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 Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2019 12:31 pm
 With a nod of the head Joseph waved the other man out and turned to the computer, but not before a small smirk appeared on his face at the others comment "Indeed...until then Mr. Lafayette" he spoke as the other man closed the door to his office. With that all settled and done the CEO would begin to answer a few unimportant emails he received and took one more call before the end of the work day for himself and the other employees. Normally Joseph would stay until much later in the evening to clean up a couple of things, however since he now had an engagement later on he'd actually have to leave for work at a proper time. Before leaving Joseph would pull up Erik's file and studied his home address before finally punching out and leaving the building. Apparently much to the surprise of several employee's he walked past. He had some classical music playing on the drive home and once he arrived he didn't bother pulling into his garage as he'd be leaving soon enough. Joseph would head inside and stared at the pots and plate he'd left there the night before. He would roll up the sleeves of his suit and went about washing the dishes, his stylist would be foaming at the mouth if she caught him doing something like this in one of her tailor made suits. Not that he cared mind you. Finally once that was done Joseph made his way upstairs and stripped out of his suit, dress pants, and tie. He made sure to fold each item nicely before then placing it in the pile of other suits that he'd need to get dry cleaned soon enough. As this was a casual meeting Joseph would open his closet door to realize that he didn't own any casual clothing, at least in the shirt department. All that he owned were pieces to suits and semi professional button ups which made Joseph remember that he hadn't actually 'gone out' in a very long time. In the end Joseph pulled out the most basic shirt he could find which ended up being an impeccable black button, good for semi formal occasions. Not the best but it was what he had. Then came the issue of pants but he at least had the common sense to own...at least one pair of jeans? He thought so at least. He did find them buried deep in the back of the closet but there they were, dark blue and nothing remarkable about them. So Joseph would get dressed, sliding into the jeans before realizing that they were rather snug. He was a bit scrawnier when he first started measly Myers but it wasn't awful by any means. Then came the shirt and he left the last two buttons undone simply because he wasn't going to be putting on a tie for once and it felt slightly odd actually. Still though he ran a comb through his hair, spritzed some cologne and was out the door, getting into his black convertible and drove off. It wasn't a long drive actually, much quicker than he thought because he was soon sitting outside of the address he memorized earlier and pulled into the driveway and shut the car off for a moment before walking up to the front door. Joseph knew he was actually ten or so minutes early, he'd heavily miscalculated the time it would take to drive. He supposed it was because he was counting of traffic that wasn't there, the CEO forgot it was a Monday and nobody was going out on Mondays. He would reach out and ring the doorbell and waited as he stared a hole into the door with nothing better to do. (OOC: )
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Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2019 12:53 pm
 Here we stand or here we fall
History won't care at all
Make the bed, light the light
Lady Mercy won't be home tonight ※Erik Lafayette※ Erik was in the middle of wrestling his other Converse sneaker back from his cat when the door rang. He sighed heavily and glanced at Antoinette who had some how tangled herself in the laces and looked at him with a small meow as if asking for help. He scooped the cat into his arms and opened the door. "Come on in I'll just be another minute," he explained ",someone decided that today was the day she was going to destroy my Converse and now she is tangled in them. Mister Meyers meet Antoinette." The cat in his arms was purring despite her tangled state and her tail was swishing languidly. She let out another small meow as if to voice her irritation that no one was petting her. It mainly looked like Erik was holding a white and gray ball of fluff that happened to be wrapped in a shoe lace in his arms. He made his way to the couch and set the cat in his lap as he began detangling her. She let out another meow at him and he bit back the urge to talk to her like a petulant child. No, no acting like a crazy cat person in front of your boss. His apartment wasn't large but it wasn't small. Most of his furniture was simple, black pieces one could find almost anywhere save for the obviously pricey black leather sofa and the large floor to ceiling bookshelf that was filled to it's max. You don't waste no time at all
Don't hear the bell but you answer the call
It comes to you as to us all
Yeah, we're just waiting for the hammer to fall, yeah
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Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2019 1:20 pm
