"How are things going with your father? Is he still a pain in the ass?" Ben asked Laura as they sat across from each other at the lunch table in Hearth. This was the divine line he'd chosen, thinking about the first time they met at his interview, when he was able to raise her attraction level due to bringing up how work affected her personal life.
However, this time did not go at all how Ben planned.
[Target's current attraction level: mortal enemy(-1)]
When he mentioned her father, Laura's face turned from cold to absolute zero. She was dealing with the inner struggle of hiding something major from her father all due to this jackalope here…yet he even brought him up in front of her? She scowled at him. 'Once this is over with, I never want to see this Chia Pet-head ever again…;
Ben couldn't believe he chose the wrong line, but the results spoke for themselves. So he could only watch as his Divine Line Generator skill revealed to him which opportunity he missed.
[A: You look so thick, I bet your pronouns are they]
'So that was the correct answer…' Although it wasn't too accurate for Laura, what the line did accomplish was being funny, and that was often enough to win a woman over. It was unfortunate for Ben that he didn't know Laura had seen him with Tina that day, or he would've realized the father line was not an easy layup but a trap. Either way though, the result was the result. Now, the problem became even worse. How could he seduce Laura so that he didn't end up a testicular mutant?
As he watched Laura ignore him, and he smelled the shrimp fried rice below him, Ben thought about all the possibilities…
He could tell from Laura's expression that she planned to avoid him in the future, so he knew while he had her here, his only opportunity was now. Although her attraction level was at the bottom, if he could keep working on her, he was confident he could build her attraction back up. The problem was she wanted nothing to do with him, and they'd be ending this meeting in a few minutes. So, how could he accomplish that?
Then, Ben remembered something, an item he possessed; one that was perfect for this very moment.
[Red String of Fate(Consumable, Epic) x3 – Tie the string around your ankle and someone else's to link your fates together, increasing the odds of encounters. The length of time for the strengthened connection will be up to a day, though possibly much shorter, depending on how much fate energy is expended to facilitate meetings]
Ben received this system item in the recent past. It was valuable, an epic, something that would give him what he most needed now—time. So as he reached into his pants pocket, he felt it there: a silky string that was as smooth as milk. Taking it out of his pocket, he looked down to appreciate it a moment, its red luster capturing his attention any time he saw it. Ben knew one thing for certain, this was it, the item that could save the day. Yet, there was a small problem—the activation method.
To use this item, Ben needed to tie it around Laura's ankle, but it's not like she would hold her foot out for him to rub and tie a string around. Well, there wasn't much choice here, Ben had to do it. Pretending to drop his napkin, he ducked under the table. Then, he hurried to wrap the red string around his ankle. When he was done, he glanced at Laura's slim sexy legs under the table, and gulped.
He knew he didn't have time to be distracted though. So, he leaned forward near her, and being careful to not touch her, wrapped the string around her ankle as well. Since it was a consumable and not an item, she couldn't feel it, but that didn't mean she was an idiot. She frowned when she noticed Ben had been under that table for longer than normal, and it wasn't only her. Fat Frank at the nearby table showed a lopsided smirk…as he watched Ben under that table, making strange motions around Laura's ankle…
He wasn't sure what to think but, he soon shrugged. 'Looks fun…'
Frank was an easygoing guy…
Soon, Ben got up from under the table and noticed Laura glaring at him. He cleared his throat. "Got it! You know, napkins are tricky these days…"
She didn't know that…
Nobody knew that…
That wasn't of much consequence though. What was important, is that after tying the string to Laura's ankle, he felt a strange sensation, like the space around them changed. In fact, she felt it also, but didn't give it much attention, returning back to work so she could be rid of this cabbage patch kid as soon as possible.
Soon, she thought she got her wish too, as they finished going over the work documents and prepared to return to their normal routines. In fact, it seemed inevitable. With mortal enemy attraction, Laura couldn't help but keep a safe distance from Ben, showing him a hateful glare anytime he so much as glanced at her. She hated being around him, and only dealt with it because she was professional. So as they waited for the elevator and it arrived, opening to reveal no one inside, she frowned when she thought of being in there alone with him.
However, she prioritized work, after all. So stepping inside, she prepared herself to deal with a minute of discomfort in sharing the same closed space with Ben. The only problem was, she didn't realize what he did. Ben smirked. 'This is it…'
An empty elevator in the middle of the workday in such a packed building? If this wasn't the workings of fate, he didn't know what was. Ben glanced at Laura standing at the opposite end of the elevator from him. It was now or never.
