Meeting of the Minds - Christina Morgenstern and Lily Bell

Christina almost let her reflexes take over once more and force her to pull away from her counterpart's touch. But then again, that wouldn't be very fair of her, would it? She'd just prodded Lily, called her out on something inconsequential in an attempt to put her on the back foot. If she couldn't handle a bit of return fire, then what kind of manager would she be? Very well, then, she thought. A challenge for a challenge. Christina steeled herself, forcing her legs to remain where they were, allowing herself to feel the silken touch up and down her leg. Though she also kept her professional gaze locked on Lily, the former researcher couldn't stop a blush from dusting her face.

"It does. Thank you for your candor." While she was certainly thankful, Christina also couldn't help but understand the subtext behind Lily's words: "thrill," "conquest," "conquered," "play," "satisfy" -- each intentionally or unintentionally creating a tone of temptation. She'd met many men in academia who sought to bed her with such words during a departmental happy hour, but Lily's did not reek of the same slimy, disrespectful lust. No, Christina realized, Lily likely got some degree of entertainment from teasing her. Whether out of genuine romantic desire, a playful sort of friendship, or some uniquely AFW method of hazing, she didn't know. But there was likely little actual malice intended, and so Christina didn't mind... that much.

"Now I feel bad about misleading you as to my true reason for calling you here," she lamented with a sheepish sigh before looking back at Lily. That reason was a bit more embarrassing than a desire for simple networking. "In truth, it actually has much more to do with the fact that I'm a fan of your exploits... Both inside the ring and out." She winked before adding that last part, hoping that the unpracticed gesture didn't seem too awkward. After all, Christina wanted to play at Lily's game too. "I hope you won't see me as too much of a copycat, but I'm inspired by what you've put together. Unlike most managers here, you don't merely handle all the organizational matters for your wrestlers. Many don't even care about their training, but you seem to. And perhaps most impressively, you've managed to create a cohesive brand out of it all. Forgive my business-school-textbook way of looking at your friends, but it's something I hope to replicate."

Christina glanced away with a shrug of mock haughtiness. "In fact, I told AFW management in no uncertain terms that I wanted to model Team Stanza after a sports team rather than a mere agent-client relationship. If they wanted me, they'd let me build on your success. I wanted more control over their matches, marketing, and professional life here than most managers. That doesn't mean that the central office won't occasionally push me for certain things, but it's nice to have some leverage. Of course, I had to make certain concessions -- I'm fully responsible for my own talent scouting, contract negotiations, and onboarding process, but..." By this point, she'd wandered away from what she was trying to say, so it would be best to come out and say it rather than dancing around any longer.

"I suppose to cut to the chase, I wanted to learn from you because I truly look up to you."

The wandering foot continued to do it's business, pleasantly surprised at not being rebuffed. She loved a challenge, and breaking the younger manager's concentration seemed to be just that. But of course she couldn't let that draw her own attention away from the business at hand either. Indeed, she touched one hand to her heart in a pantomime of shock when Christina confessed that she had ulterior motives in inviting her there. It wasn't the first time she'd been invited out to talk business and was met with something other than business.

Listening intently, almost expectantly, she let the wunderkind explain her rationale. It did sound like her arrangement with AFW was not unlike her own, shouldering much of the responsibility and spending a significant amount of time negotiating on the stable's behalf. There was a lot to balance and the work seemed endless most of the time. As she listened and empathized, still she let her stocking-foot brush against Christina's thigh; at first on top, almost in her lap, and then sliding along her inner thigh.

Her foot paused and Lily blinked at the heartfelt confession with which Christina finished. Truthfully, she kinda felt rude teasing the poor woman while she was trying to get to that point. Not enough to withdraw her toes from between her legs though. Still, she fixed the doctor with look of genuine sincerity, a hand reaching out to rest upon the table between them, palm up acceptingly if Christina would take her hand.

"I am more than flattered, Doctor Morgenstern, I am... touched. Although I'm not sure if I am anyone worthy of looking up to, I am glad to have been able to mean something to you." A rosy blush was growing in Lily's cheeks as she spoke, a rare moment of seeming bashful in the face of vulnerable sincerity, "If there's anything I can do, or can offer, to help you get you and yours established I would love to help."

Without thinking about it she let her foot slide against Christina's thigh again, "I am just... so glad to see another manager here looking to take care of her stable. So, if you need to work out some matches to build up your brand, or need access to amenities or sparring partners, or even just a second opinion on a contract... Do you have my phone number?" There was more she wanted to offer, but her hands were still tied by her own missteps. Some mistakes you never seem to stop paying for.

Throughout her short time at AFW so far, Christina had dealt in so much subtext and backhandedness. It reminded her of her brief travels through Australia searching out new talent (some of which she'd have to follow up on later); every flower, insect, and animal, no matter how pretty, was either venomous or held something sharp or muscular enough to hurt her. Similarly, it seemed as if every manager, administrator, and media member in this new ecosystem was out to get her.

Not so with the woman in front of her, however. Both Lily's mouth and foot were completely honest about what she wanted, though each was confessing a wholly different desire. Though, as refreshingly forthright as Lily was, Christina still saw both fronts as a challenge, if a friendly one. She'd learned long ago never to back down from challenges. Nonetheless, she couldn't stop a rather deep blush from gracing her face as she refused to close her legs back together. The feeling of Lily's silken touch was... intoxicating in a way that Christina was intimately familiar with from her studies but, unfortunately, hadn't had much luck in experiencing herself. The firm yet kind hand that Christina accepted wasn't making matters any easier.

