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| Scene Title | On Call |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Kain brings "Gwen" out for a date, only to find that business hours are 24/7. |
| Date | September 10, 2008 |
The Orchid Lounge, owned by the mother of Senator Nathan Petrelli, is an Asian-inspired martini bar lit by candlelight and the soft glow of wall sconces spaced evenly throughout the room. Although there aren't any employees at the door to check for identification, it's unusual to find anyone in the college-aged crowd at the Lounge, which caters to young professionals with plenty of extra money to burn. During the day, the plush burgundy drapes affixed to the windows are used to filter out the sounds of traffic and at night are drawn back to allow passersby a glimpse inside.
Seating is simple: clusters of rectangular tables fashioned from white marble, each with two leather benches parallel to the longest sides. Silk pillows in varying shades of red, brown, yellow and orange lend a splash of colour to the Lounge, vivid against the pale walls and black-painted cement floor. On one wall is a giant mirror with an intricately carved frame that reflects almost everything in the room and makes the space appear twice as large as it really is. Clearly, the proprietor of this establishment wanted to get her money's worth - real estate in this part of town isn't cheap!
By nine-thirty in the evening the Orchid Lounge is filled with a cross-section of high-society's trendy and influential. The Orchid Lounge sees most of it's clientelle from bored and pampered 20-somethings working money out of their trust funds. From the first step through the door, it's clear this isn't a casual affair, and Danielle's host for the evening has done his best to appear prepared. Dressed much in the similar fashion as he was at work, Kain has merely forsaken his tie and changed to a black button-down shirt to match his jacket, unfastening the top two buttons for a more relaxed look that blends in with the crowd.
On the way through the doors, he hands the keys to his mercedes over to the valet, gentlemanly strolling arm-in-arm with his date for the evening, even if he isn't trying to lay it on too thick with her just yet. Just inside, Kain is greeted by a well-dressed man behind a podium who seems to recognize him on appearance, "Ah, Mister Zarek," He motions inside, stepping out with a smile, "Will you and the lady be joining us this evening?" One brow raises at the polite rhetoric.
"Sure am," Kain says with a grin, "Get us a spot by the window, alright?" He motions with one hand towards the tall, partly curtained-off windows by the front of the lounge, "And bring out a bottle of wine to get us started." With a nod of his head, the maitre d' escorts the pair from the entrance past a few groups waiting on bench seats, over to one of the long tables by the windows. Kain, now beginning to lay on the southern charm, pulls out Danielle's seat, motioning with one hand for her to sit down. In the meantime, the maitre d' makes off towards the kitchen, and the crowd begins surveying the new arrivals.
Dani does actually have nice dresses; it's the perk of having grown up in a rich family. Tonight she's chosen a blue number that hugs her curves with a low neckline that should keep Mr. Zarek's interest. Heels to bring her up a bit taller, and she moves in with Kain. "I didn't know that PR paid that well." She smiles brightly as she looks around this place, sitting as the chair is pulled out for her. "Especially for what, an accounting firm?" She might not have her camera, but that doesn't mean she's not getting info.
Kain cracks a smile, "When you've got the public history that Mr.Linderman has, public relations is a very, very important part of the job." He pushes in the seat slowly, then moves around the table to seat himself across from Danielle, soon resting his elbows on the tabletop, folding his hands in front of himself as he leans forward. "Most everybody knows how ole' Danny-boy backed Senator Petrelli's campaign, that brings some raised eyebrows, if you know what I mean." A smile cuts across Kain's face for a moment, "So my job is t'push them eyebrows back down." He moves on ehand away, motioning with two fingers towards Danielle's eyebrows, then down.
Danielle…or rather…-Gwen-, certainly isn't going to give any tipoffs that she's aware of anything. "Sorry, I don't really follow politics. But lots of businessmen donate to politicians, don't they?" She treats it as an idle question, as she inspects the menu.
"That they do, sweetcheeks, that they do," Kain hasn't eyed the menu once, content to continue the conversation as a bottle of wine is brought over to the table in an ice bucket, set down and opened, "Lots'a people made a stink about the whole thing, back during the election, 'cause of Linderman's business reputation elsewheres." Kain eyes the server as he pours two glasses of the sparkling wine, taking his once it's poured and using it more as a prop as he gestures during conversation than a drink. "But, well, people got a whole lot more to worry about these days, ain't that right?" One brow raises slowly as he finally brings the glass to his lips, sipping slowly.
Gwen looks up from the menu, and looks to the wine. She's going to have to keep -that- to a minimum; she needs her head clear tonight. She takes a sip of her own, and smiles, still playing the bubblehead a bit. "I guess…is he like Donald Trump or something? He's got a bad business reputation." Tee-hee. Pay no (serious) attention to the fluff in the dress. Really.
"He owns a bunch'a casinos out in Vegas," Kain mentions off-handedly, "I used to work for him out there before being called in to the Big Craphole," His eyes roll for a moment, followed by a somewhat more sizable sip o fhis wine, "But, that's all in the past," He leans forward, a predatory smile forming on his lips, "Less about that old bastard, more about you. So you say you're from outta' town?" Kain can't remember for the life of him if she had said where, and his feigned ignorance may not be so much of a feint. "What brings you to this glow-in-the-dark city?"
Gwen smiles. "Vacation. Down here blowing off some time before going back home. Daddy tends to keep things on a short leash, so I haven't done as much traveling as I'd like." A smile. "So I'm trying to see what I can see. I figured hit New York while the weather's nice; I'll do Florida and California when it gets colder." A pause, and a sip of wine. "So what was the deal with your secretary earlier? That was really kinda weird."
