InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Give her hell from us, Peeves!"

Justine Baptiste (savageallure) wrote in haunted_roads,
@ 2008-01-31 20:13:00

Entry tags:

dorian, justine

Week One - Wednesday
Who: Justine & Dorian
Where: Chroma
When: Evening (after dark, obviously)
What: Checking in on things

Chroma tended to be quite capable of running itself. The staff had been impeccably trained by the establishment's owner and Justine was always only a phone call away. Once the sun set, she rather liked to head downtown and see over things in person, reassuring the staff that she was not simply some omnipresent being that oversaw all of them from a distance. After all, the place was her baby, her creation and nursing it into longevity was a thrilling endeavor. She'd dreamt of running a business for so long that now the sight of the building alone could quicken that slow, vampiric pulse.

By the time she reached her office that night the numbers for Tuesday and the expectation for this evening were already on her desk. She so enjoyed her staff's ability to be sufficient - Justine was not one with an icredibly high tolerance for 'slackers.' Of course giving your employees the proper motivation really was key: benefits, flexible hours, all of that. She kept them happy and, in turn, Chroma ran like the well oiled machine she so wanted it to be. A brief glimpse at the numbers assured her that things were bypassing the planned income for the week, a pleasing sight indeed. Tucking the folder into her desk drawer, Justine dropped her cell phone into the pocket of her slacks and headed out to the gallery to check the latest installation.

As usual, she was stunningly professional: black wide-legged slacks, black snakeskin heels and a cashmere wrap around sweater in the deepest of burgandys. Her dark hair hung loosely around her shoulders in soft waves, make-up light and simple for the night. Hands slipped into her pockets, she made her way down the back hallway from her office, setting foot into the gallery area. The room was already filling up for the night, patrons content to sip a variety of vintages from Chroma's wine bar and take in the latest artist that Justine had recruited to show. Many of the pieces were of a mixed-media variety, paintings with oil and cloth that created a visual experience worth the time it took to see each and every one. A few of the wandering crowd were regulars and so Justine graced them with a soft smile or paused for a moment of conversation.

Tonight, like most, seemed to be going perfectly so far. But in Seattle, the expected rarely stuck around for long.

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dust_and_shadow
2008-02-04 06:18 am UTC (link)

Knowing whether or not things in Seattle held any degree of normalcy for long or not was not something that Dorian could say he held any amount of knowledge on. Though in his personal experience not many places could hold claim to that particular word. Or maybe it was just his life? It didn't tend to run towards the sort of normal that most humans would look for when planning out their days.

Today was just such a day. And unfortunately (or fortunately) depending on how one looked at interruptions to the daily hum of life.

Dorian hadn't been in Seattle long. But in certain circles, his reputation preceded him. Or at least the name he used in his work did. As much as he hated that fact, he had taken the precautions he needed in order to ensure that there was always a strong level of anonymity with it all. Wards and charms that he paid well for, hid his own nature but all such things cost... so the work was necessary.

And this bar he was at screamed money. Probably why the man had paid him to follow his young wife there and probably why his young wife was freely spending the mans money with a far more attractive man that was far closer to her age. He'd been hired to just document, to follow the woman for the night, to sip some wine at this bar and to confirm the mans suspicions.

Of course, it hadn't worked out that way. The man had taken the matter into his own hands. He had shown up at Chroma mere moments after Dorian had finished getting the information he needed. It had all started to go downhill from there. Dorian had watched as the man approached, catching her red handed with the man. He had watched, just looking down into his glass of wine with something near annoyance as the older man had hurled every name in the book at the woman. The slap that followed was no surprise, nor was the fight that just started to escalate.

That was the moment that Dorian had tried to step in and stop it all before it got any worse than it already was. But good deeds, if you could call it that, apparently weren't appreciated and Dorian just wound up with a punch to the face. Fancy that. All three were ejected by Dorian before anyone at the bar could even step in and break it up. He really didn't get paid enough to deal with stupid people.

Now all that was left was to apologize to the management. Curt as he could be, he had manners.

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savageallure
2008-02-04 05:25 pm UTC (link)

Justine hadn't yet reached the section of Chroma that housed Dorian and the unfortunate trio he watched, but news of the little 'disagreement' quickly reached her. The staff was well trained - they knew that she was to be informed immediately of any and all issues that arose within the establishment. One of her bartenders approached the statuesque owner, discreetly pulling her aside to inform her of what had so recently taken place.

She nodded, setting off for the room where the confrontation had taken place, wanting to assess whatever damage there might be. Her staff had already cleaned up any and all signs of the clash - Justine strolled carefully through the area they designated as the actual sight of the volatile interaction, checking for glass shards, wine stains, whatever might hint at what had occurred. There was nothing left behind, a fact that nearly made her smile in satisfaction. It seemed as though the patrons within this certain section of the gallery had already forgotten the recent bout of live entertainment.

She paused at the bar across the room, stepping behind the impressive mahogany structure to take in the evening's supplies. Everything looked well stocked enough, though the rate at which they were moving through the glassware spoke volumes about just how busy things were tonight.

In her peripheral, she noticed one of her employees gesturing towards her, speaking quietly with a man dressed almost entirely in black. From what she could get from the servers' whispers, he was somehow involved in the little scene earlier. Stepping around the bar, Justine waited until he'd crossed towards her to offer a greeting. "Good evening," there was a faint, polite smile in place, "how can I help you?"

