Walk, walk fashion baby. (Tailors shop for Les)

[asharpertongue]

The tailor shop was set back from the main street in Siren Cove. It had an unassuming frontage but inside it was a decadent emporium.



Fashion ruled here and Lara smiled as she entered, Les in tow. He'd shown up for his first day as her PA dressed in a neat enough button down and some cheap slacks but, though he'd tried it certainly wasn't good enough to be seen by the towns rich and powerful. Especially not if he was to be taken seriously.

She smiled at the older man, sorting through a shipment of fabrics on the long granite counter.

"Jeremiah."

The man looked up from his work and beamed. "Lara! Darling, how are you?" He said, reaching for her hands with both of his.

Lara nodded and took his hands in hers, gripping them tightly. "I'm very well. Busy, but it's a necessary busy so..." She shrugged and Jeremiah squeezed her hands for a second before letting them drop.

"Anyway! This is Les Parker. He's going to be a challenge," She threw a cheeky look at Les, "but I know how you like a project."

Jeremiah walked out from behind the counter and cast a critical eye over Les. "Hmmm. What do you need for him?"

Lara waved a hand. "One to walk out in today and at least three more. Something formal as well. Waistcoats, too. He's likely to have to roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty." She could see the old mans mind already whirring and she smiled. "Also shirts, shoes, ties...the usual decorations. Whatever you think will suit. I trust your eye."

Jeremiah nodded and turned to Les. "Well young man. Let's get to work, shall we?"

Comments

[lesparker]

Les walks into the tailor shop trailing behind Lara, yawning just a little. She mentioned needing to pick up some clothes, but it isn't until she begins conversing with the shop owner, Jeremiah, that he realizes she meant pick up clothes for Les. When they look at him expectantly, he stares at both of them not sure what to say.

[asharpertongue]

Lara takes pity on Les and threads her arm through his walking him into the fitting area. "Don't worry. Jeremiah's the best at what he does." She smiles and helps him out of his jacket while Jeremiah breaks out his tape measure.

[lesparker]

Les blindly goes with Lara to the back of the store. He doesn't really shop, more or less he just rummages through piles at the Goodwill. He definitely never needed a tailor. "I don't know about this," he says to Lara as Jeremiah starts measuring places Les didn't know needed measuring.

[asharpertongue]

"It's fine. You'll be fine. It's all about appearances." She went to the little bar in the far corner of the dressing room and got a shot of whiskey for him, handing it over and taking the glass when he'd finished. "The people I deal with on a daily basis...well...they're rich and powerful for the most part. Some of them, especially the older ones expect you to look the part too or they won't respect you." She smiled. "I want them to take you seriously."

[lesparker]

Les is grateful for alcohol because he is beginning to think he got himself involved in something he isn't prepared for. "What happened to me just fanning you all day?"

[asharpertongue]

Lara laughed. "That would require a lot less clothing. And it wouldn't pay half as well. Plus, you'd fall asleep on the job." Jeremiah gave her a chiding look and she smiled inclining her head in acknowledgement. "Okay look. We both know you're smarter than you let on. So let Jeremiah do his work and make you pretty and then you can come and make yourself useful."

[lesparker]

Les raises an eyebrow at her, but eventually he sighs, thinking that if all he is asked to do is parade around in a monkey suit to get a pay increase, he might as well. He waves off her concern. "Fine," he agrees. "I'll wear whatever you want."

[asharpertongue]

She beams happily. "Good man." She sat down on one of the couches.

Jeremiah coughed politely. "Mr Parker." When Les turned, Jeremiah handed him a dark suit with a plain shirt. "Please try this on so we can see the style. You can change in there." He pointed Les towards a changing room.

[lesparker]

Les takes the clothing into the dressing room, unsure. He closes the door behind him, and he is surprised by how big and awesome this dressing room is. It is almost the size of his entire apartment. There is even wine and a small assortment of cheese and olives. Les immediately goes for the food.

[asharpertongue]

While Les is in the changing room, Lara strolled around the room, picking material. "When we're done here," She called back to him, "we'll head to Watersong. We can have some lunch and talk about what I need from you. And what I can do for you."

[lesparker]

Les manages to stuff his mouth full of food and pour himself a glass of wine. He hears Lara's voice behind the door, and he realizes he's spent the last five minutes eating. "Mm. Sure thing, boss," he yells back.

[asharpertongue]

Hearing the clink of glass, Lara looks at the door to the changing room, rolling her eyes. "Les...You're supposed to be changing clothes, not eating and drinking Jeremiah out of business. And for God's sake, wipe your hands before you touch that thousand dollar suit."

