Participants:
| Scene Title | A Rare Opportunity |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | A local musician faces a decision that could shape future and career for years to come. |
| Date | December 21, 2010 |
A Brooklyn Cafe
It's a little cafe that Russo recommended to her years ago. A little hard to get to, of course, but that's part of the charm. Set along the waterfront in Brooklyn Heights, the quaint restaurant sits only seven or eight tables. Some might call it cozy, others might call it romantic, Kristen Reynolds calls it exclusive. The reservation list is months long, for those wanting to book a table for the night it's a hard task so a place like this is something special. Something you plan well in advance for. Even with her connections, Kristen had to put off the bought date for weeks in order to get a spot. The few hundred dollar bottle of wine sitting in a bucket next to the table is her form of apology. She's not the type of woman to actually say it verbally.
Their table is near the fireplace, it's lit of course, the white tablecloth is pressed and the linen napkins folded into swans. The table itself is set with crystal, silver, and china, the kind mother only uses on special holidays like Christmas and decade anniversary parties. The menu itself has only a handful of items that are switched out daily, this isn't the sort of place where you'd have a usual selection. Everything is fresh, every day.
Kristen is staring at the fire and twirling the stem of her flute absently as she waits for Robyn Quinn, her date. For the producer, it's not so much a romantic occasion as much as a business dinner. There's a lot on the table for the older woman and she wants the right answer.
Dressed in an elegant skirtsuit, it's hard to tell if the color is navy or black. The seams are almost nonexistent it's so well tailored and hard to recognize due to being hidden in clean lines. Her makeup is understated, aside from dark lipstick that sheens on her lips. Her cane is resting against the bucket containing the wine but she's not wearing the boot that she was fitted with after her unfortunate incident. Happy days are here again, she's wearing good shoes.
THe little cafe isn't someplace Robyn Quinn's been to before, but she ahd heard of it, and when she had heard from Kristen that that was going to be the location of their meeting - not even a date - she had been a little surprised and a rather bit excited/ In truth, the putting off of the "bought date" hadn't been much of an issue to Quinn - if anything, it had given her time to think. Too much time, perhaps, but she had needed all the time she could get. Hopefully, it would be enough, but for the moment she thinks she's got everything down in her head.
There is one predominant feature of Quinn's appearance as she steps in the cafe and into view of Kristen. Black gloved hands are shoved half way into her long, black button up jacket, a dark skirt and stockings to match. It's her hair that carries the most dramatic change, however. Instead of the long, red hair she had possessed the last time they had met, it's been replaced by black hair cut to midway up her neck, looking somewhat frazzled under the similarly coloured hat she wears.
Despite that morose appearance, she wears a wide smile.
A wave is given as she reaches the table, a glance made down to the wine. "Glaf you finally called," Quinn says with a grin, looking around and then back at how Kristen is dressed. "Are you sure this isn't a date?" A joke, of course.
Of course Kristen stands when Quinn enters the room, smiling at the younger woman and extending a hand (for a shake not a kiss). Though her appearance has changed quite drastically since their last meeting, Quinn is in the music business and thus is apt to change her style with the seasons. The producer hasn't met a musician yet that can settle on one style when there are so many to choose from.
"Of course it's a date, dinner date. I owe you one." Snapping her fingers twice, Kristen's proud stance and tilt of chin in the direction of a dark corner is an issue of a summons. The waiter slash Maitre'D glides up behind the Irish woman and relieves her of her coat before holding his hand out expectantly, for her gloves not a tip.
"Have a seat, I hope you like gourmet, that's all they have here. It comes highly recommended."
Even as Quinn shakes Kristen's hand (and considers a kiss anyway, to further her joke, but decides against it), she can't help but look around. This is not the service Quinn was expecting, so the taking of her coat and gloves is met with surprise and maybe a bit of reluctance. Still, both are handed over without much of a further thought, revealing Quinn to be n a somewhat lacy looking black button up shirt - something that can't possibly be that warm, but certainly looks facy enough for gourmet.
"I can't say it's what I normally would eat, but I can't cook. I eat a lot of pizza and chicken tenders. Anything that's not fatty microwave food will be a nice change a' pace." She looks up at Kristen with a grin as she takes her seat, scooting in somewhat loudly. "You don't have to owe me a dinner date. The opprotunity's more than enough, you know. It's really appreciated." She shivers a bit as she leans back in her seat, eyeing ahead at the producer. "I hope you've been well since we last saw each other?" She smiles, knowing why she's here - to give Kristen her answer. But she's holding on to that for the moment.
A professional smile is what Quinn receives as an answer to that question. "Well, I'm not wearing that damned boot anymore. Just in time for Christmas!" Grabbing her glass of wine, she raises it to toast Quinn, who just might find that between the time that she gave away her coat and actually sat down that her glass has been half filled. The waiter is a slippery fellow.
