Kiernan Manley (wingsofwyverns) wrote in emillion, @ 2013-08-29 20:09:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !log, gillian goodwin, kiernan manley |
Who: Gillian Goodwin & Kiernan Manley
What: Housing negotiations
Where: The Daily Grind
When: Earlier today
Rating: G
Status: Complete!
Kiernan didn’t often care about making his appointments on time. He was punctual more often than not, but if he was late, he was late. It was rare that anyone’s life depended on him being on time or early, and when it was, that meant there was a battle. But today was not a battle, at least not one of physical violence. Kiernan didn’t know what to expect from the talk with Gillian, but it was the best lead he had for wintertime housing. As the daylight hours dwindled and the nights grew longer and longer, he knew he was running out of time. So today he was early for his meeting with Gillian. He already had his mocha frappuccino in hand and found a small table for two in a quiet corner of the coffee shop. There he waited for the samurai to show, hoping that whatever she might ask in rent, he could afford; more, that by the end of this, he would have somewhere to live through Emillion’s coldest months. Gillian arrived a short while after. In transit between several different appointments for the day, she carried underneath her arm a slim bag full of papers and folders. Prepared for business, she was dressed in civilian clothing that hinted at just that. With the habits of a seasoned bodyguard, she scanned the room as she entered it and spotted Kiernan at a table nestled neatly in the corner. Not bad, she thought, feeling as if the seat would offer a decent vantage toward the rest of the patrons. Sighing as she thought this, and reminding herself that she wasn’t on the job now, per se, Gillian moved over to the counter first to order herself a drink. Once the cup of tea was in her hand, it was then that she walked over to meet him. “I hope you haven’t waited around long?” Setting her belongings on the table, she offered a handshake before sitting down to join him. “Not at all,” said Kiernan as he stood to clasp her hand. “I’ve only been here a few minutes.” She sat before he could pull the chair out for her, but then, he had to remind himself, most women in the Fighters Guild never did seem keen on such treatment anyway. Besides, this was more a meeting between two potential future roommates, not a date. “Busy day?” he asked. He knew that in her line of work, she kept plenty busy. There was never any shortage of jobs for mercenaries in Emillion. “A very busy day,” she admitted with a shrug. Now that Gillian was meeting with him face to face, she had a good opportunity to assess how much of potential Kiernan had as a tenant. That he had arrived early for the meeting seemed a promising beginning at least. She reached for her cup of tea and settled into her seat. “Now then, where do you want to start?” Kiernan let out a nervous sigh. He hated to start with this, but all of the other matters didn’t matter if they couldn’t agree on the hardest point: “Rent. What’s the lowest you’re willing to charge?” He forgot if this was a good way to begin negotiations or not, but if he was any good at it, he would have not have been homeless for coming up on two years now. Taking a sip of her tea as Kiernan began to ask about prices, Gillian tried her best not to snort into her drink. She carefully put her cup down. Of course, she thought, it was always prices first. But she was prepared for this at matter of interest least, and after a moment of taking a pen and pad of paper from her jacket, Gillian scrawled out a few figures and pushed it toward him on the table. “A reasonable offer, considering the neighborhood and the amount of space I’m offering. There’s room to negotiate the smaller details, of course, but I hope you’ll find that agreeable.” Gillian prided herself on her ability to bargain, but whether or not Kiernan could afford it was another thing entirely. She took her cup back into her and waited to see how he would react. The number was not what Kiernan had expected, but it was what he had hoped for, save for a few gil. Quickly, he counted the months in his head considering the asking price: that would be lodging for five or six months with what he’d managed to save up so far, which would take him into Aquarius or Pisces if he moved in next week. At best, spring would just be around the corner before he’d have to live in the Outlands again. At worst, it’d be the dead of winter. Well, he needed to at least try to negotiate the numbers down just a bit. The closer he could get to the best case scenario, the better. Always go for lower than you’re actually willing to pay, he reminded himself. “It’s not bad,” he admitted; no sense lying about the price, considering the locale of where Gillian lived, at least according to Theo. “What would it take to knock