Joseph wasn't able to stare a hole in the door for long as it was eventually opened for him to see his employee standing there holding an extremely fluffy cat tangled in shoelaces. This was not what he was expecting to see when the door first opened to say the least. With an affirming grunt Joseph entered into the others house and quickly took in the surroundings of the others home "Sorry for arriving so early, my trip was mistimed" Joseph knew that it could come off as rude and downright inconvenient to arrive as early as he did but he was there now and there was nothing he could do about it. Meanwhile he would look around to see that the building was rather average sized and to be honest knowing what he did about Erik it was kind of what he thought it would be. Granted it was nice to see the other man did at least have some good taste with the leather sofa but what caught his attention more was the bookshelf. Joseph had his own bookshelf in the living room as well as a reading room when he wanted nothing but silence. It was quite an impressive collection to say the least. So while Erik began to untangle his admittingly adorable cat Joseph would stroll over to the bookcase and scan some of the titles that were currently there. In the CEO's opinion if the person was a reader then you could learn a lot about them from the kind of books they read. Joseph himself was more of a mystery novel lover with Agatha Christie being one of his favorite writers of all time. They were the only book series that had him coming back time and time again, granted the classic Sherlock Holmes was also a very nice read as well. Soon enough Joseph caught sight of one particular book that stood out and took it off the shelf and read the title before quirking an eyebrow a bit as he turned to the glossary and then the first chapter to see the first few lines. (OOC: )
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Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2019 1:37 pm
Here we stand or here we fall
History won't care at all
Make the bed, light the light
Lady Mercy won't be home tonight ※Erik Lafayette※ "Oh you're fine," Erik said ",she does this every time I leave the house." He watched Joseph from his peripheral as he looked through his books. He had quite an extensive collection as it was one of the few hings he didn't mind using his parent's money for. Quite a few of them were first editions including his much beloved copy of Frankenstein. He had the complete works of William Shakespeare along with several large volumes of poetry. Though there were some more modern novels in the mix, he had almost everything Stephen King had ever written. He noticed Joseph pick up a book and flip it open though from where he was seated he couldn't see which it was. He finished entangling his cat from her self made shoelace mess and she rushed forward to nuzzle him. Erik ultimately wound up sputtering after he essentially got a mouth full of her fur. She then proceeded to cover his shirt in more of her hair. "Really," he mumbled to her ",why do you insist on doing this every time. I will never understand how something so adorable can be such a pain." He picked up the cat and set her on the floor where she made her displeasure of the act known with a series of loud pointed meows. He stood up and rolled off his clothes again before yanking on his shoes. You don't waste no time at all
Don't hear the bell but you answer the call
It comes to you as to us all
Yeah, we're just waiting for the hammer to fall, yeah
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Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2019 1:09 pm
Joseph stood by and let his employee continue to try and untangle his cat from his shoelaces. It was rather amusing to say the least how little the animal actually seemed to care about her current situation and as he held the book he nodded his head "It seems Antoinette is rather clingy" he stated without looking up from the book in his hands. He was at least thankful the other man didn't mind his early arrival, it would have been rather inconvenient if the other man was still in the early stages of getting ready. As he flipped the pages it was then that he realized that the book he was holding was a copy of Romeo & Juliet which caused Joseph to roll his eyes a bit "I haven't read Romeo & Juliet since high school...it was awful" he stated with an indifferent tone although he continued to flip one page after another. He understood the point of the story, one of young and impulsive love between two people who should never get together. Joseph just found the entire tale to be heavily overrated and given more praise than it actually deserved. But who was he to argue about the quality of classic literature? When Joseph heard Erik begin to sputter he tore his gaze away from the book to stare at the younger man as he spoke to his cat, whom seemed less than thrilled over being put onto the ground. Joseph remained quiet as he pointedly stared at Erik, the CEO found it rather amusing how cat people interacted with their pets and spoke to them like people. With how amusing it was you'd think that he'd crack a smile but nope, poker faced as usual. Just as Joseph was about to speak he saw the fluffy white ball of fur begin to approach him and Joseph's gaze narrowed in on the cat as she stared up at him "Don't even think about it" he spoke directly to the cat. He was wearing black and there was no way in hell he'd let this cute ball of fur shed all over him! When he saw the cat begin to rear up Joseph quickly placed the book back on the shelf and walked away, only for the cat to follow him "Antoinette needs to not be so open to strangers...." (OOC: )
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Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2019 9:45 pm
Here we stand or here we fall
History won't care at all
Make the bed, light the light
Lady Mercy won't be home tonight ※Erik Lafayette※ Erik nodded his head at Joseph's comment about his cat being clingy. She was practically attached to him when he was home, she followed him quite literally everywhere. He did glance up at the comment about Romeo and Juliet. "That's one of my favorites," he chuckled ",but I can understand it isn't for everyone. My ex used to say I was a disgustingly hopeless romantic so it's only natural I'd like it. Though to be fair I just love Shakespeare in general." He was well aware most people though Romeo and Juliet was highly overrated but it didn't offend him. No, he was quite used to it actually. Erik snickered as he watched his cat follow Joseph. He could see how much she wanted to rub up against his pant leg. He was also fairly impressed that Joseph managed to avoid her. He glanced back up as Joseph as he finished tying his shoes and smirked. "She can't help that she wants all the love," he chuckled ",I say all the time her favorite type of person is one with hands who's willing to pet her. She's an overly affectionate ball of fluff. I'm probably to blame for that."You don't waste no time at all
