Who: Hermes and Natalie What: We meet again, my strange and mysterious masked lova-lova When: Tuesday Afternoon Where: An airport in NY
Hermes strode through the airport, trailing his upmarket luggage behind him. The wheels clicked on the floor as he walked, rattling out a strange and angry tattoo behind him. His phone was in his hand and he practically radiated indignation as he growled into it. Hermes was an easy-going guy most of the time, but he took his job seriously. He worked for his father, and when your father was Zeus, you needed to get things right. Hermes had been chosen for his position because he was good at it. And even now, he carried Zeus' messages all over the country to different branches of the man's company or to other partners, but it was harder in a country that was larger than Greece.
He couldn't get away with using his winged shoes here. He had to rely on air travel. And when the private plane he booked had ended up being hours late for completely avoidable issues, it made Hermes look bad, at least in his mind.
Hermes dropped into a seat in a cafe because now the car he had rented was late. "Everything's gone wrong and I am never hiring this car company again!" Hermes hissed to his wife who was, bless her, listening to every word. "And I'm not hiring the private jet company again either. I was two hours late. How the hell am I supposed to explain that to my father? I am never late! Fucking morons!"
Natalie was a strong believer of Right Place, Right Time and today that was exactly where she was. She had just flown into the city and had another flight to take out in an hour so there were no way to go home until then, and so she was drinking a coffee when an angry man sat down at the table behind her and started his fortuitous ranting.
She heard him hang up the phone and made her move, turning in her chair to him. "Excuse me," she said, "I hate to interrupt..." At least she was well-dressed and professional, her black skirt-suit well cut, her hair braided back neatly, her makeup subtle. "...but I couldn't help overhearing that you've had pilot trouble."
The woman who had turned to him was absolutely gorgeous and Hermes had to take a moment, just to get his breath back. Then he calmly said to his wife, "I have to go, a woman is talking to me," and he hung up. He knew Peitho wouldn't mind. She had only been half listening, and he was fairly sure someone had been doing naughty things to her lower half while she held the phone and made occasional 'I'm listening' sounds.
"Hi," Hermes smiled cheerfully when his phone was secreted away again. "I just had a business delivery not go entirely as planned. The company has had several problems like this over the past few years. Do...do you know a pilot who doesn't show up late because he's slept in again?"
"Actually," Natalie told him, feeling pretty damn good about this already. "I know someone perfect for the job." From her breast pocket she pulled out her business card, the name of the pirate jet company emblazoned across the top and her own name smaller below it.
"Natalie Godfrey," she told him, passing it over. "And I'm the best and most reliable pilot you'll meet." She wanted to say that she was the best pilot ever in the world at any time, but she figured she should keep the bragging and arrogance to a minimum on first meeting.
Hermes raised his eyebrows and he grinned, glancing over her business card before he placed it in the breast pocket of his suit coat. "Well, Natalie Godfrey...Mrs, or Miss?"
Personally Natalie would prefer 'Dr' but lacked the qualifications. "Miss works," she told him with a smile. (But if he started calling her Miss Natalie she was outta there.) "I've been flying with that company for three years and they'll tell you I'm their best." At least they better damn well. Because she was. (Natalie didn't do humble when it came to flying.)
"I believe you," Hermes said with a grin. "Hello, Natalie. I'm Heath Monroe. I work for Zachary Sturm's company? I have to make rather a lot of deliveries and having someone who is professional and...not a complete wanker would be really useful."
"Well, I'm a professional," Natalie promised him, "and I'm only sometimes a wanker." She laughed, trying not to make it sound completely filthy but, since she was thinking it, failing a little.
That laugh.
Hermes knew that laugh.
The street filled with black-clad people in masks, fireworks overhead, the crowd moving and seething as one. A woman was pushed into him and she laughed. They stole away from the crowd and celebrated Guy Fawkes Day their own way.
"Uhm. This might sound strange, but did you happen to be wearing a mask at a Pulp Fiction comic book publicity thing on the 5th?"
Natalie's blinked in slight confusion and then gave him a curious look. "Yes?" she told him, unsure of where he was going with this. "Did you see me there?" There'd certainly been enough times that she'd taken off the mask during the event.
Hermes bit his lip and he laughed once before saying slowly, "I uhm...I think you did. Not...much of you. I recognise your laugh. I think you're the person I ended up in an alley with."
Hermes ended up in situations like this all the time. He wasn't embarrassed at all, only amused, and it showed.
For a moment Natalie went wide-eyed and then she laughed and pressed a hand against her mouth. "Oh Jesus," she muttered, trying really hard not to laugh.
She dropped her hand after a moment, biting down on her lip as she watched the entertained man (who was really attractive without a mask, so: go her!) "Yeeeeah," Natalie nodded, feeling kind of like an idiot now. "Well, there's a professional introduction for you."
Hermes laughed as well and then he shrugged. "Well it's nice to meet you outside of a mask, Natalie. So if I wanted to book you as a pilot specifically, I just dial the number on the card and ask for you, hmm?"
He was still actually going to hire her? That was more than just a pleasant surprise and she grinned and nodded. "Yep, ask them to book you with me and I promise not to sleep in."
"Brilliant," Hermes said with a bright smile. "You're a lifesaver, you know? I'm really glad you were eavesdropping," he said with a wink and a grin.