A Contract of Interests ( Jared / Pandora )

[Deleted]

Being told to dress carefully for being presented, Pandora wondered if this was something family related or what. However, she did go and choose carefully with a lot of attention to looking sharp. Fortunately her modeling experience came into play here and she felt well suited when they left, her grandfather using floo powder to get them closer to their destination. Leaving the home of a friend, they walked down the street, his hand on her shoulder as she led the way to the address they were supposed to meet their connection at. Not quite knowing what to expect, riding an elevator upstairs raised her eyebrows as to what this wizarding restaurant was actually like.

Her 'grandfather' was well dressed so she assumed it was extremely expensive and was not surprised when they walked in to see the expansive interior available with a rather nice view across the top of London. Stopping in front of the man at the podium she heard her grandfather announce his name and who he was looking for. As they were escorted across the room to the window area she saw a semi-familiar face and closer realized who it was. "Merlin..." she said softly, straightening her face out not before she noticed the other man standing up at the table studying her body. 'Ah ha, it is that sort of situation,' she thought as she passed on a welcoming smile.

With all three men (she would count Jared in it for this at least) standing till she sat down as a matter of etiquette, she saw his look at her and knew she looked very different then in a uniform. "Hello Jared, Mr Tchaikovsky." Her eyes swiveled between her grandfather and the other man before her eyes rested on Jared wondering how he felt about this. Handed a menu soon after, a glance showed no prices and the dishes were elaborate and refined; this was a very expensive place!

JARED ZAIRE TCHAIKOVSKY

[JARED ZAIRE TCHAIKOVSKY]

From the start Jared knew something wasn't right, his dad was supposed to be meeting a potential business partner but he often bought his sister's to flaunt their beauty. It wasn't unheard of for a guy to make cloud judgment where a beautiful woman was involved, his dad was living proof. His dad bringing him along and telling him to at least act semi-interested in the whole ordeal let him know something was up. If he attended a business meeting with his father it was only to see an example of some of the things he would have to deal with once his father turned the reins over to him. Upon reaching the restaurant he immediately knew something was up, it was a restaurant his father owned and was only used to show off when he was scouting potential suitors for his sisters.

When he saw Pandora and her grandfather walking towards them it only cemented his belief, he was being set-up and not in a particularly bad way. He knew Pandora from school and he firm in his belief that she should have been a slytherin, he didn't trust her for some unknown reason. Possibly it was because he just saw something off about her, however he didn't really want to visit that at the moment. He if his father had his way would have a lot of time to figure the girl out. He was surprised she wasn't protesting about this whole thing, there was a lot of pureblood girls who did.

"Hello Pandora, Mr. D'Sena" He said and Sat down after the opposite party was seating, his father wasted no time in telling them why they were all gathered there. One thing he loved about his father if nothing out was his cut-the-bs attitude. He liked to get down to business so Jared was sure this wouldn't take up to much of his time. He leaned over to Pandora and smirked while the adults were talking he whispered over "Order from the bottom or the back, it has the have most expensive stuff and shows you have expensive taste and you're Accustomed to a certain life style, Plus it will drive my dad mental" He said with a wink, though they weren't paying for anything seeing as how they owned it, it was still nice to see his dad mortified about the supplies they lost to free dinner

PANDORA DAWA D'SENA

[Deleted]

As the two men began speaking about a contract possibly, she raised her eyebrow. Her goal was to capture a bloodline and secure her own, but she had hardly expected her grandfather to make the arrangements. A glance at Jared and a thought for a moment; at least she knew him and he didn't look too bad. Though she couldn't imagine somehow sleeping with him, if this continued to a conclusion she'd be expected to. Since she wasn't looking for love that didn't bother her so much and her confident gaze might have warned him she didn't mind this.

When he leaned over and spoke her smile grew a little bit. Twisting his father's nose did sort of please her for the audacity of it, but she whispered back softly "Good to know, are you okay with all...this?" She didn't have to say about what surely! A glance at the back of the menu and a certain amount of humor came to her eyes. Surely some of these dishes she would never see again and the entire thing looked Italian, following the current fad of three small dishes per person as a standard. She read quickly, as the female of the party she would be expected to order first for manners alone.

