2019-06-11 - A Larger Event Than Expected

It's a chill spring mid-morning,nearing noon. The sky is gray, which just happens to be the norm in this town. Not only that, it's drizzling. Another thing to expect when living in Gray Harbor. Byron was watching it all from those opened French doors which lead out to his rooftop terrace. That's when his phone rings, the security guy alerts him that his guest had arrived and that he was sending her through. Excellent. He'd programmed the elevator to allow entrants to the penthouse floor for the next hour, so there should be no problems with her getting through.

He's dressed in business casual attire, the white dress suit, the tie, the black slacks, expensive black leather shoes. All of that. He's only sans suit jacket at the moment mainly because he has the luxury of working from home. When he hears the ding of the elevator right outside of his door, he greets his visitor with one of his winning smiles, gesturing for her to enter. "I'd make some comment about how I hope the rain wasn't a bother, but I'm sure you're used to it all by now. I'm Byron Thorne, by the way." Though he'd given his name to her over the phone earlier. "Come on in. Would you like something to drink? I have an espresso machine, if coffee suits you. Otherwise," And yes, it's morning, but he offers still, "I have a full bar."

Melisande made the drive over, all the while debating the notion of trading her car in for a boat, with all the rain. As she makes her way up to the penthouse and is greeted at the door, she beams brightly. "Melisande Clancy, and don't mention the rain. Like, really. Don't." She chuckles. "Sorry. I'm just not used to it. I had no idea how much I'd have to invest in ponchos to match my outfits when I got here." She follows him into the office. "I'm good for now, thank you." She looks around. "You seem to be doing well for yourself... I didn't think small-town real estate would be so lucrative."

"Alright, I'll try not to talk about the rain. It's just hard since most people use the weather as a conversational opener." Byron says wearing a slight grin, the humor can be heard in his tone. With there being no need for refreshments, at least on her part, he takes up his own cup of coffee from the island counter and brings it along to his office space. "Please, have a seat." He circles the table to settle down in the black leather seat behind the desk.

"So this is the situation I've found myself in. Well, one that I'd created, but nevertheless." He already has a few papers set out in preparation for her arrival and this he pushes over towards her side of the desk. "I called your number on a mere whim, so I'm not exactly certain if you actually do town-wide event planning. But please, take a look at that and let me know if something that you may be willing to help me undertake."

The documents passed along is a proposal for some sort of Carnival in Gray Harbor, very much like Venice rather than the Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Byron does go on to say, "I'm rallying up support and sponsorship from the small businesses in town. But with these permits from the City Council, I'm also planning to do a town beautification to help set the stage for this weekend long Masquerade. Most likely held in the early to mid fall." Here he breathes in deep, before taking a sip of his coffee, "I'm hoping to find the perfect weekend that might be without rain for once."

Melisande listens and follows suit, taking the seat and smoothing her skirt before crossing her tanned legs. Her eyes widen as she looks at the plans. "Oh my... That's rather ambitious." She looks from sheet to sheet. "So you're looking for the changes you make to prepare for this to be long-term... That will be more costly than a quick temporary set-up." She thinks, going back and forth between sheets. "I need to be honest. I mostly work club promotions. If you need to pack a club for a grand opening, I can get people down there. people who'll attract patrons. If you throw the party, I bring the favors... This... well... it's large scale. Just a weekend, though?" She asks, for clarification.

Coming around to one of her former comment now that he's all settled in, Byron's grin only broadens a touch, eyes idly drifting towards some random paperwork on his desk, "Real Estate is only my most recent of ventures, to be honest. A risky one, I've found, but not without it's luxuries."

On this topic of the Carnival, Byron nods slowly, "Well, an ongoing beautification project helps more than it hurts the town, I think. Give this town some sort of presence to go with the mysterious air surrounding it." Straightening in his chair slightly, he says on point, "This is mainly a plan to draw attention to our town. The economy has been terrible for as along as I can remember," Being a townie and all, "But yes, it's a weekend long event. If things go well, I'm hoping to have it be held yearly. Let it be Gray Harbor's Mardi Gras, more mysterious beauty of the bay, less raunch." There's another sip from his cup, when he murmurs, "Or that's the plan anyway." Though on hearing the sort of events Melisande tends to promote, there's this 'ahh' of understanding. "Yeah, this will be a far larger event, maybe. More costumed masquerade with cello and violinists than what you encounter at a club."

