Alex took the elevator up to Level One, where Marcus' office was.  He held under his arm the last of the confirmations for the Remembering Day Events.  Everything was already in place but just needed the last approval from Marcus.  Typically you sent someone else with the documents to get them signed.  But Alex couldn't stand sending out someone else to do something he could take some time to do himself.  Plus he wanted to discuss some concerns with Marcus and go over a couple of their back up plans in case certain situations came up.

His mind was numb from all the paperwork he had done.  And really it was only reaching the afternoon, so he still had a few more hours of work.  Though the only thing left on his desk was minor things that could be set aside for a different time.  Working the same office hours was becoming normal, and even the other people weren't really surprised by his presence anymore.  He knew that Tamis certainly enjoyed having him through out the whole day.  It made a lot of other peoples jobs easier for sure.  Alex just hated being predictable.

Arriving at the floor he stepped out and into Minister of Magic's office...or rather the waiting area before his office.  At the desk was the Aide to the Minister, Claudia Vespucciano.  He paid no mind to her at first but noticed the door was closed...that typically meant he wasn't in.

"Excuse me, Miss Vespucciano," the woman was Italian.  But other than that he didn't really know her.  Though he often saw her as he talked to Marcus on a daily basis.  He smiled, not even noticing what she was wearing as he was more concerned on if Marcus was actually in or not.  "Is the Minister out to lunch or something?  I have the last of the documents regarding Remembering Day."

Outfit

It was nearing her own lunch time, but Claudia was working on finishing a few final details of her latest stack of Remember Day paperwork while Marcus was out.  She wanted to have that stack completely organized and filed before leaving so when she returned they might be able to concentrate on whatever else might be coming their way.  As the elevator opened, she had a feeling she wouldn’t have to wait long for a preview of whatever that might be.

She couldn’t help the slight smirk of amusement when Alexander Belisario stepped off of the elevator.  Dressed in his usual black attire, his blue eyes didn’t even notice her as he looked back her to the Minister’s closed door.  Getting Alex to take some notice of her had been Claudia’s personal challenge since the first day as Marcus’ aide.  The men spoke every day and she had ample opportunities to try to elicit some sort of reaction from him.  The frustration of two years of failed attempts though was nearly more then she could stand.

At first she had simply tried the more subtle tricks.  Leaning over slightly to give Alex a clear view of her cleavage as she set a drink or file on Marcus’ desk, dropping something, usually a quill, just as he was exiting the office and bending over to pick it up in her usual tight skirt…yet time and time again those had failed her.  She had then upped her own personal game a bit by responding to the comments Marcus would make about her clothing or perfume with rather obvious responses while looking directly at Alex…again, failure.  There had also been hair twirling, eye batting, eye contact followed by eye lash batting, the almost infallible hair twirling while making eye contact followed by eye lash batting and flirtatious giggling…the list went on and on.

Short of hexing him into submission, Claudia was beginning to think he was an impossible one to crack.  Men were usually putty in her capable hands, but for some reason, not Alex.  She had watched him walk away over and over again, seeming unaffected by her, leaving her staring quite dumbfounded on occasion.

"Excuse me, Miss Vespucciano.  Is the Minister out to lunch or something?  I have the last of the documents regarding Remembering Day."

“You just missed him,” she responded, leaning forward a bit onto her elbows.  She was glad now she had not put her jacket back on yet.  The corset she wore made her ample cleavage quite noticeable, but the action made it even more so as she looked directly at him.  “I would be happy to make sure he gets them after lunch.”

She brought one hand up to rest her chin on, her quill in it, waiting for his response.  She didn’t break the eye contact, hoping to at least catch him actually noticing her instead of simply being completely oblivious.  Even that she would consider some sort of victory.

“You just missed him,”

He sighed, it just figured that he would.  He never seemed to be able to time his visits right on some days.  Or rather Marcus had actually been leaving his office more frequently.  Today he had actually hoped to go out and maybe even invite his daughter over for dinner.  So the plan was to get done with work early, but that never happened.