And she was a very quick study.

When the waiter came by and took their drink orders, she asked for a liminada and a glass of red wine since she was looking at fowl on the menu. Her grandfather nodded at the server when they glanced his way to check and then agreed before taking everyone else's orders. Her self satisfaction at ordering above her age wasn't visible however; in the modeling world she was used to being coddled. As the men began discussing details like service rings she frowned and asked Jared softly "What are service rings? i've never heard of those before..."

JARED ZAIRE TCHAIKOVSKY

[JARED ZAIRE TCHAIKOVSKY]

Jared snickered at her order silently as he himself ordered some pasta meal with white wine. His father was long since past letting him drink, he even had a spare key to their vineyard in France. “I don’t mind, it’s better than some French bint, I don’t know” he said truthfully, as he listened to the grown-ups talk, he wasn’t however okay with the talks of service rings. He set his menu down and turn towards Pandora and frowned. His father wasn’t known for his kind heart nor his welcoming attitude. Still the thought of those actually being used made his blood boil, not to mention the fact that they would be used on his sisters at some point. The though of Lolita wearing one almost broke his composure…..almost. He leaned in toward Pandora the adults were too busy talking to notice their whisperings.

“Rings that make you more inclined to my will.” The disgust was evident on his face, and he slowly sat up in his seat. Clearing his throat he addressed the idiot talking about them as if they weren’t there, he was a lot more controlled and vocal than normal, all his playfulness was gone and he looked like the shrewd business man his father was ‘I doubt that would be necessary seeing as she’s not opposed to this, lets not revert back to the ways of caveman, as long as we can all agree there won’t be any trouble this, those rings are pointless.”

He turned his attention back to Pandora something unreadable in his eyes, he wouldn’t back down from this, he had no feelings for him but he didn’t want someone who was being controlled by anything besides her own greed for money and power. He had sisters and he couldn’t allow this to happen, not that he would give any indication it was the reason. Leaning closer to his father he whispered something about gaining favor and he nodded as his father scratched that out of the contract.

PANDORA DAWA D'SENA

[Deleted]

When they came back for the food part she ordered Pigeon with warm foie gras sorbet and the next two most expensive sounding things, seeing his father wince out of the corner of her eye and smiling sweetly back at him. As Jared snickered softly she winked at him when his father looked down for a second. At his answer she nodded. "True, and at least you don't look french, that might ruin my day," with a barely concealed smirk. As far as that went, they could snip at each other so it was good. She saw his look change however as the rings came up.

Somehow that seemed like a bad idea.

When she asked he told her and she felt her blood get cold; how dare the man! Actually how dare the wizards of the past who made it a thing big enough to be in contracts in the first place! As she listened he stood up against it and somehow she hadn't thought it was to his advantage, but she liked him the more for being as bothered by it as she was. As he finished she added "As well as insulting to say I don't know my place in the scheme of things." Her grandfather looked her way sightlessly and nodded, seeming taken aback. She was vaguely aware he had siblings and she thought he had sisters, but she wasn't completely sure.

As they agreed to take those off, she gave Jared a serious nod of thanks as the idea of being enslaved was not in her top list of course nor would it be for any woman. And in her own mind she determined that if his father thought that was a great way to start off, she'd be ordering much more in the way of expensive things in front of him in revenge. As the men continued to talk about technicalities, most of which (child inside of two years, finish school first, property ownership, etc) she didn't see any objections to in the first place, she asked again quietly "Have your sisters known about that one?"

JARED ZAIRE TCHAIKOVSKY

[JARED ZAIRE TCHAIKOVSKY]

“Ah, but I could if I wanted to” he said with a smirk, he would leave that hanging and let her guess at what he meant. He didn’t hide it nor did he flaunt it, his Metamorphmangus ability was one his father was proud of. Having an ability was something that made the contracts roll in, and his father felt powerful denying majority of them. He always said it was all about the one you picked, but he got chills at the thought of him looking over Pandora…his father was creep to say the least. Perhaps being a shrewd business man came with some side effects.

