Who: Mike Lane mikelane & Maleficent moorguardian What: Custom order delivery When: Thursday, August 13, after close of the shop Where: Breadcrumbs Rating: General Audiences Warnings: If I miss something? I'm sorry, but I really don't think there are any in this one. Status: Closed/Completed GDoc
~*~
Custom furniture was an interesting business in California where everyone wanted to be as unique as possible. There were orders which came in where Mike Lane literally shook his head before tossing them out to try the next one and some which he'd linger over for weeks to make sure he got them exactly right. He went based on a gut feeling most of the time rather than on the amount he'd be paid. Some customers paid him in thousands while others were less than a hundred; they were all equally important to him.
Breadcrumbs was an outdoors shop whose owners had contacted him to do some stands, custom cases, unique displays. They'd wanted him to give their place a look which transcended Gun & Ammo Shop Number 4. Mike had been pleased to help. He liked the brother-sister pair who ran the shop. Hansel and Gretel were both the rough and tumble type which was interesting to run across in California. He didn't want to get into a fight with either of the from what he'd seen of their weapon demonstrations.
They had expanded to add Adventure Groups and activities over the years which was why they'd asked him to build a more challenging rock wall for their clients. It seemed they were getting people who were wanting to move from beginner/amateur to skilled/expert and they couldn't do it on their current course. He had never built a mountain or cliff-face before so Mike took the job with every intention in the world to make it look as realistic as possible. He'd formed it in four sections so two were for free-hand climbing with no fake grips anywhere while the other two had standard training grips for hands and feet but they were spaced at intermittent intervals to make the climb still a bit of a challenge.
Mike had nearly pulled a muscle in his arm trying the thing out. It was suitable for what they wanted. He had gotten the paint on it spot on from what he could tell. His employee had been enthusiastic about the delivery so Mike had agreed to pay him overtime to come along to help set it up. The fact they were going to be setting it up in the realm of an almost ethereally beautiful woman did not hurt at all. He knew there was a huge cleared space where they likely wanted the new fixture to go, but it was better to ask than to assume.
She was hot, but she had arms which looked like they weren't any joke and Mike had zero desire to be KO'd by a woman in front of his only employee.
"Oh, hey, I'm Mike Lane of Mike Lane Custom Designs. Furnishing Art. I do a lot of the displays here. They cleared an area, but I don't know if I can just go to town setting it up or not. You seem to belong here more than I do so I'm asking permission first. Don't want to step on any toes."
~*~
That morning Maleficent had been informed that a new rock wall would be delivered for their customers that wanted a bit of a more challenging experience. Maleficent was grateful that they'd listened to her suggestion on that, it would make things better for their more advanced students before she took them out for a real climbing session.
Of course, no matter where they were at, Maleficent would make their safety her first priority. They would be safely harnessed in, no freestyling on her watch, unless they proved to be a proficient climber. That, however, took years of training and lots more waivers than the ones they signed just to step up to any of the climbing walls. Maleficent didn't want anyone getting hurt on her watch, nor did she want the sibling duo that owned Breadcrumbs to get sued.
Maleficent changed into something more suited for climbing, a pair of yoga capris and a tank top, and sneakers to walk out to the new climbing area in. Her gear was tossed into a bag, along with her trusty climbing shoes. She wanted to try out this new wall once it was installed to make sure that it was up to spec with what their experienced climbers needed.
Making her way out there, she gave a nod to the employee, and dropped her bag onto the ground but out of the way of where they'd be setting things up. She looked up the wall, moving to look at each section carefully. This should do rather nicely.
She offered Mike a soft smile, and a nod of her head. "I'm Maleficent, nice to meet you, Mike." She offered her hand to him, "Yes, this is where the wall will be going." Outdoor climbing was the best transition from indoor climbing gyms, and while Maleficent didn't have any problems teaching inside, it was still a good idea for people to get used to the conditions that they could face while being outdoors.
"I appreciate the time and effort you spent on this. It looks amazing."
~*~
Shaking her hand, Mike grinned as he released her hand from his, "Thanks so much. I worked pretty hard on it. I take a lot of pride in trying to provide the best product my clients can get. We call it 'furnishing art' thanks to my mentor. He made 'functional art' for urban living. Really cool guy. Very strange."
Life was a lot different in California than in many states. It was more relaxed for people and there were fewer issues with people getting stressed to the max unless they were in film. That was the only industry which seemed to be ruthless to its pursuants. Mike had been nothing but happy since he'd moved across the continent. He was pursuing his dream. He was literally living his dream---just not his dreams which were another story. Mike liked the people at Breadcrumbs because they were very real.
A lot of the glamour of Cali tended to make people come across as fake with their praise. He never worried about fake praise from a guy like Hansel whose idea of a compliment was 'Looks okay for a fuckin' fake rock. How much did you say that thing was going to cost us?' Mike had never laughed so much as he had when trying to do negotiations with the siblings. They were both interesting, but he liked working with Gretel better since she was less likely to get confused when he talked about his profit margin.
Hansel tended to say 'So fuckin' what?'
Not the best response when a guy was trying to make a living.
