Unexpected

Who: Ronnie and Eris
Where: Eris' new place
When: Mid day

There was a slight trembling in her hand as she again glanced down at the piece of paper. The address was only half a block up this street, but Ronnie was walking slow, because she had no real idea in hell just what she would be walking into. Only that it was some kind of job opportunity. And even though she needed a job, that didn't make her feel any better; because the kind of job opportunities that fell into her lap weren't really the kind that helped her sleep at night. But the very real possibility of unknown Bad lay ahead almost never stopped her from continuing on. And that fact was that, for this one, the only thing she had to go on was an address written on the back a convenience store receipt, the instructions to 'look classy', and that it was 'someone we trust'. All told to her by a girl she had worked with once, at Babylon? It didn't bode well.

Babylon. Both a place in where her life had been the most stable in over a decade (of course the bar sat very low there) and a place in which she preferred to forget about ever being. A place that had ended up in the hands of the mob, and that she knew was now joined the city's ranks of buildings now abandoned. With the limited details given Ronnie couldn't imagine anything pleasant job-wise here. Maybe that was why, after the kids had gone to school and before coming here, she had slipped a note under that apartment door saying only '306. Tonight.'. At least if this went badly there would be somebody who could clue in to her going missing, if he didn't just conclude that she had bailed.

The first word that came to her mind when she saw the doorman outside was classy. And she understood well why the girl had told her to come looking as such. She double checked her reflection in a window before she opened the door. Classy, got it. Well, as classy as she could manage -- Ronnie wasn't in supply of wealthy clothes. But the dress, a cream colored one, was the best silk imitation she had and the hair was well-pinned if not curled and her make-up lent beauty without being overdone. So, yeah, as classy as she could manage. Then, since it was now or never and showing hesitation never helped, she steeled her trembling hands and turned on some grace and opened the door.

Her mind churned a bit as she noted the surroundings. From her usual surroundings, this place was freaking Drake -- not that Ronnie herself had stepped into that hotel for adequate comparison. The jobs usually came to her? Weren't in a place like this. And the atypicality of it suggested this opportunity was either going to be really good or really bad. And, going on her usual record, her guess was with the latter. But none of that was conveyed in her face and movements, as she adopted a confident grace whose sensuality brought forth a brighter helpful smile from the elevator man as she stepped in and returned a smile of her own along with the floor number.

Eris happened to be in the office. Mostly, because she was trying to get used to being in an office again, which was turning out to be something that was both familiar enough that she was okay with it, and nerve wracking because she still wasn't at all convinced she wasn't going to screw everything up. Still, she was in the office. She had a ledger out, which she was writing in, though she wasn't writing anything business related. Or, not really. Nothing that was accounting, or anything, she was writing down her girl's names, over and over. Listing them out, so she could remember exactly who it was she had. With news of the party coming up, she was going to have to know. So--listing. Then she would turn the page, and write it down again, and keep checking back to see what she had missed, or duplicated. It was a long, painstaking process that she had no confidence was actually doing anything, but there was little else for her to do.

When the elevator sounded, she frowned lightly, not actually expecting Brett back any time soon, in fact, she wasn't even sure he was going to be there tonight. Standing, she walked to the open door of the office, heels clicking against the floor, and she gazed out into it. When she saw a girl she recognized, she smiled, crossing her arms. "Well, well." she said. "Hello, Veronica." she greeted. "Or are you still going by River?"

Ronnie had seen a lot of shit in her day. And, really, she hadn't thought it was possible for anything or anyone besides Jesse and her daughter to jar her anymore. But in that moment she discovered she was glaringly wrong. Because being suddenly faced with a dead woman? Was fucking jarring. Any coyness or grace she had been wearing stepping out of the elevator was quite suddenly replaced with an expression that 'dumbstruck' didn't do justice to. She blinked for a moment, kind of wondering if her years with narcotics had finally dealt full damage to her brain, and glanced about the office as if she might find something that would explain this. Nothing did. "Eris...?" She started uncertainly, as if she weren't sure if this was some dream. Then, starting to accept that neither dreaming nor drugs were to blame, she dawned a very confused smile before letting out a more enthusiastic, "Eris?!" She stayed where she was, not running over to the woman, her hands clasping behind her head as she gaped a bit with not-unwelcome shock, "Holy shit! They said you were dead!"