"A-Ah, no, I don't believe I do," she finally answered, cursing herself for wavering in her response. She pulled away her hand and replaced it with her phone, tapping over to the Contacts app before handing the device to Lily. "As for getting established though, there is something I wanted to run by you. I believe I heard in some interview or another that Lamya was your first wrestler, yes? I was just thinking that she might be a good match for my first, Brooke. I will not bore you with formal negotiations while we're having such a good time; I'll send you my proposal later."

And now to return fire once again with a challenge of her own. Christina truly was enjoying this little back and forth they were having, even if Lily seemed to be much less competitive about it than she was herself. "But before we even think about putting pen to paper, I wonder if you might be interested in a little friendly wager regarding the outcome of whatever match we set up? I'd hate for you to think that I'm merely using your group's experience as a springboard for my own, so consider it a token of our new... relationship." She chose her words carefully, attempting to tease Lily just enough to be tempting without accidentally giving off the impression that she had any problems with their conversation.

Each time Christina accepted the challenge Lily saw an invitation, an acceptance to linger or advance. Ever the incorrigible flirt she seldom possessed the will to refuse such an invitation, especially when from one so enticing as the young doctor. Her toes would glide back and forth and then a little higher up her thigh, until her silken touch would brush against Christina's panties... or potentially the lack there of, no judgment. It was a delicate touch, a wordless question, the seeking of permission.

Above the table Lily smiled softly as the woman took her hand, but the touch of skin on skin was fleeting and once more replaced with something synthetic and battery powered. Without a word on the subject Lily would key in her number and set her own name to "Lily" and nothing more formal. Sliding the phone back across the table her eyes snapped up at the proposition of a match.

"Oh, what a sweet idea. And I'm sure Lamya will love it." She had done some quick research on Christina's stable, holding some first impressions of the wrestlers in her mind. Brooke was a cutie and shared a few stylistic elements with Lamya. The mention of a wager made her eyes light up, always a sucker for a bad idea, her expression normalizing to an impish grin as Christina continued, "Firstly, Doctor Morgenstern, I fully invite you to use me so long as you do so with respect." The innuendo now was only a thin veneer, plausible deniability, "Just the same I am very interested to hear what's on your mind."

At feeling Lily's foot slide deeper between her thighs, Christina couldn't help but flinch her legs closed. As fun as it was to flirt so shamelessly, to feel more like a desired equal than an eager-to-learn junior, there were some things that she just wasn't prepared for yet. To be frank, she'd gotten more intimate with Lily in just these last few minutes than she had with almost anyone. Still, she didn't want Lily to feel as if Christina was pushing her away wholly, that she'd been offended. She smiled gently, her expression a playful way to tell the more experienced manager that she'd reached a boundary.

Whatever the case, the ball was in her court for now. Christina grabbed her counterpart's ankle and loosened her legs' grip on them. She held the foot there with one hand before taking her phone back and replacing it with the other. With a flick of her wrist, Christina's hand was gripping Lily's from the bottom, mirroring their earlier position to reflect the current state of their conversation. Christina had control now, and she'd continue to press back against Lily's advances.

"I was thinking that if your wrestler wins, I would purchase a few rounds for us at the bar of your choice?" She rose a playful eyebrow before adding, "After all, if you wish to... seduce me as you so clearly have been trying to do, why not do so in a more appropriate environment?" As if to punctuate the point, she gently pushed Lily's foot away from her and back towards the floor. She hoped that Lily wouldn't take her call-out the wrong way, but if the more experienced manager wanted to keep playing this game with her, then she'd have to earn it. "Of course, should I win, our next meeting will be in a much less... intimate setting. Perhaps we might talk business at a baseball game with many more prying eyes?" She made sure to emphasize that there would, in fact, be a "next meeting."

In spite of having much of her notoriety derived from her presence in and around the AFW ring, most of Lily's skill and experience came in more social environs. Business meetings, of course, but also as a dancer; both of these professions required the careful reading of her counterparts, the fulfilling of needs and the prodding of defenses and boundaries alike. Both the conscious and unconscious reactions to the further trespassing of her toes told her that Christina wasn't comfortable letting her go any farther right now. That 'right now' was important to remember, boundaries were always moving.

She smiles softly as the younger woman took her hand in her own, almost as if feigning innocence against all possibility. She withdrew her feet back beneath her own seat when the woman pushed it away, allowing her to control her own space. Idly she allowed her thumb to brush against Christina's palm as she digested the proposal, "Hmmm, that sounds lovely, Doctor Morgenstern." She began with a gentle tone before her impish smirk returned, "Although you may underestimate my shamelessness. As you know I'm used to working with an audience." She'd flash a rakish wink before laughing softly, "But I accept these terms, providing we can smooth out the details with all involved parties."

Christina nodded with relief and satisfaction. Of course, this wasn't the first time she'd networked within AFW, nor was it the first time she'd negotiated part of a match in person. It was the first time, however, that she'd done either with somebody that she wanted to consider a friend. Allies were few and far between, she'd been told, in a field such as this. Friends were even rarer, and while the young doctor cherished those she'd already made on Team Stanza, she was so glad to have found another.

A schoolgirl's grin unfolded across Christina's face, forcing her to sip up the last dregs of her coffee to hide it. Still, she couldn't help but giggle a bit out of happiness. "Ahah. I'm glad. I'll have Legal draw up the standard contracts and email you later about the specifics." With that, Christina rose from her seat, still smiling. "But that's enough business for now, I think. I may have done a bit of research on this coffee shop before meeting you here... Why did you not tell me that they had such a reputation surrounding their pastries?"

The young psychologist reached her hand out towards her new companion, offering to walk with her to the coffee shop counter once more.

"And please... Call me Christina."