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Tweak says, "'Hub!"

Eliina Silja Luvic (mens_rea) wrote in haunted_roads,
@ 2008-02-16 22:49:00

Entry tags:

eliina, justine

Week Two: Tuesday
Who: Eliina and Justine
Where: Wild Ginger
When: Tuesday, 7pm
What: Ladies Power Lunch er... dinner!

It was time for a drink... wasn't it? Not as though it were some ungodly early hour or only so late as lunch. But then again when it came to some days... it never felt too early. However, Eliina or Ellie as most knew her, wasn't inclined to mid day drunkenness... especially not when sh'd had more than her fair share of clients who were accused of similar things. Pro bono work did bring in quite the colorful array of clientele. That said, after the day she'd had, she almost preferred a few slurred phrases and the slight aroma of unwashed clothing. At least they weren't the sort that thought their money and power granted them a free pass through society. The opportunity to do what they would and expect someone else to clean up all of their messes.

She was exceptionally good at holding her tongue however. Or rather curbing her speech, and turning it rather to biting renditions of the facts as they stood. Something that the rich and guilty never appreciated. But she was good at what she did. And no matter the caustic words she might have to say regarding their personalities she always gave excellent representation and for that, she was well worth the exceptionally high billable hours she tallied up working on their cases.

Those cases were never her passion, but they were what paid the bills and without those cases Eliina knew that the exceptionally nice condo she lived in would be nothing of the sort. It was also the price she paid for her freedom and that was worth all the frustrating clients the world could throw at her.

Of course, that wasn't to say that Eliina didn't require a little time away from the frustrations of said clients. And that was where the dinner she was currently headed towards came into play. She didn't go out for dinner often. More likely she could be found at home, tucked away with a carry out meal or still at the office, behind her desk and a stack of files, working her way through more carry out. When whe could remember to eat. But, as her secretary kept telling her... she needed to get out from behind that stack of paper every now and again or one day she'd never un earth herself. Eliina didn't often find this amusing. But today, she took it to heart and had Janice call one of the few personal contacts on her list, Justine Baptiste. She didn't have to be back in court until the Tuesday, so a dinner was manageable.

Her heels clicked with rapid steps as she walked the block from the Washington Mutual Tower, where her law firm was housed, to Wild Ginger. It was close and it served excellent food. Dressed as always in the same simple black suit she'd worn all day, Eliina was escorted back to a table in the back of the restaurant as requested. "I'll let you know when Ms. Baptiste has arrived Ms. Louis," the hostess quickly hurried off and left Eliina alone with the menu. Already perusing the wine list.

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savageallure
2008-02-18 08:45 am UTC (link)

Justine was quite looking forward to their little 'dinner,' as it was. She rarely got the chance to socialize, especially since opening Chroma, and it was an even rarer occurrence that she had the chance to spend time with someone that she wasn't related to. As much as she loved her siblings, sometimes it was nice to spend an hour or two with a friend, a casual acquaintance, someone outside their tight-knit little circle. Tonight she'd be doing exactly that with Eliina, who she'd seen far too little of in recent weeks. Both women were high-powered business professionals on the Seattle social scene and so it was understandable that it would be hard for them to find time to get together.

She arrived at Wild Ginger not long before they were supposed to meet, dressed casually for their "dinner" meeting - not that she would eat anything, of course, but the company would be welcome. She did really rather enjoy their little meet-ups and she was the closest thing to a friend that Justine could claim to have in the town since she'd settled. Being locked away in the Towers for the duration of the daylight hours tended to limit how often the two saw one another, but the growing friendship seemed to be able to thrive on the occasional sit-down. It had been ages since Justine had had any sort of female friend with which to visit, so she especially valued such times.

“You beat me as always,” the hostess had shown her right to the table where Eliina waited and Justine greeted her with a warm smile. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long, I had a minor staffing issue to deal with on the way here. I was afraid it might make me late,” she offered as an apology, though it wasn’t really needed. “And how are you? Things managing to move on without you while you take time out for meeting with a friend?” It was a slight tease, of course, but Eliina was very good at her job. Surely things could function without her for an hour or so, but who knew. Conversation paused briefly so the Justine could order a glass of the finest bloodwine she could find on the menu, but she turned a waiting gaze to the woman across from has as they were left alone. She was, after all, genuinely interested in how things were faring for the other woman.

