<span style="font-size: 15px">Strand raised his glass to Alessi after she read his note and caught her eye. He smiled her way in a friendly, but teasing fashion. She was up for it, or so it seemed from where he was sitting. Strand turned back to his friend to continue his discussion. Chances are he wouldn't get up to follow her until she left the room, so she had time.<br/>
<br/>
Olivia saw her approach from a mile away. "Ah! Good. I was hoping you'd make the right choice." She leant in to listen to Alessi and then laughed softly. Her teeth were a little crooked on closer examination. "He's not so bad. One of the better ones, actually. Always pays. Never badmouths you for trying to earn a living. And his <i>thing </i>speaks for itself." She noted with a sly tone. Olivia then raised her eyebrow as Alessi finished speaking.<br/>
<br/>
There was a pause. She seemed confused. "Well, he won't be able to see you. He don't even touch you, dummy. You are new around here, aren't you? The Fool's closet's a <i>gloryhole</i>!" Olivia whispered the last word, but the inn was so busy it wouldn't have mattered anyway.<br/>
<br/>
"No, no, no. You go in, discuss terms, and then he pops his soldier through the slot and you do what he agreed and Bob's your uncle. Dinner for the next three days." Olivia idly went on. She was sweet but clearly not the brightest tool in the box. She was inadvertently telling Alessi everything she needed to know to handle this situation herself. Why she was working in a dingy bar was becoming clearer by the second. Olivia leaned in again, as though this were a game and they were the conspirators.<br/>
<br/>
"Anyway, here's the idea... I'll take a break and slip upstairs, then jump inside the closet. You give him a nudge and head up after me...<br/>
<br/>
... Hop into the closet when you get there. It'll be stuffy but we'll both fit, did it once with another girl. Although she joined in and he paid double. Raunchy bugger." Olivia sighed and then laughed. "Once he shows up on the other side of the wall, you do the talking and I'll do the work. You'll have to sit through it, I'm afraid. He'd know the moment I open my mouth that I'm a Knossos girl, so you gotta be there for it to work."<br/>
<br/>
Olivia interlinked her fingers, rested her chin on her knuckles and leant on the bar. That was her idea. Alessi does the talking, she does the grunt work. It wasn't glamarous. It actually sounded awkward to be caught between the pair. <br/>
<br/>
Now that Olivia had let it slip that Strand hadn't expected penetrative sex to begin with, the trickery and sharing the cut seemed like a far less appealing option.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey, no hard feelings if you don't like the idea, but I need to know now. I've got to get back to my shift."<br/>
<br/>
Strand kept glancing over at Alessi out of the corner of his eyes. His anticipation was clearly at it's peak. He really wasn't bad looking. Perhaps overly confident and a little forward, but he clearly knew what he wanted. That said a lot about him.<br/>
<br/>
It was time to decide.</span><br/><ul>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 15px">Did she bail on both Strand and Olivia and lose this opportunity altogether? (Possibly invoking consequences from the man.)</span></li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 15px">Did she go with Olivia's brilliant but awkward and manipulative plan? (Where there was a risk of being caught.)</span></li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 15px">Or did she go upstairs and handle the gloryhole situation herself, now that she knew more about the situation?</span></li>
</ul>