Barflies

Who: Derek and Jovie
When: About 10ish
Where: Some dive bar

Derek had slept on a lumpy mattress last night, a LUMPY mattress, -him-! He was not happy. Although his day was perked up a little bit when he was able to arrange for a courier to pick up his package to be sent back to Chicago for treating and when his assistant had told him that he'd look into the house issue. But still, a lumpy mattress.

So, in order to cheer him up (or at least take his mind of things) he decided to risk the 'dangers of the night' and find a bar that was open. No matter what Manhattan said, he'd gotten home the night before and had been safe in the Landmark until she arrived and brought the vamps with her so maybe it was her and not him. He entered the bar, which was sparsely populated, and took a seat somewhere in the middle- maybe he could over hear something interesting. He ordered himself a Guinness as he took off his leather jacket, hanging it over the low back of his stool. He nodded to the tender as he set down the drink, pulling his wallet out of his dark blue jeans and handing him his credit card to start a tab. He was planning on a long night.

It had begun with computer issues, and then cleaning, and then a Black Russian and a quickie with Alex at Babylon. None of which truly took the grumble out of Jovie. She was sick to death of the vampires wreaking havoc. She had had to box up her entire inventory and haul it home to lock in her apartment. Which had made her sweaty and Jovie hated being sweaty unless she was getting immense pleasure out of the activity. Moving a bunch of heavy boxes to and from her car? Not so pleasurable. She was scowling when she entered the bar she'd found on the edge of town. It was late, long after dark, but she didn't care. After seeing what she had seen the night before, nothing was going to shock her now. And she had her gun, in case she needed to use it. She just wanted a quick drink, and then she would drive straight home, probably through more chaos, and take a long hot bath before bed. She set her purse up on the bar top and settled onto a stool a seat or two down from some guy. She motioned for the bartender. "Black Russian, please." She'd see if this guy made them as good as Alex.

Derek cast a sideways glance to the woman who'd taken a seat near him, she looked as much in need of that drink as he did. As the bartender walked back his way to make her drink he waved the man over and whispered something to him. When the bartender returned to the woman with her drink he informed her that it had been taken care of. For his part Derek just took a long sip of his own beverage and picked up one of the pretzels from the bowl that sat between them.

Jovie ticked her gaze to the guy and the bartender and then pretended not to notice when the bartender set her drink in front of her. She took a drink, one long one, to settle her burning nerves. She wasn't going to play coy, or scowl in his direction. A free drink was a free drink. "Thanks," she told him after settling her glass on the bar top. "If you want to slide that bowl of pretzels down this way I'll be even more grateful."

"It's not a problem." Derek replied, sliding the bowl her way. "They're kinda stale." He said having had to chase the pretzel down with his drink. "And, probably not the most sanitary of ways to enjoy pretzels… but what can you do." It was just one of those things you accepted when you sat down for a drink at a bar, because when you really think about how many people probably touched the bowl of pretzels before you with their sneezed on and not cleaned after using the bathroom hands, it was quite disgusting. Which is why Derek chose not to think about it.

Jovie shot him a look. "I'm sitting here. Obviously I'm not so worried about sanitation at the moment." Though yes, she would be taking that bath when she got home with a lot of bubbles and soap. She reached into the bowl and took a pretzel out to examine it. "I'm Jovie," she finally said, turning her body fully on the stool to face him as she slid the bowl back down toward him, the pretzel still in her hand. "What brings you to a classy joint like this if not the gourmet snack food?" She could probably find out on her own, but hell, why not do it the old fashioned way and ask?

Derek chuckled slightly, she had a point. "Derek." He replied. "I needed a drink, and a place that was open that was serving." Which on a normal night probably wasn't that hard to find, but with half the town evacuated and the other half locked away in hiding it was harder to find that you'd think. "How about yourself, you don't look like the type of lady who frequents places like this." One thing that was nice about Derek's 'ruggedly handsome' looks was that it was pretty easy to shed the pretty rich boy persona and blend into the seedy-dive-bar-like establishments.

"Who cares about health code violations when you need a beer, right?" She shot the bartender a bright smile when he scowled in her direction. Why yes, I am a bitch, so what? Shifting the smile back to Derek, she refocused her attention. "What kind of lady do I look like exactly?" Because she wanted to see if his answer contrasted with the real one in his head.

"One who's above a place like this." He said, she looked well put together and Derek could tell she'd not just thrown something on and headed for a bar which told him that she probably cared about how she looked. She wasn't dressed all sleazy like, and her outfit looked like it cost more than her drink so it probably wasn't purchased at a 'Mart'. She actually looked like she ended up here in much the same fashion that he did… it was open. "You don't look like you frequent dive bars that are probably one inspection away from losing their license, but I could be wrong." But he knew he wasn't wrong.

No, he wasn't wrong, and since he was being truthful with her, she smiled again. "No, you're definitely not wrong. That's a fairly accurate assumption. But the place was open, so here I am." Slipping from her stool, she grabbed her drink and her purse and moved two seats down to slide up on the stool next to his, her eyes curious now as she turned to face him again. "Can I ask you what you do? Or is that too... personal?"

Derek shrugged a little, he hadn't been noticed in this small town yet, so there was a chance that people here just weren't as abreast of the business world as other places. "It's not personal. I'm in business." He replied, he wasn't trying to be cryptic, but it was kind of hard to tell someone that you are the CEO of a Forbes top 100 company that bares your family name and not look at you like you were a loon. Part of it was also the fact that he really didn't want to draw too much unwanted attention to his visit to the Mayberry.

Her lips curved again and she leaned against the bar, studying him. "Business. That's interesting. I'm in business too. What kind of business do you do, Derek?" In Marquette, one never knew.

