Strictly Business [Closed] - Printable Version
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RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - saronym - 08-30-2017
Owen’s brows knit together into a curious sort of frown as Drusilla claimed that she and his handsome cowboy friend were ‘just friends.’ He rolled his eyes up towards the ceiling as if he were trying to remember the answer to some trivia question. He snapped his fingers together and pointed at Drusilla. “The roommate with that charming accent?”
A sort of giddiness rushed through him at the idea that Drusilla was not attached to Sanders. His lips pulled up at one corner into a smirk that advertised the joke to come. “What do you two have a whole thing going. She gets you jobs. You get her men. Is that how you girls work things out?”
He chuckled and stared with question at his vibrating pocket. His phone was ringing. Fishing it from his pocket, he checked the name on screen. Darcy.
“Lemme see what he wants. Everything you need to get started is there at the nook. It’s self explanatory.” He said quickly before he swiped to answer the call.
“Hey dad…” He began what would be a long conversation with Darcy as he left the kitchen to give himself some privacy for their talk.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - megs - 09-02-2017
Ears swiveled towards him at the sight of that telltale curl of his mouth. An advertisement that he thought he was about to say something witty. Which he usually was. That, or Drusilla was wildly susceptible to his charms. For a brief moment, the cat pouted when he referred to Aphrodite’s accent as charming. It was a blink and you missed it sort of reaction. Ears briefly pinning backwards, and a slight downward curve to her own mouth, before she quickly returned to appearing a pleasant neutral. “If that is the arrangement, then she owes me more jobs,” Drusilla replied sarcastically. She would have continued with joke if not for the urgent vibrating that sounded off from his pocket. Nodding her understanding to his instructions, she moved off towards the breakfast nook as he retreated to tend to Darcy.
It was easy for Drusilla to distract herself with the work. Much simpler to deal with something so straightforward that couldn’t get cluttered with her unclear thoughts and hazy emotions. She didn’t pay attention to how long Owen had been gone, making steady progress through about half of the reports and paperwork.
She certainly wouldn’t be aware of at what point she fell asleep. She remembered being caught off guard by a yawn. A tired sting to her eyes and heaviness to her head. Just for a minute, she thought as she pushed papers and her multitude of pens out of the way so she could cross her arms on the table. She would just close her eyes for a minute.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - saronym - 09-06-2017
While Owen was supposed to be engaging in a reciprocal conversation with his godfather, his cognitive energies were in truth more wrapped up in replaying his earlier interaction with Drusilla...Julianna, really. He was beginning to think of her more and more as Julianna. Drusilla, to him, seemed like some sort of role she played. Sure it was her, but Julianna felt more true to him. He turned over the words they had said to one another slowly and repetitively as if to imprint them on his mind for good. He had done the same sort of thing with that first interview and other interactions they’d shared together. It must have been evident that Owen wasn’t paying much attention to the present conversation as Darcy kept interjecting during the one-sided talk to re-capture his distracted godson’s attention.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t get any sleep. I’m all over the place.” Owen admitted only half-truthfully to excuse himself from the conversation. It was enough for Darcy to call a premature end to the talk and Owen was able to return to the kitchen.
“Sorry ab-” he stopped mid apology when he realized that Drusilla had fallen asleep at her task. She laid with her head on the table like a school kid who’d fallen asleep during a boring lecture. He cocked his head and watched her ear twitch idly in sleep. It felt wrong to wake her. Then again, that position didn’t look particularly comfortable. What a terrible way to position the neck.
Owen sighed and moved towards the breakfast nook. He bent down and scooped a hand under her knees and behind her back. He was half-hunched over as he gently lifted her and pulled her out from the bench careful not to bump her knees or toes on the table when he did so. She was easy enough for him to maneuver without much effort on his part.
Turning with her, Owen walked smoothly from the kitchen and towards the living room. He stared down at her while he walked. She looked rather peaceful there in his arms. Comfortable. Safe even. It prompted a wave of feeling he wasn't quite sure he was familiar with. Something like endearment.
