A small “mmm.” was the response to her first question.
Followed by a thoughtful purse of the lips. “I would say it was a passion worth pursuit, certainly one I try to avail for my self and those around me.” He paused and called off a couple of dishes for himself as well. He sipped the wine.“ A good year, the 28. But then I would have to wonder what you mean by living well, by my definition we would be on the brink of fulfilling your passion to its utmost tonight, but perhaps your definition doesn’t mach mine. I would also say that you like to answer questions with more questions.”

He grinned at that. “ and then I would ask again.”The large red man relaxed his arms in what almost appeared to be a throne, both of their chairs were ornate in a way that wasn’t quite over the top but reaching the point of being too much.

The acknowledgement of her presumption brought only a small smile to Mina's face as he questioned her definition of living well and then, in essence, asked the question again.

"Well in that case I'm afraid you'll have to get used to disappointment. I won't be telling."

He was right about the wine. It was an excellent vintage and that Mina could fully appreciate.

"I can't go telling you all my secrets. Ruins the mystique."

And reveals far more about herself than any one person could safely know. Putting her life on the line and their's as Mina would kill them to protect herself.

Venus sipped his wine. " Oh? I think that it would take much more than one little secret to take away your mystique darling."

He smiled as a plate of tiny but delicious looking appetizers came out, neither had ordered them but there they were compliments of the chef.

"Mina, I thought that we might take in an opera, if it would please you. A Grand Aida is showing tonight, if you've seen it we could find out something elseto amuse us I am sure." Something a bit more intimate perhaps?

She chuckled lightly.

"Perhaps but I think I'd rather not risk it."

Mina mulled over his offer of catching an opera. After her little escapade at the theater going to a production without the express intent of killing the star actor would be fun.

"Mmm, sounds like a good plan to me."

Following that statement Mina helped herself to some of the appetizers that had shown up courtesy of the chef. So far the date was excellent. Would it continue so? Mina had little doubt that her escort would do his best to ensure that it did.

A nibble her or there, Venus sampled the delicacies laid out before them, keeping his potentially wolfish appetite at bay. His tail however seemed to have found his date's calf and decided that it needed affection. he never did learn to behave...at least not in manner that knew anything about spatial boundaries.

"I'm pleased to hear it." Venus replied, his eye brow rose as their choice came on large platters, they must have already been cooking these for someone else, and when they ordered, it became theirs.

He unwrapped his utensils and settled the napkin on part of his lap, it wasn't large enough to cover all of him after all. he began to cut his food, but ever bite seemed to be a suggestion of something else.He would let Mina lead the conversation for a bit, if she liked.

If Mina was offended by the wandering appendage she certainly didn't show it. Truth told it didn't bother her in the slightest but there were reasons for that. She simply flashed her date a smile and went about the meal with manners refined for the purpose of blending in with her social betters. Had she stayed with her mother and not killed the woman then Cosmina might have been their equals at one point. Now? Now she was simply a well paid hireling. All of perks of that lifestyle but without the pretension and mind crushing boredom. It suited her much more than playing the dutiful wife. Mina had no doubt she could play that role if need be but her vocation suited her.

The two of them had fallen into a silence. Mina was entirely comfortable within that silence. She spent far too much of her time within a void of sound to be troubled by a lack of it. The ringing of the phone that heralded work for her however earned the purse a slight glare. Retrieving the offending bag, Mina withdrew the phone.

"Pardon me while I take this call." she said by way of apology before answering the tiny machine.

"Yes?"
...
"It will cost you triple the usual fee. You're interrupting something and you know how I hate that."
...
"Very well but that makes it quadruple."
...
"I'll call you later to setup a meeting when it's done. Ciao."

Mina ended the call with a slight frown on her face. A job tonight that could only be conducted tonight. It would pay an exorbitant fee if she completed it, which was hardly in question, but would interrupt if not end her date.

"It seems I have some work to attend to. No need to wait up for me. He can reschedule."

If she left the restaurant now she might just have enough time to get back to her apartment, change into something a little more suitable, and complete the corporate espionage job she'd just been hired for.

