{ Sway With Me -Phe-

[estella]

Stell was, in all meanings,a business woman. She had money, knew how to make it, and new how to keep it. Her possessions were kept well in their best shapd, but certainly not wasted.Stell preferred to use her her things at least once, if it was found useless she would rid herself of the item and find something better. "I don't find the need to keep things just for the sake of being pretty. Pretty takes space that can be used for something better," she'd once told a maid as she worked through her house. She kept any friends with that same regard, preferring they had some use. It just so happened that the girl she was waiting for now had always been very useful in the years she had known her, which was why she continued to be so patient. The brunette held a fondness for Phe that was quite rare, something she didn't give others. It would be within her to trust a woman who she knew to be a liar.

Stell had already become the sight of the evening, as always. Wearing a simple black dress that's collar plunged low, giving a teasing glimpse of her cleavage. The dress ended inches before reaching her knees, showing the fine curve of rear that sat neatly in the booth seat. Long chocolate hair fell down her shoulders in a sleek tumble of waves. Her most noticeable and daunting feature had to be the pair of striking blue orbs that focused on nothing in particular.

The woman lifted the glass filled with rum and ice to her lips and took a small sip. While this meeting was meant for two friends to catch up it also served a higher purpose of Stell finding important news Phe may have heard and possibly catch the young woman's attention. In part Estella would do the same. She stood once those electric hues caught site of her friend, purring out a silky greeting. "Phe, it's good to see you." she said, her tone velvet. "I hope you don't mind that I found us a place a little more... private."

[phephe]

When Stell calls, Phe answers. That's just how it goes and has always gone. She had gotten the other woman's message on her way home, taking the opportunity to go into her studio apartment, quickly change and leave again. Most other people and Phe may not have changed or pulled her usual trick of taking her shirt off from under her waistcoat, but this was Stell and she just couldn't do that to her. The blacks and deep reds of the day had been exchanged for the blacks and deep fuchsias of the evening, which she now adorned in the form of a shortish dress, largely deep fuchsia coloured with a black swirled motif over the pattern, a strategically placed belt around her middle and a relatively standard pair of black heels to counterbalance her usual shortness. It didn't take long for her to get from her apartment to the designated meeting place, knowing the place rather well making it a lot easier to get to. She looked around, spotting her friend easily and crossing the room towards her.

It was in the moment before she reached her friend, taking in her appearance that made Phe realise she still had her hair up from work, quickly snatching the pins from her hair and shaking it out. She smiled at her friend's greeting as she tucked her pins into her little handbag. “Good to see you too, Stell,” she replied. The funny thing with Phe and Stell was that Stell knew all about Phe's double life and she was one of the few people that hadn't misjudged her over it. Phe had been open about the lies from the start, justifying it in so much that 'lawyer' kind of rhymes with 'liar,' right? She shook her head quickly. “No, no, this place is great and definitely a change from our usual...venue,” she replied with a smirk. Stell had a firm business head, but she was also a big part of Phe's social life. She settled herself into the booth seat opposite Stell, eyeing her friend's drink while she considered what to get for herself. She nodded at the drink. “What's in there?” she questioned, weighing up her options.

[estella]

Stell nodded and slipped into her seat once more, pleasantries given, and watched her friend warmly. "I wanted to find someplace peaceful, and I hear they have good food here." She'd always had a taste for chinese food, as it was. At the comment she took her glass and shook it around, watching the amber liquid swirl around. "Rum, my dear, sadly I didn't have a taste for wine tonight." she replied.

The brunnette took the moment to let her eyes wander over her friend's body and outfit, no lust flashed in those icey hues, just the satisfaction of finding a friend who was equally dazzling in her looks. "It has been too long, we must meet more often." she commented, bottom lips pulling out into a pout. If she ever had a best friend Phe would be it, the only one Stell actually told her childhood to, and what her adoptive mother had wanted to believe. She even seemed able to make sense of Stell's odd way of thinking.

