asharpertongue | Beach BBQ [Open]

Levi's idea for a beach party had been a good one. After the past few weeks they both needed to blow off a little steam and Lara had taken to the idea like the proverbial siren to water, inviting all her employees and friends. Levi had put the word out at the police station and among his closer friends so between them a decent crowd was forming.

The tables lining the beach were piled high with food and drink, a DJ was already in full swing and people were drifting over to the large bonfire for warmth as the chill started to cut through the summer evening. A few of the Heart of Gold employees had brought their kids along for the festivities and a friend of Lara's was performing little glamours and tricks to keep them entertained. Large clusters of huge pillows were dotted about the beach just a little way from Levi's house and lanterns and firelight bathed the whole area in a warm glow.

Maybe Lara had taken it a little far but she liked to treat her friends and everyone could use a little R&R.

OOC: Levi and Lara's friends have been officially invited, but everyone else feel free to wander in at your leisure~.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Well, technically the investigator hired by my lawyers found him, but yeah, dig through enough records and you'd be surprised what pops out of the family woodwork." Which as soon as she said it, Essie realized it sounded totally creepy and not at all above-board. Not quite the impression she was trying to make around here. "Not that I was, like, going to sic the lawyers on him or anything, it was just part of a larger project they were working on..."

That was not making it better and cursing herself, Essie sighed. "I realize that sounds totally ominous, but I swear it isn't."

Lara raised an eyebrow. "So what is it then? Just looking for family?"

She paused for a moment, trying to figure out what to tell Lara and what to hide. She opted for disclosure. If she was Levi's girlfriend, he might have already told her what she'd told him so there was no point in lying. "Yeah. The Wakewoods as a whole are pretty shit. I mean, I have an aunt... great-aunt... something-aunt whose favorite pastime is thinking up new and creative ways to sue my family estate. I have a lawyer that's pretty much dedicated to dealing with just her. And she's not even part of the witch side of the family." She had a whole other level of protections for those guys. Not that she'd ever had a direct confrontation, she'd kept too busy moving around and traveling for anyone to find her for any serious fighting.

But her hotel suite was warded out the yin-yang and even now she had a small charm tucked away that could provide quite the wallop if she triggered it. "So, yeah, finding family that doesn't hate me is kinda of a big deal."

Lara nodded. "Honestly, it's the humans that cause the most trouble in my line of work too." She confided. The girl had shared with her. Replying in kind was the least she could do.

"So what... exactly is your line of work? I've heard bar, I've heard escort service, what kind of cash do you pull down. I wanna make sure Levi isn't slumming." She was making a joke, but she really did want to know. Whatever she and Levi ended up being to each other, this woman was going to be a part of it and Essie might consider herself liberal and modern but there was something about her cop cousin dating a... madam? Of sorts? That she didn't quite get outside of gritty cop-drama cliches.

Not that it was really any of her business, after all, she was the one that had dropped out of the sky. If anyhting, Lara should probably be grilling her.

Lara laughed. "I do a bit of everything around here, but yes. The bar and Heart of Gold are my main focuses." She cocked her head at Essie. "You don't aprove of escorts?"

"I don't know if approve is the right word. I'll never be the person to tell someone how to live their life, but I've never met... well, someone who does that. And you are dating a cop, and it is kind of illegal, isn't it?" Of course, Essie realized she was making the assumption that 'escort' led neatly into sex, and maybe that had been a bad assumption to make. And prostitution as a whole left a bad taste in her mouth, if only because she'd seen first-hand what the dark side if it was when she'd done some volunteering during her globe-hopping.

"Running an escort service isn't illegal. I arrange meetings. What my people do on those meetings is up to them." Lara smiled wolfishly. "You're assuming that the intention is sex. You'd be surprised how often it's just companionship." Lara needed no ones approval for her work. She kept her business legal, her money well audited, her people safe and sound. If Levi's relatives didn't approve then there wasn't anything she could do about that and nor did she care to.

"Okay then." She wasn't going to judge so if Levi was okay with it, she wasn't going to say anything else about it. Consenting adults and all that. She had bigger things to worry about than Lara's dating service.

"Is your bar a cool place to hang out?"

Beach BBQ [Open]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject