Isabelle "Izzy" Shaw (izzy_shaw) wrote in low_tide, @ 2009-11-29 17:59:00 |
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Entry tags: | isabelle shaw, joseph tropiano |
Carpe Diem
Coming back to work after a few days off sucked, even if your family was rich and you worked in paradise. That was the conclusion Izzy quickly arrived at on her first day back since Thanksgiving. The normally bustling resort was dead, people sticking close to home over the month-long period in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and there was almost nothing for the customer service staff to do. At least her shift was almost over. Maybe she'd call Rhiannon and see about going over and working on that set of binoculars for the Slayer, she'd need to swing by the house and change out of her business suit and grab her tool kit first but it would be good to get her hands dirty again.
She was brought back to the here and now with the arrival of the mail, which was quickly sorted out between those for the Hotel itself and items for the guests. The largest item turned out to be a parcel about the size of a shoebox was addressed to a Mr. Tropiano, and Izzy quickly brought up his account on the computer. His account was flagged for VIP service, and a note stated that any parcels were to be hand delivered instead of kept at the desk. The witch checked the clock and shrugged, it was close enough to quitting time that she could take it up to the man and take off after that.
A few minutes later, after letting her relief arrive and letting them know where she was going, Izzy stood in front of door 518 and knocked. "Mr. Tropiano?"
In the same moment the door opened and a distinctly dishevelled red-head in a little black dress that had obviously seen a better morning than this one let herself out, pausing only to lean back and return the kiss to her cheek as given by the man clad in a towel and still wet from a fresh shower. Upon sighting of the blonde the red-head merely straightened the way one strap sat on her shoulder and brushed past, leaving her to Joseph who turned dark eyes on the blonde.
Judging by the uniform the blonde was hotel staff and one of the more attractive ones.
"Yes?" He dropped his gaze from her face and noted the package held in her hands. "Is that for me?"
Izzy's eyes couldn't help but widen at the whole scene, from the redhead to the very handsome man in only a towel about the waist. She'd heard stories from veterans of the industry, but this was the first time she'd run into this sort of thing. Was the redhead his girlfriend or something else? Her face heated up a bit and she was certain her cheeks were blushing. The old Isabelle would have been scandalized, Izzy was merely surprised.
The blonde stepped back to let the other woman pass then focused her attention on the man's face, which, she had to admit, she hadn't paid much attention to at first. "Um, yes..." Her voice trailed off and her eyes grew even wider. It was Joseph! Not that she'd had a lot of interaction with the man, but she recognized the face. In the old dimension he was Rhiannon's boyfriend and then fiancee, she didn't know if this was the Joseph she knew or someone else. "Yes sir, it is. Your account has instructions that we are to bring any packages to you personally."
"I'm sorry I stared but you looked like someone I used to know."
Joseph merely lifted an eyebrow, lips tugging into what passed for an amused smile. "Yeah?" He reached out to take the package, assessing its size and weight as to what it could be. Only a few people knew where he was so it could have only come from one of them unless of course it was one of the packages he had sent himself before setting out for Key West. "Hopefully whoever this guy was you were on good terms with him, hate for you to hold something he did against me."
He smiled slowly at the blonde, probably aware of how the movement dimpled his cheeks. "You know I've got a really good memory for faces and I don't remember seeing you around the hotel before, got back from a holiday someplace else?" He folded his arms across his chest and leaned one shoulder against the doorway, apparently comfortable with being half naked and still very wet from his shower. "I appreciate you bringing the package up to me."
"Is that part of the service or am I going to get stung by charges later?" He was clearly teasing, that much was evident with the way the skin crinkled around his eyes
Izzy blushed again, which wasn't characteristic of her. At least, it hadn't been before arriving in Key West. Maybe something of Isabelle had survived beyond just the odd memory or two after all. Then again, neither version was experienced in chatting up half naked men in hotel hallways.
"No, I didn't know him too well, but he was engaged to an acquaintance of mine in Chicago." She paused a moment to see if there was any recognition, but there wasn't even a glimmer. He must be like that Hannah Rhiannon had mentioned: same face but different person inside. What was this Joseph like? "He seemed to be a really nice guy though."
At his mention of her she shook her head. "I was away for Thanksgiving, and had to work an extra shift because of it. I work the concierge desk and if they try to charge you tell them I said it was ok, my name's Isabelle Shaw."
"Well," Joseph murmured. "That's good to know." Marriage... it was the last thing on Joseph's mind, he had a lot to do and he was certainly not in the right place to consider getting involved that deeply with anybody. Sex was fun and sex was easy, it fitted into his current lifestyle very well. "Hopefully they'll live a long very happy life together."
