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Post by CLAUDIUS CHANDLER on Nov 21, 2011 17:02:00 GMT -5
Claudius saw Hector's exasperated look and inwardly shrugged it off; he'd seen it enough times before. He sometimes had to wonder, though, why he put up with that look and Hector's put-downs. Why should he, Claudius freaking Chandler, CEO of Hamlet Enterprises, have to put up with that?
He realized his mannerisms irked Hector at the best of times; they had been friends for over twenty years, enough time to recognize each others flaws. But it seemed Claudius had yet to realize how those same mannerisms and habits (like the drinking, the clubbing...everything he did, really) could have a negative effect on Hector - more specifically Hector in his current position. Being seen drinking in a club like this - even being seen at a club like this in and of itself - was enough to damage his carefully crafted reputation as Mayor.
More to the point, it was as though Claudius was so overly concerned with Harry's acting crazy and bringing the company name to ruin that he had forgotten what harm his own actions could do - either that or he figured he was brilliant enough (in his words) to charm his way out of any sticky situation he would most likely land himself in.
All this being said: why was Hector still friends with Claudius?
Claudius would have simply answered it was because he was awesome. That wouldn't just be the alcohol talking but his overinflated ego.
"But couldn't you at least have chosen something less...distasteful?"
Claudius glanced from the shot glasses littering the bar in front of him to the club, as though he was attempting to riddle out just how distasteful this place was. This having been considered he replied, with an airy shrug;
"I probably could've chosen worse."
This being said he returned his attention to the shot glasses, surprisingly nonchalant having just said what he had.
"How many of these have I had?"
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Post by MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI on Dec 1, 2011 23:05:12 GMT -5
Hector swirled his cooling coffee thoughtfully. There was a way he could spin this to his advantage if he were caught. Claudius Chandler was a notorious hedonist. A reformation story would always be nice. The public ate up stupid humanitarian crap like that. Mayor Hector Tormei tries to help long time friend break bad habits, takes him for one last outing before the re cooperation starts.
If he played this all right, Hector would come out smelling like roses.
Relatively happy with that idea, Hector gulped down the rest of his coffee and waved the bartender over for a refill and placed an order for fried mozzarella. Hector looked over at Claudius.
"How many of these have I had?"
"Too many. Slow down. If you pass out, I'm leaving you here." Hector warned flatly though there was no real threat in his tone. It was understood that Hector would leave Claudius's expensive ass stranded if he passed out, a long term agreement between them. Hector didn't want to deal with that so he didn't.
In fact, he was sure that Claudius felt the same way.
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Post by CLAUDIUS CHANDLER on Dec 2, 2011 20:24:36 GMT -5
"Too many. Slow down. If you pass out, I'm leaving you here.
Despite the fact this had been a long standing agreement between the pair of them, an agreement that had lasted for years, as a matter of fact, it seemed the alcohol was having its effect in that Claudius couldn't (or didn't want to) recall it. That and he had failed to recognize the lack of an actual threat in Hector's flat tone.
"You wouldn't..." he muttered. He would have picked up another glass just to spite Hector but seemed to have heeded at least part of his warning. Instead of downing another shot of alcohol he returned his attention to the stage. He didn't particularly want to reach the passing out part of getting drunk...not just yet at least.
No, for now he was content with his current intoxication level and his current observations. Had he known the ideas in Hector's mind of a reformation story he would not have been so calm and collected, but as things stood he was feeling rather pleased with himself.
ooc: The liqueur chocolates did not help my Claudius muse much; I'm sorry. XD
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Post by MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI on Jan 1, 2012 0:16:40 GMT -5
The fried mozzarella was served in the next moment and Hector dug in. He was a man of many vices (many vices indeed) but fried cheese was at the top of his list. Now, he knew he wasn't a spring chicken any more but he was allowed to indulge every once and a while. And when he was dealing with Claudius, he was allowed to over indulge just to get through the evening.
Which, really, when fried food was enough to tie him over instead of booze, that was a good thing.
"Claudius, have you ever thought about straightening yourself out? I've heard that being sober is a hoot." Hector took a drink from his refilled coffee and smiled. He polished off one cheese stick and started in on the next. "It wouldn't hurt to try and fix yourself up a bit. You aren't getting any younger and if you keep going at this rate you'll die from liver failure."