Eris smiled at the girl. Really, it was similar to the reactions she'd gotten from the other girls, though some of them had felt the need to run up and cling. She was a little too aware of the red ring around her neck, the scar she carried from her 'death', though she did nothing to draw attention to it. Instead, she just smiled at the girl. "They exaggerated." she said, tone lightly amused. "Or, they think they did. That's not quite the truth, clearly. I'm assuming one of the girls saw you." she said. Since they were the only people who really knew she was alive, and anyone else would have kept their mouth shut.

Her hands came down a bit, the shock and disbelief changing into a dazed smile as the knowledge that this woman was very much an alive Eris and relief hit her. She hadn't known what to expect -- she certainly hadn't expected this -- but overall she had been pretty apprehensive about what she would've been walking into here. But seeing Eris? That apprehension largely dissipated. "Yeah," she answered, still sounding a bit distracted from the whole 'return from dead' thing. "I ran into Candy after stopping by Jesse's last night..." she answered, too distracted to go into the specifics of the story. She didn't know if Eris might remember her talking about Jesse. Ronnie had never told her life story there, but like many others she had shared some of her (very few) triumphs and regrets with the other girls. They knew she had a daughter she named after her father that she didn't really know, and they knew that -- unlike other babydaddy stories -- the father was one hell of a decent guy. But right, she was supposed to be answering a question. "And well," Ronnie tried to remember the specifics of the encounter, "when she asked me what I was doing, I told her not much--" she may or may not have mentioned the asshole she had left, she couldn't remember "--and she gave me this address, and not much else."

Certainly not 'be prepared to see a ghost'. Only that there might be job opportunity. And, now that she saw the 'someone we trust' Candy had referred to, Ronnie felt considerably better. Despite the actual nature of the work, Babylon had probably been the best job Ronnie had come across -- at a little over eight months it had certainly been the longest job she had held onto. Eris had taken good care of her and the other girls, the best care Ronnie had known since leaving her family. The only major downside, more so than when she thought too much on what exactly she was paid to do, was that Ronnie couldn't bring herself to face Jesse or her daughter when she did it, even if they didn't know. And that had been the main motivation behind her finally leaving.

Eris did remember the stories about Veronica's life. She'd made a point to know her girls' stories, after all. Back then, it had been because the better she knew them, the better she could cater to whatever specific damage they had. If they needed security, she made sure they felt secure. If they needed someone to listen, she was a sympathetic ear. She'd always taken very, very good care of her girls, because it meant she'd have a house full of people loyal to her--and really, it was turning out that she still did. They weren't having to scrape to come up with new girls...she'd had quite the base already of ones who were already on board. Veronica, if she had come here for work, could possibly do well herself. She'd always been a natural manipulator, someone she knew could play people well. If she could stay off of the drugs while with clients, she could be an asset. "Why don't you come sit down, Veronica, and we'll talk." she invited, moving back into her office, and sitting behind the desk. She shut the ledger before the other woman could come in, setting it inside the drawer just above her lap. Crossing her legs, she sat back, looking perfectly relaxed.

Ronnie followed, not hiding her curiosity as her eyes scanned their surroundings while doing so. There was some apprehension, though. Seeing it was Eris Stockard behind things hadn't done away with all of it. The very fact that it was Eris bought other possible guesses -- well, one, mainly -- about the job, and Ronnie didn't know how she felt about that. She had done it before, certainly, and not just at Babylon. Sometimes for food, or money, most often for drugs, or just a place to stay... hell, she had only been with the man she had just left because it was winter and he had an apartment and it was kept pretty stashed. And she still had some faded bruises as a testament to how well she had been treated there. But she would be seeing Jesse tonight (even though the man would be in every right not to show up, Ronnie didn't doubt that he would), and if she took on a job doing that for an official living it wouldn't be any more possible for her to face him now than it had been then.

She took Eris' suggestion and sat down across from her, keeping the apprehension away from her face but not adding anything to the expression. There were some players you just didn't try to play, after all. And even if she wasn't sure whether she'd accept it, she at least needed Eris to offer her the job.