He held out a hand to one Isabelle Shaw and smiled again. "Joseph Tropiano, which you know already, but it never hurts to be properly introduced." The injuries from the previous night were still obvious, especially the ones on his face, but Joseph seemed unbothered by them and they certainly hadn't bothered him last night.
"And I'll definitely remember that thing about charges."
"I agree." Izzy beamed at him, her teeth showing in a wide smile that was reflected in her eyes. Even if he wasn't Rhiannon's Joseph, he was still a familiar face if nothing else. "A pleasure to meet you Joseph."
The injuries were definitely noticeable and Izzy couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at them. What was he into? Some sort of mixed martial arts fighting or something? Maybe he and the redhead were into kinky sex. Either way, she didn't need to know. It wasn't any of her business what the guests did behind closed doors.
"They shouldn't be making you pay for any extra services, they're already included in the VIP rate." She'd read up on all the hotel procedures and regulations after the realignment, wanting to make sure she knew what she needed to do her job properly. Isabelle might have just been working for mad money and to have a taste of the fun life before getting married, but Izzy took the job seriously. "If you have any problems be sure and call the concierge desk"
Joseph noticed that sweeping gaze and simply dropped his own, shrugging his shoulders a few moments later. "Had a disagreement with a man in a bar, seems he didn't feel like parting with money hard earned by myself in a game of pool." Lies, but good lies, and easily spoken.
He regarded Izzy for a moment and nodded. "I'll be sure to remember that, thanks for bringing it to my attention." He scratched at the tattoo on his forearm and then shifted the way that he was stood, looking as if he was going to move back into the room. "Oh," he murmured as he turned back to Izzy. "Don't suppose you know if this hotel has a good bar?" He hadn't had a chance to look or read the welcome pack.
The blonde nodded in understanding about the injuries. It sounded a little extreme to her, but when pride and alcohol were mixed with the male ego who knew what could happen? "Must have been a lot of money."
She took his withdrawal as her dismissal, but stopped at his question and glanced back at him. "Yes, we have an excellent bar by the pool, the Blue Mojito, its open until ten. If that isn't your thing you can always call room service or the concierge desk after hours if you need something, and there are lots of bars within walking distance that are open later."
Wow, that sounded... rehearsed. And Joseph wasn't exactly shy about keeping that to himself. "How many times have you practised saying that or have actually said it?" He reached up and ruffled his hair, smirking at her. "I'm guessing it's a lot because it just rolled off your tongue there." He reached back into his room and picked up the packet of smokes and lighter he'd discarded there upon his arrival, turning the pack over until he could pry open the lid.
"Blue Mojito, huh?" He eased a cigarette between his lips and merely toyed with the lighter for a moment. "Anything you'd recommend?"
Caught in the act, Izzy smiled sheepishly, face heating up in embarrassment this time, and the blonde ducked her head for a moment. "Some questions just have an automatic response, sorry." She glanced around a bit to make sure there weren't any other hotel staff about that could hear her before continuing. "The Blue Mojito is very nice, but overpriced. If you're tired and feel like having a drink by the pool, that's the place to go. If you want to experience local color I'd check out one of the bars outside. There really are some nice places within walking distance. If you're willing to walk a bit further than the typical tourist I'd recommend Abandon Ship! over on Wiliam street. I celebrated my birthday there a few weeks ago, it's a lot of fun."
Joseph chuckled at Izzy's reaction. "Sorry, I have a habit of speaking my mind." He gave her a charming smile and then ducked his head, lighting the tip of his cigarette. He was still in his room so he wasn't breaking any kind of law given that he was booked into a smoking room, there was no way he could have dealt with a non-smoking room. Joseph turned into the room to exhale the smoke he was already holding after the first drag.
"Abandon Ship?" He repeated, tongue flicking out over his lower lip until his teeth snagged and held. "It doesn't have... pirates serving drinks, does it?"
That smile had conquered many a woman, Izzy was certain. She couldn't help but smile in response to his question, and ignored the cigarette smoke since he was trying to be courteous about it. The witch just hoped Mark wasn't a smoker, that would be a problem if she was going to live with a man.
She laughed at his question. "No, no pirates! It does have a nautical theme, but Key West is surrounded by ocean after all. It used to have a thriving fishing trade once upon a time, or so I'm told."
"Thank fuck for that," Joseph murmured. "I was having some interesting mental imagery for a moment there." He breathed in and exhaled smoke, scratching the corner of his mouth. "Guess I might check that out." It might be good or it might not, only one way to find out. "As long as they serve whiskey I'll be happy."