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Post by CLAUDIUS CHANDLER on Jan 1, 2012 3:23:55 GMT -5
"Claudius, have you ever thought about straightening yourself out? I've heard that being sober is a hoot."
Claudius turned in his chair to face Hector, smirking at the absurdity of his friend's observation yet inwardly trying to discern just what Hector meant by what he had said. And there Claudius had been thinking he and Hector were out for a night of drunkenness and debauchery as usual. He hated to admit, even in his somewhat alcohol addled state, that not being drunk almost all the time would be an advantage, particularly in terms of business. Not that he ever imbibed at work. Ever. Well...there was that one incident when...
The CEO shook his head, which must have looked to Hector like an answer to his query. Fair enough. It was true at least; Claudius had never considered it. He was of a 'work hard, play hard' mentality and until now Hector never seemed to have that much of a problem with it.
"It wouldn't hurt to try and fix yourself up a bit. You aren't getting any younger and if you keep going at this rate you'll die from liver failure."
Claudius flinched as though Hector had struck him. The egotist in him was offended at Hector's insinuation about his age, the optimist in him had never considered the consequences of his foolhardy actions and his conscience didn't appreciate the mention of death. He took a moment to riddle of which of these concerns to voice before speaking, his voice a great deal quieter and more sombre than usual.
"I'm only forty four Hector..."
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Post by MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI on Jan 7, 2012 1:51:19 GMT -5
“Claudius, whether you want to accept it or not, you’re middle aged.” Hector said, clapping Claudius’s shoulder comfortingly, giving it a solid squeeze before gobbling down more fried cheese. His own hair was starting to grey at the temples and he was also in that middle age range. Hector was fine with it, he looked at growing older was as beneficial as aging for wine. The longer it was in the barrel, the smoother, more satisfying it was. Hector knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was a far better man now than he had been twenty years ago.
Once he had some food on his stomach, Hector ordered himself a beer and finally felt like he was starting to relax a little. He turned around and leaned his elbows on the bar, using the change in position to face Claudius more.
“There’s nothing wrong with getting older,” Hector said in a matter of fact tone. “If anything, it’s a good thing. Look at me. Look at where I was when I was his age.” Hector pointed to a young man who was quite obviously enjoying the show on stage. “And look at where I am now. Aging is a good thing. You just have to take care of yourself a little more.” Hector hoped that the unspoken offer of helping Claudius take care of himself was understood.
Hector glanced at the stage and rolled his eyes. It wasn’t at all an enticing sight. “Are you honestly enjoying this?” Hector motioned to the stage.
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Post by CLAUDIUS CHANDLER on Jan 7, 2012 3:52:54 GMT -5
“Claudius, whether you want to accept it or not, you’re middle aged.”
These words did nothing to improve Claudius's suddenly sombre mood, nor did Hector's intended-to-be-comforting clap on the shoulder. If anything, Hector's matter of fact attitude to getting older made the whole concept worse. How, Claudius wondered, could Hector be so...calm, in the face of all this?
He would have replied in the negative for the sake of having something to say, before coming to the conclusion it would sound childish. Claudius Chandler was not childish. He wasn't middle aged, though. He couldn't be. Not yet.
As if to prove his point, Claudius downed another shot before returning his attention to Hector and his example once more. He wanted to be like that young man, yet here he sat, getting a pep talk from his old drinking buddy. If this was middle-age, Claudius didn't like it.
"...You just have to take care of yourself a little more.”
"Are you trying to say I have a problem?" Claudius said at last, in a manner more snappy than before.
“Are you honestly enjoying this?"
"Of course I-" Claudius began, before the realization began to dawn on him that he was lying to himself. He hadn't been paying the stage any attention, focussed instead on drinking as many shots as he could so as to drown his economic woes. He sighed, looking down at his shot glass rather than up at Hector's face.
"No," he mumbled. "Not really."
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Post by MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI on Jan 7, 2012 18:00:36 GMT -5
"Are you trying to say I have a problem?"
Hector didn’t answer right away. Yes, Claudius had a problem. He whored around, giving every bottle of booze the attention he would give a lover. He was an alcoholic; he had been an alcoholic for a long time now. Hector looked over at Claudius and nodded.