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mens_rea
2008-02-22 01:58 am UTC (link)

There truly was something to be said for getting together with another woman of like mind, at least of a like mind when it came to their professional lives. It was hard to find time for many things when work too up so many hours. But work was something more than just work for Eliina it was, what she did with her time almost exclusively. Family, Eliina did not have and friends were not something she'd had much of a luxury to develop either.

Not that she often trusted anyone enough to actually call them a friend. Justine though was what you could call an experiment in the whole fiend. Her first true opportunity to have one if she really thought about her life. Something she didn't spend much time doing if at all possible. What Eliina saw when she met with Justin was simply someone she shared interests and an intelligent woman to share conversation with. Did there need to be any more than that?

"I was... ready to leave the office, what can I say," Eliina said with a smile as Justine arrived, looking sophisticated as always. She had the sort of style that if Eliina were more comfortable with herself she would love to indulge in, but for now she would stick with what she was comfortable in which was always expensive and well made but far from... as flattering as it could be. Eliina waved off Justine's worry over her waiting. "Not long at all, just long enough to start to narrow the list down on what I'd like to drink because I have decided it's more than required tonight." And she did order one, though opting for a martini over a glass of wine.

"Far too busy, as it always is. Crime is good business i could say." And it was, it paid for a great deal for her so long as she was good at the job. "And you? I should stop by Chroma one of these days, though we both know that the world might stop spinning if I was to manage that level of socialness." At least she had something of a sense of humor about her hermit-like behavior.

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savageallure
2008-02-22 05:16 am UTC (link)

The two women weren't "friends" in any traditional sense. Their dinners were very much little brain trust pow-wows, meetings of like minds that just so happened to not be completely miserable for either party. It was a bit of relief to meet with a fellow woman - one who knew you enough to understand you, but little enough to expect anything. The balance was one carefully struck and it seemed each sought to keep it that way. Neither of them was truly an open book, but somehow they managed to get along, to even have quite a few things in common.

Justine opted for one of the finer red wines, a vintage she much preferred and could actually tolerate a bit of before it ceased to be worth the effort it took to drink it. The waitress vanished, drink orders in hand, and left the two women in relative piece. Work was a topic often broached between them as each had a passion for their respective field.

For Justine, Chroma had been the chance to branch out, to have something to call her own that she had built from the branch up. It also allowed her to create a sort of social life - something she wasn't exactly known for. She rather liked the feeling of runnings things, of being in charge of her own success. Not to mention calling her own hours was quite helpful, considering her rather nocturnal state.

"You tell me what night you'd like to grace Chroma with your presence and I can assure you a private lounge if you'd rather not be overly social," she offered with a smile. Certainly there were benefits to be had, even with their pseudo-friendship, right? Surely a private lounge in one of the city's hottest hangouts could be classified as such. "So, what fascinating things have happened in your life that you simply must tell me so that I can live vicariously through you?" she teased with a light smile, smoothing her napkin across her lap as she awaited Eliina's response.

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mens_rea
2008-02-22 05:52 am UTC (link)

In a city with a whole host of supenaturals living just below the surface... was much of anything traditional? Well perhaps for those that weren't privy to that little tid-bit it was. For the two at dinner though, little could likely be traditional when one was centuries older and other was the product of the slave trade of such creatures. Though, as hard hearted as she wanted to be, she couldn't truly consider them all... creatures. Justine was case and point of that fact.

Work, work, work. It was all that Eliina truly knew to speak about. It was her life, though at times she wondered if she should... work to change that or if it was all just a waste of her time and best to stick with what she knew and the contentment that could bring. Not happiness, just contentment.

"It would be... a bit much and god forbid a client saw me there. I don't even want to know what would result in, but I'd think it would be death on the spot." Eliina paused, the beginning of an impish smile crossing over her features. One so very rarely seen. "Either from shock of from whatever rude proposition would come next." She knew her clients all too well and all too many were just the sort of slime to deserve a killing for the things they could say.

Before the conversation could go any further the waiter returned with their drinks. And not a moment too soon. Eliina quickly placed her order for dinner, Black Pepper Scallops. Not that ordering took so long when you had dinner with a vampire. Stem of her martini glass held between two fingers Eliina's head tilted to the side. "Fascinating things in my life... you know just because I can spend a few different hours out of doors, really does not add much of interest." She lifted the glass and took a sip. "And unfortunately almost any of interest that I come across, is slapped with that pesky client confidentiality agreement. You on the other hand, do have the run of the... what is it I hear all the time, the city's hotspot? I think you certainly owe me some stories."