[phephe]

Phe half smiled at her friend as she walked her sitting down again and began to speak. She nodded in agreement and confirmation. “Yeah, some place peaceful sounds great about now,” she replied in nearly a mutter as she looked around. She scowled slightly in thought, returning her gaze to her friend. “I don't think I've ever eaten in here before,” she began in a continuation of a reply to her friend's words. “I just knew this place was here and I've read good things about it. A few of the guys at the office come down here a lot by the sounds of things,” she finished, recollecting a few of the pieces of conversation she had happened to hear when waiting to get coffee on more than one occasion. “We should go to the Japanese place round the corner sometime,” she went on to say. “They have great saké,” she added enthusiastically, grinning brightly.

She wrinkled her nose at the idea of drinking rum, but not in a bad way. “Alright then, Sparrow,” she joked, emphasising the name, gesturing to a passing member of staff, quickly ordering the same as Stell. She shrugged as returned her attention back to her friend. “You know me, never much of a taste for wine unless it's the only thing on offer,” she commented with a smirk. Wine was such a formal drink in her mind. It was such a business type drink, not in the formal sense, but...yeah, it made sense to her. She mirrored her friend's pout after the other woman spoke. “I know,” she began, adjusting slightly in her seat as her drink arrived, thanking the bringer quickly. “It still feels like I'm trying to put everything back together, you know?” she questioned in response, her brain rapidly flicking through everything that she still needed to do.

[estella]

Stell licked her lips, tasting the remanints of the drink that now lined the glossy skin. "I've been here once before and must admit that the critics do it justice. The food is good, the drinks are fantastic, and the service is rather decent." Stell was a picky person, a fact that Phe would know well enough, so her praise was one that couldn't be taken lightly. She nodded at her friend, the warmth in her normally cold hues was very reserved, "We must meet there next time." she agreed.

The woman rolled her eyes, smirking as well. "You know I like my rum," she replied, her voice teasing with her nex words as Phe ordered the same. "Now look who's talking, and of course, our get togethers hardly need to be formal." She frowned and clicked her tongue, eyes flashing sadly, always an open window to her soul. "If only things could be as easy as they were years ago," she agreed. "I've been thinking of selling the old Manor." Like always Phe would be the first to hear of this thought.

[phephe]

Phe nodded as she listened to Stell speaking about the place they were currently sitting in. She had known from Stell's suggestion of coming to this place that it would be good. Stell was picky, Phe knew that, so she knew to expect a really good evening. “I knew the drinks and service for such were good, like I say, never eaten here before,” she replied with a slight shrug. She nodded enthusiastically when Stell said they should meet there next time. “Oh, we really should,” she began, bouncing slightly in her seat. “Nice hot saké on a cold day is just so...perfect,” she added with a grin, a slight, excited shiver running down her spin at the thought of it. She grinned at her friend's comment about rum. “Oh, I know,” she replied, smirking and winking playfully at her friend. She poked her tongue out at Stell when she gave her a little dig about ordering the same.

“Don't you mean they're hardly ever formal, Stell?” she questioned, smirk still shaping her lips. Phe saw the change in her friend's eyes, which caused her smirk to dissolve from her face, nodding in agreement. “Yeah...if only things were that simple...” she muttered in response. Years ago, things had been so clear cut for Phe, yet, now, everything was starting to blur together and it was hard to tell what she was supposed to do. She lifted her gaze as someone came by their table with her drink, nodding thankfully at them and taking a sip before setting the glass down on the table before her. She raised an eyebrow at her friend when she mentioned selling the manor. “Selling it?” she said, in a slightly higher pitch than she had intended, surprised by Stell's apparently quite sudden idea. “You can't sell it,” she insisted, levelling her tone again.

She cleared her throat, making sure she would have a levelled out tone before continuing to speak. “If you're gonna do anything, you should restore it, then we could go live there and give Harry Chandler a run for his money,” she explained with another wink. She wasn't sure why his name of all the names she knew was the first example that had come out of her mouth. He had an inclination for the ways of the party animal, but so did a lot of other big name New Yorkers. “Although, if you must sell it, sell it to me,” she added enthusiastically. The manor was up in Rhode Island, so it wasn't exactly that far away from New York and it would be a sound investment either way. If Stell chose to restore it, Phe knew she'd invest her time and money in helping out. If Stell chose to sell it, Phe would make sure she was the highest bidder.