Cheer Up, Natasha!

Janet was surprised by just how cold Natashaâ€s voice was when she replied. She was surprised by just how intense the expression on the blue-haired womanâ€s face was as she got up and stalked over to the window. The Native American wrestler had expected Natasha to be a little grumpy, a little despondent, but Natasha seemed to be gravely worried about some things. It was almost a minute before Natasha responded, her voice loaded with venom, directed at Lukretia, but also aimed at Janet as Natasha berated her for her supposed lack of understanding.

“I havenâ€t forgotten who you are. I know that you have business experience and all that. But that doesnâ€t mean you donâ€t have biases which are clouding your judgment.” Janet would stand up and shrug. “Everyone does. Lukretia has her biases that may color her business decisions. But you also have biases that color your perception of the situation.”

Janet couldnâ€t say that what Natasha said didnâ€t worry her, however. Lukretia had some sort of interest in Azami. On the one hand, it could be a healthy, perfectly reasonable interest, as a businesswoman would look at one of her best employees, and Natashaâ€s perception of it could be clouded by greed, jealousy, and frustration. Obviously, Lukretia wouldnâ€t want to hurt Azami. But if her interest was something else…something a little more ominous…well, that could spell trouble for all parties involved.

Janet crossed her arms in front of her chest and chewed on her bottom lip. “Azami is…somewhere. Taking care of business. She might be doing it at our apartment. Iâ€m not entirely sure. We can go there and check—Iâ€ll stay outside and let you take care of things with her, if you really want to talk things out constructively.”

Natasha only listened to the words of Janet until it became apparent that the woman was letting her adoration of Azami completely blind her to the truth of the matter. Natasha was very well acquainted with her own leanings but the first thing one learned about business was not to let them twist her decisions one way or the other, she knew she was no fan of Lukretia and how good Azami was, but if Janet was trying to say that she agreed with Lukretia on Azami being the clear choice for that title match then the woman was no longer talking sense. She was happy for Azami deep down even if she didn't seem to be, but taking her out of the match had never been about ratings, it was about Lukretia wanting something from Azami in return beyond her in ring performance.

"You're wrong, I've been here long enough to know the woman who runs Friction and how she operates. The contract I won says I can have my match whenever I want and she knows that, she wanted Azami to win and she wanted me to use that contract to take it from her because she knows how much I care about her. But I didn't, so the least you could do is trust me when I tell you Lukretia always has a plan she doesn't share, even with those involved." Natasha sounded very much the calculating businesswoman she had been raised to be in that moment, her expression stern and only softening when the conversation steered back to Azami.

"I think that is for the best. Did you drive here? If not we can take mine." Natasha said with a deep sigh, her shoulders slumping somewhat as if the conversation had worn her down.

Janet still didnâ€t think Natasha was right about this. Obviously, Lukretia was not a very likeable woman. Did she have a hidden agenda? Yes, probably. But Natasha wasn't thinking everything through completely logically. She was an emotional person, and she was in a very vulnerable state right now. Natasha could certainly be judgmental, and right now it seemed to Janet that she was jumping to the worst possible conclusion. Was there some chance that Lukretia wanted something from Azami? Sure, but it was neither Janetâ€s place nor Natashaâ€s to question that, seeing as Azami must have agreed to it.

“Did she do it to spite you or did she do it because she wanted something from Azami? I highly doubt it could be both. Iâ€m not even convinced that itâ€s either one, you know,” Janet responded as Natasha continued to question Lukretia, question AFW, question the whole system. “But, anyway, I think it would be best for you to go talk to Azami. I walked here—itâ€s a nice, brisk evening, and itâ€s only a little ways—so letâ€s take your car.” Janet would take a step towards the door, waiting to see if Natasha was coming along, too.

"Why not? If someone can achieve two goals with one move wouldn't they do it?" Natasha replied but with a much softer tone than she had been using thus far when the words used concerned Lukretia, so low in fact Janet would have to strain to hear what the woman said. She had sounded so sure before and she had been, certain that Lukretia had darker motives for placing Azami into the title match than what Janet believed them to be, and while she still held fast to the notion that the match had been stolen from her she felt doubt starting to creep into her mind.

What if what Janet is saying is true? Am I just upset at losing the match to Azami, have I made this out to be all about me when it isn't? These thoughts and more raced through the french woman's mind as she stood there near the window, not daring to look back at Janet again for fear the woman would see the uncertainty in her expression.

