Chris
Human
LAPD Sergeant: Narcotics
And I won't let you drown when the water's pulling you in; I'll keep fighting, I'll keep fighting.
Posts: 407
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Dulce
Dec 5, 2010 18:49:05 GMT
Post by Chris on Dec 5, 2010 18:49:05 GMT
Chris tipped his head to the side a little as if to concede to the point that she would win any legal battle that might spring up between them, as unlikely as it was. He didn't often have need for a personal lawyer and the station had more than one on staff in case of that sort of emergency. People in a city like Los Angeles would try anything, including suing the police force if they believed they were at fault, and that happened more frequently than any of them cared to acknowledge. Chris didn't think he would ever actually sue someone though, and certainly not Élodie; amusing as it was to tease about, it was a laughable proposition at best, to think that she would do anything worthy of that kind of action.
"At least you didn't order doughnuts to go," he said with a small smile on his face. "Or a pizza or something. Now that I think about it, there are a few too many clichés about cops, I'm not sure whether to be amused or insulted." He was trying to picture how strange they would look at a recently purchased old building with a take-out container, dressed in the smart clothes they currently wore in order to fit in in a place like Dulce. For a second it was all he could do not to laugh as the waiter cleared the plates for them and headed back towards the kitchen.
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Elle
Human
Architect, Author & Presenter
Suddenly my eyes are open, everything comes into focus.
Posts: 119
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Dulce
Dec 6, 2010 0:49:15 GMT
Post by Elle on Dec 6, 2010 0:49:15 GMT
Really it would probably look completely ridiculous to anyone on the outside, the pair of them traipsing through the remains of the Ocean View Hotel in their evening clothes, Elle was aware that she was wearing a dress and hardly in the best attire for such an occasion but she didn't really mind, she was excited about showing the place to Chris is she was perfectly honest, dress be damned. Besides she had the keys to the maintenance hut on the site which had hard hats and boots in it, she knew what she was doing.
"You can be insulted if you like, I'll just eat the whole thing myself," Elle said casually but with cheekiness that was effortless around him. Folding up her napkin from her lap and placing it on the table where her plate had been she reached for her glass and the remains of her drink which was really now down to the dregs watered down with ice cubes with her free hand. When she put it down she wiped the condensation from her fingertips on the napkin and looked up. The waiter had returned with the tab as requested and Élodie plucked up her purse to pull out her card which she folded into the leather book. Then she looked at Chris, "Can you excuse me a minute? I'll just powder my nose and then we can go, if you're ready?"
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Chris
Human
LAPD Sergeant: Narcotics
And I won't let you drown when the water's pulling you in; I'll keep fighting, I'll keep fighting.
Posts: 407
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Dulce
Dec 6, 2010 1:26:00 GMT
Post by Chris on Dec 6, 2010 1:26:00 GMT
If push came to shove then Chris could at least loan Elle his jacket and that would make the dress a little less obvious. Neither of them were the types who were prone to hiding any aspect of who and what they were at any given time but they didn't want to attract too much attention; it wasn't that they were going to get in trouble, what with Élodie owning the land and all, but the last thing they wanted was to encourage anyone outside of the site to wander into it. If they looked at least halfway professional and acted as though they belonged then there would be less problems. Chris wasn't really expecting many people to be around in the area, wherever the hotel was in the city, but it was better to play it safe.
"See, now I'm curious as to whether or not you can eat a whole one yourself." The return tease had come easily, practically automatic as though it were the most natural response in the world. When the waiter returned, Chris had just finished his own drink and his napkin was already back on the table. Elle's request was met with a nod and a, "Sure," coupled with a comfortable smile. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be to investigate a haunted hotel."
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Elle
Human
Architect, Author & Presenter
Suddenly my eyes are open, everything comes into focus.
Posts: 119
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Dulce
Dec 6, 2010 22:51:59 GMT
Post by Elle on Dec 6, 2010 22:51:59 GMT
Élodie excused herself from the table demurely and disappeared for several minutes into the ladies room where she washed her hands and did, indeed, powder her nose. She wasn't that worried about people seeing them enter the property of the hotel, it wasn't exactly easily accessible, it was a condemned building and the only reason she could get into it was because she had the keys, no one was going to be able to jump the fence or anything like that. By the time she came out the waiter had brought over the dessert she had asked for to-go along with her card in the little booklet when she accepted from him when she intercepted him at the table.
They made their way out of the restaurant, sidestepping another party who were coming through the double glass doors as they went. It was only when Elle was outside that she fished around for the appropriate keys in her clutch purse, the bag with the dessert in it held easily between her fingers as she bowed her head and concentrated on what she was looking for.
