gʀɑɦɑɱ ɦɑʆɗɑʀ, ɛรquiʀɛ (businesslike) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-01-05 08:06:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, jonathan harker, myrcella baratheon |
Who: Jonathan & Myrcella
What: Helping Myrcella with her business logo and stuff (and cookies, there are those too)
Where: Haus of Myrcella + Her Roomies
When: Yesterday, I think? Monday
Rating/Warnings: Nothing really that awful
Status: Complete
Myrcella was very glad to have a friend like Jonathan, not only was he a very valued customer (one of her first) but they had struck up a good friendship and she trusted his opinion. She knew he was very busy with work as well as home things now he was engaged but he was still willing to grab a coffee with her and help her out. She’d invited him over since it was easier to show him her ideas there rather than packing everything up and so she had also made cupcakes and cookies, briefly wondering if it would be more appealing to him if she used blood in a recipe but unwilling to ask. It seemed rather rude in her view. Waiting for the bell to ring to signal he was here she looked over her samples once more, she’d created three leaflets to advertise her business. All rather professional looking, thanks to a computer program which helped her out, but all different. One was obviously more formal, one had fun flowers and pictures on it and one had a font that was almost like handwriting. Myrcella just wasn’t sure which one was more her and which would get the right impression across. She’d never had to do anything like this before and her business classes could only help her to a certain degree. Wanting to put blood into baked goods was sweet (the idea and friendship behind it, anyway), but yet unnecessary, so Myrcella needn’t worry - for a vampire such as he, it was more about the thrill of the predatory chase, and what the blood tasted like when the animal was at the very end of the hunt. Right from the vein too, falling deeper and deeper into a place that was very hard to return from. Then again, some vampires around here drank their blood from coffee mugs, so, who was he to say for sure. But he showed up at her place well-fed, no danger of a primal hunger overtaking him - cupcakes and cookies would be fine on their own. He’d have brought Felix, but since she wanted to discuss businesslike things it might be best to leave the growing pup at home - though he’d get to visit with Dragon, and that was pleasant. Arriving at the agreed time, he knocked on the door, taking a whiff of salty beach air - the beach at dusk was nice, and Myrcella lived in a prime location, he thought. Myrcella was very lucky with her home, her wonderful Uncle had gifted it to her when he had left the OC so that she could remain in America even though her mother and brothers had returned home and now she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. It was her home, hers, Jeremy’s and Irisa’s, though neither of them were there now. Dragon barked the moment he heard the knock at the door and Myrcella laughed, “Calm down, I don’t think Felix is coming so you can just cool it Dragon” she told the excited dog as she opened the door, “Hello Jonathan, please come in” she stood back to let him enter, “Thank you so much for coming over” He smiled, and it reached those forest green eyes and managed to soften the sharp, icy features - made the shadows ringed beneath his eyes look less prominent. So much less dead looking, when Jonathan smiled. “No, sorry, I didn’t bring your best friend,” he chuckled, stooping to give Dragon a scratch behind the ears before heading into the house. “But I should be enough, right?” There was the addition of a belly rub for Dragon, to be extra convincing. Jonathan even got that leg kicking in the air, what happened when big ol’ puppies were especially pleased. “It smells good,” he noted, since he’d picked up on the scent of baked goods right away - sweet things, the scent of the home itself, the people who lived in it. His senses didn’t really ever give him a break but he was decent at filtering by now. “Thanks for having me.” “I think you’re doing just fine” Myrcella told him with a chuckle as she watched the dog practically melt when Jonathan gave him some attention. He really was an easily pleased animal which worked well for them most of the time. “Oh yes, I did some baking, just in case you’d like anything” she offered, “As a thank you for helping me out. There’s enough to take home too” Myrcella assumed Vlad could eat like Jonathan did though she hadn’t ever asked. “Come through to the kitchen, would you like a drink?” Vlad could eat too, he’d just devoured a bunch of mint chocolate cream puffs that Zelda made for the holidays - so Jonathan was sure he’d like cupcakes or cookies as well. “Assuming I don’t eat everything before it gets to my better half,” he joked, but yes, he’d take them home. “You know I’m glad to help you out anytime. And a drink would be nice. Do you have coffee?” He was still quite the coffee fiend, admittedly. Of course he’d cut back a lot, since he really didn’t need it - he was awake the whole night and slept during the day, like clockwork, no grogginess or tiredness to weigh him down. That was at least somewhat of a helpful aspect about everything. Myrcella laughed, “I made a lot so if you can it would be very impressive” she teased as they entered the kitchen. “I have coffee, the good stuff too” she grinned. She wasn’t a big fan but they had people over who were and she liked offering them something better than instant - and she liked the coffee machine since it made Hot Chocolate too. Switching it on she set about making the coffee, “So how was your Christmas and New Year? Did you and Vlad have a nice time?” “They were pleasant, yes,” Jonathan said as he leaned against the counter. Out of Myrcella’s way, of course - he didn’t want to hover. Being rather vampiric around the holidays meant that you had to dodge crosses and holy relics left and right - or at least, it did for him. Others weren’t affected; he imagined it depended on the universe. “My Christmas present to him was a cabin in the Santa Ana mountains. So we spent a lot of time there, once I was done with all of that trial madness. It was better - less of a chance of accidental cross burning,” he grinned ruefully. Plus, Vlad was the sort to want to lock himself away in seclusion for a season so cheery anyway. Jonathan didn’t mind the togetherness so much though; he had friends he wanted to spend time with, it was important to him now that their mortality was a heavy sort of thing. “How about you?” he asked. “I’m