He figured on setting her down to sleep on the couch for a morning nap would be sufficient to refresh her. He bent down towards the couch to lay her down on it.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - megs - 09-06-2017
Owen’s pulling her out of the nook only woke her enough for mild disapproval. Drusilla made a kittenish noise as she was moved, a pitching trill that came from her throat. The sort of noise one would expect from an actual house cat being disturbed. She tensed as he lifted her higher, tail tapping against his side in irritated movements. After a few seconds, she settled, pacified in the comfort of his arms. Her head rested against his shoulder and she turned her face as if to hide it in the softness of his sweater. It wasn’t until he tried to relinquish her to the couch that she protested again. Awake enough to know that she didn’t want to be put down, but still too far in sleep to realize who she was demanding attention from. Drusilla curled her arms around Owen’s neck, pulling herself higher in his arms until her cheek rested against that curve between his neck and his shoulder. She refused to let go, a purring chirrup sounded off her clinging demands of him.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - saronym - 09-06-2017
It wasn’t quite a laugh but it was a sound damn near to it in the back of his throat when it became clear that the stubborn cat wasn’t going to let go of him quite so easily. He huffed as if put out though in truth he reveled in the feeling of being wanted. It was hard to say whether she wanted him per se or whether she just wanted to contact with whatever available warm body was around and he just happened to be lucky enough to fit that description. Either way was good enough for him.Owen was surprised by how entirely feline she could be. Sure, he had noticed certain personality traits and noises that were unique to her and certainly feline but the little chirrups she made at him and that impatient tap of her tail on his leg were a whole new experience.
“Fine.” He muttered so quietly at her it was almost a whisper when she refused to let go. Owen lifted her back into his arms and turned around with her.
He sat down on the couch with her and then swung his legs up. Too long to fit comfortably on the couch, his legs hung over the far arm of the couch. He pushed her over towards the side against the back of the couch and left her to arrange herself as she chose. There wasn’t much room for her to maneuver, no matter what position she chose she would be forced to lay mostly on top of that side of him. He curled that arm around her back and used the free one to pull the throw blanket off the back of the couch. He arranged the decorative covering mostly to cover her and then stilled.
After a few moments of stillness with Owen staring up at the ceiling, he realized he wasn’t going to immediately be able to fall asleep like her. He reached for the remote on the coffee table and turned the television on. He tuned in to whatever game was being broadcast that day on ESPN and turned the volume to a low barely distinguishable hum of voices, cheering, music, and commercials.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - megs - 09-06-2017
Mostly on top of him seemed a bit like an understatement. The sleeping assistant tucked herself against his side and beneath his arm, head still resting on his shoulder. She had one arm draped around his middle; arm across his stomach and fingers lightly gripping the edge of his sweater. One leg was draped over his thigh, with her tail following suit. When they were both finally settled, Drusilla sighed, quick and content through her nose. Another high pitched and pleased sounding noise came from her, followed by continuous, resonant purrs. About ten minutes into her falling asleep this way, the fingers she had curled into his sweater began to flex and retract in a rhythm that was entirely too similar to a cat kneading a blanket. Because that's exactly what is was. The behavior wasn't anymore explicable from her than it was from domesticated cats. Was she comfortable? Was she claiming him?
Who knew.
Her ears rotated to the sound of the TV coming on. Though he quickly lowered the volume, the initial noise woke her. Her eyes opened to thin slits to glare at the offending noisemaker. It was unclear on whether she had woken up enough to register that she was cuddled up with Owen. Her ears pinned backwards and her eyes closed again; though the cadence of her breathing changed that gentle kneading against his side didn't cease.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - saronym - 09-06-2017
It wasn’t the first time Owen had felt her purring on him. Or at him. He couldn’t be sure whether the purrs were meant for him or were just expressed because of him or both. The rolling sound resonated and vibrated through his chest. It was a calming sound like white noise only better. The effect of it certainly exceeded the effect white noise had on him. It made him feel very relaxed and serene. He lost interest in the players fighting out their battle for territory on the field and let his eyes sort of drift closed. They popped open again when her fingers started kneading at his chest.
