I hate you so much [kole]

Tamar was not happy. Not happy at all. She had received a request from the overloridian of Deilig to meet to discuss trade. She generally had little patience for most of the other overloridians, but this one--Kole--was a special case. She loathed this man more than anyone she had ever met in her life. And she had met and loathed a lot of people, so that was saying something.

A couple weeks ago she had refused a trade agreement with him for certain metals that Dian produced. They were metals commonly used in construction, and Kole had refused to specify what they were for, so Tamar had denied him. Thanks to that, he had requested to meet in person to discuss it.

Ugh.

She should have said no, but she didn't want to drag out the conflict. So here she was, waiting for the bastard to show up so she could get this over with.

Kole wasn't happy either. He hated women, they were incompetent leaders and didn't know the first thing of running a business or working for one. The overloridian of Dian was no different, and now the dumb bitch had cut off trade. Kole needed those metals, but then she had to start getting nosy, like all women did, and wanted to know what he needed her resources for. It was none of her damn business, she had her own eilemaiden to worry about, stop meddling with Deilig. All of these overloridians were bothering him lately.

Ugh. All women were good for was sex and blow jobs. Entertainers, that's what all their jobs should be, like his worthless mother.

Finally, he reached the home of the Dian overloridian and knocked on the door. Moodily, he shoved his hands into his pockets and waited with an irritated expression for somebody to answer the door.

Tamar heard the knock at the door, and immediately felt a headache coming on. Here we go, she thought, going to answer it. She pulled the doors open and there was Kole, looking about as irritated as she felt.

You're the one who wanted this meeting, asshole, not me, she thought to herself.

Tamar, maybe you should try to be civil, Telpin suggested. Just to make things go quickly and smoothly, you know?

I'll try, Tamar replied, clearly disgusted with the idea.

"Kole," she greeted coldly. She turned around and waved him in, leading him to her office. Once they got there, she turned to face him again. "You wanted to speak with me?"

Kole gave her no response whatsoever and followed her into her office. He wanted to make this meeting as short as possible, but he wanted to get what he wanted.

"I need those metals, Dian." he responded. "They're important."

He never liked calling other clio by their name unless he respected them. He hated Hadley and he hated women, so neither deserved his respect.

Maybe you should be a little more respectful, Briar urged. Maybe she'll actually consider.

Kole ignored his daemon. What a stupid thing to suggest. This woman, this thing, deserved nothing.

"Yes, you stressed that in your letters," Tamar said impatiently. If he thought just coming here and repeating the same things he had written down and mailed to her was gonna make her change her mind, he was sorely mistaken. "And my response hasn't changed. If what you need my metals for is so important, then I need to know what it is."

It was more than just a personal dislike that kept Tamar from negotiating with Kole. The fact of the matter was, she didn't trust this guy. She never had. For all she knew, he was going to use her metals to manufacture and stockpile weapons. She wouldn't put it past him.

"So unless you have something new to tell me, then I'd say you wasted your time coming here," she said coolly.

So much for being civil, Telpin sighed.

That's as civil as I can force myself to be around this guy, Tamar replied.

"It's none of your business what I do in my eilemaiden!" Kole spat. "I don't meddle in your affairs, don't meddle in mine!"

He hated losing his cool in front of others, and he rarely did it, but this woman was so insufferable. He also hated that he felt like a child, whining because their sibling wouldn't stop reading their journal.

"Why can't we just come to a new agreement?" He asked, trying to calm himself. "I have things that you want too."

"It is my business what you do with my metals," Tamar said, giving Kole a dangerous glare. How dare he act entitled to her resources, and think he had a right to do anything he wanted with them! He was unbelievable. Did he have no idea how these things worked? No, of course he didn't, because he was just an entitled, spoiled child masquerading as an overloridian.

When Kole offered her a new agreement, citing 'having things she wanted' as the reason, she looked at him skeptically. "A new agreement?" she asked, unimpressed. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

"I can cut off trades to you know," Kole replied. "My eilemaiden is the only one with oil."

He said this with an almost bored tone, with the sound of a threat behind it. Sure, Deilig was the only one on top of a oil well, but if Tamar could withhold her resources, so could Kole. It's not like he cared if eilemaidens were going without oil. He had it all to himself and that's all that mattered.

This bitch didn't deserve anything from him anyway.

Tamar narrowed her eyes, recognizing the threat. Oil was Dian's main source of energy. Would Kole really cut off such a vital resource, knowing that it would not only hurt Dian, but all of Amelia in the long run? While it was true that she refused Kole's request for certain resources, it wasn't anything vital to Deilig, not to mention she would resume trade if he would just tell her what the damn things were going to be used for.

"So let me get this straight," she said slowly. "You're going to cut off Dian's main energy source, affecting the lives of millions of clio both in and out of Dian, just because you don't feel like telling me what you need more metal for?"

As much as she wanted it to be an empty threat, she was pretty sure Kole was dead serious. He didn't care about the clio who would be affected. He didn't even care about his own clio. All he cared about was himself and getting his way. He made her sick.

Any normal clio would have thought that was a normal response. In all honesty Kole knew it was a normal response, but he also knew Tamar was being difficult.

"Why do you need to know so badly?" He asked with a roll of his eyes.

If Tamar could be difficult, so could Kole.

Why did she...Why did she need to know so badly!? Tamar was getting more pissed off by the moment. Here he was threatening the prosperity of her eilemaiden, and he still thought he was entitled to her metals. He wanted to know why she needed to know so badly? Fine. It was time for honesty. "Because I don't trust you, Kole," she said bluntly.

"You know what?" she added, fed up with dealing with him. "Keep your oil. And I'll keep my metal. And Dian and Deilig will never engage in trade again."

What!? Telpin yelped. Tamar, Dian NEEDS that oil!

There are other sources of energy in Amelia, Tamar thought defiantly. A couple years ago she had decided she wanted to end Dian's dependence on Deilig, mostly because of Kole. She approached the Solas overloridian and proposed a project that would involve Dian building a power plant which would be staffed by Solas clio. The coward had been too nervous to get involved with such a large endeavor, and denied her. But now there was a new Solas overloridian...

But Tamar, what if the new overloridian says no too? Telpin asked. This is a HUGE gamble!

I'm willing to take that risk if it means cutting ties with this man, Tamar replied grimly.

"So unless you have anything else to say to me, I suggest you leave," she told Kole, motioning towards the door.

Kole stood there for a brief moment, then began to laugh. He actually wiped a tear from his eye and then shook his head. This. Woman. Was. INFURIATING. He came all this way for nothing. Wasted his valuable time for the dumb bitch to still refuse him. If she wasn't an overloridian he'd beat the shit out of her.

Now, now, Briar lectured. Thinking like that will get you into a lot of trouble.

"Have fun living in the dark," Kole finally said while turning to walk away. "It's actually quite nice."

Tamar's fists clenched as Kole turned away. Some smaller metal items on her desk, such as pens and paperclips, began to quiver. She had never wanted to hit somebody so badly in her life, and that included clio she had actually hit. If this thing with Solas didn't work out, Dian would suffer, and it was all because of him.

Calm down, Telpin told her. Tamar listened, taking a deep breath. This would be worth it. She would strike a deal with Solas, end her dependence on Deilig, and the clio of Dian would be happy and thrive. It would all work out. It had to.

It had to.

[END]