Now -that- was a loaded question. "Corporate mergers and takeover's mostly." He said which was the best way to put it. Derek's father had positioned the company to be the next 'Time Warner' before he died and Derek had kept the company on that track. They owned stocks in many companies as well as law firms, stock trading companies, half the local TV stations in Chicago, an independent film company… it made him take a moment to even think of it all. Then there was his side 'business' but that didn't actually bring in any revenue… yet. "And you? What kind of business is a lovely woman like yourself in?"

A loaded question with a loaded answer. Her eyebrows raised just a tick as he thought about everything his company's toes were dipped into. Which meant he was wealthy. Extremely so. And slumming in a place like this. Well, so was she so who was she to judge? The side business however, drew her curiosity more than anything else running through his mind. "Sounds fascinating," Jovie told him, though she didn't gush. She really wasn't a fan of gushing unless it got her something. "As for me, nothing as interesting as corporate mergers. I own a small shop down on Washington Street... I sell one of a kind antique jewelry." The kind that could do anything from give you herpes to make you fall down every set of stairs you came into contact with.

Derek laughed. "Corporate mergers aren't interesting, if you'd been involved in one you'd know. But antiques… I'll admit I'm not very knowledgeable in jewelry, but I do know that it can be a good business to get into, especially the older stuff." He took another sip of his drink trying to figure out exactly when going to the bar for a drink turned into 'shop talk'. Oh well.

"It's an extremely good business, for more than one reason. It brings in plenty of revenue, not to mention the added benefits." Which she wasn't going to get into at the moment. "You ought to stop by the shop sometime." She dug into her purse and pulled out a business card, sliding it over to him. "There could be something there that strikes your fancy." Once she got the damn place put back together. "Something that benefits you. Especially in a town like Marquette."

"I might have to." Derek said as he took the card and gave it a glance over before putting it into his pocket. The bartender wandered back over to see if Derek wanted another Guinness and he said yes. "Although I don't know if there'll be something for me, I'm not really a jewelry man." He actually only had two pieces he wore, one was a talisman he'd gotten, it was supposed to protect him but he wasn't sure if he truly believed it- although after this week he might start. The other was his fathers wedding band he wore on the opposite ring finger.

"Oh, honey, it doesn't necessarily have to be for you," Jovie explained with a polite smile. "It could be for just about anyone in your life. People you care about, or... people you don't. See, I have have a slightly different method for picking out items for people. You tell me a little about them, I'll be able to show you exactly what piece they need. Or you need. When I tell you my inventory is one of a kind, I mean that." She waved off the bartender when he questioned refilling her drink. She picked up her half empty glass and took a sip. "One thing I've come to realize about Marquette is that nothing is as it seems. So naturally I fit in perfectly."

Derek wasn't going to dwell on the fact that he really didn't have anyone he cared about, or on those rivals that he didn't. He suddenly became more intrigued by the lovely woman's comments about fitting in perfect to the 'nothing as it seems' version of Marquette. "Interesting." He said with a nod. "You must be very good at reading people then."

She tilted her head to the side, pretending to think about that for a second. "I guess you could say that, yes. There are certain things about people, little signs given to you that indicate the kind if person they are, what they're looking for and so on. You just have to know what to look for, and it's a piece of cake." And you had to be telepathic, but that was a detail she wasn't going to give. "It sort of bleeds over from business to other things. Like you, I knew from the minute I saw you that you didn't belong in a place like this, even though you blend in fairly easily, no offense," Jovie added with a grin.

"None taken, blending's actually a good thing sometimes." Especially in the busy streets of Chicago or New York. Nip into the limo from a meeting, change into jeans and a t-shirt, nip out and suddenly you're part of the crowd. Managed to loose a paparazzi or two after some late night parties that way. "After all most people don't want to stand out, right? That's how they get judged."

She had to agree with that. Every now and then, Jovie preferred to blend into the mix. It was easier to observe and read without placing any suspicion upon herself. "I suppose. But what fun is it to blend in all the time? To become one of the crowd and never get noticed? I think that would be an incredibly boring existence." Jovie turned to take another drink. "I suppose in places like this you wouldn't want to get noticed. It's probably why certain people choose dives like this to unwind."

"I never said you should blend in all the time. Sometimes it's nice to stand out." Especially with the ladies. "But when you want a moment away from normal life, someplace less stressful... blending is good." Derek said before taking another long sip of his drink.

Jovie smirked a bit and nodded. "I have to agree with you there." She finished off her drink and set it on the bar top. "Thanks for the drink, Derek. I'm sure I'll see you around Marquette." She slid from the stool and have him a nod. "Feel free to come by the shop if you're ever in the market for something one of a kind."

He got a flash of an image in his head, he could help it after all it was late, he was on his second drink, a bit depressed when he came in... and a man. Derek visiting Jovie at her store (which he had to make up in his head never having been there) passionately sprawled on a table. "I'll have to. Maybe I'll have someone to buy something for by that point." He said with a small smile, his face not betraying the brief flash of a thought.

"Maybe you will," Jovie responded with a mischievous grin. She loved men who could think such naughty things and never once allow it to flicker on their faces, or in their eyes. "It's was an absolute pleasure to meet you Derek. I'm sure I'll be seeing you again." She laid a hand on his arm for a lingering moment before she turned and headed out of the bar to her car.

Counting on it."Have a good rest of the night, and be safe out there." Derek told her with a little wave. He however was going to stay inside and dually mourn the loss of his hotel room and celebrate his newest collection piece. He could wait until tomorrow afternoon to look for a house instead of the morning.