Morningstar Manor

It hadn't been easy, but Susan had finally managed to get Riley Ames's usual maid transfered, and more importantly to get that opened up cleaning slot for herself. A few well placed hints at the maid being a little too obtrusive a fangirl while cleaning Mr. Ames's apartment had gotten the rumors started, and finally the apartment lists for the maids had been renewed.

It had been a long time coming, but Susan felt very accomplished for getting to knock on Riley's door on Tuesday afternoon, just at the time when his old maid had used to come in. She was dressed in her maid's outfit and had her cleaning trolley with her, and now she wondered if Riley knew about the change of maids himself. Perhaps he wasn't even at home... that would give her ample chances at digging through his things for whatever juicy story material she might find.

Over the weekend rumors about From This Day Forward co-stars Riley Ames and Regina Flannery hit the mill when the two reportedly shared an intimate dinner at The Empress. The response, we've found, was an overwhelming "pics or it didn't happen!"

Well, how da like us now? The proof is in the pictures.

The blossoming lovebirds took their romance off the small-screen and out for a stroll last night - taking in a showing of Inception together - and were decidedly less able to dodge the photogs. (Either that or they just don't care. Wouldn't that be refreshing?)

What do you think? Does Mr. Kix look like he's about to satisfy the urge to walk hand-in-hand, or a craving for popcorn?

We here at CelebSugar think it's time to start coming up the catchy name mashups! Amery? Flanniley? Show us your best in the comments!


Included with the article is a photo of Riley walking with a set of keys in one hand, the other reaching back toward a delicate redhead, who is holding on a bucket of popcorn with one hand and popping kernels into her mouth with the other.

Thomas, wearing a grey suit with a dark blue tie, sat in the Mocha with a coffee cup and the newest issue of the Forbes magazine.

Emily parked the bright red Vespa in the garage, in its own spot. She took a few steps back while she took off her helmet, and admired the sparkling clean paint finish, straight from a thorough wash.

Susan was plotting murder. She didn't know who she had to blame for getting the task of polishing every single brass decoration in the ball room and the staircases, but while she was hard at work, she entertained herself with the vivid, imaginative pictures in her head.

Nearing the end of her workday, Jazz was down on the sales floor, selecting a few pieces from the cases that she wanted to take with her to tomorrow's morning consultation and catching up with the staff as to how they're day had gone.

~.~

Adam was picking up the necessary ingredients for the spaghetti dinner he was hoping to make for Icene tonight. And also, on a whim as he for the headed for the checkouts, a bouquet of flowers.

Here was hoping it was one of her decent nights and not one of her work-all-night nights.

~.~

His sister's birthday coming up, Riley was wandering aimlessly. Where to start, what to look for? Really these sort of things should have gotten easier with age, but to Riley it only seemed to get harder and more confusing.

Sunday afternoon had Celeste leaving work early, trusting in her staff to close up by themselves. She deserved to take some time to herself, after all. And that time, today, was going to be spent in the gardens of the manor, coffee and cigarette in hand, a magazine open in her lap. Celeste wasn't paying much attention to the magazine mind you, instead looking up at the sun, eyes hidden behind sunglasses. Her high factor sunscreen would ensure she didn't burn or tan, but she still liked to feel the warmth from time to time.

How disgustingly hot had it been today. In Riley's opinion weather like that was just completely uncalled for - especially when the pool was still out of commission.

Looking for some respite, he was currently stretched out in some shade in the Gardens, a jug of furiously sweating ice tea within reach, his hat pushed back from his face to catch any wisp of a breeze that might come through.

Stopping for a cup to relax with after work, Jazz didn't at first pay any mind to the copy of The Herald on the table next door, but when she caught the words "Morningstar Manor" during an idle glance curiosity got the better of her and she lifted the abandoned copy for her own reading pleasure.

She didn't know who Olivia Page was (other than, apparently a senator's daughter and a radio host) so that story held little interest for her, but the other one...well, that was more entertaining. Chuckling and mouthing a silent, amused 'wow' she made a mental note to show it to Tom when she got a chance. This was just the sort of thing he'd have a few sneering comments about. And those were always fun.