"I'll get straight to the point. This business is different than at Babylon." she said. Brett made sure of that, of course. But she didn't mind, really. "It's an escort agency. What that means is you'll be paid for your company being on someone's arm. You'll go to parties, events, the theater, wherever people want to take you, wherever they want to show up with a beautiful woman around. You'll be expected to conduct yourself appropriately, and the same rules apply now as they did when you were at Babylon--your own time is your own time, our time is ours, and your recreational activities won't be happening on our time." she said, tone not pointed, but also not bending, not that she thought Ronnie had ever not understood that particular rule. "But that's it. If anything happens that goes beyond your job description as an escort, that is your business. If you make any transactions that are beyond escorting, that's your business. It won't be expected of you, and how you choose to handle that end of it is up to you entirely. If there's any misconduct on a job leveled towards you, you tell me or my associate Mr. Trent immediately." She stopped, and smiled at her. "Are there any questions?"

Even though Eris's tone wasn't pointed, Ronnie's own distaste for her habits elicited an inner wince at 'recreational activities'. Otherwise the apprehension left her as Eris continued with the job description. Had it been anyone else Ronnie would've doubted their ability to enforce that things were strictly consensual. Sadly, that probably wouldn't have been enough to reject the offer, only that it would be a point she would have to worry about. But with Eris? There was full confidence that the woman would deliver on that promise; and if Ronnie found somebody did try something? She knew the message would be reinforced pretty damn quick. Sure, from an outside perspective there was probably a hell of a lot that could go south with getting on board as an escort with an ex-madame that the mob had tried to kill (she saw the scar on the neck); but from Ronnie's frame of reference this offer surpassed her highest expectations.

She returned a smile back at Eris that reflected her relief, and at 'any questions' she was about to mention the slight issue of her wardrobe was in no way fit for theaters, but something caught her attention that paused that thought, "... Mr. Trent?" She asked, clarifying. As in the Trent. She doubted it, but if that was the case... the hell?

"Mr. Trent." Eris confirmed, just barely managing to keep her face straight. She did manage, but the girls sort of all had that reaction with that little arrangement. Plus, she seemed to recall that Ronnie had worked fairly hard at getting Brett's attention. "Tall, blue eyes, has a permanent scowl." she said lightly, as if those blanks needed filling in. "You've met." she confirmed. Then she waited, not looking like she was studying Ronnie for her reaction, but definitely paying the hell attention.

The reaction was best described as '...whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?'. Even if her jaw didn't actually drop, it sure might as well have. She leaned forward a bit, shock and disbelief and 'you're serious' playing on her face; "I would've thought 'Mr. Trent' to not be interested in something like this," she replied, looking very confused and as if she thought she had missed something. The guy had just sat in a chair. Every time. And sometimes she had been damn impossible to say no to... really, Ronnie had kinda been in the camp that the guy was probably gay. Or a very masculine eunuch.

"He's not going to be requiring services." Eris said. Which of course was the problem beforehand, wasn't it? He'd pay for them, or have them paid for, depending on who he was with, and then there'd be no services actually performed. "So, his interests in the type of business are void. What matters is he's in it, he's my associate and bodyguard, and he's just as much your boss as I am." she said finally, with a smile that was wholly unreadable, internally terribly amused at Ronnie's reaction. She did lean forward just very slightly, to convey that she was going to impart something in confidence. "However you're not the first girl to have a...surprised reaction." And really, she kind of wanted Ronnie to come out with her opinion on the matter. Eris would be terribly curious to hear it.

"No shit," Ronnie answered, a bit dazed, trying to recover from being completely floored at the idea, falling back a bit against her chair. Normally her reactions would have been better schooled, and her thoughts and emotions not blatant on the surface unless intentionally or unintentionally left there as some game. But Ronnie had never really bothered to pull that with Eris, and even her natural manipulation had some catching up to do after being shocked -- and it had been more than shocked in the last... however many minutes. (She really needed to get a watch.) Dead woman not dead, a job offer better than anything she could have hoped for, and now... "Brett Trent: Escort Agency Associate," gesturing her hands as if the name were in lights just before her. While Eris was hiding her amusement extremely well? Ronnie's own at that mental image was undisguised display on the surface, her mouth even doing some half-smirk/half-grin at the idea. And... what the hell... hadn't Trent been working for the O'Malleys? "Only you could find something to top the 'coming back from the dead' thing," Ronnie conceded, shaking her head slightly, admiration clear at the fact.

Eris smiled at that. "Of course." she said. "And I couldn't just let all of that go on and not take my piece." she said. Since that was some of the general story for Brett. That he was her trophy from taking down the O'Malleys. "Silly little things, thinking they could mess with someone like me..." she tsked, mock sighing, and she examined her nails for a moment, even if they were perfect. "I suppose they've learned now...what was left of them."

