think your husband controls you, but i am terrible at thinking before i speak, and am sometimes unaware of other peoples beliefs and traditions. I am single i am not use to seeing it, prehaps i can teach you a few things?" Rick laughed at his own jokes then looked to see what sort of reaction Marie would give his cheeky humor.

"I am sure there are things we can teach each other, Don Rick," Marie grinned as she shook her head no to the offer of a smoke.  His humor did not offend her, but she still was not certain if it was all in play or if there was a hint of something more.  Marie knew she needed to stay on her toes when she was with him.  The dance with Don Rick was one of the most complex she had ever encountered.  She hoped she could stay ahead of him.

"As outline in the paperwork there, I have secure the financing for the real estate.  What I need from you is the cash for some renovations, start up operational expenses, and your vast networking of connections.  "My best estimations put your investment into this project at around half a million dollars.  I, also, do plan to host any number of other events beyond the racing itself.  We will want to keep our revenue diverse and steady.  In fact I was thinking one of the things we might host at the beginning would be a community Easter Egg hunt on the inside turf course.  We could secure corporate advertisement fees to cover costs and pocket anything made from the refreshment sales as profit.  Such an event could be worth thousands of dollars in free advertisement."

Rick paused for a second and took it what Marie had said, he scanned the business plan again he was making sure every detail suited him for he did not want to be agreeing to something that wouldn't work.

"I will be back in a second he said" As he headed off inside.

Rick re appeared a few minutes later holding a black brief case, he put it on the table and unclipped the hinges, he opened it and span it around to show Marie.

"There is no way I can turn down an opportunity, not only to work with a woman like yourself but also being able to make some good money shall be a bonus"

Rick showed Marie the contents of the brief case.

"Half a million dollars you say, it should all be there I am due back in Philly Monday evening, have a few matters to attend to there, but I shall give you some details to be able to contact me there if you should need to."

Rick handed Marie some details on his Philly location and how to contact him, he was very happy with the business he was about to go into with her, he saw the potential it had to earn big money. Rick took Marie's handed a kissed her on it gently.

"I hope together we can make some serious money."