guessing the snow thwarted plans home after all.” “That is a fairly impressive gift” Myrcella grinned as she pulled a couple of cups down from the cupboard, “But that does sound lovely. Going away for Christmas is a nice thing to do. If you can of course” She nodded, “Yeah, we couldn’t fly out so we ended up staying at home. It was okay, I missed seeing my baby brother but we talked on Skype and I think Jeremy and I might see if he can come out at Easter” she told him, Tommen would be excited about that. “I had to top the office he got me, when I passed the bar exam,” was Jonathan’s excuse, with a laugh. “It’s nice up there though. Very serene.” Plus, it was still a good time of year for visiting the cabin - maybe it wasn’t snowy down over in the OC but other parts of California actually felt the effects of a chilly winter. And as someone who Skyped with his family somewhat often (well, his parents were old-fashioned and preferred the phone on most occasions), he understood that doing so was really all you had sometimes. “One year, the OC won’t dump a ton of mysterious snow on us. But that would be great if your brother could come out here. There’s lots to do.” Myrcella seemed to miss her family a lot - so he wanted her to have a chance to see them. It must be difficult, being so far away from her loved ones. “Oh I’m sure it is. When Jeremy and I went camping near his parents old cabin, it was lovely. We were close to a lake too which was nice. Like you say it feels very serene when you’re in a place like that” she said. “That would be good but I won’t be holding my breath. Strange things seem to be the norm around here especially at Christmas time. There seemed to be something new happening almost every day” It had honestly seemed to be a little ridiculous, “But Tommen would love it here I’m sure” December was a whole whirlwind of oddness - some of it was actually sort of whimsical, what with the appearance of holiday characters everyone knew and loved (except for the gremlins, those, not so much). Jonathan had to sit back and eyebrow raise in amusement a little, because he was well aware that dream baggage bleeding over and managing to touch everyone was way worse. He had his coffee mug in his hands when it was ready, and he sipped gratefully - ah, the lovely taste of caffeinated ambrosia. “How old is he? I imagine that certain aspects would be entertaining, yes. I doubt my own parents could come for a visit without wondering what I’ve gotten into,” he laughed. Another sip of coffee, as he eyed the cookie selections. “Well, show me your business designs, then? I’m interested to see what you’ve come up with.” “He’s fifteen so there will be plenty around for him to be entertained by” Myrcella smiled, “He’s been here before when we first came out here all together so it’d be good for him to see what’s changed and everything” Nodding she motioned for him to follow her, picking up the cookies to bring with them. “Thank you again for this, I really appreciate your opinion” she told him as she led the way into the office where her designs were laid out” Cookies, of course. Couldn’t forget those! Jonathan followed along, fingers curled around the handle of the coffee mug. “It’s really no trouble, I’m happy to help,” he assured. “I may not know a lot about, uh...the beauty side of things, but hopefully my practical eye for business will apply here.” “Oh I don't know, you let me make you over for the case appearances and you're an intelligent man I'm sure you've picked up a few things” she told him smiling before they sat at the table and she lay out the designs for him to see. “It was definitely beneficial not looking dead,” he joked, because attorneys got plenty of jokes about that - bloodsucking lawyers and all. How true it was, in his circumstance, but in a literal way. Jonathan preferred not to err on the shady side of practicing law - he was moral and ethical, and would work hard to keep that about him as he dove further and further into his career. Besides, he was happy where he was now, as Zelda’s attorney while they untangled the mess that was her newly inherited company. After selecting a cookie carefully, he looked through the options Myrcella had, green eyes sweeping over everything quickly. “How about the one with the flowers, but with the font that looks like handwriting? Combine them?” he suggested. “I just think it’s more...you. It’s a design that looks happy, and carefree, not so stiff and formal - I think people in turn would want a stylist who is open to ideas and will help them achieve their very best look? Someone they can feel comfortable with?” Myrcella had been glad she could help him out, it had been important he appear as normal as possible and they’d managed to achieve that. It had been great practice for Myrcella and ensured that Jonathan could continue to do his job and he’d done it well. Naturally. Listening Myrcella nodded, “That’s exactly what I was going for but none of them seemed right. But maybe combining those two would work better” she opened and woke up her laptop to make the changes. “I’m glad I’m okay with computers” she told him glancing over at him with a wry smile. “I can’t picture you as a snooty stylist,” Jonathan scrunched his nose. “You love what you do and it shows. It was good for me, personally, when I was a mess and needing a dye job.” That was what made him want to keep coming back to Myrcella; she was sweet and helped others feel at ease, and he appreciated that. Especially because at that time he’d been a bundle of brain fever-afflicted nerves. He was curious about what the new design would look like combined - hopefully pleasing to the eye. His taste wasn’t that awful! “The font gives it that tough of class,” he added. “Loopy cursive rather than printing. I think it’ll look nice, but of course it’s all up to you.” Myrcella smiled, “I do love it, it’s what I want to do. My calling I guess” she smiled, “And it was my pleasure to help you out” It didn’t take long to print out an example of the new leaflet, it did look a lot better. “I agree and I am sure it will be good, I value your opinion after all you are part of my market” she grinned, thankful that he was already a client. She had a few good ones already. Ta-da. “There you go,” Jonathan gave the new product a look-over. “That’s good, I think it’ll be perfect. You’re on your way to the top, Myrcella,” he said as he reached over to dunk his cookie into his coffee. Delicious. And, well, if she somehow decided to switch gears halfway through her tenure as an aesthetician? Then she always had a career path available when it came to baking. |