Welcome to Gaia! ::

The color of the day was blue, obviously. Blue was the color of the sky on this wonderful day, blue was the color of the apron he wore (originally, it was an off white, but he had gotten a little too close to the blue raspberry food coloring for his next batch of taffy), and apparently, blue was the color of the fabulous locks of the young girl that just walked into his store. Yes, blue seemed to be the color of the day, and like the Cookie Monster being presented a plate of cookies just beyond his reach, Richard Moreau could not help but take a gander at the newcomer walking in.

She was a young little scamp, much too young for him, even at first glance, but that did nothing to detract from her charm or beauty. The uniform was familiar to him and he immediately suspected that she might have been there based on the recommendation of her fellow Crystal Academy students (it appeared he had gained a reputation, and why not? His candy and charm were meant to ensure happy and returning customers). But of course, she was young, and that was dangerous territory, to be eyeing such a darling, likely half his age.

But of course, since when did Richard stray from danger? There was nothing wrong with a little harmless flirting, right? He merely had to tread the waters with caution, though not to where it took away any of his fun... luck had a delicate balance and Richard liked to think that he was king of cats when it came to luck.

"Welcome to Sugar Shanty," Richard said, pulling away from the taffy station and taking only a moment to make himself presentable. The gloves and apron were removed, quickly and efficiently, and no sooner had they landed on the counter was he standing before Hafwen. There were other customers there, but she and her cotton candy like hair simply demanded his full attention for now. "How may I tickle your sweet tooth today?"

Business as usual, Richard thought, when the girl looked his way and kept her polite smile forward, and despite knowing how dangerous the territory would be with this young one, it only made it all the more desirable for Richard. While he certainly wouldn't have lured her into his bed, he could imagine giving her a ride in his Lexus, and the thought of her gorgeous blue locks blowing in the wind was almost enough to stiffen the business side of him,

Almost.

'Business before pleasure.' Richard told himself as he stood before her, and without missing a beat, he cast his gaze towards the left, revealing to her the wide variety of jelly beans, sorted by color and flavor. Very orderly, as though someone had taken the time to place each individual one in its respected place, despite the children that tried their best to ruin his hard work. "Jelly beans are always a best seller, I find. With every bite, it's like putting a magic lamp in your mouth- unbelievable cosmic taste, within an itty bitty bean-shaped space."

Yes, he had pretty much quoted an old Disney movie, but it seemed like the best comparison he could make. He smirked at his own humor, but tried not to get too carried away, as he pointed to the aisle towards the back. "And of course, there's a lady's best friend and ever constant companion, and sometimes her spouse's salvation: Chocolate. My favorite is the chocolate caramel with a touch of sea salt..."

His quiver wasn't an act. He really loved that stuff.

Richard was pleased to see Hafwen's interest in the chocolate caramel, and he was only too eager to offer such a beautiful young lady a free sample. Of course, he always offered free samples to anyone, so long as they weren't rude, or overly disgusting, or at least had intentions of actually purchasing something and weren't just using him for a quick sugar fix (he couldn't count how many had wandered into his store just for that... and it felt good to catch one of those ungrateful loafers in the act and kick them out. Sully his hospitality? Never again!)

But Hafwen had the fortunate luck of being a very, very beautiful young girl, and appearing earnest, and never wanting to chase away such an honest and beautiful creature, Richard was more than happy to oblige. He motioned for the young lady to follow him towards the chocolate aisle, and the temperature in this section of the store was purposefully lower than the rest, for multiple reasons. Mostly it was to keep his chocolate cool (as knowing was more shameful to a business man than selling melted candies, especially chocolates), but the other reason was a little more... naughty. Young this Hafwen may have been, but that didn't mean he couldn't look.

"Right this way. I have various sizes, but I'd highly recommend the squares." Richard pulled a pair of clear disposable gloves from the dispenser and a napkin before he pick a piece from the proper compartment, handing it to Hafwen with a smile. His eyes made sure to cover two areas, her gorgeous face and the bosoms that decorated that chest of hers. With those uniforms, it was always hard to get a good idea of was hidden under them, but the coolness in the air would help with that, surely. "I also have other flavors, if you so desire..."

Like the witch giving Snow White the apple, Richard waited, patient yet eager all at once.

"Why squares? Simple! A square is a rectangle with four equal sides, correct? By disputing the chocolate into four equal sides, you get a geometrically even piece of chocolate, which makes distributing whatever filling one may desire in a fair and even manner for all of the customers to indulge in," Richard said, his mind off of her own perverted fantasies and jumping onto his love for chocolate and candies in a heartbeat. Why, he was so caught up in his explanation that he completely forgot to look at her chest and torso when she accepted the chocolate, and once his mouth was running, there was simply no way of stopping it. "It's all about equality and even distribution, dear. You see, some people, especially little children, get upset when they think someone else received more than them and if a customer thought I was holding out on them, then not only is my business affected badly, but the customer's trust is forever broken and once that happens, getting them back would be near impossible!."

He curled his fist, a sign of passion, and at least he had managed to hand off her sample piece before he ended up crushing it and wasted his hard worked chocolate and sea-salt caramel (something he'd regret with such a passion that it would have likely lead to him to fleeing in the back and breaking into his not-so-well hidden stash for the remainder of the day). "So I put all of my chocolate in little squares, all equal shape, size and dimension, to ensure that everyone gets their fair share. I make exceptions when making holiday themed candy, such as hearts or ginger bread man shaped ones, but those I painstakingly handcraft to perfect and make sure everything is equally distributed... as best as one could with a little human shaped piece, that is. That head is the hardest part!"