The grin and admiration only widened. It didn't occur to Ronnie to doubt the implication there: that Eris, even when 'dead', had managed to take down the O'Malleys. Had it been anyone else Ronnie would've been hard-pressed to believe that, and more likely to assume the person had merely seen an opportunity to emerge after the O'Malleys' downfall. But Eris Stockard? The woman wasn't 'anyone else'. She could fucking believe it. And it made her feel all the better about this thing; because even if Ronnie had managed to be convinced that someone else heading this venture could enforce the 'strictly consensual' policy; if they had also attempted to remain neutral between the mobs Ronnie sure as hell would've expected them to be overtaken. But now? Well, Eris had managed to keep Babylon neutral for a damn good while. And the people who had violated that neutrality and took it over? They were paying for it. If anything, Ronnie's confidence in Eris was even greater now than it had been then. She dared to let herself think that some other group trying it after that would be unlikely.

Really, it seemed as if there wasn't anything the woman couldn't do. Well, there was one thing... Ronnie had been very much of the opinion that it was something -- someone -- nobody could do. There had even been a long-standing bet running on that fact. But, hell, Eris had managed to blow every other established fact out of the water... "So," Ronnie leaned forward a bit again, looking and sounding and grinning every bit conspiratorial, "I can't help but wonder but... the bet?"

Eris, if it had been just her and Brett, probably would have laughed out loud at that. But, because it wasn't, and she had appearances to keep up--and she was finding again, like with Jakob, that it was easy for her to fall into it--she didn't. Still, there was an internal laugh. The bet. The one she'd told Brett about, and he'd been a bit confused on that. "What about it?" she asked, deliberately fluttering her eyelashes at Ronnie. "Are you asking if anyone's won?"

Ronnie's expression was very much a 'you caught me' expression, although the curiosity that only increased with Eris' answer clouded any sheepish look she may or may not have been going for. "The thought crossed my mind, yes," Ronnie admitted, the grin quick to return. "Just with the 'taking your piece' and all."

"Why, would you plan on trying to win if no one has yet?" Eris asked curiously. Really, she planned on shutting that the hell down the second she could, even if it might fleetingly amuse her to see Brett squirm a little. Really, at the end of the day, she didn't want to share. She was selfish like that, apparently, and he wasn't the only one with a jealous streak. While hers was a little new, and all, that didn't mean she liked the idea of anyone actually trying anything with him. No, he was hers. And as possessive as that might be, that didn't change the fact that she felt that way. That just didn't mean she didn't want to know if Ronnie would go for it if she did have the chance.

Ronnie honestly didn't know. She hadn't been planning to, no; but she also hadn't known about anything long enough to give her time to plan. And even then if she didn't plan anything... well, Ronnie tended to do a lot of things that she didn't plan. Hell, she tended to do things that planned specifically not to do. And Brett had closed himself off for years, and Ronnie was curious as to why. And the very fact that the he had set himself up as untouchable and unflappable only flared something up in Ronnie determined to keep on even if it was wholly despite herself. She leaned back a bit, considering the answer, before finally shaking her head a little bit. "I don't know," she admitted with a shrug, "It's not like I'll be getting paid for trying. Thought I did always wonder just what the deal was there..." But, well, if he was going to be her boss now Ronnie just might have to curb that thought there. Working for Eris had been the one job she hadn't managed to screw up -- she didn't think too much that whoring was the only job she could manage -- and this opportunity was really too good that even Ronnie didn't want to fuck it up because she was too curious or bored.

"I wouldn't recommend trying." Eris said to her, sitting back once more. She watched the girl's eyes, debating with herself, but then she figured if she told one of them, it would get around to the other girls, and that alone might keep them from embarrassing themselves. And possibly just steering clear so no one stepped on her toes, which she would like. "I won." she told her. "And you know I'm quite generous, but there are certain things I feel quite strongly against sharing." As in Brett. He'd probably like it better if he wasn't being hit on by their girls at every turn. And anyone going touching him wasn't going to be in her good books. Not that she worried he'd stray, considering. He was the man who'd gotten offended at the idea of cheating on imaginary girlfriends, he certainly wouldn't take to cheating on a real one. Even if the term 'girlfriend' wasn't in any way actually applicable.