“I would be happy to make sure he gets them after lunch.”

"Thanks, Miss Vespucciano but I also have something I need to speak to Marcus about.  But then again if he just left for lunch its gonna be some time before he finally gets back," he sighed looking from Claudia to the Ministers closed doors.  During this time he hadn't so much as noticed anything of what Claudia was doing.  Alex was more concerned about how he was going to pull getting off of work early.

If Marcus was out for lunch then it might be up to an hour before he got back, because he had been taking his time lately when he left for lunch.  Alex felt like he should be irritated but it wasn't like he had the right to be so.  Not so long ago he didn't even show up to work until the majority of the building was at lunch.  Alex hadn't taken his lunch either...at least not yet.

"Eh, bloody hell couldn't he have waited like ten minutes?" Alex thought outloud but more to himself.  He sighed once again, "I suppose I'll just have to take my lunch in the mean time.  I'll see you later, Miss Vespucciano."  He turned to leave unknowning that he had basically crossed the final straw for Claudia.  And that she wasn't about to let him leave just yet.

Claudia resisted the urge to scream as he turned to leave, not even so much as sneaking a look anywhere but in her general direction.  Honestly, was he completely blind?  Thankfully her wand was tucked away within her jacket pocket or she just might have used it in a moment of sheer frustration.  She wondered if anything would work on him, short of stripping off her clothing and jumping on her desk.  She doubted that would go unnoted on her record.

Her mind was spinning with various options, but she knew she couldn’t let him get back on that elevator, at least not alone.  She was tired of losing this game she was apparently playing by herself.  It was time to try a new direction.  If contact within the office wouldn’t work, perhaps some time outside of Ministry was in order.  It was lunch time after all, and she had been about to leave as well.

“Mr. Belisario,” she called, standing as she grabbed her jacket and began to put it on, “I was just heading out to lunch myself.  I’ve been thinking…I see you every day, and I really know nothing about you at all.”  She had purposely dropped her quill as she was putting her jacket on and bent over to retrieve it before she continued.  It hadn’t worked in the past, but she could give it another try.

“Perhaps, we might be able to stream line our processes a bit if we were able to spend a bit of time talking,” she continued, standing again and dropping the quill on her desk as she looked over at him again.  “I simply hate to think of anyone having to waste precious time, especially during such a busy week.”

“I was just heading out to lunch myself.  I’ve been thinking…I see you every day, and I really know nothing about you at all.”

Yeah well that was mostly because he never went out of his way to talk to new people.  Though he had talked to Moira and didn't know her and ended up going to dinner with her.  But that certainly wasn't a normal routine.  Lately it had been more of him breaking his old habits.  So now that he thought about it, he hadn't really said much to Claudia at all...ever.  Yes well considering he did have the time he certainly didn't have a reason to say no.  Of course, it was during this thinking process that Alex had not even noticed her dropping a quill and picking it up.

“I simply hate to think of anyone having to waste precious time, especially during such a busy week.”

"I certainly don't mind," Alex said looking over at her finally.  "Perhaps we could get a bite to eat at the Leaky Cauldron or something.  I'm not a big fan of eating at the cafe in the Atrium when I can just head off and get some real food.  Unless you have another suggestion as to where we could eat, Miss Vespucciano."  He didn't really care where he ate, he was just wanting some place with some good food...and not just the sandwhich and tea that was basically the only thing on the cafe's menu in the Atrium.

The elevator arrived once more and the door opened, he stepped in and motioned for Claudia to follow.  He couldn't help but wonder though why Marcus had been seemingly gone from his office more often than usual.  It wasn't like him.  Then again it wasn't really like Alex to keep the same office hours as everyone else.  Things could be rather stupid at points and it somewhat irritated him.  Still he could at least get some lunch in the mean time.  Though he wondered if Marcus would somehow be back and gone again by the time he got back.  No matter, most of the things he had were for the end of the Remembering Day Events so they could be realistically held off until the next day at the latest.

