Julian and Adrienne (and Tandy) - Suits and Silver

[x-adrienne.livejournal.com]

Julian visits Adrienne to place a suit order and they discuss the possibility of him purchasing Silver. Tandy walks in at an inopportune moment.

In creating a list of adjectives to describe the suite that Julian Keller was presently in, the word prim would have been near the bottom. He waited on Adrienne on a couch, his coat hanging from a peg near the door, and his tablet open on his lap, checking numbers on his stocks, while making notes on several others to do a day trade or two on. His appointment was giving him a very narrow window to avoid Adrienne's roommate, Tandy Bowen, or as she was now known as, the second half (or first) of Bowler- their celebrity power couple name. New suits always made him feel better, and he hand't seen his old teacher since his return- so, here he sat. He flipped to another tab on his portable device and took a look at a note he'd made last night at Silver.

Adrienne had been pleasantly surprised to learn that the next appointment Sue had booked for her was with Julian Keller. As such, she didn't keep him waiting long. Just long enough to send a message that while she was happy to be meeting with him, she was mildly displeased with the way the whole Bowler situation was going down. She swept into the suite in her usual commanding fashion, smiling sweetly at him as she set her purse and keys down and dropped a paper bag on the coffee table before offering a hand to Julian. "Keller!" It felt odd not to call him 'Mister Keller', but she reminded herself that he wasn't her student anymore. "It's lovely to see you again. Tell me, have you come to ask my permission to marry my ward? Because, I must say, while I would never do anything to stand in the way of 'Bowler' happening, I feel like that honour should be given to her Uncle. He is her blood relative, after all."

Julian winced, "I used to actually like bowling too- I'm not certain I'd be able to go again after all this. You know the media is blowing that photo out of proportion, right? She and I aren't a couple- and I've been doing what damage control I can to ensure my bad reputation as a Keller doesn't rub off on her." Though he had been rather intoxicated- with a mixture of alcohol and Megan's pixie dust- and Tandy was very beautiful. It had been a challenge to not give in to his baser self in the moment- particularly since he'd gotten so good at indulging it- but there had been hosting duties to perform.

Adrienne sat down in the chair opposite the couch. "I would say it would be advantageous for you to ensure that nothing about you rubs off on her, but Tandy's not a child and you're not a bad person, so I wouldn't really object if you were a couple. That being said, however," she added, because it was customary, "if she ends up getting hurt in all of this, I will gut you and use your intestines for a matching hat-and-suspenders set, whether you're a couple or not." She smiled pleasantly at him, folding her hands in her lap. "If we're clear on all that, we can move on. What brings you here if not to get engaged to Tandy?"

He winced slightly, "I appreciate your vote of confidence, and if we were an item I'd never do anything to hurt her. And not because I know you would do exactly what you said...probably more...but because she is a pretty awesome woman." Did he like her? It was far too soon, his hand went too the picket watch in his vest pocket. "All that aside, I was hoping to purchase a new suit from you, that party ruined the one I'd been wearing."

Adrienne's face brightened immediately. "Bespoke suit?! Absolutely! Let's do it! Do you have any designs in mind?" She launched herself out of the chair and grabbed her tablet off the coffee table, pulling up some bookmarked fashion designs.

With a smile, Julian spread his hands wide, "I would like something tasteful, but original, beyond that, I am placing myself in your capable hands, madam Frost." He leaned forward to get a better look at the tablet when his text message alert went off. He held up a finger and checked it, it was the guy from the bar the night before- asking if he was still interested. Putting his phone away, he turned back to the fashion maven, "Phones, right?"

Googling Julian's name in an image search on her tablet so she could get a better idea of his style, Adrienne raised an eyebrow at him. "Must be important for you to leave it on during a meeting with me," she mused. She had a pretty strict 'no phones' policy in her classes, finding the fact that she could threaten to confiscate the phone and Read its history- and then share any juicy details with the rest of the class- to be a pretty good deterrent to people using them in her classes.

"Managing a merger fortune like mine takes a good deal of non-effort. While not physically exhausting, it can be mentally taxing, and most of it comes at the least opportune times." Julian smiled sheepishly, he'd had his phone taken more than once during Miss Frost's class, "That was a guy I met last night who wants me to buy his night club."

