2019-09-21 - Tiny Boss Asks Some Questions

Joey is right where he told Ruiz he was going to be which is pretty much his end of week plan. Weekend is TBD. His office has pretty much been taken over by Erin's gym shirts project and Jessie who hs set herself up in there with a couple of toys and playing a collectible mermaid game on a tablet in a big chunky case. Joey, however, is suited up with fingers-free sparring gloves and laying into the heavy bag like he's got a grudge. The double eng bag has, in fact, been added in since requiested on ladies' night.

Alexander comes slouching into the gym, dressed in workout sweats with the Addington High logo, although they look too new to be from the long-ago days of his own high school experience. They're also a bit too big, and bunch up a little at the ankles and wrists. He's got a small, battered workout bag on one shoulder, clearly some refugee from a thrift store. He looks around a bit after he enters, attention zeroing in on Joey. "I'd like to use a bag, if I may," he says, voice toneless, staring at him blankly. Like it's a surprise to find the man there, in his own damn gym.

Joey's pleasantly predictable like that, which suits Ruiz just fine. He spots the gym boss easily as he shoulders his way inside, the cop riding that no man's land between on duty and off. He's attired in half a suit; crisp white shirt with the sleeves turned up to his elbows, tucked into dark, belted pants. A tie for some respectability, which doesn't really jive with all his ink, but whatchoo gonna do. A pair of mirrored aviators are slipped off as he adjusts from daylight to not, and Alexander is slid a lingering glance on his way to the back.

Joey hooks the bag low from the shoulder causing the bag to lift up and buckle a bit in the middle. It gets another tap-tap! and then fingers splay out to stop it from swinging and catching his breath. "Clayton. Sup." Catching the Captain come in and knowing that's going to be a Kelly, can we chat moment he gestures to the one he's on. "Take this one. I'm gonna take five." his hand comes up to push his hair out of his face. If there was damages to his torso it doesn't show. Good meds. Good genetics. Healthy diet right. Has nothing to do with people with wiggly sparkle fingers making with the jazz hands.

On its face, this would not seem like the type of place that Dante Taylor would wander into - especially since Bayside has a very well-appointed gym. And yet, here he is, completely overdressed for the venue. Then again, he's overdressed for most venues. Today, it's...well, understated for him. Just a black suit with a white collared shirt. The only more outlandish feature are his shoes, which are a deep teal colour that matches with his pocket square. He steps in, hands in pockets, peering about the space with a curious look and a twitch of a smile.

"Hey. Kelly. Can we chat?" What do you know, Joey's a regular mind reader. The cop ambles on up, shades folded, and slipped over the collar of his shirt to keep them out of the way. He idly keeps tabs on the people here to train, and the people clearly not; like Dante with his fancy ass suit and even fancier ass shoes. An eyebrow goes up slightly as his dark eyes take the other man's measure from head to toe.

Joey looks to Ruiz and then Dante totally mistaking the purpose for why the guy is down here. Really the only regular with a suit is Byron but Joey's got his number. "Yeah. We can chat. Touch nothin without a warrant." Oh yeah, he's pretty certain Dante's a detective. He grabs a towel and steps to the side opening with, "What's up?"

"Gentlemen, hello," says the very English Dante. "Forgive my intrusion. I'm a bit nosy, you see. I used to dabble in the fisticuffs in my youth, though I'm woefully out of practice." OK so maybe not a detective. He's also fairly used to being sized up by the people he meets. He owns pink suits and chrone shoes. It kind of comes with his fashion choices.

Itzhak cruises in, gym bag in hand. Taking off his mirrored sunglasses, he squints around the gym. Makes a face. Comes in anyway. He's eyeing Ruiz where (he hopes) Ruiz can't see him, and then he's eyeing Dante. "...Love the shoes," he says to Dante, with genuine amusement. "You gonna box in 'em?"

Ruiz isn't going to touch that one (English guy in a fancy suit) with a ten foot pole. None of his business what the guy's doing here, until it is.

A pen is pulled out of his shirt pocket, and then a business card, and he scrawls something on it before holding it out to Joey, scissored between two fingers. Slate grey eyes steady on the younger man, just shy of threatening. They've played this game before, and they both know the rules. The arriving mechanic is duly not noticed (yet).