[lesparker]

Les doesn't wipe his hands, he licks them clean because he's totally a classy kind of guy. He manages to get in and out of everything without ripping any fabric. He comes out of the dressing room feeling ridiculous. If this suit really cost a thousand dollars, he wonders what the hell Lara's been smoking. He's never held down a job for more than three months. "Tada!" he exclaims.

[asharpertongue]

The eternally unflappable Jeremiah rolls his eyes at Les's antics and Lara laughs from her seat on the couch. "You're a menace, Les." She stands up and pulls him towards the big floor to ceiling mirror and arranges him so that Jeremiah can start adjusting things. "But it's an improvement."

[lesparker]

Les laughs again when Lara pulls him to the mirror. He looks like a wanker is what he thinks, like Les Parker, town idiot playing dress-up. He doesn't see why anyone is going to take him serious in this, but Jeremiah is telling him to stand straighter. So he does.

[asharpertongue]

"I know you think this is pointless but trust me - it's really worth it. Just wait and see." She sat again, watching him straighten his shoulders and it really did change his whole affect. He looked taller, younger. He was already attractive but a good suit really did wonders to show off his frame. "Just wait. You'll have people falling all over you."

[lesparker]

Les scoffs at her, as Jeremiah continues to prod at him. "People fall all over me now," he tells her. "I'm a catch."

[asharpertongue]

"You're a charming asshole and people find it amusing for a little while." She stood in front of him when Jeremiah goes to fetch cufflinks. "There's nothing wrong with that on your downtime, but I need people to take you seriously when you're working with me, which means making you presentable, which has the side-effect of making you more attractive." She grins at him and steps closer. "Besides...if people are paying attention to you, distracted by wondering what it takes to get you out of your nice neat suit, then they're not paying attention to me getting my own way with them. Understand?"

[lesparker]

Amusing for a little while, Les shrugs in agreement at that. That was pretty much his entire existence in a nutshell. He was amusing up until the moment people seemed to notice he was a fuck-up, but it suited him well. He managed to get by and that's all he could ask for. What he'd never considered is that he might actually be useful to Lara in some capacity by taking this job. He just needed something to cover the rent. She on the other hand was, like, investing time and energy into Les, and he wasn't sure he was ready for all that.

"So you just expect me to stand around and look pretty?" Les asked.

[asharpertongue]

Lara nodded. "Superficially. But I know you're smarter than that so I also want you to pay attention." She stepped aside while Jeremiah gave Les another suit and ushered him into the changing room again. "Nine times out of ten what people say hasn't got anything to do with what they actually think. So another pair of eyes would come in handy."

[lesparker]

Once again, the fellow named Jeremiah shoves a hanger into Les' hands and pushes him back inside the dressing room. He doesn't know how he manages to get himself in so much trouble all the time. Once inside, this time he doesn't bother with the food and wine. He undresses from his previous outfit and puts on the next one, thinking over the fact that Lara actually hired him because she thinks he's smart. He never considered that, and he doesn't know what to do or think about it. Once he has on the next suit, he comes back out.



"Yeah..." Les says. "This really seems like a little much."

[asharpertongue]

Lara walked slowly around him and whistled. "No. This is perfect. You look great." She watched with a smile as Jeremiah pulled him in front of the mirror again. Les looked doubtful but that'd change quickly enough once he realised the power he had over people like this. "It's all about image. You look the part and they accept that you're supposed to be there. They relax. You'll see."

She turned to the tailor. "A few more like this, Jeremiah. Maybe something darker?"

[lesparker]

A few more? Les turns to Jeremiah who is already holding several hangers. He places them inside the dressing room, and Les just shakes his head at the situation. But he goes back inside and retrieves the new suit. He comes back out still tightening his tie.



Les holds out his hands in resignation. "What now?"

[asharpertongue]

Lara hums, thoughtfully. "Nice but he'll need something more dangerous. A black suit. Maybe a black shirt and tie too?" Jeremiah nodded and set about hunting down the outfit.

She turned to Les and fussed with his tie. "You're going to sit in on some meetings. Hows your memory?"

[lesparker]

Les squints vaguely at Lara who straights and flattens the collar of the jacket. "Depends on what I'm being asked to remember," he tells her.

[asharpertongue]

"Anything. Everything. Just...watch. I know you can do that. What I need most of all is another pair of eyes." She steps aside when Jeremiah hands over more clothes. She calls through the changing room door to him. "Someone to keep an ear and an eye out for anything I might miss."