Jared rolled his eyes when she commented on her place in the scheme of things, she sounded so much like his sisters when she said that. He choose not to comment but busied himself with his food, eating slowly and with great manners. Though he wondered what would happen if he were to start eating like a pig, or put a napkin bib on like some rich parents do to their spoiled little brats. Would it drive her away or would she stay for the money….something was up with her. She couldn’t be against the rings and then talk about “her place” as if she was in some 19th century betrothal. Not that he wanted nor cared enough to figure her out, it was all just suspicious.

He noted her nodded of thanks but said nothing nor reacted to it, The adults had finally talked everything over and everything just needed to be signed. He raised an eyebrow at her question “Yes, but with my father raising them do you think they would speak out against it? Besides the only one who would, is probably going to marry her crush…he comes from a nice family” he meant nice in both wealthy and actions. They would be appalled by the very idea of such things, however his father was all about appearances. Jared hope Pandora wasn’t expecting him to be all lovey dovey and junk, not only did he not know her but he wasn’t the type to be that way without a good reason. This was just a silly business contract, increasing the Tchaikovsky wealth and all of that. Of course the D’sena’s would benefit from such things, it was really a contract of interest.

PANDORA DAWA D'SENA

[Deleted]

She arched an eyebrow at him at his words, but didn't get it at first. Then again he didn't go around changing things everyday and when it did click her eyes gave him a sharp glance of warning about playing with her, but it turned humorous after a moment. She had only seen him do it once, but it had been enough at the time to get her attention. The idea that he would make himself look French just to get under her skin was one that made her want to reach out and smack his hand, but not while his father was around. Her eyes glanced at his father with a slight frown in them, but he didn't see her do it. The man seemed used to doing what he wanted and getting results.

Where was that trait in his son? Or was it just to appear at another time in the future?

She'd rather know about that before it surprised her, but they were not especially close. She'd need to spend some time learning something more about him. She nearly kicked him under the table as it was when he rolled his eyes at her statement, frowning at him as if to say 'don't push me.' Gah, being married to him would be a constant war of pokes and gibes she could see mixed with aggressive changes of attitude. At least it wouldn't be boring that was for sure... As the two adults finished talking about the details, the food arrived as he spoke about his sisters. So one of them actually had something like love? She felt surprised and gave him a look which said the same.

The pigeon smelled good actually, but she still said "I'm surprised, I somehow had the impression love was one of the last things pures married for," with a touch of disgust in her voice, aimed low enough to be almost missed. Picking up her utensils she ate without further comment, finding the food well done and unlike a number of society types she ate everything she had ordered, leaving little left on the plates. She didn't act ravenous, she just considered it a waste to order something and then leave food behind; as many families in her opinion knew the hard way at the poverty line, it was a wrong thing to do. As she was near to being done, her grandfather stood along with his father and stepped away from the table (he putting a hand on the other man's shoulder) saying they were going to go smoke and have coffee and give them some time alone.

As they left the table she leaned forward slightly and said "All right, explain that eye roll, what was that all about?" she said it with curiosity and maybe a touch of irritation as if he had been making fun of her and she wanted to know why...

JARED ZAIRE TCHAIKOVSKY

[JARED ZAIRE TCHAIKOVSKY]

Jared watched discreetly as she eye his father, he always wondered why it was the girls who could see right through his father, perhaps it was because he was so transparent to those he wasn’t making business with. Though her grandfather couldn’t see at all, what was up with that? If he was being honest with himself most of his time was spent gauging Pandora’s reaction to all of this, after all she was the one giving up the most. He himself had no problem with arrange marriages, most purebloods did though. “No, not a lot of families stick to the old rules, only the genuine blood snobs do” he said with a smirk gesturing to his dad, the arranged marriages he brought to his children were to secure the family fortune and blood status.

When the food was done his father made an excuse to leave and left him to “seal the deal” he turned his attention to Pandora and raised an eyebrow when he asked about his eye roll. She was studying him just as much as he was her. He smirked and leaned forward, just close enough to give people the wrong idea. Not many Tchaikovsky’s brought girls here that they were involved with. He could see the people stare, he thought it was funny but he made no attempt to point it out or show her, let her find out for herself.