"I can only imagine," Adrienne mumbled, scribbling some notes on a pad of paper as she perused the images on her tablet. "Some guy you met last night wants you to buy his night club? That doesn't sound sketchy at all. Did you meet him at the Hellfire Club? Some poker game?"

Julian shook his head and leaned back into the sofa and shook his head, "Does the Hellfire Club admit con-men? No, wait, that's a stupid question." With a chuckle, he went on, "No, I was at this placed called Silver, over in District X- some guests from the party last week invited me out and as I am trying to raise my profile, I thought it would be best to make an appearance. The owner of the place and I got to talking and he offered to sell me the club."

"Wait, DeMarco's selling Silver? Wow. Did he say why?" Adrienne asked, looking up from her work at Julian curiously. "It's been a while since I've been there, but I hadn't heard that it was struggling or anything like that..."

"You know him?" Julian shifted slightly forward, "He said that the club is fine, but he's tired of New York- wanted to move home or something." The man's accent had been extraordinarily thick, understanding him was a challenge and for all Julian knew, maybe he'd been hitting on him instead of trying to sell him a bar.

"I've talked to him a couple times," she shrugged, going back to her work. "Vanessa, Jean-Paul Beaubier and I used to go to Silver occasionally. Are you considering buying it?"

Well that was interesting- this wasn't just some hole-in the wall bar he'd been dragged to, this place apparently had a reputation. "I don't know. I've never owned a club before, I suppose I could always hire someone to run it and just take whatever share of the profits I'd be entitled to." After leaving the club and heading to his place in the city for the night, he'd gone over the various things he could do with it, "They certainly aren't optimized for the area- it's more of an underground place right now...it has okay location..." was he actually considering this?

"Did he actually give you any information on the financials?" Adrienne inquired, indulging Julian's consideration by staying on the topic. "Or was the offer to sell more of a casual conversation piece on his part?"

Shaking his head in the negative, Julian gave her a little shrug, "I humored him; I wasn't really considering buying a nightclub." He chuckled, "I go to nightclubs...I don't run them." After a brief pause, "Although...if I did- and I'm not saying I would- it would probably be an excellent place." With a wave of his hand, "What do I know about running a club though."

Adrienne didn't know much about running a club, either, but she'd been in a lot of clubs, known some club owners, and she'd run other things, so she extrapolated a little. "It can't be that hard. After all, it's all just supply and demand in the end, right? Running a company like your family's is bound to be far more complex and time-consuming. A club's probably kiddie time. And this one is an excellent place," she agreed, though she kept her tone light so he wouldn't accuse her later of pressuring him. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you that property values in New York are pretty exorbitant, but there would definitely be some different options available to you. Oh, hey," she realized suddenly. "Did DeMarco give you a business card or anything? Maybe I can get a little peek at the financials through my powers."

Thinking for a moment, Julian rifled through his satchel until he pulled out a tattered, off-white business card. "I suppose you could give it a try," he shrugged, holding it out to her. "I have been in a lot of clubs, and I sort of have an idea for what works...if I can get it done for as little investment of capital on my part.... Well, a moot point until I know how he's doing- spy away, Miss Frost."

With a grin Adrienne took the card and activated her psychometry, scribbling notes down about what she'd seen after a moment or two. "Lucky for us he keeps his cards next to his computer." She showed Julian the numbers she'd written down. "It's actually doing better than I expected. Overhead costs are a tad high in the advertising and legal departments, but you'd probably be able to lower those by shopping around. There are certainly more competitive offers to be found out there."

"Huh," Julian thought for a long moment, mulling over information, before looking back to his former teacher. "Am I really considering this?" he was already calculating what it would cost to add the features he'd seen out West, but had yet to see here in the city.

"It would appear that you are," Adrienne informed him, still grinning. "But you're saying that as if it's a bad thing. Owning Silver would be awesome." Now that she'd seen the financials, Adrienne was fully on board with this idea.

Julian thought for another moment, "Well...I do need an income stream and it's not like I would actually have to work the club. Might as well look into it a bit further," he pulled his phone out again, "would you mind if...?" He indicated his phone, not wanting to have it confiscated.