Too much nervous energy to spend time at home. A late night with Lilith and August had Erin sleeping in though, but here she was now! The cropped pants she wears are her usual black with a white and black razorback shirt and the sports bra beneath that is several criss-crossing random straps in a pale gray. Shoes? White tennis shoes. Casual for her today as most every day lately. Under one arm is an old game but the box is still in pretty good condition and she takes a quick glance around, even skipping over the others gathered to land on the little girl in the office. Breezing past everyone with a brief smile, she enters the office and places the game on the desk for Jessie. Hungry Hungry Hippos. "I'll play with you later, if you want." The offer made before she walks back to the door and looks out, a wave to Joey but she doesn't interrupt him and the Captain. Instead she approaches Dante. "Are you looking to purchase a membership?" All friendly and welcoming. A smile to Itzhak, but Dante is her primary focus.

Joey flicks his eyes to Dante and then Ruiz. "I'd say this guy is trying to impersonate a cop but then he opened his mouth and talked fancy and ruined it." Dante gets a nod and Joe says, "It ain't fancy, but it's got what one needs." He must be tired as hell. Any other day there'd be a blank stare, but today the exasperation hits a breaking point and there is most definitely a reaction. His eyes roll to teh ceiling and he looks annoyed and pissed, "Oh fuck OFF, Clayton!" He looks to Ruiz both eyebrows raised, "You fuckin with me?" He flicks his fingers and heads to teh back. "Itzhak, I'll trade you a burger if you give em the nickel tour."

"Ahh, Prairie Fire. Hello," says Dante to Itzhak. "Or should I call you Cookie?" He grins, eyebrows arching. "Or I could stop making up nicknames and we could be introduced properly. And I would probably be just as good at throwing a punch in these or any other shoes. That is to say, I'd be rubbish either way."

He turns his smile on Erin. "Ah, perhaps. I suppose it depends on your terms of membership. I'm not entirely certain how long I'll be in town."

He rocks on his heels when Joey says he passed as a cop. "Really? Oh, perhaps I must practice my American accent. Who knows what people might say to me if they think I have a badge in my wallet." There's a twinkle of mirth in his eyes.

Itzhak taps one finger to his forehead, lazily, at Erin. "Yo." He goes to stuff his gym bag in a locker. No tape today; he's invested in protection like Joey's, sleek black glovelike wraps, which he tugs on. He's looking over at Joey and Ruiz, sidelong, trying to gauge what they're talking about--then Joey cusses out Alexander (who isn't actually HERE, in the flesh, at least) and Itzhak snorts in surprised laughter. "Yeah, sure." To Dante, he ticks up his expressive eyebrows. "Name's Rosencrantz. Itzhak. I wouldn't mind 'Prairie Fire' but it kinda gives the wrong connotation. C'mon, show ya around."

"Month to month. If you could commit to one month, we'll convince you to stay around. We're good like that. I'm a beginner too, so maybe I've found a new sparring partner. I'm Erin, this is Itzhak and the gentleman exiting stage right is the owner, Joey Kelly. The man with him is Captain de la Vega. One of Gray Harbors law enforcement." Erin wears a teasing smile, but with Joey calling back to Itzhak she leaves the spiel to him instead. "Just come by the membership desk if you're interested." You know, the table over there with the clipboard and stack of papers with the forms. She steps around them and starts collecting dirty towels to toss in the hamper.

The actual cop in the room looks plenty amused as Dante keeps talking, though the bulk of his attention's on Joey. As well it should be. One doesn't give a guy like that moderately bad news, then take their eyes off him. Not if one has any sense, at least. "Not in the slightest," he replies, maddeningly even. The card is slipped back into his pants pocket; and when the mechanic is mentioned by name, he gets a long, penetrating look before the cop prowls off for that back room.

Joey looks to Erin "I'll be a minute." He doesn't ask her o keep an eye on Jessie as she has been and the kid knows better than to wander off. Or Joey just picks her up like a turtle and puts her back. Kids aren't that hard really. That said he heads back to the back room, the door opens and he goes to have a conversation or just thunk his head against the brick. who knows.

"Pleased to meet you properly, Rosencrantz Itzhak. Dante Taylor," says the be-suited Brit. He gives Erin a nod. "I've a gym in the building I'm staying. But it all feels a bit solitary. You know, put the earphones in, lift weights, do cardio. Not much social about that." And he is an exceptionally social creature. He pays half an ear of attention to the other goings-on, but doesn't appear overly nosy. He treads the fine line between 'not my business' and 'writer's instinct to follow tales.'