“I don’t believe for one second you believe you have “place” in the scheme of things, im not apologizing fro showing my thoughts about the obvious misconceptions in your statement…..Me and my father are two different people entirely though I do have his temper” He said shrugging, and that was his biggest fear though he wouldn’t tell people, however Pandora needed to know first and foremost that him and his father were NOTHING alike. Any comparison between them would end in an argument and perhaps Jared walking away all together, he did try to control his temper.

PANDORA DAWA D'SENA

[Deleted]

Blood snobs. Good to know he wasn't one of those though his father seemed to be. She nodded to show she got that as she watched them leaving to go 'have a cigar' or whatever excuse. She knew her grandfather liked them so they probably were going to smoke. As she asked him, she saw the smirk and figured it had to be about the close conversation now the men were gone. She laughed softly at his words and raised one hand picking up a finger for each. "I'm a pure girl, Jared, I knew long ago one day it would happen. I don't get much of a choice in this, so i got resigned to things when I was much younger. So yes, I do 'know my part,' thank you very much, I've just learned to not care so much. I am not some whiny chick."

Second finger. "You don't need to apologize. The one thing I don't want is being enslaved and you clearly object as well to that. Good enough for me. If I have to be in the situation which was a given, you are a hell of a lot better then some of the guys we both know. I'm not complaining." She shrugged and put up a third finger, smirking as they both knew it was the middle one. "Third clearly, whatever I share with my grandfather by blood it isn't being blind. Your father likes young women, I can tell. And you gave me the means to strike back, that I give you kudos for. It also shows you are smarter then him by giving me stuff in return. I like that."

Now she leaned back and contemplated him, a slight frown tugging at the side of her mouth.

"So, let me ask you something. Should everything work with this, what are you getting out of it? Would I have to give up my modeling career? Stay at home and have 2.5 kids? Have to do all the housework by hand? What do you get out of this by going along with what he plans?" she said with a slight challenge as if to say 'explain your own side now.' Besides, he clearly suspected her motives showing he was smart, but what she said also covered that. She was not some girl on a leash, she had as much fire as anyone else if need be, but her needs were simple.

JARED ZAIRE TCHAIKOVSKY

[JARED ZAIRE TCHAIKOVSKY]

Jared sat back and listened to her rant, she made some pretty good points. Which probably meant her guardian was old fashion like his dad, which wasn’t an all together bad thing. It just meant that he had to be a bit more careful when wording things and doing things. Pandora wasn’t the only one with something she didn’t want people to find out. Though he doubt it had anything to with the marriage, he sighed when she asked about his motives, he didn’t have any.

“From you, nothing you can model or whatever it is that you do, kids are so far down the road we don’t need to even talk about that but I’m thinking three.” He didn’t want to have a billion kids like his father, even though there was about seven of them or something it was still too many. Plus he doubted Pandora wanted to have that many kids, though he wasn’t sure how many kids they would have if they turned out mostly girls….. ‘Though a single son is reasonable” he said with a small smirk, he sounded like a true pureblood male right there. He was always taught that a son could secure the bloodline as the last name doesn’t change.

“As for my motives, what do you think I get out of this, my father is all about appearances, there were plenty of choice but darling not all of them were as good looking as you. Perhaps I want a trophy wife…ever think of that?” He asked with a raised eyebrow, technically all he wanted was someone who had a drive for power to match his and something to bring to the table. Her being headstrong and pretty was enough for him, he didn’t want someone who was moldable. He Didn’t want to be married to one of his sisters so to speak. It was only fair that he showed her exactly what she was getting into because Jared had his moment of being a jerk, he wasn’t entirely able to escape Erik’s influences unscathed.

PANDORA DAWA D'SENA

[Deleted]

She tilted her head at him, wondering if he had been listening. "Excellent, because I enjoy it and it is a good reputation for you as well, having a model for a wife if I get picked up by the big studios. However, you may not have been paying attention very closely to what your father also brought up." She didn't sigh as it was sort of expected as a standard thing she had heard of in contract marriages. "First I finish school before the marriage begins and two, has to be a child inside the first two years. So as to being far down the road, it's not."