~.~

Someone else in the Mocha had read The Herald today, but he wasn't nearly as amused. Hubbard had hounded Riley all day, needling him, taunting him about his much publicized move to Morningstar Manor.

It all made sense, Hubbard crowed inbetween takes, Riley was lonely and looking for a boy toy of his very own! It set Riley's teeth on edge - not the topic of the insults, Riley was secure enough in his sexuality to not let something that petty bother him, but the fact that Hubbard was daring to in the first place! Moving to Morningstar had been a strategic one-up, a boost in stature that the rivals had both known Hubbard would be hard pressed to duplicate. But now that the little prick had ammunition to fire back with....It wasn't quite as satisifying a victory anymore.

Mood still foul, ego still smarting, Riley took his copy of The New York Times (a real respectable paper) and settled at a table outside.

Susan enjoyed her day off by sitting on the terrace of the Mocha, drinking ice tea, mostly appearing to be reading women's magazines but actually she concentrated on something else. She had a small notepad with her where she made notes of observations and ideas and things she needed to investigate.

One of the few socialite tenants in the Manor walked past her table on her terrifyingly high heels and sat down on the table right behind Susan, in the company of a man she recognized but couldn't name at that moment for the life of her. When the couple started talking about vacation plans and that dreadful time in Florida in great detail, Susan took her cellphone out, looked like she was writing a short text message but actually turned on the voice recording, and then casually left the phone on her table. Juicy details from the mouth of a small celebrity? Too good to pass.

Riley's agent had once again volunteered him for an industry function this weekend and since he'd unable to come up with a decent excuse to get out of it, Riley was now in Michaels' Bros. men's department, trying to find something appropriate for such an occasion.

The black, perfectly fitted dress shirt he was on board for - but the pale, shimmering pink tie the female salesclerk brought over he wasn't so sure about.

In fact, as the woman draped it around his neck for him to 'appreciate' in the full length mirror, he stood so stiffly one might think she'd just tossed a live, particularly ill-tempered, boa constrictor about his shoulders.

~.~

It was only her second day back to work, but Jazz was definitely wondering if she should have milked her sick leave for another week.

The pretentious socialite that she'd been scheduled to meet with had not only been a half hour late, but had then taken almost two hours to make a decision as to which pair of earrings would go just perfectly with the one of a kind gown that, didn't Jazz know, had been designed just for her.

In the end the pampered princess decided to ignore Jazz's advice against the large, chandelier earrings that, combined with the heavily beaded top to the dress, was bound to make her look like a mint tinted disco ball, and Jazz was tired enough not to care. It wasn't until after the money had changed hands and the woman was putting on her new earrings ("Oh no, I want to wear them out!") that Jazz spoke up again, this time when the brat was throwing her old earrings - which were quite the stunners in their own right - into her purse. Loose.

"Oh, don't do that-" Too late, the earrings made a muted thunk as they sank into the bottom of the stylish clutch. "Here," Jazz held out a hand. "You shouldn't do that. I'll put them in a box for you."

The woman shrugged, but fished the earrings back out and handed them over, looking at Jazz like one might a small child.

Sunday was meant to be a quiet day, and it was turning out to be so. She'd gone to the market first thing to pick up groceries for the week, then back home to face an empty apartment. Elspeth didn't feel like being alone, however. It wasn't often she craved company, but when she did there was no pushing off the need to be with other people.

And what better place than the Mocha? Most everyone in the Manor passed by here, especially on Sundays.