"Well, maybe just this once," the teacher smirked, waving a hand at him. "And on the condition that if you do buy it, I drink free." She wasn't about to tell him that she didn't drink much anymore, although he might have noticed as much from her sobriety at his housewarming party.

Smirking, "As long as you don't abuse the privillage, deal." He sent a quick text, setting up a meeting for later that day. "There, so...I need a suit. What would you recommend?"

"I recommend, until I can make you a new one, that you come with me to eVolution and pick one out that the girls and I have already made. Or, you can borrow one of Kane's," she teased.

"Somehow I don't think I would fit into your strapping boyfriend's sizes," he stood up, picking up his bag. "When would be good for you for a fitting?"

"Oh, sorry, we're doing the fitting now," Adrienne clarified, motioning for Julian to put his bag down. "I didn't mean we'd go to eVolution now. You thought you were getting off easy today, did you? I'm sorry to disappoint. Strip so I can take measurements."

"St...strip? Oh," he'd done this a hundred times before, but he'd never really known the person doing the measuring- the lack of disconnect brought a blush to his cheeks. With a smirk, he dropped his bag back down and started to loosen his tie, "Alright then."

Grabbing her measuring tape, Adrienne tried not to laugh out loud at Julian's stuttering. "Would this be a bad time to talk about you and Tandy?" she asked with a sweet smile.

"Hey Adrienne. I am about to head into the city. Do you want..." Tandy stopped dead in the doorway. "Um...I'll just...go back out here."

The flush in Julian's cheeks spread to his chest as he grabbed for something to cover up with off the couch and only to late realized it was a bra. Looking at it, he tossed it at a nearby chair and decided to simply stand there, looking out the window silently- he usually wore less when swimming anyway.

Adrienne's eyes went wide as Tandy entered the suite, wondering what in her life she'd done right to warrant this scene happening, and pondering whether Tandy coming in immediately after Adrienne had spoken her name was some new power she'd suddenly developed. If so, she liked it. "Oh hey, speak of the devil," she grinned before Tandy could completely retreat back out the door, swiping a hand onto the couch so she could forever preserve the image in her mind of Julian trying to cover himself with a bra. "Could you grab me a bottle of Pinot Clo Du Val 2003? Assuming you were about to ask me if I wanted anything in the city," she smiled sweetly, whipping her tape measure around with the precison of someone who'd been doing this a long time, taking Julian's measurements in less than a minute. She knew full well that Tandy had just gotten a new fake ID, and figured Julian wouldn't narc on them about it.

"Yes. I can do that. I'll just wait until you are finished with your...measuring." That did not sound good. "Um..Adri...might want to invest in a sign that says 'measuring in progress.'" Tandy walked out of the suite, closing the door behind her. Leaning against the door and let out the breath it felt like she had been holding.

Adrienne managed to hold her snickering in until the door had closed behind Tandy, but then doubled over chuckling. "Oh! Don't get me wrong," she said to Julian when she straightened up, finishing the last measurement and handing him his trousers, "I love that kid and I would beat to death anyone who laughed at her. But she is soooo awkward and... easily traumatized when it comes to nudity or sex or anything like that. Which," she added, suddenly serious again as she wheeled on Julian, pointing a finger at him, "is why nobody is going to screw her around on my watch. We're clear on that, right?"

"Of course," Julian said, quickly putting his clothes back on. "You don't have to worry, there's nothing between us- all that stuff about her carrying my alien love-child is just stuff the gossips have created to get page hits." Straighteneing his tie out, "You have what you need?"

"Well, since I took secret pictures of you and Tandy with my tape measure camera that I'm planning on selling to the tabloids for big bucks, yeah," Adrienne nodded, "I think I have what I need." She met Julian's gaze and her own softened. "As I said before, I'm not at all against the idea of there being something between you. You're a good kid. You've been through a lot of shit lately and I think you deserve some happiness. Same goes for her. If the two of you are happy together, I'm happy. And now that's that last I'm gonna say on the subject," she assured him, figuring she'd given him enough warnings already. "Now I'm gonna keep my mouth shut and make a suit."

Smiling slightly, "Thank you, Miss Frost." He looked toward the door, knowing exactly what was on the other side. "Send me a text when you're finished. Oh, and I expect ten-percent on whatever you get for those tape-measure photos, alright?" Chuckling, he headed toward the suite door.