When he finally looked at, despite the fact that it had nothing to do with any of her actions, Claudia had to fight to keep the small, personal victory from reading on her face.  Had he ever truly looked at her?  She wasn’t entirely sure, but it certainly gave her the added sense of satisfaction as she followed him to the elevator, being sure to allow her hips to sway a bit as she did so.

At least he was suggestion some place outside of the Ministry.  This was a bit of an experiment.  If she couldn’t get him to crack outside of work then that would be the end of it.  Although, she wasn’t entirely sure that she would be able to come to that conclusion without expressing her frustration at him.  At first she saw it as simply a challenge, but after nearly two years, if it hadn’t been for a few other men who had passed through her life she might have thought she was losing her touch.

“The Leaky Cauldron sounds perfect,” she said with a smile, joining him in the elevator.  “The Atrium is lovely…but you are absolutely right about the food.”  In her mind she quickly went over the few facts she knew about him.  There weren’t many details, but she knew his wife had died years ago and his daughter was on the path to becoming an Auror.  She also knew Marcus had taken an interest in her training.

“There are too many distractions there as well,” she added.  “You never know who might just make themselves at home while you’re trying to enjoy your lunch.”

“The Leaky Cauldron sounds perfect,” she said with a smile, joining him in the elevator.  “The Atrium is lovely…but you are absolutely right about the food.”

"I'm pretty sure that's why not many people actually spend their lunch here.  Though some do when they have to get to some important buisness after.  Or something like that," he shrugged.  The Elevator closed and would ironically be taking them to the Atrium so they could use a quick jump through the floo network to arrive at the Cauldron.  He didn't really know Claudia, so thinking of a conversation to move into was rather difficult.  But he felt like it would be weird to just not say anything.  But honestly he had no idea where to start.

“There are too many distractions there as well,” she added.  “You never know who might just make themselves at home while you’re trying to enjoy your lunch.”

"Oh yes," Alex amused for a moment at the thought.  "There has been plenty of ruined lunches in the Atrium.  I'm sure Tamis enjoyed her lunches more when I wasn't keeping the same hours as her.  Then again I think a lot of the other departments believe the same thing as well.  But not that I really care what anyone things of me anyway."  Probably saying more than he needed too, but Claudia had probably heard him talk to Marcus enough to make the connection that he really didn't care what people thought of him.

He was a man that was a workaholic, and no one could deny the results he produced time and time again.  He was damn good at his job, though he might not win any popularity contest in the future.  Not like that mattered anyway.  Alex wasn't really looking at Claudia as he spoke though he did glance over at her time to time since he was speaking to her.  Something in the air was different, was it Claudia's perfume maybe?  Alex couldn't tell and didn't really care too.

"How is your day going?" He asked changing it to something casual, though it was a typical go to question for anyone in the office.  So maybe it came off as boring.  But at least he was giving the attempt for small talk.

There has been plenty of ruined lunches in the Atrium.  I'm sure Tamis enjoyed her lunches more when I wasn't keeping the same hours as her.

Ah yes, Tamis Raynor.  Claudia was certainly familiar with the petite woman who served as the Head of the Auror Office.  The other woman was quite a contradiction.  Standing at only five feet tall, she was still not one Claudia would cross wands with, even at her own towering five feet ten inches.  Raynor was just one of those women she did not go out of her way to annoy.

But not that I really care what anyone things of me anyway.

“Probably the best possible policy,” she said, her mind wondering if he would truly not care if he knew exactly what she thought.  He had looked over at her from time to time as he spoke, and when he did she tried her best to give him that look that usually made men melt.

He didn’t seem to take too much notice though as the conversation then turned to how her day was going.  She nearly groaned, sure her expression faltered a bit.  However, she quickly recovered, placing her charming smile on her lips once more.  It wouldn’t do her any good to now to lose her patience.  Not when she was so close to being anywhere but within the walls of the Ministry with him.