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savageallure
2008-02-22 05:45 pm UTC (link)

Had anything in Seattle so much as verged on traditional, the two women would have never been anything even remotely resembling friends based on differences alone: age, background, personality, race...there were points of true similarity between the pair and yet Justine felt a sort of kindred spirit in Eliina. Perhaps it was that each was a woman of some power, a bit of influence in the city, one who worked to maintain their position and yet keep their lives otherwise private. Whatever it was, it was a comfort to find that certain trait in someone else, to enjoy it now at their little 'dinner' meeting.

The idea of one of the other woman's clients propositioning her in Chroma brought the traces of an amused smile to Justine's face - the very thought of it was worth pushing her to truly pay the place a visit. "Well, if you do decide to risk such a public outing, I'll sneak you in the back to make you avoid as many possibly embarrassing situations as possible." They were equipped to deal with people of quite high stature, after all, separate exits to sneak them in and out of and the private lounges...something could always be arranged should Eliina ever be struck with the desire to socialize just a bit.

For her part, Justine waved off the waitress with a polite smile. Sometimes she attempted to endure human food and other times she simply couldn't stomach even a bite or two, settling to push the rest around her plate. Tonight the mood hadn't struck her, she was content to enjoy both the company and the wine that now sat before her. "The place does seem to be garnering a reputation all it's own. In fact, we had our very first on-premises fight the other day. I didn't witness it and everything was cleaned up by the time I arrived, but apparently the clients rather enjoyed a momentary scandal," she admitted, slightly amused. "I'm afraid I tend to miss most things of interest there. My place tends to be in the office going over paperwork."

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mens_rea
2008-02-23 06:40 am UTC (link)

This idea of power, or rather her own power and her own consequence, was rather new to Eliina. She had managed to fully embrace it when it came to her public persona. She was every inch a woman who didn't mind walking all over whatever opposition came into her path, in her heels of course. But outside of that somewhat limited sphere... she lacked that ability. She found... well she did find her self at times wondering how other women did it. Perhaps that was all part of her burgeoning friendship with the vampire across from her. Was Justine such a woman? Capable of crossing both planes with her own power and confidence? Eliina could see her in no other light.

"My own personal escort through the back. I don't know that I can pass up that opportunity." Eliina replied with a slight tilt of her head, blond hair brushing against the shoulder of her suit with the gesture. "Though I'm next to certain I'll have to wait at least a week until that holiday that is something slightly past irritating is over. I would like to enjoy the wine you serve." She wasn't bitter in the traditional sense.... just disgusted with it all.

That Justine didn't order, or didn't pretend to eat food while at a dinner was old hat for Eliina, in fact she was often more... unsettled by those that did actually want to share a meal with her having lived as long as she had with a vampire before arriving in Seattle. "A fight? Oh really now. Bar brawls and back entrances. I really am missing out." Her martini was sipped at again, they really did make a nice one here. She could find not an ounce of fault, not as though she were looking for any. "If that's the case, if I can manage to pull myself from my own work... you will have to do the same."

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savageallure
2008-02-24 03:16 am UTC (link)

"You shouldn't pass up such an opportunity," Justine smiled warmly, "Chroma would be lucky to be graced with your presence, after all. And I can assure you some of the finest service you've ever had." Indeed, her staff knew how to treat important guests, especially when they were the boss' guests. Should Eliina actually take Justine up on her offer, she'd ensure that the other woman had her every wish catered too - private lounges, back entrances...they were only the beginning.

"I missed most of the action, of course, but from I heard it seems to have been a wandering spouse caught in the act. There was an investigator involved somehow, he stayed afterwards to apologize. Truthfully it barely disturbed business and there wasn't much of a mess, so I wasn't quite as worried as I might have been otherwise." If Eliina intended to check out the 'excitement' Chroma had to offer, it seemed the least Justine could do to take some time off. "I will personally give you the grand tour, should you take the time to come and see the place for yourself," she assured the other woman with a warm smile.

"So, surely there must be something in your life worth discussing," conversation was steered back towards Eliina, as Justine was never one to enjoy talking about herself in length. "Some little tidbit worth sharing..."