He frowned while he watched them working gently into the fabric of his shirt. It wasn’t that it bothered him; it was just sort of perplexing. What did it mean?
It certainly felt as close to a caress as she had ever given him. He reciprocated whatever emotion or affection he had read into that action by petting back the loose hairs at her forehead and brushing a kiss just at her hairline. His hand settled back against her side into the natural molding that the curve of her waist and hip made for it. He rested his cheek against the top of her head which pushed her ears aside and closed his eyes again to fall asleep.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - megs - 09-07-2017
Drusilla had been awake to feel that brushing of lips near the edge of her hair. Awake enough to know that it had been Owen to display this affection; to know that it was him that she was cuddled up against, feeling warm and safe and comfortable. She hid a smile by tucking her face under his arm, easily mistaken for a sleepy shift. There was something increasingly comforting about the weight of his cheek against her hair. If he was content to lay that way with her, she saw no reason to cut her cat nap short, and drifted off to sleep again. It was late afternoon when she woke again, and it wasn’t because she wanted too. Her feline nature could have very easily left her napping well into the evening on top of Owen if not for the shrill ringing of her phone where she’d left it in the kitchen. She startled in his arms, eyes popping open and her ears swiveling to attention. Pushing herself up on her elbow she tried to orient herself with the room, as the morning came back to her.
Her ears pinned backwards, suddenly embarrassed by her behavior even though Owen didn’t seem to have a problem with their impromptu nap. She looked down at him, frowning apologetically. “Sorry,” she mumbled, and it was unclear whether she was apologizing for the nap, or for climbing over him, which she was currently doing. She scurried back to the kitchen, snatching her phone up off the nook on the last ring.
“Hello?” Her greeting sounded breathless and tired; she hadn’t had time to look at the caller ID before swiping into the call and was surprised to hear her brother’s voice on the other end of the line. Her brow furrowed as she listened to him speak. One ear twitched rapidly, while the other remained pinned backwards. “What do you mean you can’t?” she asked, impatient, turning on her heel to pace a short line in front of the nook. “What if-” she huffed, as she was clearly cut off. “How can you - no - of course, but how does that take - Kama!” She pulled the phone away from her face with a frustrated growl. She stared down at Kama’s name, flashing on the screen. She had very clearly been hung up on. Scrubbing a hand over her face, Drusilla sighed and leaned against the table.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - saronym - 09-08-2017
Owen startled awake at the same time as Drusilla, but he was less willing to get up to address the sound that roused them. He blinked sleepily and almost without comprehension at her as she climbed over him. “‘S’alright.” He mumbled at her as he wiped his hand over his face and scratched at his hair. Though Drusilla climbed off of him, it seemed as if he fully intended to fall right back to sleep. He folded his hands over his stomach and nestled his head back against the couch and closed his eyes again while she went to answer her phone.
The distressed sound of her voice coming from the other room re-opened his eyes. His ears struggled to overhear her side of the conversation. He sat up and shuffled towards the kitchen to where she had finished a brief argument with someone named Kama. Owen pressed his index and thumb into the corners of each eye pinching the bridge of his nose between the fingers. He blinked and yawned seeming to wake up some more with the actions.
“What was that about?” He asked and quickly added, “Who’s Kama?” sounding very much like the jealous boyfriend. And here he had just been relieved of the idea that his friend was dating her and now he had to worry about some Kama fellow.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - megs - 09-09-2017
She wore a defeated expression, looking up at Owen as he walked into the kitchen. She sighed again, ears brushing her hair as she shrugged her shoulders. “It’s nothing,” she lied, automatically, not wanting to drag him into the middle of what was a very personal problem. Ears perked to attention, noting his tone when he inquired to the name he’d obviously overheard. Interesting. She pushed away from the table and looked up at him. Her tail flickered behind her knees, she was fidgeting; waffling over whether or not to involve Owen. Drusilla remembered the conversation they'd had following the missteps she'd taken the morning she'd met Sophia. It had felt to her, at the time, that he was asking to be let in. Even the conversation they'd just had seemed to imply that they wanted more from each other.
