[quote=@Pilatus]
“[color=ed145b]I know you,[/color]” She said, feigning amazement for his ego. “[color=ed145b]You’re the one with the helicopter.[/color]”   
[/quote]


[Color=Tomato]"Well, you've gotta get around on these islands somehow, right?"[/color] he said, giving an 'aww shucks' shrug like it wasn't any big deal. Behind him, he could feel Machiko rolling her eyes from behind her shades, which only made him grin even wider- if he could make a worthwhile acquaintance [i]and[/i] annoy Chiko at the same time, this evening would be a spectacular win.

[Color=Tomato]"It's a work thing, though, really,"[/color] he continued, a completely disingenuous humble-brag, [color=Tomato]"Makes land surveying easier, and my clients expect a certain amount of showmanship."[/color]

[I]Ah, but I can tell you aren't so easily swayed by such superficial trappings,[/i] was the unspoken but implied next part of that line. [I]You're unimpressed by my flashy playboy charms, and are looking for someone deeper and more mature.[/i]

It was all bullshit, and everyone involved in this dance knew it. Bobby knew it, Machiko knew it, even the local bumpkin Ronaldo had seen him play this game enough times to know what was up.

And he was positive the woman he was chatting up knew the score as well. She had been a second or so from telling him to fuck off, then changed gears the moment she recognized him. It was a quick and subtle change, but Bobby had a Knack for reading people; you don't make billion-dollar deals with movers and shakers by being easily taken for a ride. There was an intelligence in her change of tone and demeanor that suggested she was after something, and it likely wasn't just a ride in the chopper and a roll in the hay.

So not an easy mark, then, but a fellow player. That only interested Bobby more.

[Color=Tomato]"I'm Bobby,"[/color] he finally introduced himself. [Color=Tomato]"Forgive me for presuming, but you don't strike me as someone who's just here on vacation. Would you happen to know anywhere around here where a wayward gringo can get a good drink and some interesting conversation? And [i]please[/i], don't point me to that bar with all the goddamn boomers who think they're Jimmy Buffet."[/color]

Ronaldo was giving him a concerned look, suggesting he recognized the woman and wanted him to be careful. Machiko was frowning about the amount of money he was about to blow on overpriced booze. He flashed them both a toothy smile, as if to say [i]relax, I've got this.[/i]

Whatever it was the brunette wanted out of him, she was likely to play along with the routine at least for the evening, so unless he just completely made an ass of himself, the opening gestures were all but automatic. If there was a deeper game to be played here, Bobby wanted in. And if it only went as far as a few rounds of hooch and a chat with a pretty woman, he was fine with that too.

And to be perfectly honest, he really did want that drink.

[@Pilatus]