When she had finally calmed herself Natasha decided to drop the Lukretia subject and focus solely on Azami, hoping that speaking to her would settle her thoughts and allow her to move on from this. "Alright then." She said as she strolled back over to Janet, retrieving a set of keys from a drawer along the way. "Cars were the only thing this place didn't come with, but I bought one a while back once I realized how long the walk was to the arena." Natasha said as she led Janet back outside, locking the front door behind her before she made her way over to the garage which sat apart from the house. Opening the garage door Janet would see a very economical car inside, a blue sedan that seemed out of place with the luxurious estate. "Shall we go?"

“Sure, they would. But donâ€t forget that the simplest solution is usually the best one. Iâ€m not saying that what youâ€re suggesting is impossible, but itâ€s not necessarily likely,” Janet would explain, hoping to get Natasha off the subject of Lukretia and focused a little more on the issues she needed to work through with Azami.

Natashaâ€s gaze continued to be directed straight out the window, and Janet would wait patiently near the door back outside, watching the back of Natashaâ€s blue-haired head for any sort of sign that she could interpret. Natasha would finally move, marching over to grab a set of keys from a drawer before leading Janet outside, over to the unconnected garage, inside of which was a very nice, economical car. Janet would smile. “Yeah, letâ€s get going. Itâ€s already getting late, so weâ€ll want to get you there as soon as possible so that you have more time to talk…”

While it might have seemed strange to someone who didn't know Natasha too well she really didn't like using her family's fortune on herself when she could help it, one wouldn't know that upon first glance however as she lived in the family estate and wore clothes of such quality they had to be from a top designer. She only lived in the house to keep her parents from worrying too much and the clothes were all gifts from a friend of the family who hand made all the clothing both she and her mother wore. The car she used was one she had bought with money earned from wrestling and was something she was really proud of, the car never dirty as she cleaned it regularly.

The problem of Lukretia she had pushed aside but she still would seem distracted to Janet as she was now trying to think of exactly what to say to Azami once she met up with her. She may have had the car ride to figure it out but somehow she didn't think that would be enough time. "This might take a while though, I may end up having to spend the night. I wonder what we could all do while I'm there..." She winked at Janet as she spoke, half playing around and half being serious in what she was implying.

Gesturing for Janet to climb in Natasha opened the driver side door and slipped within, the black leather interior completely free of any grime or dirt showing just how well it was cared for. Once Janet was in she would pull out of the garage, letting it close behind them before she drove down the winding road which led back to the main road, and then turning towards the place Janet and Azami called home.

“Oh, my,” Janet would say, as Natasha pointed out how late she may be staying at their place to talk things over with Azami, and how she very wellmight need to stay the night with the two lovers. “Youâ€re right. It would be best if you stayed over tonight rather than trying to drive back to your own house late at night.”

She would slide into the passenger seat in Natashaâ€s nice, clean car, wiggling a little to get comfortable. Then, she would drape her legs across Natashaâ€s lap, stretching out and sighing. “Ah, thatâ€s better,” she would say, making as if she had no intention of moving from that position even as Natasha started driving. The Lakota wrestler would put a finger to her lips, now pretending to ponder Natashaâ€s query. “Hmm…what could the three of us do while weâ€re spending the night together…?” She was glad to have the brief diversion to discuss, rather than Lukretia or Natasha's upcoming discussion with Azami.

Natasha only ever drove with both hands upon the steering wheel despite all the scoldings she had received from her mother back when she was first learning to drive in the French countryside, even so she had her left hand upon the steering wheel while the right rested upon the woman's legs who sat in the passenger seat as she headed towards Janet's home. It was nearing night so her car lights came to life on their own, a safety feature of most modern vehicles, but she could still see clearly in this last hour of daylight and so took a quick glance over at Janet whose hypothetical question had gotten a laugh from her.

"Oh whatever shall we do?" She said in an over dramatic tone with yet another laugh following it, her hand would slide up and down along Janet's leg with its fingertips brushing dangerously close to the woman's crotch with each pass.

Since Natasha seemed perfectly capable of driving even with the distraction, Janet would keep her legs where they were. It seemed Natasha wanted them there, actually, so there was little the Lakota could do about them even if she wanted to. If they were pulled over, they might get in trouble. But Janet did not expect that they would be pulled over tonight. And so she would allow Natashaâ€s hand to travel up and down her leg, coming close to her crotch on each pass, but never quite touching it.

“Well, Iâ€m sure weâ€ll come up with something,” Janet would say with an exaggerated, teasing shrug. She glanced up to the road down which they were travelling, evaluated where they were, and pointed. “Youâ€re going to want to take a left here. Itâ€s faster,” she would say, directing Natasha to the apartment that she and Azami shared. It wasnâ€t too long of a drive, and they should be there in no more than another minute or two.

(Thread continues here: http://afwrpg.informe.com/forum/backstage-f33/fulfilling-obligations-t10625-110.html#p287353)