"By all means." Venus replied politely. cell phone interruptions were harbingers of doom, sometimes though they were just interesting twists to the night. Venus noted that she took silence well, she didn't fidget or try to fill the void. He knew a bit about silent Voids. though his silent voids were very nosy, though technically silent.

Venus listened in on the call and did not like the way things were sounding. interrupting indeed, but then, she was getting quadruple.

"If you don't mind a bit of unobtrusive company, I would be happy to accompany you.I assure you, I will be nothing except an asset to your business arrangement, no cut necessary. Consider it an odd detour in our evening. I confess I think it would be enticing to watch you work."

Venus raised a hand and snapped once, immediately a pair of waiters rushed over. He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and jotted down instructions. He placed an envelope on the table. " tell Louis I apologize for the inconvenience and mean no insult. Do call ahead and tell the valet we will be needing our car." whether she agreed or not to his proposal was irrelevant. She would be needing a ride home.

Well she'd never taken a date to work with her. It might prove to make the evening more interesting. And the work she needed to do likely wouldn't take too long. Normally she separated business and pleasure but in a few rare instances it hadn't mixed too terribly. Mina favored her red hued date with a grin.

"Very well. I'll fill you in on the particulars on the way to my apartment. For now we should leave if we've any hope my changing and us arriving in time to be of use."

Mina stood from her seat and nodded at the waiters. Compliments, she felt, were unnecessary. They'd done well this evening and Mina had expected no less after the way they'd treated Venus. And speaking of him, she felt no need to wait on him. He could keep up and she had a mission to plan. Overhearing what she needed would be tricky. Though getting in would not. The company in question had a young CEO meaning he'd invited a few of his important clients and employees out to a club instead of something more sedate. Important business would be discussed this evening that her client wanted to know about. She sashayed toward the elevator, fully expecting Venus to follow on his own.

"indeed." his eyebrows raised at this delicious all business attitude the phone call had awakened in the woman.

Venus watched the woman walk away and savored it, he wondered momentarily if her changing included him watching. perhaps they might need more time. Venus walked toward the elevator glancing out the window as he did so, situating in his mind where the front of the building was.

The woman stood elegantly watching the numbers climb slowly towards them. He looked at her and smiled politely. " I thought we were in a hurry." his arm casually scooped her towards his chest his tail curled up the other way and he lifted her carefully toward him, even as he sprang backwards and through the window behind them they fell through the air and he studied her face as they fell. His hand reached toward the wall
and he bent his knees slightly ready for the impact. As they neared the ground he spotted something even better. His hand whipped out and latched onto a light pole. His fingers digging into the metal that would forever bare his fingerprints on it. It bent from the impact, the glass shattered on the ground as he let go of the pole and set the woman down gently.

The Valet had obviously kept the car close, it was already waiting near three young men in vests with absolute shock written on their faces.

"Shall we?" he gestured toward the open and waiting door.

The elevator ride was nothing to speak of until her date decided to get a little free with his hands. Cosmina might have retrieved her gun and suggested that he put her down if they weren't hurtling out of the window and toward street level moments later. It was all very showy. It might have impressed someone else. In some ways it did impress Mina. It was hard to dispute that he would make excellent muscle if she needed it for this mission. However the sheer amount of attention such actions attracted worked exactly counter to her usual mode of operations and as such balanced out the admiration for his abilities.

Once he'd set her down she feigned brushing some glass off of her skirt as she walked past the shell shocked valets and took her seat in the car.

"I do hope you won't do anything quite so...sensational while we're working." she said once he'd joined her in the car, "I typically employ stealth more than theatrics. Though they can be useful for diversions."

She leaned back in her seat to allow the large red man to drive and contemplate that while Mina worked out exactly how she'd get close enough to a private party to overhear what she needed in a club that was bound to be far too noisy.

“Of course not, is absolutely your show, I’ll follow your lead and be as discrete as a man of my nature can be.”

He shut the door softly behind her and got in his side of the car. “ I did however think that we were in a hurry.” Speaking of which. Venus hit the Gas and allowed his driving skills show as he weaved threw traffic in the way that only a true new Yorker can.

She would have more time to change into work gear; They sped toward her apartment and with a couple of illegal turns might have made it there in record time.

