Morningstar Manor

Jane was slap bang on time again, one of the things she'd learned fast about the tenant of this particular apartment was to NEVER be late. So promptly at 10am she knocked on the door, called out "Maid Service" and listened intently for about half a minute. No answer. An imperceptible tension eased out of her shoulders, and she let herself in with her passkey.

She hated cleaning this place. It was the only job she wished she could trade off with someone else, but, she wasn't that nasty and the other maids were more like friends, and you just don't do that to a friend. A quick tour of the apartment revealed the reason for the silence, Mr Avery wasn't home. The smile then was truly happy, maybe she could just clean and get out and there would be none of the usual unpleasantness about how she'd woken him up and couldn't she see he had company. She'd put her foot down the time he'd told her to come back later. She simply wouldn't have had time to do that. Besides, ten was the time he'd requested, and on a Sunday no less, it wasn't her place to reschedule... She certainly wasn't going to miss doing Jazz's apartment, that was more of a laugh than work, because if Jazz was in they normally managed to make a meal and spend some time having fun as well as getting the apartment cleaned up.

With a little happy tune already being hummed under her breath, Jane set to work in the kitchen, which was soon sparkling so left the floor cleaned, dried and with a fresh coat of polish on it to start dusting in the lounge.

Mr Donato was a very busy man. His new position - all his new positions carried a considerable responsibility - he had to be seen out and about, smiling, and accompanied by the most beautiful women and powerful men money or reputation could buy. Consquently he hadn't rushed to do things that, in retrospect, he should have seen to pretty smartly. ( Read more... )

Frantically digging through her closet one afternoon, Solara stopped and held up the blouse that she'd been desperately searching for. It was her first night going to a racing meet since she moved from New York; she was gonna make an impression.

She finally got looking how she wanted, and breezed out the door. She took the Millenia to a parking garage in the warehouse district near the water. Parking there, she went three buildings down to the garage where her Volkswagen waited, gleaming and freshly polished. Cam, her mechanic, stood next to it grinning. "Thought you'd never get here," he said with a grin as he wiped his hands on a rag. "I wanted to show you the latest engine mods I've been working on."

She looked on as Cam showed her the newest modification, a manual turbo-boost adjuster. She bore with this patiently for a few minutes, and finally got to leave after slipping his week's pay into his hand. Under-the-table cash supplemented Cam's regular mechanic job, and Solara was more than happy to oblige since she knew all four of his children and wife. Thoughts of this all whirling through her head, Solara took the car out of the garage and out onto the streets.

Solara raced through the warehouse district with a fierce rush of freedom, powersliding through the turns and blasting through the intersections regardless of traffic lights. She rounded a particular intersection, past a 'ROAD CLOSED' sign, and went around a building where the race meet was to take place. She came up to the crowed and navigated her way next to another car; the JTI was just showing tonight, no race for her.

Solara smirked at the people ogling her car. She put a Crystal Method mix into the CD player and popped the rear hatch. Climbing out of the little racer without flashing anyone was difficult to do in a miniskirt, but she managed it and went around to the back where she opened the hatch the rest of the way. The speaker boxes lit up at the touch of a switch, and a laser lightshow began for the benefit of the spectators. Sol popped a lollipop into her mouth and went to sit on the hood. People seemed to enjoy her 'schoolgirl' outfit due to the volume of pictures people took, but she was surprised to see someone familiar looking at her car. She slid off her hood and went up to the newcomer, who looked only slightly younger than her. "Hey. I've seen you at the manor, haven't I?"

Jane let herself into the apartment with her key, and practically slammed the door behind her. The cart rattled as she shoved it down to a space in the lounge where she usually parked it, just missing a table and then a wall. Jane was, to put it bluntly, furious.

She turned away from the cart and muttered some very unladylike words under her breath before heading for the bathroom. Maybe some cold water would help, except the bathroom door was locked. "Dammit! Jazz? Are you in there? How am I supposed to clean the bathroom with you hogging it?"

Jane thumped the door with the flat of her hand, swore some more, and stomped off to the kitchen. Maybe there was ice in the freezer?