"Are you going to test it out once we get it set up? I'd love to get your feedback on it. I put in standard grips and footholds on one side and sculpted ones on the others. I wanted to make it challenging and then more realistic."
~*~
"I can tell you've put a lot of work into it." Maleficent agreed with a nod, after she dropped her hand back down to her side. It would be a great addition to their other walls, and from the looks of it, it would be challenging enough for their more advanced students. Of course, she wouldn't know until she tested it out herself.
The siblings, Hansel and Gretel, had done well finding him. The cases in the store were lovely, as were the displays that she'd seen in there too. They took great pride in their store, and Maleficent appreciate that. She also appreciated the fact that they'd given her a job not too long after she'd arrived in Orange County. Maleficent was pretty certain that she was also appreciative of the looks Hansel was giving her when he thought she wasn't looking, but she wasn't sure that she was willing to open that door just yet.
Or ever.
Maleficent had been burned very badly before, and the healing process was very slow. She was trying though, at least, she didn't think now that every man was a scumbag.
Giving a nod, Maleficent looked over at Mike. "That's the plan. I'll be the one teaching the classes out here, so I'll need to get a feel for the wall and let you know if there's anything I don't like about it, right?"
~*~
Perfectionists weren't outside Mike's realm of experience. He'd had very, very, very picky clients in the past. It didn't bother him at all to let Maleficent give the rock wall a professional look over. She was the one who'd be teaching on it. The people who ran the store were involved in every aspect of their business -more than most owners Mike knew- but they weren't the ones who'd be scaling the thing every day or training people on it regularly. This was going to be her arena.
She should get a final say in how it was set up.
"That's the plan exactly. It's up to you how you want to offer feedback on it. I don't have any more deliveries tonight so I can set it up to let you test drive it while I'm here or I can set it up to have it ready for you whenever you come back in and you can pass feedback to me through Hansel or Gretel. They both have my number. I put it into Hansel's phone myself. He's---not great with modern technology. Not sure if you knew that or not."
Maleficent was someone who would give him honest feedback. Mike could tell from the way she carried herself. It was nice to get a good review, but Mike would rather someone slam him with things they didn't like so he could try to fix them than settle for what he'd brought first. He took pride in the products he put out. Mike didn't want anyone to settle for one of his custom designs. He wanted his design to be literally their exact view made to life as best as it could be done.
He didn't have enough clients to risk a bad rating, but, more importantly, he didn't have enough ego to spare a bad review either.
Mike liked being the best. It felt good. Who didn't like coming out on top?
~*~
"I brought my gear. I'll be testing it out once you get it set up." Maleficent glanced over at Mike, a small smile turning up the corners of her lips. She was admittedly excited to test it out. There was nothing better than climbing in her opinion, well, outside of possibly flying, but well she'd yet to actually go get her pilot's license.
It was high on her priority list though, and she was certain that within the next year she'd have it.
Maleficent didn't believe she was a real adrenaline junkie. There was just something freeing about climbing, and she could only imagine that it would feel the same way when she actually flown a plane on her own.
"I'll let you get to it. If you need any help, let me know, I'm always willing to lend a hand." Maleficent was tougher than she looked, most people tended to look at her and think she was a bit on the thin side and weak. Granted, she was a bit thin, although that came from her skipping meals more often than she should because of her hectic schedule.
Between taking care of her mother, and working a full time job, Maleficent didn't have much time for anything and well, skipped meals were the least of her worries.
"I also was aware that the boss man is not that great with technology." She chuckled lightly, and shook her head. "It could be worse though, he does know enough to get by I think. Still, I can respect someone that would rather spend time outside than staring at a screen all day." Her brows furrowed slightly, "At least I think that's the reason he's behind on the times."
~*~
"Hansel's a guy I don't ask too many questions. He's got a tendency to answer everything but the question I asked."
Mike grinned at Maleficent as he used an electric drill to secure the bolts on the station's insides to hold the pyramid portion together. He'd tip it up and bolt it to the floor once he got the insides fully secured; there was a mat which went around the whole structure to catch people if they fell off and it would also serve to hide the bolts from view. The structure would look completely organic in the store, as if it had grown up from the floor itself. He had taken a long time designing it to get to look that way.
He had managed to break a sweat by the time he had the structure standing, but it wasn't too bad. Maleficent wasn't rushing him the way some customers would. Mike could handle the work. He kept in shape so he didn't have to subcontract help. Plus, there was something freeing about being able to say he took care of his body the way he took care of his tools. Mike knew he could always buy another tool, but a body? He couldn't replace the one he had. It was a one-shot purchase.
Looking over at Maleficent while he dried his face on the tail of his shirt, Mike thanked her, "I appreciate your patience. I almost have it up and ready. Got to get the bolts in on it for it to be stable to the floor and then I figure you can test climb without a mat, right? I kinda doubt you're the kind who'll need one."
She had the competency of an experienced outdoorswoman. It helped his confidence in her to know Hansel and Gretel trusted her to run a department on her own. They were both a little uptight about letting anyone in from the outside. Mike had taken over a year to get to know the pair well enough for them to let him install displays without one or the other there to observe him to make certain he wasn't going to destroy their store. He was oddly flattered they had some faith in his skills now.