He parked his vehicle by the curb and left it running for the valet. “Keep it running and close and there is a good tip in for you.” He exited the vehicle and opened her door, he intended on following her up if invited, if not he would wait in the lobby.

Mina managed a nod and explained the job as he drove.

"It should be a simple job. A little corporate espionage for one of my regular customers. A rival of his is having a meeting about a business deal at a club tonight. There won't be any further discussion so it's tonight or not at all. The only issue is going to be getting close enough to hear what I need to hear. The noise of the club will make that difficult but not impossible."

She allowed herself to relax into her seat as Venus drove through the city. He was fast and that was a good thing. Along with that came the surety of her job. Mina was good at pulling a man if she wanted one. However she was even better at her job and it showed at that moment in the confidence, or arrogance, she exuded. Once they were back at her apartment complex she tilted her head at Venus and motioned for him to follow her.

"Come along"

Up the elevator they went to her penthouse condo. The ride was swift and all too soon she was allowing him into her apartment.

"If you'd like to carry a gun and don't have one on you I'll allow you to borrow one. Though," and here she paused to eye him for a moment, "I highly doubt you need one."

Mina headed for the closet to select a more revealing, and thus more club-worthy outfit. That left Venus to either follow her through the bedroom or remain in the modern styled living area.

“Interesting, depending on the club I might have some sway, though I must say I can’t see you having trouble being anywhere that you might like to be in a club. That said, once you have your plan in mind let me know what you would like me to do, and I’ll see that it gets done.”

He hesitated, at the car, as she turned and told him to come with her, he could help but love the way her silhouette showed against the glow of the lobby. The tilt of her head and off to the apartment they went, he wanted this scene tonight, he had just hoped what followed would be less official business.

“I’ll pass, I throw harder than guns shoot.” He smiled politely. “I do however appreciate the offer.”
She hadn’t told him to stop following and unless she rolled up a newspaper and smacked him on the nose, then he would be proceeding to her bedroom to enjoy the finer things in life. He leaned unobtrusively up against the wall in the bedroom, in this size of penthouse the closet would have plenty of room to change in, if she chose to put on a little cabaret for him however he would enjoy that as well.

His eye traveled around the room and he had to give it to the woman, she knew how to live, it was rare that people of like taste traveled in his social circle.

His connections could be useful. He'd already proven some of them with that dinner. Between the two of them it wouldn't be too difficult to talk their way out of a situation. At least, so Mina hoped. If it got beyond talking? Well Mina wouldn't miss what she was shooting and if Venus hit as hard as he claimed there would be no problems. Regardless, she descended into her closet. No dress this time. Mina kept the boots but traded in the dress for a pair of skin tight black pants and a top in a deep crimson red. It would do nicely for a 'work' outfit.

"Well in that case this should be a snap."

Before leaving her closet Mina quickly traded purses and retrieved a somewhat larger gun from her vault. A bit more stopping power couldn't hurt. Upon leaving the closet she turned once on her heal, ostensibly giving her date a good look at the new outfit before leading the way back to the front of the apartment and toward the car.

"That should do for now. Let's get going."

Out of the apartment and once more in the elevator, Mina leaned against the wood paneled wall. It had been a while since she'd attempted something with a partner. This would be interesting, if somewhat dull for him. If all went well Mina would have little use for him other than as eye candy and prospective muscle.

He laughed modestly. “I doubt you’ll even need me, you strike me as more than capable.”
Venus refrained from following the girl into the closet, though slightly disappointed it might for the best that she didn’t undress in front of him, just yet. Venus nodded his approval. “Simply stunning.” She would be well worth the number of dates it would take to get on her good side.

Venus watched her quietly as they moved down with a descent amount of speed they didn’t stop multiple times on the way down as they would have from the restaurant.

“I figured a few signals wouldn’t hurt if we separate. A yawn if you need a minor distraction, spill a drink if you want a big distraction, pull your gun if you want me to come and watch your back and just start shooting and I’ll take that as punch first ask what went wrong later situation. I figure other than those four I get to sit back and watch. So, what’s going through your mind right now, before an assignment?”