Adrienne and Jake - Dinner

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Jake and Adrienne finally go on their date. Part one of two.



The restaurant was an exclusive one in the city. In a way, she was almost challenging Jake to even show up. Adrienne might hang around with baseball fans in the summer and was growing quite fond of many lower-class people she'd met at the mansion, but she still acted staunchly blue-blood when it suited her, which it did now. She didn't know much about Jake Gavin beyond what she'd gotten from Amanda, so she couldn't really determine what sort of place he'd have picked for them to eat, but the restaurant she'd chosen sent a statement about the sort of places she was used to going on a date.

She'd arrived first and was awaiting Jake's arrival, watching the street traffic casually to see if he would arrive in a taxi or on foot or if he had a car of some sort. These things were all very important, after all, to someone you were dating. Except you're not dating him, she corrected herself firmly. It's a business dinner. That's all.

Jake raised an eyebrow as the cab pulled up to the restaurant. Score one for Adrienne. As he paid the taxi driver, he tried not to think about his break-room conversation with Morgan--the last thing he needed was to sit there wondering if Adrienne was stringing him along. He tucked his wallet back into the inside pocket of his suitcoat and casually checked his reflection in the window of the restaurant before he went inside.

He spotted Adrienne almost immediately and smiled. Don't trip over anything, he told himself sternly as he made his way to her table. "Miss Frost," he said, waiting to see if she stood or offered a hand, "excellent choice. I've heard quite a bit about this restaurant, but
I've never had the chance to try it."

Well, she docked him points for arriving in a cab, but at least he hadn't taken the subway, so he still had a few points. And he'd heard of the restaurant. So there were points for him there. Keeping her seat, Adrienne gave him a smile. "Mister Gavin." She had to fight hard not to blush, Vanessa's statement about why Adrienne had said yes to the date coming to mind. "I've been meaning to try this place as well. I've taken the liberty of ordering a bottle of Merlot. I hope that's alright? I wasn't sure about your tastes in wine." There would be more points for him if she approved of his thoughts on wine. Adrienne wondered vaguely if he knew he was being scored.

"Merlot is just fine," he assured her, sitting down at the table. He had the sinking feeling that there was no right answer to her question, and wondered for the thousandth time what, exactly, he was doing here. He paused, waiting for the waiter to drop his napkin in his lap and hand him a menu, before speaking again. "How are you this evening?" Way to be boring, Jake.

"Fine, thank you," she answered politely. She already knew what she was going to order- the reputation of the restaurant proceeded it, plus the options for a vegetarian weren't as many as someone who ate meat- and wondered if she should give him a few minutes with his menu, so she watched the waiter pour Jake a glass of wine before scurrying away, and sipped at her own wine, thoughts circling around what to say to him. "Do you ever make acquaintances or go visit people you know in other appearances, just to mess with them, just for fun?" she asked, and then mentally slapped herself in the head. Where the hell had that come from? Too much exposure to a certain blue metamorph, most likely.

Jake paused in his perusal of the menu, blinking for a second before he looked across the table at Adrienne. "...No?" he replied, bewildered. "I mean, I won't say that I never took advantage of my abilities to sneak out of the house when I was a kid, but it's not something I do for fun most of the time." He frowned. He wasn't explaining this right. "What I mean is, looking different is work-related, generally. It's like getting dressed up. And while sometimes I don't mind getting dressed up when I'm not working, I still prefer to wear comfortable clothes." His forehead wrinkled. "Make sense?"

Adrienne smiled, relaxing a little. "Most definitely. I understand clothes," she assured him. "How would you use your ability to sneak out of the house?" she inquired. "Wouldn't your parents get even more upset about seeing a stranger leave your place than you?"

He grinned at that, starting to relax himself. "Parents, yes. Babysitters, on the other hand, were a lot easier to fool. Especially if I looked like my little sister, who is incredibly good at making people think she's sweet and harmless." He took a sip of his wine. It was very good. "Nice choice," he said, tipping his glass to her in a small salute. "What about your abilities? Any exciting exploits with them?"

"Nothing I can mention in public," Adrienne said with a laugh, mirroring his salute with her glass. "There might be cops around." She gave him some time to look at the menu before turning the talk to another topic. "What company did you used to be a courier for?"