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dust_and_shadow
2008-02-09 01:56 am UTC (link)

It only took one look at the place to know that the staff was incredibly efficient. That one look also made Dorian wish even more that the errant wife hadn't picked such a high class place to have her rendezvous. Dorian far preferred to keep his haunts to places more low profile. It didn't always pay to have his face noticed and possibly remembered.

But such was the case and by the time Dorian had escorted his client and the lovebirds out of the bar any and all signs of the squabble were effectively wiped clean. They certainly did do good work, Dorian could almost appreciate it. At least it wasn't going to draw the attention of any more patrons than necessary. Perhaps the only perk of it all.

Dorian had dusted his hands of the situation both literally and figuratively, hands shoved into the pockets of his slacks, he crossed the room in the direction he was sent by an employee after asking where he could find the owner or manager. 'Lucky' for him, she was already headed his way.

Maybe that was a bad thing. Whatever the case, wouldn't be the first place he was asked to leave and probably wouldn't be the last. The woman wasn't anyone he knew though she wasn't human, that was quite simple for him to tell. Only a blink of an eye as that particular bit of information was tucked away for later. His own... supernatural state was discernible. No amount of wards that he had could truly cover that, but what he was... was a bit more muddled. Nothing that someone with enough years couldn't work through with the right amount of time and concentration.

Dorian gave a sharp nod of his head to her greeting. "Good Evening." He offered a greeting in reply. "Just wanted to extend an apology on behalf of what just happened here. I can't say they'll never come back but I'd like to hope they don't."

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savageallure
2008-02-10 03:11 am UTC (link)

"I appreciate the apology," Justine assured him with a gentle smile, "though my staff informs me that you single-handedly dealt with the problem....and did so in quite the efficient manner. Based on the lack of damage done to this particular lounge, I'm inclined to think that perhaps I ought to be thanking you." After all, there hadn't been so much as a spilled wine glass and whatever cosmetic damage had been done was long ago cleaned up by her staff.

"Pardon my lack of manners, I'm Justine Baptiste," she offered a slender hand in introduction. Surely by now he had surmised that she was the owner of Chroma, though perhaps he thought her to be some high-level member of management, she couldn't be sure. Had she not been checking in on the lounge his little party had selected, it was more than likely he'd be dealing with one of her managers right now instead of her. So 'lucky' for him, indeed.

"Chances are they won't make it back in, should they try," she assured him, "I'm sure my security team already made a note as to who they are and what occurred. Should you choose to return for a more personal reason, I can guarantee stellar treatment for your evening." She truly did consider what he'd done tonight to have been a favor to her business - the situation could have turned out much worse without him - and so she could repay his actions with five star service.

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dust_and_shadow
2008-02-10 09:36 am UTC (link)

"Least I can do." Dorian said simply. He had a strong sense of manners and propriety despite the fact that he was a demon. Not that all were entirely crude beings, but his blood line had their fair share... perhaps more than their fair share. "I did what I could." His shoulders shrugged ever so slightly. Hadn't been difficult work, removing a couple of humans took little effort really. Not that he was offering that information up freely to the general public.

Dorian extended his own hand and gave a solid shake. "Nothing to be pardoned." Afterall he was not exactly offering his own name. He rarely did and when it did it was rarely his true name. Not that such a little omission mattered, those that wanted to find him... didn't need his name floating around a city to know he was there. They had a hundred other ways to tell. This time though, he didn't seek to be any more rude than he had to be. "Dorian." Was all that he offered, no last name. Her name however was filed away where he kept such information. Good to know what places were owned by those not of human blood.

Dorian nodded his head. He'd surmised as much with how efficiently the staff and security had followed suit. This wasn't a place to put up with the idiocy of some people. Apparently the people that were currently in need of his services. He could only hope not every client in this city was as... idiotic. Or it would be a short stay. "I can assure you that I'll impress that they don't try on them when I end my contract." He did continue to work for those that got in the way, ground rule number three. He glanced around the bar, wasn't typically the sort of place he frequented. Classy. Reminded him of... her and that sort of thing was best avoided. As long as possible. "Thank you, but really I'm sure that is the only kind of service there is here."

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savageallure
2008-02-10 08:28 pm UTC (link)

It wasn't an all together unusual trait amongst supernaturals to be less than forthcoming with personal information and given how many of their kind she dealt with on a daily basis, Justine didn't seem the slight bit offended by his unwillingness to contribute many personal details to the conversations. His first name was enough, filed away in memory along with his face - that was more than enough for her. If she thought he was any detrimental problem to worry over he would have been removed already. As far as Chroma was concerned, Dorian was a welcomed guest...if he chose to visit.

The two shook hands in greeting and that was good enough - a full biography had no need to follow. Both were more than capable of finding out plenty about the other should the mood strike them. Conversation seemed to stay more safely along the lines of his clients and the trouble they had caused. "We do strive to maintain a certain level of service, yes," Justine assured him. Chroma's staff specialized in catering to nearly every need of their patrons. Chances were that if a service was sought that they didn't provide, one could easily be directed where to find it by a staff member.

"I won't keep you tied up any longer, I'm sure you have business to attend to, as do I." He didn't seem the type to spend the rest of his evening reclined in one of the bar's lounges and so it seemed best to let him slip out. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Dorian." Polite, formal, it was the ideal farewell given the circumstances under which they'd met. Justine had a feeling she wouldn't see Dorian around the halls of Chroma, but one never truly knew.

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