Everything Has Its Price (Eros/Anna)

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna inwardly sighed. She felt like he was running circles around her with his business talk. She didn't doubt his words, but they told her nothing about his personality. If she was seriously going to consider selling him the bookstore, she wanted to know what type of person he was. Was he a purist that would burn all the muggle inventory? Would he hike up the prices so high that no one would be afford to read? Would he return to wherever he'd come from and neglect the store into the hands of a hired worker, adding it to a list of other neglected investment businesses? Any of those things, and more, would easily make her stand firm against selling.

"Mr. d'Avonderre, Over the past year I've poured a lot of time and energy into this shop and it's customers. I couldn't simply hand over the key and walk away without knowing that all is in good hands." Annabelle paused briefly to gather her thoughts before stating her demands as a seller. "I'd like to make up a list of questions to send you. It would be basic information on how you would run the business to help me decide if now is the right time to step down, and if you are the person I would chose to sell Mystical Magikal Books to." She knew he could easily lie and tell her answers he would think she'd want to hear but it was worth a try for a little piece of mind about the sale.

[Eros d'Avonderre]

Inwardly, Eros was gnashing his teeth. He might have suggested that she simply keep the shop and her obvious attachment to it, but the candy shop was sapping his will to live, and he refused to end up the lonely laborer that his friends had become. "Send your questions then, Miss Hennessy," he said, his tone polite even in annoyance. "I would be happy to relieve your concerns." He would be happy when he owned something that might make him enough money to return home with his pride intact.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"Thank you for humoring me." She was grateful he'd agreed, otherwise any potential deal would be pointless. A part of her might want to give up the shop, but she still had it's best interest at heart. "Would you care for a tour?" Anna offered, not sure if this was the end of their impromptu business meeting.

[Eros d'Avonderre]

Eros's lips curved into a practiced smile that gave the appearance of being genuine all the same. "A tour would be lovely," he said. "Please, do lead the way." She had better actually be considering selling him the shop and not toying with him. If he went through her little tour and answered her list of questions and she denied him again, he would be most displeased. As it was, he intended to visit a certain café when he'd finished here and share some more pleasant company. Michael and his pet were actually friends with this vacillating creature?

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna gave Eros a quick tour, pointing out the various section of books, the back room, and finally ending in the flat that was still half filled with boxes of old books. "My summer project is trying to sort through these books. I've found some good ones, but they are mostly overstock of previous owners poor purchases." She gestured at the stacks and boxes of books scattered throughout the rooms where furniture should be. It was a lot better then when she'd started the project but it still looked a mess. She looked to him, waiting for any questions that he might have or for him to lead the way back into the store.

[Eros d'Avonderre]

Eros eyed the disorganized mess of boxes, keeping his distaste well masked. "The previous owners," he began, attempting to decide how many hundreds of Galleons of books were in this room alone, "Do you know much about them?" He looked to Anna. "Or, rather, do you know whether any of them held the shop for any real amount of time? Aside from yourself, of course." He wouldn't include her in his inquiries on past failure. She seemed competently knowledgeable about the running of the shop, if somewhat disorganized. Of course, he reminded himself, she didn't have a house-elf to help her. If she did, this would have been done in at most two days. It was unthinkable how people survived without at least one.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna didn't know much about the previous owners, having been sold the shop from a relative of the last one. The only information she had was from the old bookkeeping, which was close to nothing. She answered Eros's few questions the best she could before they ended back in the shop and he was taking his leave. His visit had confused her even more. Could she really be about to sell her bookstore?