"Well tonight they have quail and boar… If you haven't tried either, we'll get both and share." How romantic? Seeing as she's not in a real hurry to get down to business, the brunette takes a sip of her wine and places the glass onto the table. "For the record, I've never tried either." It's possible she's never been to this place either.
"That's definitely a plus," Quinn replies with a laugh. It's only when Kristen goes for the toast that QUinn notices her own glass having been filled. Damn, they're good! The glass is raised in a toast, Quinn geinning all the while.
I've enver had either. I've heard a lot of good things about quail, though. Kind a' like duck, in that it's one a' those birds people don't usually think about eatin', but it's actually pretty damn good." She nods, taking her own sip of the wine and setting it aside. "At least we'll be trying it together. Better than just one a' us. WIne's good too! I'd ask how you managed a table here, but I don't think I really need t' ask!"
"You don't really want to know, actually…" A bribe, a promise, a favor, it's the way the business works. "At least you don't want to know right now. I expect if you give me the answer I want to hear, you'll need to know these sort of things so you'll be able to function." It's something that Dirk can likely teach her the ropes on. Kristen's more of a hands off sort of tutor.
"Anyway, tell me what you've been doing since we last saw each other? Besides the obvious, of course." There's a small gesture toward the raven haired woman's new look. "Were you tired of the red? Or decided that a new look for a new career might be in order?" There's a patented sly smile that makes its way to the producer's lips as she quirks a single eyebrow upward.
"Well, it's…" Quinn's eyes slide to the side, like she's trying to look at her own hair. "I've never really considered an image for myself as a solo musician, and my girlfriend's always pushing me to figure it out, so I thought I'd give it a shot. But really, black's jsut easier for me right now." Her eyes might look a little more faded than the last time Kristen saw her, but only if she looks closely.
Kristen's comment about not wanting to know right now earns a curious look, but she lets that sit for the moment. "Not terribly much. Spending time with, uh, friends. My girlfriend an' my roommate, seeing how some people are doin' with new jobs. Workin' on music between it all. The same old shit, really."
With a two fingered summons, the waiter drifts over to the table and scoops the menu after Kristen points to the selections the two of them want. Yes she's ordering for Quinn, from the appetizer right down to dessert. When their server glides to the kitchen again, the producer focuses on her new talent, leaning her elbows no the table and resting her chin on interlaced fingers.
"Well, I hope you have good news for me. I have quite a few plans immediately regarding new talent." Her no nonsense and matter of fact tone suggests that she's done with pleasantries and it's time for business. "Starting with a special edition of The Advocate, it's going to happen on Christmas eve. A telethon slash variety show to benefit victims of November eighth. I already have the theme song written up by one of the staff musicians and a choir ready for backup. So my question is, would you be willing to oversee the recording?"
And there it is. On to business now, and despite the lack of warning preceding teh shift in tone, Quinn doesn't seem surprised. She evens eems ready, leaning forward a bti as Kristen moves things on along. "That? THat's easy. Hell, I've been voerseeing my own recording, an' the band's recording, for over a month now." There's a bit of a smigness to that, she's clearly a little overtly peoud of herself for being able to pickup where Cat left off as well as she did. "But that's simple. I… want t' take this job, Kristen. It's a great opprotunity. But there's a few things I wanna go over first. Not, like, demands. Well, one a' them is. But I wanna talk this over befoer I commit t' anythin'."
"Negotiations, of course…" Kristen's slight smirk appears as one corner of her lips lift slightly. "Tell me what it is you want and I'll see what I can offer to accomodate you." She lifts her chin and straightens in her chair, turning her empty palms upward. The thin woman seems to have perfected the Don Corleone type of godfather body language, which would be worrisome if it were not for her overall appearance. Mafia material, she is not.
"Aside from salary, of course… That will be done with lawyers when we finalize a contract." A contract, the very word suggests selling one's soul to the devil for a shot at fame. So far Kristen's been able to deliver to those that actually put forth the effort.
A hand is waved back and forth dismissively, Quinn grinning. "Salary’s not an issue," she states quickly. Knuckles knock on the table as she falls silent for a few moments, thinking of how to best put her requests. "The most important thing, first an' foremost, is that my music comes first," she states simply, giving a bit of a shrug. "I'm a musician before anythin' else, an' that's how I want t' leave my mark on the world. If I need a few days t' finish recording, or if I need a week t' do some shows in the area, I need t' know that, within reason, I can get that. I'm about t' put an EP I've been workin’ on since August, an' I'm going t' try an' hit clubs here an' in Boston hard across January an' February. Nothin' that'd keep me away for days at a time, but certainly would have me gone on occasion." She has a few other things, but she stops there for now, wanting to know what Kristen thinks on the matter.
