<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/WKDwASY.jpg?1)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Brandt<br/><strong>Date and Time:</strong>June 11'th, 5:30 PM<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Brandt's Home<br/><strong>Wearing:</strong>Business attire<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>SweetSerenade<br/><strong>Mentioning:</strong>N/A<br/><strong>Content warnings:</strong>N/A<br/><strong>Extra information:</strong>N/A<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Brandt was seething. The week long conference he had attended had turned into a nightmare. After years of maintaining a polite distance from the noble naga clans that held a near monopoly in pharmaceuticals, they had finally forced his hand.<br/><br/>He had declined their offers to join their clan and merge their companies one too many times. The naga had sought him out in the breaks between talks and at the dinners he attended, the subtle threats rolling off their tongues as easily as their compliments. And each time there had been a different female at their side, all of them vibrantly coloured and hungry-eyed.<br/><br/>It was perhaps their easy arrogance that irked him most. They were so sure he would give in, give up on the principles and goals by which he ran his company and adopt theirs as he adopted their clan name. He had managed to escape their attention for too long and now they wanted to turn a potential threat into an asset by dragging him into the snake pit of Naga politics.<br/><br/>His dogs were waiting at the door when he entered, their tails a blur of excitement at being reunited with their master after a week apart. They could hardly sit still as they anticipated the best ear rubs. He barely noticed them as he made his way to the living room and took out his laptop from his travel case.<br/><br/>It didn’t take him long to find the website one of his chemist’s had joked about as they lamented their lack of free time for dating. Within a couple of hours of applying he had been accepted into the program and made a simple profile. He uploaded the photo he used for business accounts. Brandt hesitated as he typed ‘Primarily interested in starting a family.’ The corner of his mouth lifted in a wry smile and he shook his head as he pressed enter. It was an euphemistic way of stating what he wanted, but one that seemed appropriate for the spouse program. The rest of the information he provided was sparse and impersonal.<br/><br/>He started filtering his options until he was left with seven profiles and chose the 4’th one for the sake of symmetry. Serena Nox it would be. She matched his requirements and he supposed listening to an activist’s spiel couldn’t be much worse than the self-absorbed small talk of the female nagas he’d endured the past week. That was if she was earnest in her desire to do good.<br/><br/>He clicked the link to her email and started typing.<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">Greetings Ms Nox<br/><br/>I would like to meet at the Sparkling Diamond for dinner at 7 PM tomorrow evening or at your earliest convenience to discuss our compatibility and a possible arrangement.<br/><br/>Transport will be provided. Your address?<br/><br/>Regards,<br/><br/>Brandt</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>Brandt sent the email and finally relented to the insistent nudging at his side and took the dog’s narrow head between his hands and ruffled its fur. The other one had long since curled up against his coils and was snoring softly.<br/><br/>His shoulders relaxed and he sighed. Outside the sun was setting and drenched the room in warm light and deep shadow.<br/><br/>He was looking at an ending, he knew. His decision was going to result in major changes in his life. The nobles might have forced him to make it, but his choice, and whatever repercussions it might have, was his own. It would allow him to stay true to his vision and he could find contentment in that.<br/>