Charlotte Blue Valentine (in_blue) wrote in btvsal, @ 2011-01-02 16:20:00 |
|
|||
Current mood: | thoughtful |
Entry tags: | charlotte valentine, ~charmaine lamare |
Making a New Contact
Who: Charlotte and Charmaine
Where: SFA Fighting Ring
When: Friday, December 31
To be honest, Charlotte had never shown an interest in professional fighting in all of her life. She was more of your typical 'girly girl' than anything. So why, you may ask, is she sitting ringside for an SFA fight on New Year's Eve when she could be luxuriating in a nice bubble bath? One reason. One of the managers was also a client and he had given her a ticket. There was nothing tawdry about the offered ticket, it was just a show of appreciation for good work.
She didn't want to offend him by not coming.
She was currently dressed in her favorite little black dress, with matching stockings and pumps, her hair tied back almost haphazardly for her. She tilted her head to the side as she watched a demon start to lay into what was, presumably, a vampire. Judging by the size of them, she'd guess that they weren't the major draw card this evening.
Charmaine watched from her box seat as the demon started to lay into the vampire. This wasn't the main fight of the evening. The demon was heavily favored in all of the betting of the night, so they had set the fight to be the opener to the main event, which was supposed to be a much closer match. Close matches were actually good for Charmaine's business, since it made people more excited to watch upcoming matches when they weren't sure who was going to win.
After watching the fight (more like 'beating) for a few minutes, Charmaine got up from her box seating and went downstairs so that she could mingle with some of the customers.
Charlotte's icy blue eyes followed Charmaine as soon as she moved, and, thinking that she was the owner (and correctly so, she would likely find out later), she stood, moving over to get a drink first before attempting to intercept the woman. It was always a good idea to make yourself known to people with power and influence. She also hoped that her client would appreciate that she was taking an interest here.
Charmaine wasn't a client of Wolfram & Hart (yet), mainly because she seemed to keep herself so busy with the workings of this place that she didn't typically even need a lawyer or five. However, that could always change at some point. As she came down, she ended up walking near Charlotte as she started to make a round.
With a glass of champagne in one hand, Charlotte approached Charmaine, feeling slightly awkward for being so forward. "Miss Lamare?" She asked, her voice amazingly light, given their surroundings.
Charmaine turned around and looked at Charlotte, a light smile on her face. "Oui?" she asked, her French accent coming out loud and clear. "May I help you?"
Charlotte blinked momentarily. Her client had never said that Charmaine was... French. "I'm sorry to bother you. My name is Charlotte Valentine." She offered her hand politely. "I'm … Mister Hardwick's lawyer." She nodded over to her client, an SFA manager who was also a seven foot demon, who, while he looked ferocious, was actually as cuddly as a teddy bear once you got to know him.
"You're Charles' lawyer?" Charmaine asked with a smile, casting a glance over to Charles Hardwick. She knew that he had spoken nothing but good things about the law firm that he was using lately. Maybe this could be interesting. She reached out and shook Charlotte's hand. "Pleasure to meet you Ms. Valentine," she said.
"The pleasure is mine. Charles speaks very highly of you and what you do here." Charlotte replied. She meant that, too. Frankly, that was another thing that sparked her curiosity about the SFA. She glanced briefly towards the ring, where another fight had begun. "Might I have a few moments of your time?"
Charmaine cast a quick glance over to the ring. Things looked fine, so she could spare a few minutes. "Sure," she said to Charlotte. "What would you like to talk about?"
"Personally, I'm interested as to how you became the owner of the SFA. It's a curious business for anyone to be involved in, let alone a woman." She meant that as a compliment, surely. Charlotte blushed faintly and took a small sip of her champagne.
"My father was involved in a similar business venture back home in France," Charmaine said to her, looking back out at the floor so that she could keep an eye on it. "I heard that the former owner was in the mindset to sell his business. His girlfriend or something didn't like what he was doing so he was something of a motivated seller." And Charmaine wanted to strike out on her own, but didn't want to intrude on her father's turf.
Charlotte let out a throaty chuckle. "I can understand both sides." Of course, having neither (a living father OR a girlfriend) gave one great perspective. "I'm impressed that you decided to strike out on your own. From what Charles has told me, you've actually improved quite considerably from the previous owner." She didn't just mean profits, either.