It was good to know he had confirmation he was improving as a craftsman.
~*~
Smiling, Maleficent gave a small nod of her head. She'd heard him do that more than once, and had seen it first hand for herself. "Yes, that's true, but he is a good man." She hadn't known the siblings that long, but she had seen enough of them to know that they were good people with good intentions. Time would tell if her gut feelings about them were right or not.
Maleficent backed off to let Mike do his thing, while she went over to where she'd sat her bag down to get out her equipment. It'd been awhile since she'd done any freestyle climbing on her own. Normally she was either teaching classes, or helping with the shop. Maleficent didn't mind, it helped to keep her mind off of things, but she had to admit that she'd missed the feeling of climbing.
She missed the burn in her muscles, the tired achy feeling that came with it, and of course there was the challenge. Maleficent loved the challenge of a good climb.
After she finished with getting her gear on, Maleficent watched Mike as he worked. He was a professional, taking great care and pride in his work. Maleficent watched on, partially with admiration for his hardworking nature and curiosity. She'd never seen someone install a wall before, so it was interesting to her.
Shaking her head, Maleficent smiled, "Don't worry about it. I have nothing but time today." Well, until her shift was over with, then she had to go home to make sure her parents were taken care of. "No, I don't need one. I'll be able to climb it without any issues." Looking up at the wall, she gave another nod. "Yeah, I should be alright." She'd climbed worse without a spotter, belayer or anything like that. Hell, for that matter, she'd done a lot of solo climbing before moving to Orange County.
Out there it'd just been her and her own thoughts. While that was dangerous, being left alone with her own thoughts, it'd been the best therapy and she didn't have to spend a dime for it.
"Just let me know when you're ready, and I'll give it a test drive."
~*~
Putting the final bolt into the floor, Mike leaned on the structure as hard as he could with no give to it. He hoped they liked it. Removing it would be as painstaking as installing had been only less gratifying. He had no interest in losing money on the construction either. It was one he'd put a lot of time and effort into to make it perfect. Hansel and Gretel paid him well and he wanted them to feel they were getting every penny they deserved out of him. He backed away from the wall, taking his equipment with him so it would be out of the way.
"Have at it! She should be ready for you to do your worst. I was just thinking I really hope they don't want me to pull this thing since it's one of the best secured installations I've done in the last year."
Mike waited on Maleficent to get herself ready to climb it. She was already prepared with her gear. It was likely she'd want to inspect all sides to try every option for its ease of access. He'd climbed the thing himself to test it with only basic knowledge of what it was supposed to be accomplishing. Most of his information had come from YouTube videos though he wasn't about to tell Maleficent that. Who knew what she'd think about him announcing something like that? At best, she'd laugh; at worst, she'd report him as unqualified to her bosses.
He really wasn't in the right frame of mind to deal with either option.
OC had its days when it was hard to cope with and lately, that had been a lot of days. Mike was glad things felt somewhat more even-keeled. He couldn't help he was waiting on the other shoe to drop still. Experience had taught him not to take anything for granted in the place.
~*~
Looking up at the wall, Maleficent then turned her attention to Mike. "I doubt they'll ask you to break it down." At least, she didn't think that either of them would since it looked quite sound. She did, in fact, walk around the base of the wall, eyes up and looking at the various routes. She'd likely climb every route before letting any of her students climb it. Mostly due to safety reasons, but also because she wanted to get a feel for the wall.
She found the most challenging path and decided that was the path she wanted to take. Maleficent got a few things in order before she hooked in. Putting a little chalk on her hands, she started climbing. The grips were great, they felt good, sturdy and she kept climbing up until she reached the halfway point. Without a belayer she didn't feel comfortable climbing up any higher, however, she'd already made her judgement on how she felt about the wall.
Carefully, Maleficent eased her way back down and finally her feet hit the ground.
Dusting her hands off, she turned to look at Mike. "I'd have climbed up higher, but I didn't feel comfortable without a belayer. I'll get one of the others to come out here later to help me, but I can tell you this; it's great. You've done a fantastic job." She stuck her hand out to Mike, with a smile, "And please, anytime you feel the need to come climbing? Come see me, and I'll be sure to give you great tips and lessons."
~*~
Maleficent climbed the wall as if it were her element. He could almost believe she'd asked him to design it for her use. It was impressive watching her. Mike had never seen someone climb the way she did. He wasn't much of an outdoors kind of guy, admittedly, but he did know his way around a gym. She climbed in a way which said her fingers were used to finding purchase on rock faces rather than playing around on a fake set up.
"You look like it's made for you. I really appreciate your opinion. I'm glad I didn't mess this one up. It's a first for me. I'm proud of it. Glad to see it deserves the pride."
He shook her hand with a laugh.
"I don't think I'm much the type to be good at climbing, but I will keep it in mind. I wouldn't say no to learning a new skill. Besides, I bet you're the best teacher in the OC. Thanks for the offer and the trial climb."
Mike set out to put together the mat around the climbing wall. He could take care of it in no time. This was going to be a good bit of advertisement for him. He hoped. All press was good press and nothing was better than word of mouth for creating new business connections.