And he clearly wasn't marrying her for the physical no matter what he said. he seemed not to care about that part from his own words. Three was reasonable, not that she was really excited about the idea of multiple kids, but it was reasonable. "Well since you don't get to pick the gender we;ll have to see about that. I would have figured a son was needed anyway," she chuckled. She watched his face, wondering if maybe he already had a lover and that was why he didn't seem to be touchy about sex? "I certainly don't object to having a boy and a girl. Special raising or what?"

Trophy wife. Ha, yes she could certainly do that.

"Ahhh, now I follow you. So your father will be appeased and you can get him off your back I take it?" She nodded, seeing why that would appeal. "I can take that. As long as you let me know if there is ever anyone on the side before it blows up in public, I think this can work out if you want it to. Whatever your father agrees to with my father will probably eventually come back around to me as well." Bloodline. She would have secured it and the finances and added in a reputation from the modeling to top it off. She didn't have any reason to not like that set up.

JARED ZAIRE TCHAIKOVSKY

[JARED ZAIRE TCHAIKOVSKY]

Jared nodded, he wouldn’t expect her to give up something she loved, of course she might need to take a few years off to raise the kid, seeing as he couldn’t be the only one. He didn’t believe that one parent over the other should have say in how the kid was raised but as she said before that was a long ways away. “No you obviously weren’t put in the Slytherin house for reason, the contract states we have to get married after you finish school, whose to say that the wedding will be planned quickly? Or that we both won’t have busy career lives that need our full attention preventing us from getting it together. The wedding could take four years at the max to plan, and kids with two years…..that’s a while” he said with a roll of his eyes, looks like all the contracts and business deals would be solely his responsibility.

“I wouldn’t be to sure about that, I think there’s an old really old spell that helps the gender of the baby work in the favor of the parents. If the first one’s a boy there will be no need for the other two” He said partly joking partly wondering if he had read that somewhere or heard his father talking about it one day. “No, I just don’t want the girls to be all ditsy and worried about marriage like my sisters….or spoiled rotten” He could careless what his father thought, next year he was an adult, and he would make his own choices. Though, this had to be the strangest way of getting to know your betrothed he’d ever witness, most of the time they argued or talked about hobbies…..he was gonna like this little arrangement.

Jared inwardly sighed with relief and nodded “Yes, to be honest I just want the inheritance that comes with making him happy, everything else is mere details. Outside of raising kids and of course appearances im not expecting this to be about love or anything. Though….stepping outside of a marriage isn’t something I’d do I’ll agree to those terms.” he didn’t want to say that he was too jealous or possessive to allow something like that to happen. Just for he simple fact he believed in equality and it wouldn’t be fair if he was the only one with someone on the side, it was best to remain faithful and not pushed each other for intimacy. “Yeah I think this could work out, wonderfully though….we don’t have to shake on it do we?” it was a little business humor, he was trying out for when he was head of his father’s companies….or a quidditch player…or both really he didn’t care.

PANDORA DAWA D'SENA

[Deleted]

Ah so he knew all about those contracts and the making of them. Must be something from his father. "The reason I am not in Slytherin I shall not expound on, but my grandfather has been without sight for a long time. I have been fairly isolated from the outside world while taking care of him and making sure he was well taken care of. It's not that surprising I don't know the details, but I have to work with what I know of course." She eyed him with a shrug to say it was of little consequence as she would learn. "Knowledge, of course, can be gained and I plan on learning all I can to make up for lost time." She knew why she wasn't a Slytherin but she doubted he really cared for the point of difference, still this was an odd conversation really.

Raising an eye at his words she none the less thought the information was interesting. "Interesting. Then the only question is where the advantage is. Most boys who grow up with a sister tend to be more in tune with women which I would think would be an advantage. Still, not sure how I feel about manipulating what is still the oldest guessing game." She shook her head as if wiping the slate clean. "Really all I could care for is a healthy child of any gender, but I know the old English phrase still. "An heir and a spare." I don't object to three children, Jared, long as one of them is a girl. So, another point I think we can agree on." She nearly smiled at how cold sounding some of this was talking it through like this, but it did feel at least honest.

Honesty was more then she might have expected actually.

