A Street-corner Encounter

With the usual display of confidence about her, the England native approached the corner, pausing upon catching sight of the ongoing traffic. Shifting the position of her fingers around the straps of her purse, her grip tightened against the leather material as she inclined her cleft chin, head canting to the right just slightly as she waited for the cars to clear enough so that she might pass to the other side of the street. From her peripheral vision, Olivia could see someone standing to her left, and with a turn of her head in that individual's direction, she spotted the man and, instinctively, her cerulean gaze shifted onto his shoes. Being the aficionada of quality footwear that she was, the blonde woman softly arched the thin, fair hairs of her left eyebrow, smirking subtly before commenting, "Nice shoes.". It was one thing when another woman sported attractive footwear, but it was another when a man did, and Olivia always admired a man with taste.

 

Tobias Reyes' stood outside the First Bank's building, anxiously fidgeting with his watch as his glance turned from the busy street to the side-walk before him--then back again. Truth be told, the blond had made his way outside for a breath of fresh air and a cigarette but somehow he'd managed to clean the box out earlier that day and had yet to find the time to buy more. Tobias' more-than-distracted attention would turn toward the woman standing at the corner as she spoke, his light blue eyes drifting down toward his feet as her comment sinks in before looking back up in her general direction. "Thank you." The blond would state, slightly caught-off-guard by the comment before taking a step toward the curb.

 

Ethereal Warrhol faced him somewhat, turning herself onto a slanted stance when she noticed his sight fixed itself upon her. She felt a vibrating sensation from the interiour of her purse, but refrained from acknowledging it. Judging by its the briefness of said vibration, the forensic psychiatrist determined that it had been a text message, which made her even less interested in responding to it. For the meantime, at least. The corners of her mouth curled, her lips parting a moment thereafter before she offered one of her prominent, pearly-white smiles, and she replied, "You're very welcome. Let me guess..". Cue pause as she tapped a beautifully-manicured index-fingertip against her chin. "..Ferragamo.", said Olivia, gesturing toward the man's footwear with a motion of that same finger.

 

Tobias Reyes grins slightly as he lifts his left foot up into the air, right index finger extending to point at his shoe as he spoke. "Ferragamo." The blond would move his finger through the air after the word had left his mouth; moving to his watch, then his shirt, then down to the waist of his pants before moving up to his face. The flow of designer names leaving his lips one after another in an all-too fluid movement. "Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Tobias Reyes Nakajima." The blond would say, as the grin shifts its way into a slight smirk with his cocky introduction.

 

"Not bad.", she replied. Along with the fellow blond's cocky attitude came an increase of interest on the English woman's part, obscurely shown by means of a soft raise of the thin, fair hairs of her eyebrows. She turned, facing him in full before the right corner of her mouth tugged upward some, bringing forth a small smirk within the crease of Olivia's lips. With a casual, outward point of her left foot, the she began. "Kate Spade.", said the psychiatrist, gesturing toward her flats with a graceful motion of her own index finger, the blue depths of her eyes maintaining flawless eye contact with the man-- that was, of course, unless he happened to avert his gaze. "Nanette Lepore.", she continued, pointing toward her trousers, then to her top and to her purse. "Diane von Furstenberg, Michael Kors..". And, last but certainly not least, she finished, "..Olivia West.". Upon the mention of her name, she extended her hand politely, the smirk on her lips leaving, replaced by a more amicable grin.

 

Tobias Reyes' gaze follows the woman's finger as her own index finger moves from each piece of clothing and accessory in her ensemble and a soft chuckle would leave the blond's lips as the woman extends her hand and states her own name. The blond appreciated a woman who knew her designers and actually had the level of sarcasm needed to appreciate his humor; and his expression as he closed the distance between them and took her hand in a simple gesture of greeting would plainly show his amusement. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. West." The blond would say, his gaze locked on her own as he continued. "Almost as much a pleasure as meeting your outfit." The blond would say, his lips curling up at one end as the remark leaves his lips.