Don't hear the bell but you answer the call
It comes to you as to us all
Yeah, we're just waiting for the hammer to fall, yeah
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Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2019 11:53 pm
Joseph resisted rolling his eyes a little bit when his employee admitted that Romeo & Juliet was his favorite. Of course it was the favorite of many people around the world and while it made for an interesting read he'd probably never see the appeal in it. Although when the other man admitted to being a hopeless romantic Joseph nodded his head and let out a small affirming noise "That would explain it rather well" it certainly was a story for those of a more romantic disposition. Of course he then nodded his head "I would agree, Shakespeare is a good read. I'm more partial to Macbeth myself" he would admit that the CEO did enjoy the stories progression as well as how it was written in general. Though the older man would begin to awkwardly step around the cat as best he could to avoid letting the animal rub against him, one rub and it would all somehow end up on his shirt. He knew it would happen. But the cat was insistent to and Joseph was running out of places to walk and step around as she was somehow managing to corner him, Joseph Myers. CEO of Measly Myers was being outsmarted by a cat. Finally Joseph sighed and quickly changed his step to move towards Erik "I'm wearing black so can we please get a move on?" he tried to be as polite about it as he could. It wasn't that he hated cats, quite the opposite actually but it was just that it was a shedding white cat and wearing dark colors was not a smart idea in the long run. Maybe he should have gone with a white button up instead. Nonetheless he managed to make his way over to the door and held it open a crack so that he and Erik could leave when he was ready. (OOC: )
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Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 12:13 am
Here we stand or here we fall
History won't care at all
Make the bed, light the light
Lady Mercy won't be home tonight ※Erik Lafayette※ Erik bit down on his cheek as he watched his boss evade his rather persistent cat. It took every bit of will power he had not to laugh at the scene in front of him. He stood and pocketed his keys and his wallet around the time Joseph asked for him to pick up the pace. He nodded as he grabbed his jacket off the back of the couch and hastily made his way to the door. "My bad," he apologized ",I should have warned you about her. Sorry, I'm ready." He slung his jacket on and smiled as he made quick work of turning off the light. The black hoodie was easily two sizes two large on him and the thought struck him briefly that it must have been his ex's. Hmm guess he left it. Mine now. He ushered himself and Joseph out of the door before making sure all three of his locks were secure behind him. Many said he was overly paranoid but it wasn't with out good reason. His family had just as many enemies as they did connections and his ex was insane. He still had the text messages from when they broke up and he'd threatened all kinds of horrid things from setting Erik's home on fire, killing his cat to far more perverse acts. He'd had a friend try more than once to convince him to go to the police but he didn't. He assumed the problem would have ended after he was fired but he still received them sometimes though now they had changed. His ex would get drunk and text him trying to hook up then get angry when he was turned down. He checked the door one last time before turning back to Joseph. "Let's go," he said with a small grin ",I'm starving.You don't waste no time at all
Don't hear the bell but you answer the call
It comes to you as to us all
Yeah, we're just waiting for the hammer to fall, yeah
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Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 12:55 am
When Erik finally began to finish getting ready Joseph couldn't have been more thankful because having a cat chase him around a house was not what he considered fun. Joseph then shook his head a bit at the others apology as he began to gather his things "Nonsense, it's fine. I like Cats, it's just that..." he would take a wide step over the animal in question "I'm not keen on cat hair is all..." Finally once they were outside Joseph didn't pay too much mind to the other man as he locked several locks on his door, everyone had their own idea of home security after all. Granted the CEO couldn't imagine who'd come after Erik for any reason besides maybe money. He'd then walk over and pressed a button on the controller as his convertible to open the car doors and motioned for the other man to enter. With that he'd hop in and pull the car door down and put the key in the ignition before bringing the vehicle to life and Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata soon began to play over the speakers. Joseph was a fan of classical music and enjoyed hearing it as he drove, it helped relax him a bit "If you don't like the music then feel free to change it if you like" he might have preferred it but since Erik was the guest in his car he'd allow the other man to change the music if he so desired. As he drove Joseph knew that the pizza place was across town so it would take a few minutes to get there so casual conversation could help. But then...what could he talk about? Joseph didn't do small talk usually since any meeting he had with people were always about work so what should he say now? Suddenly a question came to mind for some reason but he couldn't figure out why at first until he remembered how his PR team told him he needed to soften his image or something like that. All he knew was that they told him he was intimidating and it wasn't good for a toy company so he might as well ask the newest hire first about his thoughts "Mr. Lafayette, if I may pick your brain for a second. What was your first impression of me when we first met? Be honest, you won't get into trouble or anything" he wanted to clarify that first and foremost, Joseph knew that as the boss it might not have been the smartest to give an honest answer but it was what he wanted genuinely. (OOC: )