He took a look at the package and tried to identify what it could be by the size and the writing on the address label. "Guess I should let you get back to your work, wouldn't want to keep you away too long even if it's been fun talking to you." A cursory glance at the clock on the nearby wall told him that he still had enough of the day to make something out of it, whatever that something would be. Checking the news was one thing that came to mind.
"Where is Abandon Ship exactly?"
"That's all right, my shift just ended so I'm free to do whatever I want. I figured I would take this up rather than have my relief leave the desk unattended." Izzy smiled back at him. "I've enjoyed talking with you as well. The bar is over on Wiliam Street, about ten blocks from here, just down Whitehead Street until you come to Angela. Take a left on Angela and take that over to Wiliam. You can't miss it."
Joseph took in the directions with a nod of his head before he touched his lower lip with the edge of his thumb. "You just got off, huh?" Carpe Diem, wasn't that something that his father used to talk about all the time? With that in mind, Joseph tilted his chin until he was able to look Izzy in the eyes. "You fancy showing me this bar of yours? Stop a tourist from getting lost in a new city." Joseph could follow directions just fine, but why follow them when you could have an attractive blonde showing you the way? Where was the harm in that?
If she said no she said no, not a big deal. He was a big boy after all.
Izzy paused, uncertain. It wouldn't be cheating since all she was doing was helping a tourist out, but she still needed to be careful. She'd promised herself to another man and wanted to give that a chance, it didn't really matter that it hadn't been 'her' when the proposal had been accepted. All her memories pointed toward Mark being a good, if very busy, man, who loved her. That wasn't something Izzy was prepared to casually discard.
After a moment she nodded, meeting his eyes and holding up her left hand to display the engagement ring. "I'll go with you, but only as a new friend showing another around town. I'm off the market."
"I'll meet you downstairs in ten minutes." She'd change her clothes in the employee rest room and meet him out in the lobby, the blonde had a change of clothes with her for when she went out clubbing without heading back to the house first. It hadn't been the first time after all. The hotel frowned on them going out in work clothes, and Izzy didn't want to rock the boat.
Joseph took a moment to observe the ring and Izzy's blatant display of being attached to somebody else and simply offered a lopsided smile. "Right, got it. How could I miss it?" He winked and then stepped back into the room, nodding his head. "Be down in ten minutes." Joseph shut the door and turned back into the room, shedding the towel and replacing it with a pair of boxers that were then covered by well worn and exceptionally comfortable jeans.
He picked up a nearby tanktop and slid it on, tugging it down around his waist before he snatched up his cigarettes, lighter and most importantly a sidearm that he first made safe before easing it into a holster that was shortly hidden by both a shirt and a jacket. He swept his hair back into a low ponytail and let himself out of the room, making sure to lock the door behind himself. The last thing he wanted was somebody getting in and seeing something that they shouldn't.
Joseph bypassed the lift and took the stairs, walking with all the confidence of a man who knew who he was and what he wanted out of life.
Once downstairs, Izzy changed out of her business suit and into the strapless yellow tube dress and sandals she had with her, then reached back to free her hair from its ponytail. The blonde stared at herself in the mirror for a moment, wondering if she was doing the right thing. After a moment she shook her head and freshened up her makeup, there wasn't anything wrong in showing him around and that's all it would be.
She put her suit away and emerged into the lobby from the employee area, checked her watch and waited for Joseph to arrive.
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Joseph appeared a few moments later, head bowed as he counted through the cigarettes in the pack. He'd definitely need to look into buying some more, sooner rather than later. He glanced up and caught sight of Izzy, giving her an appreciative once over. Taken woman or not she was a good looking lady. "You look very... summery." His lips quirked and a dimple appeared in one cheek before it vanished as he joined her, sweeping his hand towards the door. "Lead the way."
He glanced over his shoulder and then focused his attention on where Izzy was taking him, tucking a couple strands of dark hair behind his ear.
"It's always summer here in the lower Keys." Izzy smiled at him. He looked a little overdressed in those pants and the jacket, but she had to admit he wore them well. She slipped her purse straps up a little higher on her shoulder and gestured toward the street. "This way."
Soon they were walking down Whitehead and Izzy glanced over at her companion, curious. "So what brings you down to Key West? I couldn't help but notice you don't have a checkout date on your room." He definitely wasn't from south of the Mason-Dixon, sounded like a New Yorker from his accent. Definitely a long way from home.
"I've noticed," Joseph shared around the filter end of a new cigarette. Not that it was going to stop him from dressing the way that he wanted to. Fuck if he was ever wearing a pair of sandals, he'd rather be dead and buried before that happened. He dipped his head and lit the cigarette, holding onto the smoke for just long enough for it to curl around the corners of his mouth. "Guess there's something to be said for a lot of sun."