“Kama is my brother,” she explained. At the very least she could absolve him of that barely masked jealousy. “I - uh-” she looked down at her shoes. “I have to pick up my son,” she explained, finally. “Kama usually does but he ‘can’t’ for some reason, today.” Her gaze picked up off the floor as her ears fell.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - saronym - 09-10-2017
There was a determined and almost demanding patient exhibited by Owen while he waited through Drusilla’s wavering resolve to keep the truth from him. His lips had pressed into a thin disapproving line when she lied about that obviously stressful phone call being about ‘nothing’ at all. A clear lie.His brows lifted in surprise. “Brother?” He asked, to confirm, before being completely thrown off by the next piece of information. He was simply unable to mask his surprise at all.
“Wait, you have a kid?” His voice pitched with surprise. There would be a sense of jealousy that would come later once the shock of the information faded. “You’re a mom? You never mentioned that before.”
Owen pushed off from the wall he was standing near and used the momentum to cross the kitchen and noisily drag his keys across the counter. The jingled in his hand as he turned back around. “Should we go get him then?” Owen had already decided that he wanted to investigate this new information. Drusilla as mother. Drusilla as sister. He was simply too curious to pass up the opportunity.
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - megs - 09-14-2017
"Yes, uhm, Keiavan. He's seven." Ears fell off either side of her head and she looked mostly embarrassed in the face of his surprise. He didn't know because she had deliberately never told him. Treading carefully through conversations so she didn't reveal too many personal details. “It never came up,” she answered noncommittally. Her ears continued to droop and she looked away from Owen, again. “I don't have custody of him,” she admitted, which was hard for her to do.
She didn't look up as he crossed the kitchen, but the jingle of his keys had her ears standing upright again. “We?” She repeated in askance of whether she had heard him correctly. Still, she tucked her phone into the waistband of her leggings and trotted after him before he could get too far. “You're coming with?” She continued to question him, even as they were standing at his car. Even as she opened the passenger door and dropped into the vehicle beside him. “Don't you have... other things to do?”
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - saronym - 09-15-2017
Owen’s face brightened with a shadow of a smile as his eyes sparkled at the mention of the boy’s name and age. It was almost like he was resisting blurting out an ‘awwww.’ Somehow in his mind he had already formulated an picture of an unbearably cute boy in Drusilla’s image in his mind. His facial excitement dimmed when she mentioned the custody situation and he was left wondering what the story was. He had pieces. Her brother was usually responsible for chauffeuring the child and Drusilla did not have custody. He was left wondering where the father was and what his involvement was. It certainly didn’t seem like she was still with the man. “I see.”
He felt somewhat gross wondering after her personal life, especially when she seemed so reticent to let him in. For the moment, he let it be. He could feel out pressing her for more information as the afternoon wore on.
He had turned his head to watch her over his shoulder while she made her waistband into a pocket for her phone. His gaze briefly passed over her hips and thighs well outlined in the tight leggings she wore. He nodded to her question of his volunteering to go before turned back around to police his gaze lest she catch him checking her out anymore in that obvious way.
His Challenger roared to life as Owen slammed the door closing himself into a space that seemed too small for his stature. The radio blared to life along with the engine and Owen’s hand immediately shot out to turn it down.
“Not particularly.” He lied easily as he swung back out of the driveway and punched the car down the road. “Where are we going to get him from?” He asked as he navigated the gated community he lived in heading towards the one exit.
“I kind of like kids, actually. They're like these pure, but really raw little beings.” He admitted as he shifted downwards to make a barely noticeable rolling stop through a stop sign before taking off again. “Don’t tell anyone I said that. It would ruin my rep, okay?” He chuckled at his own joke.
“It’s weird though. Have you noticed that nobody brings their kids to the CAF base? It’s too morbid, I guess. But I feel like I live in a strange bubble where there are no kids... and I don’t know. It creeps me out sometimes.” Owen made a shuddering kind of motion with his shoulders. “Like it must be a truly evil place if people don’t really bring kids around, you know?” Owen shrugged as if he hadn’t suggested anything profound about the place where he worked.