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Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 1:28 am
Here we stand or here we fall
History won't care at all
Make the bed, light the light
Lady Mercy won't be home tonight ※Erik Lafayette※ Erik had barely raised an eyebrow at the car in question though he did think it didn't exactly fit Joseph's image. Sleek and black he could see but the convertible part threw him for a bit of a loop. Though he really had no right to judge as he had an antique for his daily driver. He wasn't surprised to hear classical music coming through it's speakers. It brought a small smile to his face as he remembered the hours he'd spent with a pricey music teacher at learning the piano at the request of his mother. "I don't mind classical," he answered honestly and left it alone. He would have been content to ride in silence, lost in his own thoughts but Joseph asked him a question. The question did take him a bit by surprise and he had to think about his answer before he responded. "For starters you're only four years older than me and we are outside of the office," he started ",you can call me by my first name. Now as for my first impression of you, you can come across as rather intimidating though I'm pretty sure you are aware of that fact. You seem to be a very straight laced, no non-sense business man. That's not a bad thing. Normally means you're a good boss."You don't waste no time at all
Don't hear the bell but you answer the call
It comes to you as to us all
Yeah, we're just waiting for the hammer to fall, yeah
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Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 7:20 am
As Joseph drove them closer and closer to the restaurant in question he allowed the other man to think about the question as he quietly waited. Finally when the other man did speak Joseph would blink a bit in surprise when Erik told him to call him by his first name. Slowly he nodded his head, agreeing to his request of being called by his first name. But he more attentively listened to Erik describe his first impression of him and honestly it was almost exactly as he thought "I see, so I am intimidating...interesting..." he'd never not known it but the fact that nobody ever said anything to him meant it was difficult to gauge if his self assessment was accurate or not, which it seemed to be. Joseph sighed a bit and glanced over at his guest when they came to a red light "Thank you for the honesty Mr. La...Erik..." he made sure to catch himself about using the others first name instead of being so professional. As they continued on driving Joseph would glance over to the other man beside him a couple times, finding it strange to see someone actually in the passenger seat. He'd never had anyone else ride in this car before as it was slightly newer than his other vehicle which had been with him a bit longer. This one was for warm weather driving while his other was for when the weather became a bit more chilly. Finally after some quiet driving they would arrive at the restaurant and Joseph would open the doors once again before pocketing his keys. When the finally did enter the smell of home made pizza would reach the nose as he glanced around to see a large family just packing up to leave "Hm..well it seems that Mondays are rather unpopular..." before finally the hostess greeted them and Joseph nodded towards Erik "Table for two" from there they would be lead to a table in the back before she told them their server would be right with them. Once he took a seat Joseph would look over at his companion and nodded "Well feel free to order what you like Erik, this is your night." he'd pick up the menu that the Hostess left them and he was surprised by the different pizza's they had on offer as well as other items on the menu such as pasta and...they have a wine menu? This was clearly more of an Italian restaurant than a pizza place. (OOC: )
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Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 2:03 pm
Here we stand or here we fall
History won't care at all
Make the bed, light the light
Lady Mercy won't be home tonight ※Erik Lafayette※ Erik snorted a bit when Joseph caught himself from referring to him as Mr. Lafayette. Now that Erik thought about it outside their first initial meeting he had artfully managed to call the other nothing. He wondered why Joseph particularly cared what others thought of him, he didn't strike Erik as the type to put stock into other opinions so the question struck him as odd but he let it slip. What he did notice however was the blushy smile on the young hostess's face and that she sat them at one of the nicer spots in the restaurant. He was looking over the menu when it finally hit him and he did his best to reign in he want to burst out laughing into a small snort followed by some muffled chuckles. "She thinks we're on a date," he giggled out. A rather harsh bout of laughter surged out of him causing him to snort and he covered his mouth and nose with his hand to muffle the sound. The idea struck him as hilarious mainly because he didn't think Joseph didn't seem like "dating" type. He took another moment to gather himself and contain his laughter before he turned his attention back to Joseph. "I'm sorry about that," he said after he'd caught his breath. You don't waste no time at all