it down about a hundred gil?” Gillian raised her eyebrows, looking surprised. She hadn’t expected him to try and haggle, but then, it was true that she hadn’t gone through very many interviews yet either. Gazing into her cup of tea, she thought his offer over, or at least gave the impression that she was doing so. “Fifty gil,” she said with tilt of her head. “That’s more than generous. I’ve been meaning to hire someone to paint up the fence, I suppose.” Bingo! "I'll take that," said Kiernan, grinning. There was the seven months to ensure he didn't freeze to death; he might be getting old, but he was still young to die from anything but battle. And painting didn't seem like too terrible a job, especially if it meant cheaper rent. Things were looking better and better. It didn't mean, of course, this was a sure thing yet; he needed to sell himself. "Well, I guess I should admit now that I don't have a lot of belongings to my name. Just my armor, my spear, a couple of changes of clothes, and a couple of knickknacks. I won't take up too much space and I won't make too much of a mess. I'm no master chef but I can cook." He paused. "Anything else you need to know?" It'd been so long since he went looking for a place to live, he'd forgotten how this part of the process worked. Gillian offered him an amused expression. Kiernan definitely seemed eager enough, and if there was no more haggling over rent, she certainly wasn’t going to complain about that. “You’d be staying upstairs, if we end up making this agreement. Bedroom, bathroom, and a small sitting room as well. We’d likely share the kitchen, however, I do hire a cleaner to visit during the week.” Before continuing, she took a moment to reach inside her bag, pulling out a small number of papers clipped together. “Here’s the paperwork. Just the usual information, and the rest of the details for you as well.” Kiernan took the papers and scanned through them. Nothing jumped out at him as being too out of the ordinary or unreasonable. He'd had worse, that was for certain. "Doesn't look too bad," he mused. Without taking his eyes off the paperwork, he asked, "Is it furnished?" Gillian nodded. “It is, in fact, so I’d recommend to any potential new tenants that they try not to...break anything too expensive.” While this was said with a wry smile, she was hoping to avoid anyone prone to an unusual amount of destruction--berserkers, for example. “If there are other questions you can think of? Otherwise, I can leave you to the paperwork.” “Just the one,” he said, then he paused a moment. “Or I guess it’s more of a two-in-one question but: if you accept me as a tenant -- and for the record, I’ll accept --” I don’t have any other options and this is probably the best deal I’m going to get. “-- when would you expect me or want me to move in? My schedule’s pretty flexible so long as I’m not out of town on duty.” “When?” Gillian thought it over. Acquiring a reliable, paying tenant quickly was in her best interests, and if everything went well, there seemed to be little reason to delay the matter. “It’s been unoccupied for some time, so I’d imagine once the agreement has been signed.” She tapped her fingers against the table. “And there’s the matter of first month’s rent as well.” "As soon as possible, works for me," said Kiernan with a grin. "As for the first month's rent, I don't carry that amount of gil on my person regularly. Pickpockets, you know? I keep it at my old man's house, and he lives some distance away. I can make a quick trip out and back to get it. It'll only take me a day or two." A beat. "Not that I'm assuming anything right now, of course." “Of course,” Gillian said. “I’ve got some important things to take care of myself. Once we’ve got the paperwork sorted, why don’t we say a week’s time to get affairs in order?” Speaking of important matters, Gillian looked around the shop to try and catch the time. Her next appointment was soon enough, and she needed to remind herself to stay on schedule. She took a final sip of her tea and allowed Kiernan a moment to think the offer over. “Fair enough?” "Fair enough," said Kiernan with a nod. He held up the paperwork. "I'll look at these in more detail then, and I'll make sure I have the first month's rent in time for the lease signing. We'll be in touch?" “Of course.” Gillian stood up from the table and collected her belongings. She offered to shake Kiernan’s hand before she left, as was polite. Old business habits--she certainly had enough of them. “I’m glad we could come to an agreement.” It was an honest statement. After all, once everything checked out (which she hoped it would) and Kiernan moved in, it would be one less thing in her day to worry about. Kiernan took her hand and flashed her a smile. "So am I," he said. "Looking forward to meeting with you again." And with any luck, he won't be homeless anymore, or at least though the winter. |