"Defintely not spoiled, each should learn how to work for what they want and not be given a free ride. Children of real character are those who know they don't have something to fall back on. I'm glad to hear we both think the same on that!" Maybe some of her old world could be brought forth to her children as well, a prospect which gave her a slight thrill. "I will make the same promise. A good home for children also means a good example. Speaking of which, how do you want to play this out at school? I know the contracts aren't signed or near to being done, but I need to know what you would want to put across to those who will pry. I'd rather not have the gossip being something we don't control from the very start."

She shook her head. "No, that seems far too cold for this, but I can think of a decent alternative." Pushing her plate aside she leaned forward and took his wrist, pulling it to the center of the table and ran a finger around the inside of his palm a minute, softly, then put hers in his and motioned for him to put his other on top of hers. "I put my trust in you in this, my future I will entwine with yours for better or worse to both of our advantages. A fair playing field between us shall be our bond until other develops. For the future sake of both our family lines, for seven generations we will think ahead." There, a nice mixture of promise, the future, and a touch of her ancestors as well.

JARED ZAIRE TCHAIKOVSKY

[JARED ZAIRE TCHAIKOVSKY]

Jared if he was being perfectly honest wanted to go to sleep for awhile, his summer had been nothing a summer was supposed to be and now hew as talking business with a girl a year younger than him. His father had a way of throwing him into the weirdest situations. Though he supposed it made him all the more ready to deal with any type of craziness that might come his way, still he was going to have a constant migraine if he kept this up. He nodded, a lot of pureblood girls lived sheltered lives, then there were some who were allowed to venture off as long as they followed the basic rules, due to arranged marriages. Though to his knowledge there were just a few that still held stock in old beliefs. He didn’t even want to go down that road as his father had spent a few drunk night ranting about it to his children. “Yeah, you might enjoy the huge library at back at home, I still haven’t read every book and I started when I was about seven, some of them are hard to come buy also.” he was trying to stir the topic away from the contact, they had all the bases covered so far, and anything else could be dealt with when it came up.

They got past the talk of children, and he was relieved he didn’t want to mess up someone’s life any sooner than he had too. He wasn’t so sure he would be a good father, heaven knows his wasn’t exactly father of the year. Though she did ask a very legit question about school life, he doubted he would be able to control his jealousy if she was with another guy. ‘Well im not an only child and I wouldn’t put it past my dad to pry into my school life….Occasion dates and ill walk to you your classes?” he asked as if he was trying to compromise on some sort deal. He inwardly laughed at how much of a business partnership and less of a relationship this sounded like.

He put his palm on top of hers but was unsure what to say, everyone had different cultures as trying to find a pureblood, that wasn’t related to you often meant going out of the country so he wasn’t too shocked that she had a different way of doing this. “Not sure what im supposed to say here so I just settled for an Okay” There wasn’t any magical bond or anything do he was relieved he hadn’t unknowingly made an oath of some sort, those could be hazardous to break.

PANDORA DAWA D'SENA

[Deleted]

A glance towards where the men had gone and she didn't frown, but she was thinking that being under the same roof with his father, a man who had been checking her out, did not sound extremely appeasing. That was her only real objection so far to this deal. "Ah, that sounds like a serious bonus for certain! But how long will you live at home before you get your own place do you think? I had fallen into the understanding most marriages started with getting another place soon after..." At least she hoped so though the Library was appealing. She had already heard a few horror stories in the dorm from girls about in laws...

But she had the impression he wanted to talk about other things. They would surely have enough time at school for the rest for certain. Sipping her wine to finish it up she listened and watched his body language, hoping she would soon begin to learn what he was thinking about. "Dates and classes sounds fine. I'll just let people think we are dating then, feeling each other out for who we are." Which would be the truth of course, though since contracts were often mentioned in the social section of the paper, people would find out about it without them saying anything. Heck, her grandfather would have to tell someone he was in negotiations if they asked so common gossip would probably do that.

She laughed softly at his okay comment and gave him the first true smile of appreciation for it. "You could say whatever you felt like so okay was fine, Jared. it's not like it's official, but it's much nicer then a handshake." She looked at his hands, so much bigger then hers and felt their roughness. That brought about the second hesitation in this, surrendering to a young man like this, but she had time at least beforehand. "So what are your plans for the last school year? You must have some ideas about where you want to be headed?"

JARED ZAIRE TCHAIKOVSKY