“We both know you do.” Hector said evenly, sipping his beer.
Even two old friends such as them didn’t like talking about all their short comings. Claudius was a drunk and a notoriously immature brat at times, Hector was secretive and had a nasty temper.
They certainly weren’t friends only in good times.
Hector finished his beer and carefully reached over, plucking the shot glass out of Claudius’s hands. “Let’s get out of here and go somewhere more interesting.” Hector said in the same, controlled tone. If he was going to let Claudius force a boy’s night out on him, they might as well enjoy it. “I know a men’s club that’s open. We can go there.” Hector stood up from his seat on the bar stool and fished out his wallet, flipping it open and counting out the bill.
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Post by CLAUDIUS CHANDLER on Jan 8, 2012 6:16:39 GMT -5
“We both know you do.”
Claudius nodded. He knew he had a problem, he just hated to admit it. No-one liked admitting their failings, and Claudius Chandler was no exception. He was a wealthy and successful man, powerful and still handsome enough to attract his fair share of women. It didn't do to admit he often acted like an immature selfish child and had an alcohol problem.
As Hector plucked the shot glass from his hands, ordinarily Claudius would have protested. But as things stood he was glad to have it forcibly removed from him; that was the sort of treatment he needed from Hector.
“Let’s get out of here and go somewhere more interesting. I know a men’s club that’s open. We can go there.”
"Got it," Claudius said with another nod, getting to his feet and extracting his own wallet to pay his share - the least he could do at this point.
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Post by MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI on Jan 9, 2012 16:37:21 GMT -5
Hector had been expecting a bit more of a fight from Claudius but was glad when he didn't. A quietly resigned Claudius Chandler was a new thing for Hector. Not that it was a bad thing, necessarily, just surprising. Hector started to pull on and adjust his jacket, polishing off the last cheese stick.
"It's a dry club so you'll have to make do with soda or something." Hector shrugged and helped Claudius get himself together. To get Claudius started on sobering up, Hector decided that this evening would be his last night out for drinking to be drunk.
From here on out, Claudius would no longer be a booze soaked CEO. He would be an executive who was in charge of his faculties at all times. Chandler Enterprises would become even more successful with a functioning leader at the helm.
Not to mention the fact that Hector could probably use it to squeeze some charity work from Claudius and he would look like a saint.
Hector nodded to the bartender and took Claudius by the arm, carefully leading him out so he didn't trip. "Let's get you sobered up, buddy."
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Post by CLAUDIUS CHANDLER on Jan 10, 2012 16:56:48 GMT -5
Hector was right to be surprised at the quietly resigned Claudius Chandler - if one was to judge from the man's usual over-exuberance he might have been so riled up as to start a shouting match right there in the club, or worse. But as the case stood, the very notion of being middle aged had been enough to sober Claudius up...as the phrase went, at any rate.
"It's a dry club so you'll have to make do with soda or something."
Claudius nodded morosely and got down off his bar stool, staggering just a little in the process before putting on his jacket (though getting his right arm in the sleeve took three attempts).
As Hector took him by the arm and began to lead him out of the club Claudius did not protest. It seemed he couldn't decide whether to look down at his shoes or up at Hector, eventually deciding the former was preferable as the considerable height difference between himself and his good friend wasn't making him feel any better.
"If it's a dry club," Claudius said eventually, as though he'd been giving the matter a great deal of thought, hence his unusual lapse into silence. "Does that mean they won't let me bring this in?" And so saying he extracted a hip flask from the inside pocket of his jacket, with a surprisingly sheepish expression on his face.
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Post by MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI on Jan 12, 2012 14:50:58 GMT -5
Hector let Claudius get his own jacket on, keeping a hand out to steady him if he needed it. He wasn’t going to baby Claudius though; he was there to help him, not coddle him. Once his jacket was on though, Hector helped Claudius out of the club and down its front steps while flagging down his driver. He adjusted his own coat and was texting the club to let them know that they should expect two guests when Claudius pulled out his flask and held it up sheepishly. Hector had a private room at the club that he wanted to make sure was available.