Itzhak offers Dante a gloved-up dap. "Dante Taylor, ain't you the writer people talk about?" He huffs a breath, a silent laugh, at the description of the apartment gym. "Fuckin' boring, you mean." He's distracted as Joey and Ruiz head to the back room, eyes trailing after them. Oh how he's dying to know. But he calls over to Erin, "Your spiel's better'n mine, keep talking. ...Whose kid is that?"

A brief smile is given towards the accented one but for now she sees her chance! Joey doesn't ask, but Erin is like a magnet drawn into there anyway, leaving the others to the tour and the discussions. Noticing Ruiz showed up here a lot for private conversations with Joey just made her a little uneasy. But she won't ask, it's not her place. Above her pay grade. Watching the girl play for a little while, she looks back out at Itzhak. "Joey's niece. She's pretty awesome."

"People talk about me? Oh, I'm flattered." Dante straightens his shoulders. "All good things, I hope?" Dante walks over to the ring and gives the ropes a little pull. "My uncle was a fine boxer. He showed me a few things when I was young. I briefly flirted with it at school, but I didn't stick with it. I have a fondness for my face, you see. I admit my vanity."

Jessie looks up and the four year old turns the tablet around showing some cartoon underwater tscene with mermaids swimming around in an aquarium, "Lookit, Miss Erin! I got the lemonade stand. It matches my castle!" Simple joys, yo. It's better than worrying about her asking to borrow the car. Her brown hair is pulled up into a skinny ponytail atop her head and today it's a t-shirt and jeans and her sneakers withthe lights in teh souls that flash purple when she runs around.

"Mostly they say you like the creepy gory shit," Itzhak says, almost absently, smiling just a little hitch of a smile when Jessie shows Erin her new lemonade stand. "That you wanna write a book about the town, so naturally that's gonna be creepy and gory. You know how to work a bag? I don't wanna tell you how to do nothin' without Kelly, he's the coach here, not me, but you could warm up while he's busy."

"I brought you a game you can have, it was mine when I was as tall as you. It's called Hungry, Hungry Hippos. Ya ever played it before?" She opens the slightly worn box. "I'll play with you and I bet your uncles will too. It's really pretty fun. Maybe not as fun as the mermaids with the lemonade stands and the castles, but when the tablet is charging we could play. It'll give us something to do." She perches a hip on the edge of the desk with a lopsided smile. "What about the Snow Cone truck?" They advertise this mermaid game on tv?

Dante chuckles. "Well, I'm not certain if writing the creepy and the gory is the same as liking it, but fair play. An interest, perhaps a fairer way of putting it?" He tenses a little in the presence of the child. He stands a little straighter and then cocks his head. "As you pointed out, I'm not exactly dressed properly for boxing." He looks down at his shoes. "And I know the basic combinations, but it has been many years. A decade if I'm being honest."

The child looks up at the tall adults. What she latches onto most is Dante saying he's been boxing for a decade. "That sounds really old." She doesn't know what a decade is. It could be the same as eleventy-billionty years. Her eyes get big and she is all the delight her uncle is not. As the child hones in on the game with joy the surly tone of Joey is almost audible as If anyone slips and dies on a markble in my gym you're cleaning them up. The marbles too. "Do the hippos have names? Can we name them? That one should be Hugo."

Erin is just amused and smitten with this outspoken little girl. "It kind of is old. You're not even a decade yet. But you know what? I'm two and a half of them." Lowering her voice playfully like it's a big secret. Ignoring the voices in her head about it. "We can name them anything you want. They just want to eat everything." Tapping the one she indicated. "Hugo? Sure! What about this one?" Indicating the next one.

"That wasn't shade. Ya shoes really are fuckin' fabulous." Itzhak grins at Dante, quirky and lopsided. "Maybe not great for working out, though."

"That means it's been a very long time," says Dante to the child, though with some effort. He doesn't seem to be one of those people who falls easily under the spell of children. He looks down at his shoes, then up at Itzhak. "Well, thank you kindly. I feel my fashion sense in general doesn't win many over, but honestly, I do it for myself." Then to Erin, "Would I be able to sign up for an introduction or two? To see if I won't make a fool of myself before I commit?"