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mens_rea
2008-02-25 07:23 am UTC (link)

Eliina held up one hand in defeat, her lips curved upwards in a small smile. "You've won me over. My secretary is right that I can't spend every night with a stack of files and briefs. I think I hired a mother hen, which I might come to regret." The woman really did worry far too much about Eliina's health and well-being. And the fact that she wasn't happily attached to some man. A fact that Eliina was more than grateful for. She'd had enough male influence in her life.

Slender fingers plucked the requisite olive from her martini and placed it in her mouth. "Wandering eyes and tempers always a rather explosive combination. Case in point as to why I never got into the divorce business. Far more mess than I'd ever care to deal with." She'd rather have a client with bloody hands than have to sort out the sordid details of anyone's failing love life. "A personal apology, well that's something that probably doesn't happen with every brawl. Either that or someone just wanted to meet the owner." Not that Eliina gave much credence to pick up attempts or dating rituals but it was something that most cared more about than she did. Her attempt at E for Effort.

"Drunken driving by individuals that I know for a fact require more alcohol than the average frat party to get intoxicated, and assault... that does tend to sum up my day." Eliina glanced down at her martini, far more than halfway gone. "Now don't go making me admit that my secretary has a point with my singular focus on work..." Eliina's head rose up sharply, as a thought had come to her mind. "I'm sorry, did you say that it was an investigator that apologized to you after the fight in Chroma... did he leave a name?"

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savageallure
2008-02-26 12:05 am UTC (link)

"Well, in this case, I agree with your secretary," Justine winked, teasing her good-naturedly. Even she was aware that work wasn't everything, that there were voids in life that couldn't be filled with keeping office hours or proving yourself to be an endlessly loyal employee. Eliina, by all talk, was extremely good at what she did - surely clocking out at 5 wouldn't ruin that.

Conversation turned to the elusive P.I. that had apologized post-brawl at Chroma and a dark brow jumped lightly, "Are you back on the 'work' topic again?" A gentle smile touched Justine's lips, "He left only a first name: Dorian. Ring any bells?" She wondered if perhaps Eliina knew more about the mysterious investigator, "Dark hair, a little taller than I am, average build..." Of course she realized that probably described half the men in the city, but he hadn't exactly given her a lot to go on. "He was dressed in black and seemed to be quite an eloquent speaker, other than that he was quite the enigma."

The waitress interrupted conversation briefly to deliver Eliina's dinner. There was a time when the absence of food was something that Justine mourned - for years she'd missed the taste of her favorites - but it had been so long that she barely remembered the taste, let alone missed it. Such a thing was just another item on a list of what one had to get used to once they were turned. "Now, we must talk about something other than work, though I'm not sure what in the world that might be." Justine paused for another sip of her wine, a little smile curling up her lips, "Heard any interesting gossip?" She was teasing, of course, neither one gave a damn about such petty things, but it was a question nonetheless.

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mens_rea
2008-03-01 07:44 am UTC (link)

"I refuse to pass on that information to her for fear that I will never ever hear the end of it." One could mean all the good in the world with their advice but really a person had to want to take some advice for it to mean much of anything. And Eliina was currently a bit too stubborn to listen to any well meaning words from others. See, she was working her own brand of socialization in all on her own.

It was at her lips to immediately answer 'yes' a work need. After all sometimes it did help to have someone to investigate what had happened. The prosecutors did have the police, it was only fair. But it... hadn't been a professional inquiry. "Actually... no. Personal." Eliina finally replied and went straight for the sip of her drink as she listened and stored away the information that Justine had on the man. "No bells are ringing but I do have some people I can ask if I decide to follow up on that since I'm not sure that I can just ask every man with an average build and dark hair if their name is Dorian." Though it wasn't the most typical of names. That always helped.

The food that arrived smelled delicious as she'd expected. It had been one of her more favorite things to do... enjoy a good meal. Mainly because she'd always known that Lorenzo couldn't. Though he'd had other sorts of meals to enjoy that of course wasn't something Eliina preferred to dwell on at length. "How is your family doing? How I was the one of the two of us to come up with something non-work related is a mystery." She added with a smile as she got to work on her dinner. Eliina didn't know a great deal about Justine's family, other than that there were more than a few siblings living in the tower.

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savageallure
2008-03-02 06:20 pm UTC (link)

"You might find yourself keeping some interesting company if you tried such an approach," Justine teased with a slight smile. Approaching every dark-haired man to inquire about his name might give Eliina a far more active social life than she was ready or even willing to take on. Of course, the thought of such a brazen means of tracking someone down was also quite entertaining - at least given who was involved and the situations they might find themselves in. Eliina had been kidding of course, but the thought was still amusing.