She gave Charlotte a smile. "I try to run a good business," she said simply. "Besides, running a series of clubs is a little different than running a fight club business," she pointed out. "Mr. Bale is excellent at running clubs. He let his emotions get in the way of running what can be a very profitable business. I don't have the same attachments that he does, though." It helped a lot in a business like this to not get attached to people too much.
"That's true." Charlotte said about Ben's approach to business. "I've had the pleasure of going to Avarice. It's a … very sexually charged environment." That was putting it lightly. "But always busy." She tilted her head to the side thoughtfully when Charmaine mentioned attachments. "By … attachments, do you mean with your staff, or in general?"
"And that's only his club where teenagers go to dance," Charmaine said with a smile. "His other place is even more sexually charged." She gave a slight chuckle at Charlotte's question. "In general. I'd rather not let too much feeling get in the way of making money." She turned her head away from the fight and toward Charlotte. "I'm very good at making money. Plus, finding the latest, greatest fighter is something I enjoy."
"Yes, I'd heard about his other …endeavor." Charlotte blushed faintly. She never really openly discussed sexuality with anyone, even though she exuded it most of the time. "As long as you enjoy what you do, I find. It... almost makes up for the rest of it." She pursed her lips together, but was quick to shake out of her reverie. "I'm sorry. I took us slightly off topic there."
"It's fine," Charmaine said to her. She actually understood more than Charlotte may realize. "We're not in terribly different businesses, Ms. Valentine. I understand what you mean." She looked back out to the fight, which was just being wrapped up. A demon was all but using a different demon this time as his personal toilet paper, from the looks of it. "Sometimes I do wish they were a little more...civilized, but I don't think they'd be worth as much if they were."
"They really wouldn't be." Charlotte made a face as soon as she looked toward the ring again, since she didn't exactly have the best view. "I find it interesting how... brutal it can be and yet at the same time, I can't seem to force myself to look away. I don't know what that says about me." She added with a brief chuckle, before taking another small sip of her champagne.
"It says you're human," Charmaine pointed out. "The majority of the people who come to watch these fights are every day run of the mill humans," she said to Charlotte. "It's like the old saying goes...can't look away from the train wreck...I think that's the way it goes, anyway."
"I'd always heard it as a car accident, but the meaning's still there," Charlotte offered with a small smile. For some reason, being told that she was human calmed her. She constantly worried that her job made her less than human. That her reactions to things were decidedly inhuman... but enough about that.
"You're right. The meaning is still there," she said to Charlotte with a smile of her own. "It doesn't make you anything less to watch this. People used to watch gladiatorial combats in ancient Rome. It's really the same." More so than people truly knew, but that was neither here nor there.
"I understand. It's entertainment and everyone knows why they're here. Please don't think that I look down on what you do here. It's actually quite impressive. I'm just... neurotic, at best." She offered with a sad smile. Well, if anything, at least she knew that much about herself.
It was actually quite hard to offend Charmaine, as one could learn if they got to know her a little. Just like how she wasn't easily frightened. "I know you don't," Charmaine said. "And neurotic can work to your advantage if you use it right. It gives you great attention to detail."
"Yes. It does help to see things that others seem to overlook." It was especially useful in her job, but that went without saying. It occurred to her that Charmaine was being nice, or at the very least, patient with her. Which, come to think of it... "I'm sorry. I seem to have taken more than 'a few minutes'. I should probably let you get back to what you were doing before I bombarded you with my questions."
"It's fairly easy to keep my eye on the fights down below," Charmaine said simply to her. "I'm sure that you do have some more networking to do, though."
"Actually, no. I was only ever here for Charles' sake." She smiled faintly and gave the demon a small wave. "What I got was a far more unique experience than I thought and I have you to thank for that." Well, wasn't that... oddly charming of her?
Charmaine cast a smile at Charles. Luckily he had gotten this girl to come to the event, right? Charmaine had made a new contact, after all. "You're very welcome. Feel free to stop by during any fight, please."
"Thank you. I just might," Charlotte replied with a cordial nod. After a moment, she made her way over to the demon and sat down beside him, casting one final glance at Charmaine before she started talking to Charles. Well, wasn't that... interesting?