The child turns her head with a very adult thoughtful expression. See you make this face and impresive words come out like Adults do. "Hmmm, sounds it." She hugs the tablet immitating Erin and her clipboard and asks Dante, "What's your goal?" Oh yeah, she's been listening! She might not know what to do withthe information but she's heard Unca Joey say it a bunch of times. Thoughtfully she eyes the Yellow Hippo and says "Holly. Hector...aaand... need an H name"

"Habib." Erin laughs. She looks pretty impressed with the girl when she asks Dante what his goals are. Joey is the salesman in this family but not the only one! Jessie is working on it too. For the moment she just gives the man an encouraging nod, she doesn't interfere in anything Jessie is doing.

"If you want to get a bit high-minded, I suggest Horatio," says Dante. "Though I don't know what we're naming." He's trying really hard to be polite and to extend his charm, but it's clear that he's out of his element. Then his eyebrows arch at the question. "Ah, to engage in something physical that's less solitary than jogging or lifting weights."

"Ho ratios?" she nods and points to the red one "Maybe." She beams to Erin and points "There's lots of stuff and people for hitting. You won't run out. The little ones up there," She points to the speed bags, "Look like a lot of fun but I can't reach them. D got hit in the head once though and it made him start speaking a LOT of Spanish." She's the expert. Ask her how that went!

Ohboy. Hopefully the girl doesn't know a lot of Spanish. "From your goals, I can tell you that you're a match for here. If you want something more hands and personal. Private training time with the boss is extra, but incredibly worth it. If you're willing to commit to that, then I can assure you that by the time you're ready to work with others in the gym, you'd certainly not look a fool. If you'd like to try us out, there's a daily use fee, but all in all monthly saves you more." Erin shrugs and gives little Jessie a fist bump. "Just ask Boss Junior here."

"Well, perhaps I'll start with a day use or two, and then if it tickles my fancy, try for a month. Ah..." Dante smiles a bit stiffly. "Perhaps I shouldn't use a phrase like 'tickles my fancy' for a sport that involves hitting other people." He clears his throat. "So! Perhaps I'll come back when I'm properly attired, ay?"

"You can say it any way you like and I'm sure these walls have heard it already. I can recommend a really good boutique for fashion forward fitness clothing. It's where I shop. If you're interested. Just let me get your information and sign the waiver for accidents and you'll almost be all official for your uses. We accept cash, debit and credit cards." Erin tells him.

"I brought a few items with me. My wardrobe wasn't entirely designer suits. Just mostly," Dante pulls out his wallet, then fishes around for a business card, which he presents to Erin. It's a simple, classy affair with raised letters that marks his name, his email and phone, and his website. 'Novelist, historian' are the two titles he's given himself. "Credit, please. And I'm always on the lookout for a new place to shop."

Erin takes a moment to fill the form out for him with the information on the card he had offered before sliding it around to face him for his signature. "Your best bet is Seattle for shopping, but the boutique is here in our little mini mall. It's called Foggy Bluffs Strip Mall." She names the name of the business, and then tells him a price for the two days. "Also, welcome to Gray Harbor, Mr. Taylor. And more specifically, welcome to Kelly's Gym. Feel free to look around more if you'd like."

Jessie has nothing to do with the cash. Her job is to look very official and all knowing. She fistbumps Erin and hops back into the office asking, "Can I swipe the card?" And so it begins!

About then Joey and the Captain are walking back in from teh back. All accounted for and no one bloodied up. It's back to being yet another of many Thursdays.

"Yes, I've been told by a few that I'll need to take a trip to Seattle for a proper selection. Understandable. I do have eclectic tastes and I wouldn't expect a town this size to cater to them." Dante signs his name on the line with the flourish of a man who has signed his name to many pieces of paper. He also passes over his card, which is one of the high end travel point types.

"You, Miss Curiousity," Erin taps the girls nose lightly. "Can ask your Uncle Joey for that honor. How about I buy a shirt and teach you how to do it later? Then we can be twins. You and me kid." Taking the card she runs it this time, not wanting to risk a customers card or anything. It's offered back to him along with the receipt to sign. She tucks the paper into a brand new file and labels it with his name. Permanent record of Kelly's Gym. "Seattle has several great places, but just a little further South, you can hit Rodeo drive. That's my favorite place. I spend the weekend sometimes.. I recommend it."

Ruiz doesn't stick around after his talk with Joey's concluded. He stops to have a brief word with Erin on his way by, slips his aviators back on, and heads for the door without further ado.

"Ah, I'm not particularly fond of Los Angeles. Not even for the shopping. Too many people, too spread out. Too hot." Dante takes the sundry items and tucks them away. "I'll return soon, properly attired," he says, then rocks back a step. "Good day to you."