Melisande nods after listening. "I'm not saying I can't do it. I just want to make sure that I'm properly seeing your vision." She looks to him, the wheels turning in her head. "I can have people brought in for the first night of the event. Make it look really popular. I can have it promoted on all the social media platforms. After that, the real tourists come in and that's what brings in the money." And more people to sell her products to. "You're from the area, so I'm sure you know what you need to do to get all the permits, plus you have connections with construction." She says this more as a matter of fact than as a question. "So you want me to plan the events? Like.. an outdoor masquerade ball perhaps? Games of chance? You'll want to tap into the local arts community."

When told that Melisande is willing to take on this task, Byron seems pleased by this response. "I want to transform this sleepy little town by the bay into a mysterious and whimsical Carnival. Our historical buildings and small town feel will definitely help lend to some of the allure. I'm picturing lanterns strung up overhead, nicely decorative ones. I'm also planning on contacting the florists to help with the decor and see what fancy, old fashioned pieces I can acquire from the pawn shop."

He goes on, "But yes, an outdoor Masquerade. Outdoor and indoor. I'm hoping to gain the cooperation of most businesses to help with their own decor to match the theme. Funnily enough," He starts, "This idea came to mind when some friends and I were discussing the annual high school dance. A previous theme was a Masquerade and I figured, why not have a week long event of that nature. Nothing as hokey as what was done for the TSA dance that year, even if there will be naysayers thinking that this can't be pulled off because it will turn out to be hokey." He shrugs, "This is just the start, but even I know that we need to make a big splash if we're hoping to repeat visitors in the future."

With all of that said, he then asks, "Where are you from, out of curiosity, Miss Clancy? What drew you to Gray Harbor? Knowing that is always helpful for this endeavor. The reasons why people come here."

Melisande nods, keeping notes in her head. "Are you sure you have enough support from the rest of the businesses? If not, I'm afraid that all your efforts will be in vain. Upkeep of the grounds will be a year-long investment and will need the cooperation of the whole town if you want to keep it sustainable for years to come." She nods, taking in his explanation of the youth and development of the idea, and then she gets hit with the obvious question. "I'm from New Orleans originally.. then went through Dallas... and Las Vegas. We moved around a lot. After my mother died, I decided to come by and see her home town. My mother told me she was a Baxter, and that she grew up here." She shrugs, still not quite understanding what kind of significance her mother's surname had.

"That is something I will need to speak to City Council about. Both Mayor Addington and City Council gave me the permits and permission to see this thing through, but I believe if we want to continue to have success with this," Byron says, his head tilted slightly to the side in though, before his eyes to to one of the windows in this luxury office, watching the rain pelt against the glass, "I believe we'll need to put together a Carnival Committee of sorts. It's something that I'll work out with them and the various local businesses."

It's when he's told that she's originally from New Orleans that brings this grin to his lips, "So you know all about the Carnival atmosphere. Now, what I don't want happening is people doing silly things for mere beads. Then again, that was my experience at Mardi Gras the one year that I actually went. I do want a sort of elegance to go with this. More Masquerade, I suppose."

Though when told that her mother was from this town, there's this curious quirk of his brow. "Oh she did? When did she leave?" He asks, though it's obvious that it was before Melisande was born. "Not that I blame her. Even I left for a time. Something which made all the difference in my life."

Melisande nods emphatically. "I totally agree. It'll help you keep the on-going support if the rest of the town feel that they have a say in what goes on." When Byron speaks of New Orleans, she nods again. "Absolutely. If we try to mimic what they have down there, we'll just be considered a cheap knock-off and that will turn people away. It needs to be classy, at least on the surface. if you're brave enough to take off the mask and dive a little deeper, well..." She grins mischievously.. "I'm sure this town has ways to support that kind of business as well. Classy fun for the tourists and underground debauchery for the more adventurous. Nothing too hard though... no need to worry the local constabulary." She smiles, then the conversation turns to her mother. "She left town when she found out she was pregnant with me. She never told me who my father was and never told me much about the town. I think that was on purpose. However, you know how kids are. The more you don't want them to do something, the more they want to do it... So here I am." She nods and looks to him. "So you've basically been here forever, then disappeared, only to return as the Prodigal Son?"