So passionate in his little tirade that he hadn't noticed that she had already devoured the piece he had given her and was questioning if he ever gave her a piece at all when he looked at her hands and saw it was empty. However, he did catch her question, and he had hoped that he didn't appear too flustered with himself as he tapped his chin and thought of another flavor that the girl might have liked. His mind was completely derailed from any dirty thoughts when it came to selling his product... "Hm, well, I have various ones with fruit filling- all natural fruit, of course and none of that artificial flavoring. I recently found out what was inside of artificially flavored raspberries, and it's enough to make you heave, so I won't tell you."

He eyed his boxes, pointing to some of the older Christmas themed ones that were left over and adding to the list for her. "I have nougat, hard caramel, soft caramel that's just dreamy, raspberry and not the artificial kind, blueberries, eggnog, spiced eggnog- no, you may not want that, unless you like a hint of liquor? Then there's marshmellow, cream, coconut, mint, but never together..."

The list could go on forever, and if Hafwen didn't stop Richard now, she may not have gotten the chance to again!

Richard hadn't even realized he was rambling until Hafwen interrupted him, and he was so into his task that he fought down the urge to snap at her for stopping him. He had so much more candy he could have told her about, but somehow, looking down at her and soaking in her question was enough to appease him. His desire to snap was gone, seen only in the subtle twitch of his eye before straightening up and focusing on her question.

"As much as I'd love to take all the credit, no. I do make the bulk of the candy, but I have a few employees that assist in the matter and add their own to the stock," Richard said, and he motioned towards the hard candy aisle. There was no hint of disdain or belittlement in his voice, at least none that he could hear though perhaps someone with a keener sense could have picked up on, as he explained. "The hard candies are Fred's specialty, and if you're into that, I'd recommend the cinnamon flavored ones. He's the one in charge of the lollipops for this Valentine's Day, so feel free to come by the store and I'll be sure to save you a few."

It was his way of saying 'I like you', and upon her request, he glanced at his stock and immediately plucked the flavor she desired, using the same care he had done for the salted caramel piece earlier and offering it to her. "However, everything else I either make or have a hand in its creation, but my specialty are the chocolates here, and taffy. Though, I prefer pulling the taffy more than I care to eat it... great in relieving stress, you know!"

When she brought up the very rational concern about them running off and launching their own rival candy company, Richard could only outwardly smile at the thought. No, he knew it to be a possibility, especially if one of them kept making a habit of messing up his orders (though the thought of firing her permanently was far from his mind, given that she was more or less family now). He answered truthfully, "Yes, the thought has crossed my mind several times, but I try not to worry about it. After all, this -is- America, and they're allowed to pursue their own hopes and dreams as they see fit. However, if they do try to steal my recipes, then I will be more than happy to have my lawyer take care of it for me."

And he had a pretty damn good lawyer, considering she was on speed dial. He trusted his lawyer, perhaps a little more than any man should, but he felt that their 'relationship' was mutually beneficial to one another and he could easily butter her up. Not that he wanted to spend much time considering it now, as he had a customer to service and Hafwen was more than worthy of his full attention. When she admitted to being torn between the two, Richard took a moment to consider a little offer he could work up for her and came up with a decent one fairly quickly. He certainly didn't want her to leave the store empty-handed, even if it meant little change in his drawer.

"Well, how about this. Since you humored my little chocolate loving rant a few moments ago and you've been kind enough to test my chocolate for me, I can get a sampler bag set up for you to take home," Richard offered, even moving towards the clear plastic bags before she had the chance to reply. "I'm always eager to try new flavors, and you seem to have the palette I'd need. This one will even be on the house. What do you say?"

Who would turn down free chocolate? Ever?

Richard knew that what he was doing wasn't necessarily proper and had seen the wisdom in Hafwen's concern. Giving preferential treatment to one customer or set of customers and not the rest could certainly cause a backlash in today's society, but it wasn't that Richard did it often (or at least, he didn't think he did it often enough). It was just something he wanted to do, to ensure that he'd get a customer to return to the store later and maybe bring a few more mouths and wallets along with them the next time. It was a strange method of doing business, but one that has favored him from time to time, and so he felt little concern when Hafwen offered to pay. "Nonsense. I treat all my good customers with the respect they deserve and reward the ones that I feel go beyond that. You've demonstrated a certain passion and curiosity to my business and therefor I'd like you reward you for that. Is that so wrong, to reward the outstanding few over the ones that barely put forth the effort?"

Perhaps it was- after all, most customers got agitated if they felt someone was being treated better than them, but as far as Richard was concerned, those customers weren't here. He finished placing the last of the samples in the back, still sticking true to his initial offer, though he couldn't see any fault in Hafwen's offer to pay, even if it was more or less to cover her own butt and not in fear of it hurting his business. He wouldn't think ill of her for doing what she felt was right, and that only made him want to reward her all the more. "But, you do make a point, and the fact that you are willing to pay for my goods still tells me just how much you really like them. So, since you insist on paying, how about I offer you this sampler bag for half off the cost of what a regular bag would be?"

He did the math real quick in his head, and he was certain he was off, but it would have short changed him instead, so he wasn't too concern. He was certain that he'd make up the loss come Valentine's Day, or through this one's sparkling reviews. "So, would $6.00 do? I can still shave off a dollar if that seems a bit pricey, though."