Don't hear the bell but you answer the call
It comes to you as to us all
Yeah, we're just waiting for the hammer to fall, yeah
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Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 4:41 pm
Joseph would flip through the menu for a moment as he thought long and hard about what his PR team said to him. They told him to not glare as much and maybe smile a bit more, but what was the point? Smiling over nothing made people look like fools and he wasn't always glaring! At least not that he was aware of. As Joseph mulled over the advice in his mind the CEO would look up at Erik with a confused expression when he heard the other man begin a fit of chuckles and contained laughter. Was there a joke he missed? Once his employee spoke up and explained what made him laugh Joseph's face remained impassive for a moment before the tiniest of smirks quirked at the corner of his lips, it was rather amusing. Finally a small fit of chuckles erupted from before shaking his head at the other man as he rested his elbow on the table and put his cheek against his fist "No need to apologize..Erik, it's natural for such a reaction" he then glanced in the direction which the hostess vanished off too and thought on it for a moment "Two men walking into a nice restaurant like this would look like it" finally Joseph would shrug his shoulders a bit as he glanced back at his companion "Besides, we do probably look rather nice together" he'd causally state before looking down at the menu again. From market research he noted that young women and some men were becoming more and more enamored with such couplings, however it was more teenage girls and young women who favored such things and as such there was little he could do to tap into a market like that. Yet at least. Then at that moment another young woman approached and asked for drinks and Joseph would look at the menu "A bottle of Chateau Pontet red wine please" Joseph hadn't had wine in a long time and the selection from the menu was actually rather nicely varying in prices and so Joseph picked one off that sounded appealing. The woman seemed to smile a bit at the choice and scurried off causing Joseph to pause for a moment "I'm sorry, I should have asked you what you wanted. I can run her down and change the order if you'd like" this was supposed to be Erik's meal but yet there he was already ordering for them both. Letting others do things was just difficult sometimes. (OOC: )
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Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 5:21 pm
Here we stand or here we fall
History won't care at all
Make the bed, light the light
Lady Mercy won't be home tonight ※Erik Lafayette※ Now Erik prided himself on being mostly unshakeable but when Joseph made the comment about the pair of them looking nice together it caught him off guard. Well there was something I never thought I'd hear him say. He'd pegged Joseph as straight, specifically the type of straight that seemed uncomfortable as being seen as anything but strictly heterosexual. He'd already basically outed himself as gay by admitting to having a relationship with his previous employer so the idea that anyone thought he was on a date with a man didn't bother him but he was sure it would have rubbed the other the wrong way. He did have to admit to himself though that Joseph was most likely right. He wasn't blind after all, he had noticed his boss was fairly attractive, but he'd reminded himself of how he found this job in the first place and pushed the thought firmly away. He'd still been mulling over the thought when Joseph ordered the wine and almost instantly asked him about it. "No that's fine," Erik said with a small shake of his head ",I prefer red wine, I'm not overly picky as to which as long as it decent, just don't pick my meal for me and we should be fine." The last bit was intended as a joke but it was based from experience. Every time he'd went out with his ex the other would order for him, pick out what he'd wanted Erik to wear and dictated almost every other thing the two of them did. You don't waste no time at all
Don't hear the bell but you answer the call
It comes to you as to us all
Yeah, we're just waiting for the hammer to fall, yeah
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Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2019 2:59 pm
Joseph would admit that the idea of the Hostess thinking he and Erik were dating was an amusing one to say the least. The CEO would admit that he'd never actually ever been with another man but he knew that he also didn't have an aversion to the idea. He knew what he was interested in but he wasn't about to ever let himself open up like he did to his ex again. Man or woman Joseph was guarded now and in fact the idea of even humoring the idea made him feel like he needed to guard himself even more. Thankfully though Joseph's mind was distracted when the other man explained that he at least wanted to order what he wanted as a meal and Joseph nodded his head in agreement "No problem there, order whatever you want and however much you want. That idea will most definitely earn our company a lot of money, dinner is the least I can do" the least he could do was right, a kit such as that would rake in millions in just the US alone. Worldwide? He'd need a calculator and discussion with his marketing team to even get an idea of what it was gain. The wine was the first thing that was brought to them as a nice bottle was presented to the duo by their waitress who placed two wineglasses in front of them. She'd then smile a bit too brightly and ask what they'd like to order. Joseph would pause for a moment and motioned for Erik to go first "You're dinner, you order first." (OOC: )
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