Raising her eyebrows, Kristen clasps her hands on her lap and leans back in her chair, as she would if she were in her office. Unfortunately the chairs at the restaurant don't tilt or swivel, so the full effect is lost. "January and February, of course, we can work with that. Do you have a company backing you? Or are you doing all of the work yourself?" Of course Kincaid had told her that he was trying to court the musician and her band, but it's always nice to hear the plans straight from the horse's mouth.
"So after January and February, what will you be doing? If your EP makes it big, let's say… Do you have any long term plans for backing up this venture?" Waiting while her glass is refilled, the brunette falls silent for a moment until he's gone. Then she picks up her glass and points it toward Quinn, as though waiting for her answer.
Quinn tilts her head a bit as she regards Kristen for a moment. "I… had someone I was working with, originally, who was going to set up a label for me an' for the band. THe eighth… kinda put an' end t' that. I've been lucky enough to have free studio access, so I've been alrgely fundin' things myself. Soon as I get my new drummer in t' rerecord some stuff, I'm sending the masters off to a friend in Boston t' be pressed into a thousand copies of the album. Maybe get inyl made for myself an' friends."
She closes her eyes leaning back in her seat, mulling thoughts over as she takes a sip of her wine. "The EP's kinda a demo too. Somethin' t' shop around once I do the independant release and see how well it does. See if anyone takes notice. That's about it, really. The band… I don't know. Honestly, I have no idea where the band stands at the moment, so I'm not even worrying about it yet," SHe shrugs a bit, having another sip of her wine.
"Really, the only other concern I have is… this is so far out there from any work I'm used t' doing. I mean, Tartarus is my first consistent DJ work. Everything else was independent gigs and self thrown parties before that," she says a bit dryly, letting out a sigh. “I spent the last five years workin' at bookstores t' get by." There's a look of genuine concern on her face as she swirls the glass a bit. "You strike me as a really all or nothin' person, but I'm hopin' I can work out some sorta… trial period? So we can see how well all'a this is going t' work out for everyone."
There's a slight nod from Kristen when the words 'all or nothing' are mentioned, though there's a tweak of her eyebrow when Quinn states that she wants a trial period. "Trial period for you or for me? You're right, I am all or nothing… but there is room for side projects, as long as your work and my company doesn't suffer in the meantime." She taps the tips of her fingers together, her fingernails making soft clicking sounds as she does.
"How long of a trial period are you looking for? A few weeks? Months? Because you're right, opportunities like this don't come by every day. What I'm offering is a chance to make your mark on the world… Not just behind the scenes, but as a producer under me, you could make your own tracks. You would have all the influence you needed to get what you want."
That is by and large the reception to that idea Quinn was expecting, but she still grimaces a bit at Kristen's response, finger tapping on her cheek. "What would be ideal," Quinn replies, "is until the end of January. See how things go with me havin' other stuff on the schedule. But…" she leans back forward, quirking an eyebrow at Kristen. "I know that'd be really hard t' do, an' I'm open t' suggestion. But I'm really not sure, up front, if this is going t' turn out t' be the thing for me, you know? But I'm certainly willin' t' give it my all an' give it ago."
Nodding once, the brunette leans forward to pick up her glass again and takes a small sip. "Fine, you can have from January 1st to the 31st as a trial period… but… " There's always a but, it just depends if it's large or small. "… Between now and then, you do two things and two things only. You work on your music and you work for me. Anything else on the side is a no no. Until you decide that the contract I'm offering is or isn't what you want."
A small tilt of her head away from Quinn allows her to see the door of the kitchen from the corner of her eye. The waiter is preparing the final touches on their food. "That's my offer to keep the deal open, I get you without distraction save your own project."
That is exactly the condition Quinn had been hoping not to hear. "That's a tough sell," Quinn admits, expression dipping a bit. "I really enjoy my work at Ichihara and Tartarus." She eyes Kristen intently for several moments before she speaks up again. "Tartarus will be fine without me. Melissa might be pissed, but I'd hope she’d understand. If nothing else, DJ Ravenfall can take a sabbatical away from the club for a bit. Whenever I play again there, Melissa can make something of it, I know people enjoy having me up there. But Ichihara… I'm the last employee there, an' the place is floundering. I suppose I can donate some money, until I can donate a little time again once all of this is squared away and we know how things are going…"
That, of course, is not even considering teh Ferry, not out loud at least. But Quinn thinks she has that matter covered, for the moment. She lets out a bit of a sigh, and hangs her head for a moment. It's not a gesture of defeat, but one of consideration before she speaks up again. "I can deal with that. I'll have t' talk t' Melissa an' my boss at the bookstore, but it'll be fine, I'm sure." How she was planning on juggling all four things is up to anyone to figure out, but clearly it's what she'd had in mind - testament to just how little she realises about how busy the job will leave her. "So, I think we have a deal, Kristen."