Hector looked at the flask then at Claudius, his expression somber and just a bit sad. Claudius should have gotten help ages ago, before it got so bad. Hector took the flask and tucked it into his coat’s inner pocket. “I’ll keep ahold of that for you.” He said simply, motioning for Claudius to get into his car. “We’ll get your car tomorrow after your blood alcohol level is down.”
Hector got into the car after Claudius and shut the door, giving his driver the address to the private club. As they started to pull away, Hector helped himself to a cigarette. The stress of fixing Claudius wasn’t too hard to handle, it was seeing how it was affection Claudius.
Claudius Chandler used to be his own man, taking no prisoners, living life happy and exuberant. In less than twenty minutes, that Claudius disappeared. To say it was unsettling was an understatement.
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Post by CLAUDIUS CHANDLER on Jan 12, 2012 16:35:55 GMT -5
The expression on Hector's face as he looked at the flask Claudius held made the CEO feel, for once in his life, incredibly ashamed. This treatment he was receiving from Hector, this reality check - he needed this. He needed to know how his continual drunken stupor had, for the last twenty years, been a controlling factor in their friendship. Hector had always put up with it but now he had had enough - now it was the time for it to stop.
This realization of just how out of control his drinking had become, coupled with the realization of the potential consequences accounted for Claudius' sudden and strangely sombre mood. His drinking had led to some ridiculous and unforgivable behaviour over the years, yet Hector had always been there to clean up the mess. He had helped, more than Claudius' current mixture of shame and gratitude could recall. In the drunk times and the sober times, and with decisions far more difficult and dangerous than which bar to hit.
Whether or not to murder one's older brother for example.
Had that too been an unforgivable consequence of Claudius' alcoholism?
No, it couldn't have been - things had gotten steadily worse ever since the murder of Hamlet Senior.
Having practically crawled into the car, Claudius sat surprisingly still, looking dead ahead, ashen faced, as he thought all this over. He didn't just feel ashamed, he realized. He felt...guilty. Guilty for the way he'd treated Hector. Not guilty for the murder. No, he didn't feel guilty about that. He didn't. He didn't. He didn't.
At length, he managed to mumble, voice slurred more with emotion than the drink; "'M sorry..."
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Post by MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI on Jan 12, 2012 18:22:05 GMT -5
Hector settled into his seat in the car, regaining his usual composure with a small amount of adjusting. The coat was smoothed down over his legs, his tie straightened, and his legs were crossed. Even though he had slipped back into his Don mentality and persona, Hector was still Claudius's friend. It was one of the oddities about their friendship. When Hector was a business man, a mayor, a mafioso, or just a man, he was Claudius Chandler's best and, let's be honest, only friend. The only difference was how much control Hector had.
And this was one of those times when Hector thought that having a good bit of control would be a good thing. Claudius had been rocked by this, he could tell. It was upsetting everything the CEO knew for certain and Hector almost felt guilty for destroying Claudius's perception.
Almost.
He found it difficult to be feel guilty for practically saving his best friend's life.
Hector rolled down the window a bit so he could deposit his cigarette ash there. He was expecting to ride in silence but, once again, Claudius exceeded his expectations.
"'M sorry..."
Hector looked over at Claudius and nodded, patting his knee. "It's alright. No apology required." Claudius didn't have to apologize for being a drunk. It was a disease, it was something that he couldn't control. And he certainly didn't have to apologize to Hector. Hector hadn't had to do anything for him. It had all been voluntary. Hector looked out for his own, after all.
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Post by CLAUDIUS CHANDLER on Jan 13, 2012 16:04:57 GMT -5
The gesture Hector imparted, not to mention his words, surprised Claudius. He hadn't come to expect such kind and, dare he say it, caring behaviour from the man. True, Hector was his best and (he had to admit) only true friend, yet as far as Claudius recalled the pair of them had never been on such terms before now.
"It's alright. No apology required."
Claudius shook his head vigorously, as if Hector's words had broken him out of his stasis before realizing that the gesture was giving him a headache. Or maybe that was the drink. Or both.
"Ish not alrigh' though," Claudius replied, the slur of his words now most probably from the alcohol. "I's been a rubbish friend...for twenny years..."
He paused, as if reflecting on his own words, head lowered in a mixture of shame and exhaustion, before he spoke again, surprisingly vehemently despite the effect the alcohol was having on his voice.
"God, Hector, I'm such a...an idiot."
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