There's this amused quirk of the brow at what Melisande proposes, the veiled debauchery of it all. It's hard to say whether Byron had considered such a thing when he wrote up the proposal, but it does intrigue him. "I'm sure something of that nature could be arranged. Speaking of the local constabulary," That's quite the word! "I've sent them a copy of my permits and the proposal. One thing that we don't want is for anything to get too out of hand. This is done for the benefit of the town.. and believe me, this town is full of stories. For one, we wouldn't want anything to get lost during their stay here. So I do expect a larger police presence in certain areas. That doesn't mean it will cut into any revelry nor fun."

"That's unfortunate, I think. But I'm sure your mother had her reasons for keeping you in the dark about Gray Harbor." Byron says, his eyes looking the woman across from him over, though there's a glint in them as if, perhaps, he'd caught sight of something. Or he found something interesting about Melisande. "As for myself, as you may or may not already know, sometimes there's limited potential in this place, not until we can build back its economy and open up more avenues for a thriving industry. So yes, I went to college, became an entrepreneur with several start up companies under my belt and now I'm here. In truth, my mother still lived in town, so I decided to help her out with things as life had become difficult for us since my father passed. Many, many years. I don't know how long I plan on staying, but I've made this investment already." He gestures around the room, but he probably means the Bayside Apartment complex. "So we shall see. Either way, welcome back to the town of your blood, I suppose, I should say."

Melisande nods again, demurely straightening her legs. "Of course. We don't want a loss to any form of the local economy. The worst kind of customer is the one who can no longer buy, and that axiom is as true for the local hardware store as it is for the local strip club. The town needs to be sure that nothing will happened and the tourists need to feel safe. There are safeguards in all forms of business in order to keep the money flowing. And that does seem to be your goal, not just to increase the flow but to keep it flowing long-term. As you say, Many, many years." She nods again, listening to him more. "Either you've been incredibly lucky or well connected. It's the typical 'Small Town Boy Makes Good' story that every one of these citizens here think they can achieve, but you and I both know that it's not in the cards for them." She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, catching something off of Byron as well. "That's where you come in. You show them it's possible and then you look to find some way to monetize hope." She grins wryly. "But I digress and ramble." She stands. "When you come up with this committee, I'll be more than happy to work with you and the town to come up with events that will bring people in and get them interested in our fair town. Like i said before, it's an ambitious move, and I'm nothing more than a girl with ambition."

Ah, this mention that 'nothing will happen', well, it does make Byron divert his eyes once more to stare down at his cup of cooling espresso. "Exactly. We need to ensure that everything will be safe for all." Though when the topic returns to his own hard-earned riches, Thorne will smile, rather proud of his accomplishments. "It's a mixture of both, but if I gotta be honest, luck played a huge factor, but so does charisma. And having just the right ideas. Can other accomplish the same if they went to college?" His shoulders shrug, "But you're right, it's a good idea to have hope. And this Carnival is just the first step in giving the community a kind of hope. And it'll be fun, even if clean up is sure to be a bitch." He might be all expensively tailored suits and the like, but he's still a small town boy born and bred.

On her rising, Byron stands as well and works his way around the table. "Will do. Definitely. Thanks for meeting with me today and not being totally and completely overwhelmed by everything I'd told you about. It's going to be a huge undertaking and... I hope to get this kicked off some time in the new few months for our trial run. So yes, I'm not expecting something huge. Not yet. But it's something that we'll grow and nurture so that it may grow in that direction."

It's something that he should have done earlier, but now as they will be working together, he extends a hand for a shake, "Glad to have you aboard either way, Miss Clancy. Let's see if we can cobble something together, a weekend to remember."

Melisande nods and shakes the offered hand. "A pleasure, Mister Thorne. I'll wait for your call. In the meantime, I think I may go check out this Firefly Club." She states before picking up her purse and heading for the door.