Gilly was a very early morning person. She was discovering that being a commuter to college, even when it was close by, was a bitch when you were on a sports' team. She'd gotten a scholarship that paid half her tuition if she played on the soccer team and in her opinion that was pretty damn awesome. The thing that sucked is the team had practice four mornings at week at six a-m that consisted of a three mile run, weight training and then shuttle runs. The only convenient thing was that Bailey lived on campus so sometimes she could get away with bunking with him and then leaving early to get to practice. Today was just such one of these days. She'd said goodbye to a sleepy boyfriend at quarter to six, went to practice, showered and changed and then dragged her ass back to the Manor. After stopping in the apartment to switch out clothes in her gym bag since they had a scrimmage later tonight, she packed up her not-yet-broken-in new messenger bag with appropriate books for the day as well as her handy dandy netbook (which was no where near as awesome as he mac laptop but got the job done when it came to note taking) and then she headed for the Mocha. She had three hours to kill at that point before she had to head back to campus.

After tucking her bags under a table in one of the corners by the windows, she went and stood in line to get a coffee, a bagel, a big ol' bowl of fruit and a bottle of water. It was a lot maybe but she was hungry after all of that work. She also had some readings to do for Professor Kwon's Hitchcock Film Theory class - a continuation of the class she took in the summer. So she settled in at the table with her food and drink and dug out the book for her Hitchcock class. She dug around in her bag until she found and orange highlighter and started reading. She became rather absorbed and only reached for a drink or a bite to eat every now and then, without looking away from her book. Today seemed like a mellow day in the Manor. Most days she could scarcely sit in the Mocha without having to deal with all of the emotions of the fellow patrons. Being an empath sucked most the time. There were some occasions when it was just damn awesome but she kept those to herself. Today, this morning rather, the Mocha wasn't quite crowded yet so Gilly thought she might get through her readings before class, though she was honestly not opposed to an interruption at all.

Loyalty to Spencer had kept Jazz out of the new spa in the basement, but now that the boss was away on his honeymoon and wouldn't be likely to find out...Jazz wandered down, wondering if she might be able to get in for a trim and satisfy her curiosity.

~.~

His laundry was spinning lazily in the dryer, but Riley wasn't sitting idly by, oh no, he was pacing the length of the room, a script rolled up tightly in one hand.

"Why shouldn't I?" he snarled convincingly to an invisible companion. "It's -" He paused, staring into nothing, face still contorted with bitter rage. A few seconds ticked by then the expression fell away and he sighed, uncurling his script.

~.~

Joe had come down to the library to check something in a reference book that he knew he owned but that had apparently decided to grow legs and walk away on him - but he got distracted. The latest John Grisham novel was sitting on the shelves and though it was something of a guilty pleasure, it was still a pleasure.

So he plopped himself in a chair, pushed his glasses to a more comfortable position and cracked open the book, quietly losing track of time and space.

On the way home Cleo had called to say she was missing some crucial ingredient - some kind of spice Jazz had never even heard of - for the dinner she was making and was going out to find some. So, seeing as how the apartment would be empty anyway, Jazz turned into the Mocha upon returning back to the Manor and settled herself near the window, enjoying a cup of something frothy and picking at a muffin.

~.~

Mommy had mentioned wanting to check out the new spa, so today Alec provided, changing into a pair of board shorts and a cut off shirt - his scar was well and hidden, but the black edges of the tattoo on his chest could be seen. After gathering up some necessities and his son, he headed up to the roof.

He set down several thick and fluffy towels on a lounger and a diaper bag, then went to sit on the steps in the shallow end of the pool, holding Gavin in his lap. The boy squealed and splashed, making Alec smile as the sound echoed through the pool house.

~.~

Riley was in the hallway off the ballroom, pausing on his way back from the bathroom, frowning at his reflection in the funny gilded mirror there. He had some, stupid, dinner party thing tonight and his bow tie was refusing to cooperate.

Sunday morning found Jazz in the Mocha, enjoying a frothy drink,and wondering where her sister had gotten off to. Cleo hadn't been home when Jazz and woken up and the only clue she had was a vague note about needing to go somewhere.

~.~

Across the Mocha Riley was indulging a middle-aged woman with some insider information about From This Day Forward. Giving away plot secrets was something the writers technically frowned upon, but Riley didn't see anything wrong with making a fan's day.

