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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 9, 2018 16:32:36 GMT
A new year meant new expansions. These included the wider expansions on the waterfront. The government said it was to create jobs, and that was what brought Elsa here. She was out to speak for a compromise in regards to reservations for water-based Others such as mermaids and selfies rumored to be in the area. She adjusted her braid into a tight bun. It was one thing to act the part, another to look it.
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 12, 2018 16:24:59 GMT
Adrien smoothed a hand through his hair. He had been quite busy this morning. He had to go down to the waterfront to look over some fabric that was coming in for the spring colors. They were all nice, but he did reject the neon colors. No one needed to walk around in colors so bright you needed sunglasses to look at them. They only served to hurt his head. He stopped at a hotdog cart, nearly causing the vendor to cry when he paid extra for the food but with a smile, a hug and some ketchup later, he was on his way. He looked over at one of the warehouses. The warehouse his father sent products to be destroyed. He had already put a stop to that process. Now it was just a matter of how to get the old clothes to people who needed it most.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 12, 2018 18:53:18 GMT
Bun in place? Check. Papers ready? Check...stomach rumbling? In her hurry, Elsa had forgotten to get lunch. The scent of cured meat hit her nose. Hot dogs, one of her guilty pleasures. It’d be convenient and filling, the perfect combination. She approached the vendor with cash; paying with card would be too pompous. It seemed she wasn’t the only rich person buying the . No sooner had she gotten her hot dog that she recognized the emerald eyed boy. “Hello, Adrien.”
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 12, 2018 19:29:21 GMT
Adrien choked on his food when he saw Elsa. The last time he saw her, she had given him the 'cold shoulder' so to speak because he had been trying to avoid going to Nevermore. Which, at the time, was a bad idea because he was trying not to get caught by the police. Granted, now he could go as often as he wanted. Though, Elsa thought he had turned her down because he didn't want to go to Nevermore due to some form of elitism. He coughed and wiped his mouth. He probably looked like a real star right there. He cleared the ketchup smear off his lips and turned to face her with a sheepish smile.
"Uh, Miss Crispin, it's nice to see you..." he said.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 14, 2018 1:36:50 GMT
Elsa stifled a laugh. Poorly. Her hand was over her mouth, and she sputtered the giggle. Her grandmother would have chidded her, calling that action 'unladylike'. But her grandmother wasn't here. She was about to offer him a napkin, but he had wiped it off with his thumb. Good. Now he was acting like the teenager he really was. A lot had been on them the past few months, what with becoming the head of his father's company with the loss of Mr. Agaste. She lowered her hand after the laugh.
"Likewise. I'm glad to see you aren't a recluse anymore. And I mean that with the utmost sincerity. I was worried for you."
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 14, 2018 2:34:51 GMT
"Yeah, well, it's easier to get out when I'm the one calling the shots." Adrien admitted.
If his father had a say in it, he would have never seen the light of day except for outdoor photo shoots. It was just saddening that it took his father's death for Adrien to finally have a life. But the good news was, Elsa didn't seem mad at him anymore. She was at least laughing - even if it was aimed at him. He was going to chalk it up as a victory either way.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 15, 2018 0:36:46 GMT
Well, he did have a point. Without an overbearing father, Adrien could do as he pleased. Elsa hated thinking it, but without him, Adrien seemed...happier. He could make his own choices, and well, given that he was eating a hot dog, a taboo food choice for models, he was fine with how things were going. "I guess I can give you that," she said with a small smile.
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 15, 2018 5:43:22 GMT
"How have you been?" he asked. "I'm sorry we haven't gotten to catch up."
Elsa had at least saved him from rabid fans. He should have tried to go out of his way to gotten to know her better, but with things between Yang and Weiss, his new company, his father's death, it was busy work. He was almost as busy as when he was working the modeling industry. More fun though. He actually got to enjoy his life instead of live in constant monotony. Sure, he had to do boring work things, but if he wanted to keep his lifestyle, he would have to. Adrien also didn't know any other useful trades for him to consider switching businesses.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 16, 2018 19:08:48 GMT
“Well, to be fair, both of us have been busy,” Elsa chuckled, “If we had time, people would say we were bad at their jobs.”
She was busy with her case loads, he was busywork readjusting his life. Elsa didn’t dare ask what the news was doing to him. But in fairness, his face was mlre welcome than the babyish smile of certain political figures on the front pages. Adrien was a smart kid, and one day she hoped a positive message would be printed with him.
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 16, 2018 20:16:51 GMT
"The whole actually working thing is new," Adrien admitted, "Not sure if paperwork beats posing yet."