He tucked his lighter back into the pocket of his jacket and turned to look at Izzy, shrugging a shoulder in response. "I needed a vacation and I didn't want to go abroad so I found my way here. I'm told it's good for relaxing." Once again he was lying, but it was a lie so well scripted that he didn't falter or gave anything away, all part of being a good gambler and criminal. "Still trying to get used to all the fresh air. I'm used to more city recycled air."
Joseph flicked ash aside and took a longer look at Izzy. "So, what made you wanna become a concierge?"
Good Question. The witch thought to herself. Izzy wasn't quite sure why she'd chosen the hospitality industry, the memories from before the re-alignment were fuzzy on that issue. It definitely wasn't something she would have chosen for herself now, but going back to engineering wasn't going to happen so it was time to make the best of things. "It's a starting point to learn the business. What better place to learn what customers want than a concierge? Hopefully in a few years I'll be running my own hotel."
"Are you enjoying your vacation so far?"
"Hopefully," Joseph murmured as his attention turned to their surroundings and he took a moment to observe and note what was happening around them as they moved through the city. "Always good to have goals for the future." He stepped around a group of young teenagers and smoothed his hair back when a small breeze disturbed it. "My vacation? Yeah, you could say that. Just enjoying the delights of the city. getting out and meeting new people." That was certainly one way of putting it.
Joseph glanced up at Izzy and grinned slowly to bare his teeth. "It's been an interesting experience so far."
Izzy wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. "That's good to know, I hope it stays that way." She brushed back a few strands of hair that had come into her field of vision from the breeze and glanced over at Joseph. "So what do you do back home?"
Joseph had to stop himself from laughing in response to that question, hiding his amusement in another drag of smoke. "I'm something of a businessman," he shared after a moment. "Got a couple businesses I look after and maintain, reporting back to my boss and dealing with boring mundane details." He blew out a smoke and glanced over at Izzy, winking a moment later. "It's nothing exciting. See why I needed the vacation?"
Izzy couldn't help but laugh as they turned the corner onto Angelina. "Yes! You must have been very overworked, I can tell." It was a very vague response, but amusing nonetheless. "Your boss is very nice to let you come down to the Keys for an extended vacation. What do you do for fun when you're not chatting up concierges while dressed in a towel?"
Joseph snorted. "Isn't that the only way to have some fun?" He was joking and showed this by smiling a moment later. "I like to drink, gamble, talk to beautiful women, dance and lots of other things. I generally enjoy life as much as I can because you never know when you're going to die." He spent a great deal of his life cheating death and playing a game with it that not many people could or would ever do for fear of repercussion and consequence.
"But, nothing's more fun than spending time with a beautiful woman."
Izzy blushed a little, knowing he was talking about her. She was a modest person, at least this version of herself was, but she had no illusions of unattractiveness about her appearance. "I'll bet you say that to all the girls," she teased back with a smile.
"Not a bad way to live, as if it could be your last day on Earth." The memory of the event on Lincoln Park Beach came to mind, and Izzy could see why that sort of philosophy could have appeal. One day you could wake up and be living in a completely different life.
Joseph stopped for as long as it took to crush the cigarette beneath the sole of his boot, letting go of the last breath of smoke that had been clinging to his throat. "Doesn't make it any less true." He tucked his hands into the hip pockets of his jeans and looped the narrow bottom of both his thumbs through his beltloops, pressing skin against the leather that held the denim to his hips. "My dad used to talk about Carpe Diem all the time and I always figured he enjoyed his life so why not adopt the same sort of mentality?"
He turned his head and watched the crowd move through the city, interested in their behaviors and interactions. "No point living if you aren't living life."
"Makes sense to me." Izzy nodded. Joseph might be taking it to an extreme but she couldn't help but agree with the general point of things. Abandon Ship! came into view and she pointed. "There it is. One of the best bars in Key West."
Joseph lifted an eyebrow and regarded Izzy with some skepticism. "I'll wait to make my own mind up about that." He closed the distance and paused to open the door for Izzy, waiting for her to wander on inside before he shut the door and gave this place a shot. It was very different from what he was used to, he could tell that much already. Maybe different was good and maybe it wasn't, only one way to find out. As long as the place served whiskey Joseph wouldn't have such a bad time.
"Carpe Diem," Joseph murmured more to himself than anybody else as the door closed behind them.
Later on, Izzy pulled out her cellphone and sent a text to Rhiannon. The Slayer needed to know about this, if only that he was out there and so she wouldn't be surprised if the two ran into each other.
Rhiannon - Just met another doppelganger, similar to situation re Hannah. Need to meet ASAP. - Izzy