New stock day at Micheal's Bros. and Jazz was carefully overseeing the setup of a small collection of pieces from a little known designer into the main display case and trying to ignore the way one delicate, multi-stranded necklace seemed to call her name.

~.~

Today was scheduled to be a long, full day of court testimony, but for the moment things were in recess and Joe was sitting at the little coffee shop in Vine Square, enjoying a cup of dark coffee and an egg salad sandwich. A neatly folded newspaper, open to the crossword, was beside him, but he was looking out across the square. People watching.

~.~

Riley had gotten a surprise at work today. Today marked the second time he'd been included on the cover of Soap Opera Digest. Now he sat in the Mocha, flipping through the mini-magazine, trying to figure out he couldn't have known about this.

~.~

For Alec, today was pretty much like any other and per his usual, he was out in the gardens. Stretched out in the prickly grass he was keeping a watchful eye on Gavin and Faith as they played together. Gavin crawled around and over the golden canine, laughing like mad, while Faith twisted her head around, trying to lick his ears.


OOC: I've got a job interview to get ready for, and to go to, so I'll probably be slow to respond, but by all means, leave me something good. ;) I'll reply as soon as I'm able.

If he'd had a mind for that sort of thing, Riley probably would have written down the recent events and proposed them to the writers as a new story line on the show. Seriously, drama this good didn't just fall into your lap every day...but, it rolled in one ear and out the other as he sat by a window and argued with his phone.

"Oh, come on, Mark, can't you get me out of it? You know I hate those things."

A spot of equipment failure had had filming running long today and now Riley was unwinding by paying a visit to the Manor's superb roof-top pool.

He was currently floating in the middle of the darkening pool, slouched in an inflatable blue chair, wearing naught but a pair of red board-shorts and one of his many ever present hats, which was pulled low over his face.

Would Katharine Hepburn have Twittered?

This was what Camilla Moriarty wondered as she waited in line at the coffee shop in her new apartment building. The movers had come and gone that morning and she had an appointment with an interior decorator in the late afternoon. So as of right then she had some time to kill, and with it she pondered the pros and cons of social networking.

Twitter was a big deal; tons of people in the business were using it. Her publicist was urging her to give in to the trend, but Camilla still had her doubts. People like Ashton Kutcher weren't exactly well-respected actors, after all.

The line moved forward, but Camilla was too lost in thought, staring at one of the windows, to notice.

Movers had already been coming and going, carrying through the heaviest bits of furniture, by the time Riley turned up, a duffle bag bouncing off his hip and a pair of boxes balanced in his arms.

He didn't have a problem carrying them, but as he reached the elevator he realized there was one thing he hadn't planned on. With his hands full...how was he supposed to hit the button to call the elevator?

He considered for a moment, then tried to shift the boxes and the one on top began to tip precariously.

~.~

Across the Lobby, sitting with her back to the new tenant, completely unawares was Jazz. When Jane had turned up her apartment, Jazz had headed downstairs to wait on the delivery of dinner. Hopefully by the time it got here, and Jazz got back upstairs, Jane would be finished working.

Perched on the arm of one of the Lobby's squishy chairs, Jazz continually glanced between the front doors and her fingernails.

She was pleased to find she hadn't yet ruined the manicure she'd gotten yesterday at the Michael's Bros. Spa.

He wasn't ready to move in just yet, but as soon as he'd recieved the call, stating his long awaited approval, Riley Ames headed over to Morningstar Manor, eager to form his connections with the grand old building.

He stopped at the front desk, familiarizing himself with the face of the guard on duty as he picked up his keys. The extra packet of goodies that came with the jingling silver was unexpected, but entirely welcome and as he headed upstairs to check out the apartment #347 he felt the warm satisfaction of his well-laid plan coming together.

While he moved through the apartment and made a mental layout of his belongings, he nattered away with his manager on his cell phone, making plans for moving from his river side apartment to the Manor. When that taken care of, he went back downstairs and, after a check of his watch, headed into the coffee shop.

Might as well start meeting his new neighbors while he was here, right?