"I don't know why I keep them on me at all times," she was saying as she moved her phone aside and hooked a finger through the ring. "I think I'm paranoid about misplacing them. It would be just like me to buy a hotel and then lose the keys."
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Chris
Human
LAPD Sergeant: Narcotics
And I won't let you drown when the water's pulling you in; I'll keep fighting, I'll keep fighting.
Posts: 407
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Dulce
Dec 7, 2010 0:01:47 GMT
Post by Chris on Dec 7, 2010 0:01:47 GMT
Chris was at her side on the way out of the restaurant, his jacket over his arm and his hands in his pockets as they headed towards the car which was exactly where it had been left. "You should get some spare sets made and then you'll never have to worry about losing them," he suggested, giving her a smile before they reached the car, which he unlocked, holding the passenger door open for her and regarding her as he did so. "You've never struck me as the type to misplace something as important as keys, though. You're organised."
Elle had always struck him as organised, something about her -- though he wasn't sure what -- had given him the impression early on that she had a plan for most everything in her life, even if fate -- if you believed in that and Chris was honestly never sure whether or not he did -- had had other ideas what with the stalker and heart condition and anything and everything else it had thrown at her over the years. Maybe it was because of her job, or jobs more to the point, or maybe it went beyond that, he wasn't sure, but she had never struck him as scatterbrained or careless to any degree.
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Elle
Human
Architect, Author & Presenter
Suddenly my eyes are open, everything comes into focus.
Posts: 119
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Dulce
Dec 7, 2010 0:24:41 GMT
Post by Elle on Dec 7, 2010 0:24:41 GMT
Walking alongside Chris, keeping up easily with his long stride as they headed to the car Elle laughed, she couldn't help herself. "Oh-- Chris, no," she gasped, a dainty hand on her clavicle as if she was struggling to catch her breath momentarily, what he'd said taking her by surprise. "You think I'm organised, but it's a very cleverly constructed façade, I assure you. My personal planner is the organised one; I just live by whatever I write down." Then again maybe that was the definition of organised now that she thought about it, she just knew she was always going to forget something if she didn't keep track of it all somehow. Interesting; she'd never actually considered herself organised before.
Standing in the open door of the car, after a short, French thank you for him opening it for her like a gentleman, she turned to look at him, one hand on the top of the door. "That's probably the reason I put them in my purse though, I haven't had the second set made yet," she agreed, and then lowered herself into the vehicle, jangling the keys in her hand.
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Chris
Human
LAPD Sergeant: Narcotics
And I won't let you drown when the water's pulling you in; I'll keep fighting, I'll keep fighting.
Posts: 407
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Dulce
Dec 7, 2010 0:51:03 GMT
Post by Chris on Dec 7, 2010 0:51:03 GMT
"Ah, see, but you're organised enough to have a personal planner," he pointed out and he didn't doubt that for a second. He would never have the foresight to actually keep to that sort of routine, noting down appointments or meetings, but he had others at the station to rely on where Elle just had herself; she was her own boss, she regulated her own time and responsibilities where Chris had superiors and even subordinates who reminded him of anything that might slip his mind, rare as that was given the efficiency of his memory.
After offering Elle another smile once she had lowered herself into the car, Chris closed the door and rounded the vehicle to climb in the other side behind the wheel, his own keys in hand with his jacket tossed through to the back for the time being. "At least you're prepared for spontaneous visits," he said to her, putting the key in the ignition and getting the car started. "You're going to have to navigate. I have no idea where I'm going, remember." He was stating the obvious but with a crooked kind of smirk. "So, where to?"
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Elle
Human
Architect, Author & Presenter
Suddenly my eyes are open, everything comes into focus.
Posts: 119
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Dulce
Dec 7, 2010 1:19:35 GMT
Post by Elle on Dec 7, 2010 1:19:35 GMT
"Take a right out of the parking lot, and down towards Santa Monica. I'll give you directions when we get closer," Elle said as she buckled herself into the passenger seat, giving him a smile in response to his slight smirk. It definitely was a good thing she had the keys on her tonight, she was pleased that she didn't have to go through the hassle of going home to pick them up, not that she would have minded but as he said it made this visit spontaneous and if there was one thing that Elle really did enjoy from time to time it was spontaneity; she hadn't expected to be taking Chris to look around her new (technically old) hotel tonight, and that was half the fun of it.
When they were underway, pulling out of the parking spot she turned to look at him. "You can't be telling me that with that photographic memory of yours you're not even a little bit naturally organised," she continued the conversation in parallel to speaking of the hotel. "I don't know, you've always struck me as very organised."
Continued in Abandoned Buildings; Ocean View Hotel with Chris.
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