Setting down his wine glass, Kain flashes a smile as he listens to Gwen's tale, "Oh, so you're a daddy's girl is it?" Wringing his hands together, Kain leands forward some, "Compared to the deep south and the good ole' desert, this place can get a might cold come fall. You ain't gonna be hangin' round long, I can tell ya that much." His eyes wander the room for a moment, but then as Mischa comes up, he raises his brows and leans back, waving one hand dismissively, "Don't you go worryin' 'bout her, she's just a big ol' pain in the ass." Kain's brows knit together and he shoots a dirty look in the direction of his workplace on the other side of town. Shortly afterwards, his eyes settle back on Gwen again. "So you really are just a doe-eyed tourest, ain'cha?" He seems to be buying the act now, enough convincing in it to have eased away his concerns.
Gwen smiles a little. "Just seems like you two had something going on. But I don't know anything about big business, really. Daddy handles all that end of things; I've just been doing the college thing. Yep! Looking for something big-town, for a change. New England gets -boring-. That's why I was rubbernecking around the buildings. I've never seen honest-to-god skyscrapers before." She takes another sip of her wine. "The view from the top must be incredible."
Kain narrows one eye and arches a brow, "You ain't never been to Boston then I take it?" He tilts his head to the side for a moment, "Never been up on the roof of the Linderman building, m'self, so I couldn't tell ya." Kain leans back again, furrowing his brows and watching Gwen for a little while, "So you must be a good ole' bumpkin then, from up in the country?" His eyes track across hers, there's something assessing about his posture now. "Grew up in N'Orleans myself, ain't never gotten the south outta' me." It sounds that way.
She laughs. "I've been to Boston once or twice, but that's in Massachusetts. I'm from Connecticut. Farmington. So I've driven through Boston once or twice, but never really had a reason to go up in one of the big buildings." Another sip, though she's actually just taking tiny sips each time the glass goes to her lips. "About 20,000 people. So it's not Podunk Nowhere, but it's not exactly big city, you know?"
Easing up a bit, Kain nods slowly, shifting his eyes across the table to look at someone on the far side of the restaurant, then back to Gwen again, "Sounds understandable," He picks up his wine glass again, finishing what is left inside, then looks back to the brunette across from him with a wide grin forming on his face, "So, how long you gonna' be in town for? Few days?" He leans to one side, resting his chin on the palm of his hand, "Few weeks?"
"Well then, that's plenty a'time to give you a reason to want to stick around the city," Kain admits with a sly grin, "Gotta say you cleaned up as nicely as I imagined. I've got an eye for that sorta' thing," He starts laying it on thick now, his smile growing and the drawl in his voice only adding to the overall presentation he tries to put off, "Y'jus caught my eye, sweetcheeks."
The man Kain was watching earlier rises from his seat across the room; a burly looking gentleman with a shaved head dressed in a black suit. As he approaches the table, it's evident there's an earpiece in his right ear, "Mister Zarek?" He folds his hands behind his back, and Kain arches a brow, snorting out a frustrated sound as he looks up to the man.
"Not now chump." Kain says under his breath, motioning for the enormous man to step aside, trying to turn his focus back to Gwen, but he isn't dissuaded. Instead, the burly man leans forward, resting one hand on Kain's shoulder and the other on the table.
"Mister Linderman would like to have a word with you," A smile all the man's own crosses his face, somewhere between enjoying his job and enjoying the view down Gwen's dress, "Immediately."
Gwen tenses up some for a moment, though she pushes it back. Oh. Shit. Calm, Dani. It could be something completely unrelated. Play it cool. She looks up at the big guy, then back to Kain. "Your boss has a weird way of keeping you on-call."
Kain eyes Gwen for a moment, then looks up to the black-suited man, "Can't you see I've got a date, buddy? I mean look at her!" The last bit of his sentence is hissed through his teeth at the bald man as Kain rises up from his seat, trying to negotiate some. Eyeing Gwen, the mysterious man nods once, slowly, and then turns back to Kain.
"Nice rack, that's sweet," He rests a hand on Kain's shoulder and squeezes, "I can go back right now and tell Mister Linderman that you felt sittin' here and liquoring up a broad was more important than business that was important." He rolls one shoulder in a shrug, "Or you could say goo'bye and come with me." Kain tenses, snarling in the man's face before trying to put on a happy smile as he leans down towards Gwen's table.
"Sorry about this, missy, but it seems that a man's job is never done." Kain loses his charming demeanor as he growls out those words to the man waiting impatiently at his side, "Borrow the mercedes t'get yourself home," He says flippantly, waving off in the direction of the entrance, "I'll come pick it up tomorrow." He turns to the huge man behind him. "We ready to go, or what Igor?"
Dani frowns a little, especially at Vinny The Mook's comment. She hugs her upper arms, conveniently thus putting her lower arms over her chest. Not For You. She looks back to Kain. "Oh, it's completely all right. I'll grab a cab. Hotel parking needs a pass or they tow you." Plus, this stops his car from being somewhere trackable. "I'll call you tomorrow!"
Kain grimaces as she turns down the offer, nodding slightly, "Alright then, darlin," He eyes the looming man with a hand still on his shoulder, "You keep that there any longer and this turns into a really uncomfortable date." He says with a sneer, yanking his shoulder away and walking across the dining floor, towards a curtained off back room, "Goddamned gorilla." He casts one sidelong glance at Gwen again, and then vanishes into the back of the restaurant.
"Gwen" waits until Mook and Kain are out. She stands, and walks slowly out of the restaurant. It isn't until she gets down to the street that she opens up her little handbag and clicks off the digital recorder inside it. "Phew. What a night." She hails a cab. Time to go home.
Seems Kain won't be having dessert tonight after all.
 September 10th: The Devil's Smile |
Previously in this storyline… Next in this storyline… |
 September 10th: They All Go Together |