Desmond's gaze was impassive the entire time, and if her feminine wiles had any effect on him, it didn't show.  He took her hand, and even squeezed it gently, before he pulled his hands back and folded them together on the bartop.  He waited for her to finish speaking, smiling as she did so, before he began to laugh.<br/><br/>"You'll have to forgive me..." he said, reaching into the pocket of his coat and retrieving a folded piece of paper.  His long, thin fingers slid the parchment toward her, where he waited for her to unfold it and realize just why he had come.  "<em>Lola's policy</em>isn't my concern.  As this establishment won't be<em>Lola's</em>much longer."<br/><br/>He grinned widely, and directed her eyes to the deed in her hands.<br/><br/>"I purchased the ground this place sits upon..." he explained, his dark eyes roaming her form for a long moment before rising back to her gaze.  "That makes this establishment an intrusion on my property.  I am well within my rights as a land owner to demand Lola's removal, but there are other options.  After all, I'm not an animal.  I'm quite certain we can work out some sort of bargain."<br/><br/>He stood then, pulling the deed back into his possession and slid it into his coat pocket.<br/><br/>"Now, Lola...why don't you grab a bottle of your finest whiskey and meet me upstairs.  We have some things to discuss."<br/><br/>With that, he moved further within, climbing the stairs, his thick-soled boots crunching in the sawdust on the floor of the saloon.<br/><br/>