 

Ethereal Warrhol's lips pursed some, but the grin remained intact. Her slender fingers coiled halfway about his hand, and her grip was, perhaps, much firmer than what might have been expected of the waif-like woman. A very small, very soft, but very sincere chuckle emitted passed her lips upon hearing Tobias' last comment, to which Olivia replied, "As it was to meet yours. But, I assure you..". Gently, she slid her hand from out of his hold, fingertips lightly gliding against his wrist a moment before her hand fell to her side again, palm pressing against her thigh. "..The pleasure is -all- mine.". She canted her head to the right some-- a barely noticeable action-- and then casually inquired, "Tell me. What does a man with as exquisite taste as yourself -do- for a living?". No hesitation.

 

Tobias Reyes' brow would raise slightly as the woman pulled her hand away from his own and he felt her fingertips slid across the bare skin along his wrist; a response the blond wasn't expecting from the hand-shake. With her blunt question, the blond's slightly awe-struck expression would shift back into his typical grin as he nods to the building behind him, crowd and all. "I'm currently employed as the Chief Legal Officer for the First Bank of Perdition." The blond would say, his head turning again toward his right as he looks at the group behind him through his peripherals. He could still smell the cigarette smoke that had been coming from one of them and the scent was only itching the blond one even more. Damn empty box. Tobias would from and his hands patted at his pockets, momentarily forgetting about the conversation going on in front of him before his gaze once more falls on the woman. "I'm sorry about that. Got a lil distracted." He'd say with a chuckle. "And what is it that you do?"

 

Ethereal Warrhol's eyes shifted their focus onto the faint arching of her newly-made acquaintance's eyebrow. Why? Because it was minor detail such as that which the blonde usually noticed without trying to. Years of analyzing body language-- facial expressions, involuntary movement(s), gestures, posture, tone of voice, etc.-- had led her detection of 'the little things' to become something of a second nature to her. At any rate, she did not address the brow-lift, but, instead, responded to the mention of his profession. "Very nice.", Olivia said, rose-coloured lips parting in the exposure of yet another brilliant grin as she inclined her chin again. "No worries.", she told him in reference to his apology, accompanying her reassurance with a couple of gentle shakes of her head. "I work for the police department.", stated the slender woman. "As their forensic psychiatrist.".

 

Tobias Reyes' brow would raise once more with the woman's career statement. A psychiatrist? Yeah, this little fact would make Tobias just a bit more uncomfortable and anxious; and his body language would show just that. The blond could cringe at the title, his whole body contracting, and his fingers would begin to tap anxiously along the legs of his pants as the fact seeped in--but the blond would do what any well-mannered citizen would do and he'd make an honest attempt to cover up his uncomfortable mind-set but widening his grin; exposing his teeth for the world to see. "Well." The blond would state, "I guess I probably shouldn't have started naming off designers as I did. I can just image the types of connections someone in your profession could come up with from a greeting like that." Tobias' words weren't meant to come across as insulting, or as a means of reading too much into the woman's line of work, but more-than-likey they would do just that.

 

Consequently and naturally, Olivia did, in fact, notice the shift in Tobias' body language. However, despite that truth, despite his pouring anxiety, and despite his evident uneasiness, the European was left only to wonder as to the reasons behind the man's curious reaction to her profession. On the other hand, however, it was not unheard of-- and this, Olivia knew from both word of mouth -and- personal experience-- that a person sometimes grew uncomfortable when conversing with a psychiatrist/ologist. There was always that assumption or wonder as to whether or not said brain-picker was attempting to.. well.. pick the given individual's brain. "Oh, can you?", she asked, her grin softening only slightly. "Humour me.". She folded her arms beneath the swell of her bosom, a hint of a smirk playing along the outlines of her lips.

