Chapter 59: Two parts mission (1)

After a few minutes of driving, Tom brought the Mercedes to a stop under the restaurant’s entrance lights and stepped out without haste.

He straightened his shoulders as he glanced around his surroundings briefly.

The building was one of those places that did not need a large sign to announce its importance. With its dark glass, warm interior lighting, and a steady flow of people who dressed like they expected to be recognized, the restaurant screamed high class.

Tom walked around the front of the car to the passenger side and opened the door.

Sienna looked mildly surprised for half a second. Then the expression smoothed into something warmer. She understood the performance the moment it was offered to her.

"Thank you, honey," she said a little bit louder than necessary, smiling as she stepped out.

"I’ve got you," Tom replied.

He took her hand in a quick motion and guided her toward the entrance. The contact was light, but solid enough to photograph well. As they approached the doors, he caught the peripheral movement of people who were trying too hard to look ordinary: their phones angled just slightly wrong, with eyes that lingered a second longer than polite interest required....

Reporters.

Sienna had chosen the location with intention. This was not a quiet dinner. It was a stage.

Inside, the restaurant opened into low conversation, the soft clink of cutlery, and the muted luxury of alluring interior decors.

A host moved to receive them, but Sienna’s attention had already shifted past him. Tom followed her line of sight and saw the table near the half-partitioned section. His lips parted slightly in surprise at what he saw.

Adrian Cole sat with Stella Marchetti.

He was leaning in slightly, feeding her a small bite from his plate with the easy smile of a man performing devotion. Stella accepted it with a composed expression that did not fully reach her eyes. Even from a distance, the scene read as intentional. They were not the only couple who had come to be seen.

Sienna’s face brightened with calculated pleasure.

"We should go and say hello to the Coles," she said.

"Sure." Tom gave a short nod and followed as she started toward the table. He made no show of surprise, no unnecessary reaction. He simply walked with her, his hand still lightly at her back, masking on the picture of a husband escorting his wife across a crowded room.

Adrian noticed them first. His expression opened with genuine recognition when his eyes landed on Tom.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise," he said, rising slightly in greeting. "Tom Harlow."

Stella’s reaction was smaller and sharper. The moment her eyes landed on Tom, something tightened behind her composure. Her gaze flicked to him once, carefully limited, as if allowing it to linger would cost her something. She greeted Sienna with polite brevity, then returned her attention to the table as though the new arrivals were only a minor adjustment to the evening.

"We won’t interrupt," Sienna said smoothly. "We only came over to say hello."

Adrian waved the concern aside. "Nonsense. Sit for a bottle later if you have time. I’d actually like Tom’s opinion on what they’re pouring me tonight. Most people pretend knowledge they don’t have. He doesn’t."

There was clear enthusiasm in his voice, the same interest he had shown at The Langford. Tom gave a small chuckle at the directness of it.

"Happy to," he said with a small smile tugging on his lips.

Sienna, however, saw a larger opportunity than wine. Connection, proximity, and all. A senator at the table and a public image that could only benefit from the association. She closed her hand lightly around Tom’s.

"Actually," she said, smiling, "why don’t we join you for dinner? The table is long enough, isn’t it?"

"Consider it the makeup for the brunch that was supposed to hold yesterday." She added smoothly.

For a fraction of a second, Stella’s posture stiffened. It was small enough that most people would have missed it. Tom did not. Adrian, already pleased with the idea of continued conversation about wine, gestured comfortably toward the available seats.

"Of course. Please."

Tom and Sienna settled across from the engaged couple. A server appeared almost immediately, menus in hand, and the ordinary business of dinner began to arrange itself around a table that was anything but ordinary. Sienna was already angling her body slightly toward Adrian with an expression warm and professional at once.

Adrian returned to his easy public charm while Stella kept her composure, but the line of her shoulders remained too controlled.

Tom on the other hand sat still, looking at Sienna, trying his best not to look in Stella’s direction again, possibly til the end of the dinner. It was difficult because he was seated facing Stella.

"Dinner won’t take forever... I will survive." He thought inwardly, he had no idea what the the system had in store.

Tom had just accepted the menu when the System’s voice cut cleanly into his mind.

[MISSION AVAILABLE]

[MAIN MISSION]

Ruin Stella Marchetti’s composure in public.

This mission contains 2 parts.

[PART 1]

Get Stella so wet that she can’t stay seated.

Force her to leave the table with her panties soaked.

Do not let her fiancé or your wife realize why.

[PART 2]

Locked until Part 1 is completed.

[REWARD: Random Chest]

[PENALTY: $50,000 debt]

[TIME LIMIT: 30 minutes for Part 1]

The countdown began immediately.

Tom gulped hard. However he kept his face devoid of any expression as he looked down at the menu, even though behind the calm expression his thoughts tightened.

Thirty minutes in public? With her fiancé feeding her food and Sienna watching the table for every useful social opening. He was expected to affect Stella so thoroughly that she would have to leave the table, without anyone understanding why.

He turned a page he was not reading.

Across from him, Stella reached for her glass. Her expression remained composed, elegant, carefully arranged for the room. She had no idea she was being worked no.

Tom set the menu down gently and lifted his eyes just long enough to take her in again...

Less than thirty minutes.

He exhaled once, quietly, and began to consider how to make her break without ever raising his voice.

"How do I achieve this?"