"People who can't be good to kids-" he shook his head "-those are the kind of people I don't fuck with."
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - megs - 09-29-2017
Drusilla rolled her eyes over to give him a look from the passenger’s seat. They both knew she knew his schedule and most of his responsibilities, and he was ignoring them in favor of driving around with her. Which was fine. Drusilla certainly wasn’t going to complain about spending time with Owen in a non-work related context. “Ridgeview Charter School. It’s downtown on Cambridge and Evergreen.” She studied his profile while he drove, sorting through her feelings about his meeting Keiavan. There wasn’t much she could do about now since they were already on their way. She wondered to how the two of them would get along.
“Oh?” she prompted when he said he liked kids. Her tone was a bit surprised. She leaned her elbow on the console between them and dropped her chin upon it. The posture put her closer to him, but not too close. She made it look teasing and interested in the conversation. “It can be our little secret,” she confirmed, before leaning away again.
Her expression was harder to read when he spoke of the CAF. Her gaze flickered towards the window and her ears fell against her hair. Drusilla didn’t make any motions to agree with him out loud, but she did think of the organization as evil. The tip of her tongue brushed over that ridge of a scar that she could feel on the inside of her lip. “Maybe you could suggest a ‘bring your child to work day,” she replied, forcing a smile. She laughed at her own joke as her ears popped to attention.
As they neared the school, Drusilla’s excitement became more noticeable. She had begun the ride more withdrawn, and somewhat embarrassed, but those feelings dissipated with the reality that she was seeing Keiavan today. Her ears shifted at attention and her tail tapped eagerly where it fell off the edge of the seat. “You can pull in there,” she explained, gesturing with her hand towards the parent pick-up area. She leaned forward against the seatbelt and scanned the circles of children that lingered behind waiting for their rides. It was obvious she spotted the child when a giant grin split her features. “There he is.” Drusilla pointed to single out a lanky seven-year old with a mop of dark hair. He was wearing the school’s navy blue and gold uniform and a backpack, and seemed to be the center of attention among the group.
Even elementary-aged kids knew a nice car when they saw one, and Owen’s Challenger was turning quite a few heads. One of Keiavan’s friends nudged him and pointed towards the vehicle. They watched it cruise closer appreciatively, and a confusion settled when it stopped in front of them. Drusilla pushed open the door and popped up to be seen above the door. “Mom!” Keiavan raced towards her. He all but crashed into her with enough force that she had to take a step back. He wrapped his arms around her middle and buried his face into her abdomen. “What are you doing here? Where’s uncle Kama?” Bright blue eyes shined up at her adoringly, as he rattled off questions. “Who’s car is this? Do I get to ride in it?”
RE: Strictly Business [Closed] - saronym - 09-29-2017
Owen didn’t mind Julianna’s arm occupying his console. He liked her occupying what he thought of as his space. His own arm lowered to rest alongside hers comfortably. He grinned over at her when she promised to keep his little secret. His gaze remained tuned to the road as she teased him about recommendations to improve the CAF by inviting children. He merely chuckled and rolled his eyes as if such a suggestion were out of the question. Owen was careful pulling into the school and glided along to the spot that Drusilla had indicated. “This is a nice school. I’ve heard good things about it.” He remarked politely as Drusilla scanned the crowd of children some of whom seemed to be staring at his sportscar. It was likely not a vehicle many families with small children owned.
Owen scanned the crowd trying to figure out which kid was Drusilla’s. He wasn’t quick enough to make a guess before she pointed out a child and got out of the car to greet him. Owen leaned forward in the seat to watch as a boy with a pile of hair rushed towards Drusilla. He put the car into park and slipped out of the driver’s seat to greet the child.
“It’s my car.” Owen said on the tail end of the boy’s question. He knelt down and held out his right hand for Keiavan to shake as if he were meeting another adult. “I’m Owen. Your mom and I work together but we decided to take the day off and watch you play soccer.” He winked at the boy. “If that’s alright with you.”