It seemed too, that the harder she had to work for his attention the more she wanted it.  It was a bit strange to her.  The only time she truly thought about it though was when Alex would make his way into Marcus’ office.  If she ever did succeed in this little goal she had set for herself, would the fascination pass and would she finally be able to ignore him as he did her?

“As well as can be expected with all that is going on,” she told him.  “Everything seems to be in order except for the expected last minute details for Remembering Day.  I love my job, but this time of year is just so incredibly busy…this year especially of course.  And yours?  I know the Minister has been keeping your department quite busy.”

“Probably the best possible policy,”

It had always been his policy ever since he was a kid.  There wasn't a thing in his life that was handed to him.  Either that or he didn't let it.  Ever since he was young he had been adamant about earning his way, being responsible for everything that he did in his life.  It was also in this ideal that he came to not really care what people thought of him.  He didn't act like other kids...so what?  He felt he had to work for every aspect of his life.  He had been abandoned by his real parents at an orphanage.  And then abused at his foster parents home...so he had run off, knowing full well what that meant.  And from there he grew up working at a apartment complex.  Even though he was adopted by the owner he refused to be treated like a kid and worked around the complex, as much as he could.

To Alex, all that mattered was the result and not what people thought of how you got there.  It was something he did his best to remember.  Perhaps what irritated people the most about him was just how much help he never accepted, or how he never took in some of the more simple pleasurable things in life other than copious amounts of whiskey from time to time.

“Everything seems to be in order except for the expected last minute details for Remembering Day.  I love my job, but this time of year is just so incredibly busy…this year especially of course.  And yours?  I know the Minister has been keeping your department quite busy.”

"Yes, the Minister does love to keep me busy," the Elevator door opened and they arrived at the Atrium.  He stepped off with Claudia falling in stride next to him.  "At least busy enough so I can't bother him when he makes plans to spend time with one of his lady friends.  Though he tells me he doesn't do that any more.  I'm sure I could probably get a more honest answer about it from you.  It would have been easier to find out if I hadn't taught Marcus occulumency."  He sighed, though he knew one of the reasons Marcus wanted to learn it probably was to keep his thoughts hidden from Alex.

Alex was one of the only ones high up on the chain that had mastered both Legilimency and Occulumency.  And it was probably another reason why a lot of people from other departments avoided him.  They all felt that he might be intruding on their mind.  But Alex only ever used it when he was basically stepping into a situation that was a possible danger.  At least for the most part.  Some times he used it without thinking because it had become almost second nature to him since he had trained in it for so long.

They approached the fireplace that was connected to the Leaky Cauldron, "Would you like to go first, Miss Vespucciano?"

Claudia had been about to respond to his comment about asking her about any possible new lady friends when a thought struck her.  If he had taught Marcus to use Occulumency and Marcus was using it to hide things from Alex it meant that Alex was a Legilimens.  Her steps faltered slightly, but she again recovered, easily keeping pace with him as they crossed the Atrium.

She assumed he didn’t make a habit of invading peoples minds, but there had been times her thoughts were so strong that surely they had been impossible to ignore.  Of course, that usually only happened after he was exceptionally indifferent towards whatever it was she had chosen try.  It was those occasions that he mind usually screamed in Italian…perhaps the rather colorful phrases were just a meaningless jumble to him if he had heard them.

"Would you like to go first, Miss Vespucciano?"

Her attention was drawn back to him for a moment, the smile once again playing at her lips.  She filed away this new piece of information for further use…perhaps a little test later on to see if he was truly listening or not.  She found she was even more intrigued now then when she had started this round of the little game she played.

“Why thank you, kind sir,” she said, giving him a quick wink.  From another woman it might be seen as playful.  From Claudia, however, like everything else she did, it was meant to draw a bit of attention and provide a hint that more of that attention was certainly welcome.

She moved away from him then, stepping into the fireplace and going through the process of using the floo network connection.  Stepping out into the Leaky Cauldron she waited for her lunch companion, removing her jacket once again.