[lesparker]

Les swallows at her directions, nodding vaguely, as he enters back into the dressing room. It didn't sound like a challenging task. Les was capable of listening to other people even if he didn't always do it. He just wasn't sure about the level of responsibility Lara was putting on him. He hated to admit it, but Riley had told him that Lara would have high expectations. That this wasn't just a job. It was a lifestyle. Maybe he had still been hoping that he could just fly by the seat of his pants, but judging the thousand dollar suits, that didn't exactly seem possible. He finished dressing and came back out.



"Look maybe you should find someone else," Les tells her. "I can just tend the bar or something less visible..."

[asharpertongue]

"I have bar staff, Les. What I need is..." She beams and waves a hand up and down him. "This."

She turned to Jeremiah. "He'll walk out in this. The others you can send to Watersong when they're ready. Charge it all to my account." Jeremiah smiled and nodded and Lara shook his hand.

Turning back to Les, she took his arm and smiled. "Let's go find some lunch, shall we?"

[lesparker]

This? This is just a really expensive suit on Les Parker, doesn't mean he's suddenly capable of not being a human disaster. But Lara looks pleased with the outcome, and then she's talking about having lunch and sweeping him out of the tailor shop. Les doesn't have any time to object to possibly putting back on the clothes he had on before. He fiddles with his hair as the leave the shop, feeling weird. "I think I need a drink," he tells her.

[asharpertongue]

Lara laughed and shook her head. "Nope. No drinking while you're on my clock." She winked at him. "Not unless I'm drinking too, anyway." Smiling, she pointed to the exclusive Italian restaurant. "Pizza? Pasta?"

[lesparker]

Les looks at the place she points too. He thinks he worked there a couple summers ago, chopping vegetables for the salads in the kotchen. He got fired for being late to a shift one night. It's stupid expensive and nice. "Uh, I mean I guess..."

[asharpertongue]

"Come on. You go first and just go with the flow." She let him lead the way through the door where the host smarmed directly at Les, ignoring Lara.

"Welcome to Francesco's, Sir. Do you have a reservation?"

[lesparker]

Just go with the flow. Les looks at her skeptically but follows her into the dark restaurant. There's a tall man waiting at the hosting stand with a stern look and a bowtie, but he looks interested when Les approaches and asks for their reservation.

"Sir--" Les snorts just a little, shaking his head. If there is anything Les is good at, it's bullshitting his way into a place he's not supposed to be for some food. "No, I don't, but she does. Lara Quinn, I'm sure you're familiar. The lady is very hungry today."

[asharpertongue]

The man looks down at his list and Lara knows her name isn't on there and smiles, covering it quickly when he looks up.

He smiles facetiously. "Of course. Miss Quinn. Here it is. A pleasure to see you again. If you'll both follow me." He said, leading the way into the restaurant.

When they were seated at the best table in the house, Lara leaned over and grinned. "So what do you think would have happened if you'd been in jeans and a t-shirt?"

[lesparker]

Les smirks as they are led to a comfy looking table in a private corner. He takes a seat along with her. "If you're asking if I'm familiar with being thrown out of establishments for not wearing a shirt or shoes, I am plenty familiar," he tells her.

[asharpertongue]

Lara grinned and nodded. "Exactly. It's the perception of class and wealth that get's your feet under the table. They look at the clothes and the affectations and they expect us to be like them. It's wrong in so many ways, but people like us? We can use it to our advantage."

A young waitress comes over bringing over some bread, smiling sweetly at Les before asking for their drinks order.

Lara eyed Les and smiled. "A gin and tonic for me, please."

[lesparker]

Les orders a whiskey when the waitress pauses for his order. He does notice when she offers him a soft smile before leaving the table. He turns back to Lara with a smirk. "What if I'm not the type to take advantage of people?" he asks her.

[asharpertongue]

Lara smiles, glad he asked the question. "You've got judgement of your own and you've been around the block enough time to know good people from bad. The smug asshole host that deigns to let you enter his little Kingdom based on the way you look and the fact that he thinks you're good enough? You use his perception of you to get in the door. The sweet waitress who smiles at you and hopes you might tip her well? You tip her well because you're not the guy the asshole at the door thinks you are. Same brush, different strokes."

[lesparker]

Les takes in everything she tells him, looking around him. He still feels a bit in over his head, but he remembers that Riley told him all he had to do was follow Lara's instructions and he could do it. He picks up his glass and offers her a toast. "Okay," he says, holding his glass outwards. "To new perceptions."

OOC: Do you mind if we wrap this scene up here?

[asharpertongue]

Lara smiled and toasted him back. "And new partnerships. May they be productive."

OOC: Nope! Good fun!