It had literally been lifetimes since Justine had enjoyed a meal in the way that her dinner companion did now. There were few things still worth enduring eating and, as time passed, even they grew less and less appealing. Though to discuss types of blood and how they tasted, how each source varied distinctly, didn't seem appropriate dinner conversation. Instead, she turned her attention to answering the inquiry Eliina had laid out before her.

"I actually have seen very little of them as of late, it seems we're all dreadfully busy with our own little projects. I'm sure things will calm down soon enough and we'll know far too much about one another again," she quipped with yet another slight smile. It had been ages since the siblings had had a family dinner, surely one would come into the works soon so that they might all catch up with another. It felt strange to be so detached from the going-ons of their lives. "As far as I know, everyone is doing quite well, thank you for asking."

Justine paused for a moment to lift her wineglass again, draining the remaining contents only a second or two before their server returned to freshen up her glass. It probably wouldn't be touched, but the option was nice to have. "Have you found any time to go off exploring the city amidst all of your work?" she questioned after a moment. Despite even her dedication to Chroma, Justine found she rather liked finding out what things Seattle had to offer. She quite enjoyed the city, actually.

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mens_rea
2008-03-03 08:13 am UTC (link)

"I've had enough interesting for one life time." Eliina began, before continuing quickly. "Clients are all this girl can handle. I'll have to go about finding this... relatively tall, dark and first name only individual by some more conventional route. Maybe I'll just seek out a few bar room brawls." She finished with the arch of one eyebrow. Though getting her into any bar aside from Justine's own establishment which she couldn't truly call something as simple as a bar... was not exactly likely.

Eliina had often wondered what it was like to have to forgo simple pleasures like enjoying a meal. Though her wonderment of that had never gone farther than finding subtle ways of relishing that difference and lording it. But not here and now. She didn't hold the same hatred for this vampire sitting across from her as she did others that had once dined with her.

"Your sister," Eliina paused in an attempt to remember the name and while she was often good with them she found that skill lacking at the moment. "well a sister is in fashion right?" It wasn't something Eliina knew much about she had avoided such things as soon as she had her own free will. No longer forced to don anything, she opted for clothing that wasn't nearly as flattering as could be. But was comfortable to her. Though if forced, she might stop by to pick something up. You never knew.

Eliina resisted the urge to order another drink of her own. She was driving or at least that was the theory. Mostly it was that she tried to keep from drinking to excess. Not always successfully, it was often too easy a path to take. "If by exploring you mean visiting any tourist attractions, I'll have to say no. Though I was forced to take an underground tour by the firm. They find it hilarious for all new transfers to take the tour. Anything you've seen that I shouldn't miss?" Always good to ask people that had been there longer, though who knew if she'd actually make it to any suggested places.

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savageallure
2008-03-04 02:47 am UTC (link)

Justine chuckled softly at the mere idea of Eliina seeking out bar brawls. She so definitely seemed the type, of course, she'd never stick out like a neon sign at any establishment that experience enough of them to be pointed to as a place to look. "One has never had enough interesting experiences for a life time. I'm quite a bit older than you and I'm still constantly surprised by what this world has to offer. Speaking otherwise is tempting fate to dole you out something truly shocking."

"Yes, Chloe owns a boutique in town," she nodded lightly as conversation turned back to her siblings. They were a topic that, within an understandable reason, she truly loved talking about. Justine would have been the type of mother to gush so lovingly, so passionately about her children that one couldn't help but be entranced by her. But since that was not a possibility, such joy was turned over instead upon her brother and sisters. It was them that she loved unconditionally.

"It's called Vivant," the named rolled of her tongue, a hint of a once-native tongue returning. "Her collection is quite impressive, actually. I've purchased more than a few pieces there myself. You might enjoy it, should you decide to take a look."

The thought of herself in a tourist attraction was quite amusing. No, Justine was most definitely not the type. "I'm afraid I'm not privy to information about any hot spots or fabulous photo op locations," she quipped with a smile, "I will admit to being quite a fan of the art museum and Pike Place, though it's probably a far different market during the day." Justine lifted her wineglass, taking a slow sip before she started up again, "Are you thinking of branching out, seeing a bit more of the city?"

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