Ronnie blinked again. "Well then..." ... wow. Wow. Even if she had initially asked about the bet as if she had expected the answer... she hadn't honestly expected the answer. So it seemed that slightly dazed and impressed look wasn't coming off her face anytime soon. So Brett Trent wasn't as unflappable or gay as he led people to believe (not that he actually led people to think 'gay', he just didn't partake in any of the beautiful woman that he paid for... ever. at all.). Either that, or Eris had found something to hold over him and get what she wanted even if he were. Ronnie could see both possibilities every bit as likely... well, not really, the second one did have a bit more probability to it.

So, Trent belonged to Eris. Which didn't really didn't help with the whole 'forbidden' issue that picked at her, but Ronnie wasn't going to pursue it. Even she was aware that this opportunity was too good to lose for that, and her desire to remain on the woman's good side managed to override her urge to pluck at what was expressly forbidden. The woman beat death and brought down mobs for one, but what really held sway was that Ronnie was still very grateful and loyal for the time at Babylon. Eris was probably the only person on God's green earth she hadn't let down. Sure, she didn't keep clean during her time but she kept it to her own time and had actually managed her addiction far better than she ever had there. And for the first time since leaving her family Ronnie had felt secure, didn't go hungry, and didn't worry about the depths of degradation she would sink to for a hit. Sure, she had been a whore, but at least there it had always been on her terms.

So she dropped the Brett issue, and moved on to the question she had meant to ask before the words 'Mr. Trent' distracted her. "I'm on board, with everything," she replied, pointedly hinting that she understood and accepted the terms about her drug use and 'no touchie Mr. Trent'. "But the only thing is... I don't exactly have the clothes and the like for things like theaters."

"That can be taken care of." Eris said with an air that it was no trouble at all. "The other girls were provided for, you will be as well. For the time being, if you find one of them, you can borrow from them, or we can arrange to have you brought out to get you some necessities. You can go ahead and start getting a client list ready, and there's an engagnement happening quite soon that we'll want as many people attending as possible, before we reveal exactly what it is we have going on here." she said. "Where are you staying?"

"The Sunny Shores," Ronnie replied, very aware of the stark contrast between there and here. But, really, it was the closest she got to something like a home -- in that it was always there for her to return to, she always got the same room, and that room had pretty much always been untouched since she was there last. Because she was a constantly reappearing presence there, the owner put her room down as the last to be let out... And the whole draw of a place like that was that it was never busy with prying eyes, so her room remained just hers. "When's the engagement?" She asked, trying to gauge how much time she had to find a girl to borrow from or make arrangements. Not that she was good at gauging time -- she really needed to get her hands on a watch ASAP (she had pawned hers ages ago).

"Tomorrow night." Eris said. "If you can't get something together that fast, don't worry about it, but I'm sure with the announcement of it tonight, you'd be able to find someone in need of a lady on his arm." she said, having full faith in that. There were always people looking, it was why the business should do quite well. "Either way, I'm sure something will come up soon enough. We'll be in touch. Or, you know where I am." she finished, smiling.

Oddly enough, Ronnie didn't have any worries about being able to get into some fancy engagement that would undoubtedly cater to the caliber of clients that Eris's agency would be targeting. And, objectively, she should have been. She was a drug addict, always milling around the fringes of society, and staying at the Sunny Shores. But if Ronnie knew one thing about herself, it was that she was generally able to reel a guy in even without intending or wanting to. Even if she were only walking around in a paper bag, a part of Ronnie knew that she would be able to some guy's arm to hang on for tomorrow evening. It actually wasn't a talent she prided as a virtue, but it was a talent or skill of hers nonetheless. "I'll be there," she promised. The only issue was whether she could get out of sleeping with her date afterward (or, worse, that she wouldn't even try not to). But Ronnie had done considerably worse for considerably less. She wasn't proud of it, and would really prefer not at all to, but if sleeping with some rich guy was a toll she would pay to work for Eris in a non-whore position and attain a security in living she thought lost to her? She would pay it.

"Excellent. I look forward to seeing you." Eris said. She stood, smiling at the girl. "Have a pleasant rest of the day, and if you can't find anyone to borrow things from, be in touch early tomorrow morning, and I'll arrange for things for you." she said. They needed a middle management person. Someone who could take the girls out when they needed things. Or not, Brett could do it, really, but she knew he hated it. Still, he was capable. She just couldn't until after tomorrow night, when she showed the city it was very much mistaken on the 'dead' front. It would be one hell of a party, regardless. Hopefully everyone was prepared.