 

Tobias Reyes' fingers would stop drumming against his leg almost immediately after the blonde had asked him to share his feelings with her and his jaw would relax just slightly as he's put on the spot. "Uh--really?" The blond would say with a half-hearted chuckle. "Oh-uh--okay." Tobias' finger would curl upward, manicured fingernails digging into his palms as the blond makes some silent attempt at punishing himself for opening his big mouth. "Well--there's the common misconception that I could be obsessed with my appearance, or have a tendency to flash my status around..." The blond would trail of his sentence before continuing, the comment following said more to himself than to the psychiatrist before him. "Though, I guess out-righty stating my position with the bank didn't help that one." He'd pause for a moment before continuing on his rant. "There's the misconstrued idea that I could look down on those who don't wear designer and opt out for the cheap-shit--by the way, I don't -really- think of these things. In fact, I'm making this worse, aren't I?" The blond would ask as his expression turns to a mix of defeat and embarrassment.

 

Ethereal Warrhol listened attentively, genuinely curious as to what his response would be. As he went on, making one statement after the other, she focused on his face-- his eyes, more specifically. However, as soon as he made one false move, so to speak, Olivia's blue hues would be on it without delay. Subtle shifts in her own body language took place, but none that would betray her in some form or another. These shifts included a small lift of her brow-line, the corners of her mouth curling slightly, and a faint, rightward tilt of her head. After he was finished, ending with a question in which she found amusement, Olivia's smirk dissolved, and a brightly-adorned smile found its way to her mouth before she chuckled light-heartedly. "You know. I'm willing to wager that you'd make -great- company for lunch.", she said, pointing at him as her chuckling ceased. "What does next week look like for you? Say.. Tuesday?".

 

Tobias Reyes wasn't sure if this was truly an invitation to lunch or an informal invitation to dig deeper into Tobias' fear of poverty and his obsession with economic status. Honestly, the blond was reading much-to-into the woman profession but, at the very least, her slight fit of laugher had begun to put the lawyer at some level of ease. "As of right now--" The blond would say, now opting to choose his words carefully and his tone spoken a bit more slowly. "--Tuesday looks clear. And, well, lunch sounds like it could be fun. I mean, as long as it's not a ruse to uncover my deepest insecurities and what-not" The blond would say, punctuating his remark with a chuckle as he reached into his right front pocket and pulled out a large silver money-clip, his left hand moving to pluck a business card from it's grasp; holding it outward as he continues. "The card's a bit old, still waiting on the new ones from the bank to come in, but the numbers the same. It'll put you right through to my cell phone if you want to get ahold of me later this week?"

 

"I wouldn't dream of it.", she told him, replying seemingly seriously despite his humour. Another, but softer grin settled upon Olivia's face before she lessened the distance between them even more so, one Kate Spade after the other ultimately leaving no more than a foot-- if even-- between them as she swiftly fished a card of her own from out of her purse. She handed it to him. "Consider it a date.", she said, looking up at him. Perhaps teasing, perhaps technical, but nevertheless obscured. Her left hand lifted, and she pinched his business card between her index finger and thumb, waiting for him to retrieve that which she had offered him.

 

Tobias Reyes pocketed the money-clip as Olivia closed the space between them, the right side of his lips curling upward as she presents her own card in turn. He'd pull his right hand out of his pocket, moving it forward to repeat her own movement toward her business card as he speaks. "Well then, Ms. West, a date it is." The blond's fear of being analized had left almost as quickly as it had come and as his comment come to a close, he'd pluck the card from her hand; index finger and thumb griping the piece of stationary at either end.

 

Ethereal Warrhol gave a single nod of her head, a thin, fair eyebrow arched as she turned on her heel. Smoothly, her facial expression transitioned into nothing more than a sole, curious smirk having settled between the European's lips, eyes still locked on those of Tobias until she turned away from him completely. She slipped his card into a pocket of her purse's interiour, sauntering off with the confidence of her stride present as per usual.

Done