Jake took another sip of his wine to buy himself a moment's time. "Um. It's called Infonet. It's...it was sort of a family business. Until recently." He studied the menu. "Any idea what's good here?"

"Infonet? I've heard of the company, of course. It's no longer a family business? I don't remember reading anything in the papers; did your family sell?" She glanced at the menu. "Do you want the vegetarian's honest opinion, or what the vegetarian has heard is good here?" she inquired casually.

He sighed. "It's...complicated. It's still a family business, just not one that involves the whole family." More wine. Wine was good. "To be honest, it's been a rather recent change, and I don't really know all of the details," or want to talk about them with a stranger.

He arched an eyebrow at the vegetarian comment. "Political, dietary or finicky vegetarian? More importantly, are you going to be offended if I order a steak?"

"No, of course I won't be offended," Adrienne answered, appreciating the fact that he'd asked. "I grew up modeling, so it was always important that I watched what I ate, and after I retired to start my own company, I just never acquired the taste of meat. Red meat or fowl, I mean," she amended, thinking of the innuendo she had created and not wanting him to think she meant something else, should his mind be as dirty as her own. What if it wasn't, though, and he didn't catch the innuendo? "I enjoy fish, however." What the hell? She needed more wine. "So you mentioned a sister earlier," Adrienne asked, trying to change topics, "is she your only sibling? And is she involved in the family business?" His mention of the family business not
involving the whole family sounded like something she could understand from her own youth.

Jake allowed himself a small smile at Adrienne's attempt to avoid innuendo, but it turned wry as she asked again about his family. He took a deep sip of the wine, taking the time to try to figure out how best to answer her question. "Actually, she's the CEO, and she's also the one who pushed me out," he said finally, a flippant tone to his voice. He considered trying to change the subject again, but this was the third time she'd asked; he had the feeling she either wouldn't be put off so easily or she'd get offended.

With a knowing nod, Adrienne held up her glass to Jake for a toast. "I understand completely. To meddling, pushy sisters," she announced quietly. Of course, Emma had never pushed her out of Frost Enterprises herself, all she'd done was be the one whom Winston chose to inherit the company. But it amounted to Adrienne being pushed out, all the same. "So do you mind me asking what you're going to do now? Start a modeling company to show her you don't need the family business, perhaps?" she said with a smirk.

He actually laughed out loud at that as they clinked glasses, amused at how preposterous of a notion it was. "I don't know how to be a model, much less how to run a modeling company. I think I'll leave that to the professionals," he inclined his head towards her. Their glasses were both empty. "More wine?"

"Yes, thank you," she answered, holding out her glass so he could pour. "I only meant that was what I did when my sister took Frost Enterprises," she clarified, "but I think you'd make a fine model, Mister Gavin. Or do you have other plans in mind for yourself?" The waiter returned and Adrienne placed her order and sipped at her wine while he took Jake's.

He covered his self-conscious blush by perusing the menu one last time while Adrienne ordered, and by the time the waiter stepped away he was back under control. She had said when they first met that she thought all shapeshifters should be models; perhaps that was all she meant. "I'm still trying to figure out what comes next," he said. "I may do some freelance work, or I may stay in New York more permanently. I'm still wrapping up a few...personal matters at the moment." He shrugged. "As long as no one tries to make me be a guidance counselor again, I'll be happy."

Adrienne smiled. "Providing guidance didn't suit you?" She was wondering how one got 'made' to be a guidance counselor, but it seemed rude to ask. "Perhaps you'll get your wish and you can become Wanda's kept man," she grinned.

He shook his head. "I still don't know how I managed to escape from being a guidance counselor with my life," he said solemnly, then gave her a rueful smile. "And as much as I might like being Wanda's--or anyone's--kept man, I'm afraid I might get bored after too long. What do kept men do, anyway? Sit around the house, look pretty, pay for dinner?"

Raising an eyebrow, Adrienne gave Jake a smirk. "I'm not entirely sure. I'd like mine to sit around the house, cook, clean, look pretty, answer the phone, and pay for dinner."

"I suppose I'll have to look for another line of work, then," he said apologetically. "I can't cook--I've been known to burn water. Guess I'll have to settle for modeling," he said with a grin.