He knew how to take a picture, how to be the best medium the artist had when taking the shot, but the paperwork, hiring and appointment things were new. He now had to negotiate contracts, look for good fabrics, hire good artists and people with sewing talents. He had to reason with the contractors and venues and schedule programs to show off his fashion line. Natalie was an amazing help because of that. He had even treated her to a raise - surprised that his father hadn't given her a raise in years despite all the work she had done for him. He actually ended up giving most if not all of the staff a raise. His father was a cheap man apparently.
"I heard about what you did for Namine..." he said softly. "Funny thing is, she's my half sister... Just seems like her family is getting bigger and bigger."
The media didn't know Namine was his sister. Not yet. He was just trying to get close to Namine first, get to know her, warm her up to the idea.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 17, 2018 19:00:30 GMT
Elsa stifled a giggle. Paperwork had been forced with her through college. She had written resumes, cover letters, and even evidence summaries. It was second nature. Modeling like Adrien was a whole different environment. Costumes and fashion design had been a hobby of hers, but she chose criminal justice. Her designs would never see the light of day....or be on a runway.
Adrien mentioned Namine and the lawyer nearly slipped. He knew Namine? The little sweet girl now with Omar? How did...then he mentioned that she was his half sister.
“Huh. That is ironic.”
The media had yet to get their greedy hands on that story. Elsa, who was more prone to keeping things quiet, was not going to comment about it. That business was strictly for Adrien and Namine.
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 17, 2018 19:30:18 GMT
"Yeah and because dad's not a key player anymore a few of the designers are bailing out," Adrien sighed. "Since I'm not a model I have to hire new people for that too. Then there's renegotiating contracts with our old vendors who use the material. No to mention event coordinators to win over."
Sure, she thought his paperwork problem was funny, but he was working to save his company so he could save the city. If Agreste Industries went down, thousands of people would lose their jobs. Not to mention it would be the death of his charitable actions for the city. Like the paid for hospital wing or the donation he intended to put in to the police officer's gala. He had to use every favor he had so far just to get the company this far. What he needed to save the company was a really new and amazing fashion line with some fresh faces in modeling.
"Yeah, but not a lot of people know that right now." he said. "Trying to give her some time to get used to it before the media grabs that and turns her into the next front page scandal."
He wanted to protect Namine. He supposed her timid disposition made it so that he wanted to keep her safe. The media would eat her up in a heartbeat, which was why, he was slowly trying to get Namine to leave the BPD and work for him. It would be safer, the hours would be better, she would have time to do what she wanted to on the side and he would pay her better.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 18, 2018 6:33:48 GMT
"Shame to have such great designers leave off like that," Elsa mused. Her sympathy was a touch selective. Some designers were probably only in it for the money Adrien's father was churning for them. It didn't take a lawyer to see greed some times.
She thought of the design she had sketched before heading over to conduct the mermaid job meeting. She had been inspired by the dirty state of the Antoinette River and how some of them had looked dirty. The scales, once brilliant, were covered in mud or showed signs of illness, like a fish in a disowned aquarium. Transforming that look into evening gowns, with the models looking just as dredged with jetsam in their hair or sewn into the material, it'd be worth the price of admission to see the judges faces.
"I won't say a word about her," she promised Adrien. The protective nurturing side was refreshing to see in someone so young. She was the same way about the girl, having read her case file and getting angrier with each page and each accusation turning up true. She had other bad parents, like her trial against the Lafayettes on the conduits of their children, especially about forcing Weiss into darkness.
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 18, 2018 14:37:40 GMT
"It happens when companies change hands," Adrien shrugged.
He had given better benefits than his father had, higher rates of pay but some demanded more, trying to see how far the heir would go to keep them. When he didn't budge, they walked. But really, some were really trying to get away with everything but murder with him. A few he had to let go himself due to poor work ethic, like not even showing up for weeks on end or things they did to embarrass the company outside of their offices, like try to use his name to get sway into places. No. He wanted his workers to be good and moral people, but he also wanted them to want to be there. Not people who were trying to get as much money as they could for little work.
"Thanks," he said sincerely. "I don't even want to think of what the paparazzi would do to her if they found out."
With him getting swarmed, at least he was level enough to escape. Namine was more likely to be set off into a full blown panic attack. Perhaps even fainting under the duress. He was not going to let that happen so long as he had a pulse.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 19, 2018 18:15:49 GMT
“Don’t get me started on contracts. We’re lucky we live in a city that isn’t afraid to bend backwards to assist beings that aren’t Human.”
Big cities with human populations were harder on those kinds of laws. Elsa wouldn’t even have a job if she had left Bellerouge. Criminal justice itself was boring. Defending beings who couldn’t control their powers, people who had been like her, that was her passion. Adrien’s ideas were the methods of a good boss, an open minded businessman. A better version of his father, which seemed to be a common trend of rich folks in Bellerouge
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