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Post by Eliot Quinn on Aug 18, 2015 1:40:01 GMT
Eliot Quinn quite frankly loved his life. While he would probably never be listed on a Forbes list of the most influential men, he was the man the most influential men would call. Whether it be for their corporate holdings or for personal matters, his phone rang at 1 in the morning and it would be dealt with before sun up. He'd learned a particular ruthlessness from his father that didn't stop at the court room. Backroom deals with companies that wanted to make sure that their internal missteps were never made public, politicians with deep war chests that wanted their secrets kept buried, and lead entrepreneurs that woke up in a motel room with a hooker and enough white powder in the room to go to jail for intent to distribute - Eliot was the one to call and he enjoyed the power it gave him. The majority of the world didn't know him, but the elite of the world - the part he cared about certainly did.
Maybe that was why he was sitting in the VIP section of a crowded bar with a pretty young brunette practically in his lap and about half a dozen more standing around them, giggling as the women caught up in mundane conversation. A cocktail waitress brought over a new bottle and his scotch and he tipped her well with a wink.
"So what if Eric does find out," she asked him after a moment, referring to her fiance.
"Well, invoke your attorney-client privilege," he quipped. What he didn't say was that Eric wouldn't take him off retainer because he was with one of the best firms in the city, but he would certainly take that ring back eventually. His eyes quickly glanced past the woman looking for his friend, growing bored with pretending to listen to them chatter and hoping he could shoo them all off to the dance floor while he caught up and enjoyed the scenery with a friend.
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Post by Brandon Finn on Aug 18, 2015 1:52:16 GMT
In reality it hadn't been that long since Brandon had been out like this. These kinds of nights had long been part of his daily routine and while everything felt the same, and while he could still grin at the familiar faces as he made his way through the crowd, it all felt remarkably different. Having Amber back in his life had made an enormous difference in his feelings on these kinds of situations alone, and while he was sure that they both knew that his days of bringing home random women were behind them, he almost felt guilty for being here at all. But she had insisted and he had admitted that he could use a night out.
After greeting a few acquaintances and catching up briefly, he made his way back to the VIP section of the bar, knowing that was where he would find Eliot Quinn. He smirked at the sight of a young woman already hanging all over his friend, and the small gaggle of women that seemed to be waiting for their chance to latch on. "Already starting the party, I see."
He poured himself a glass of scotch from off of the table and took a seat in their small circle. "At least you had the decency to have the scotch ready."
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Post by Eliot Quinn on Aug 18, 2015 2:03:43 GMT
Eliot grinned and offered his hand out amicably to his friend before gesturing to the women. "Ladies, this is a very good friend of mine, Brandon Finn. Brandon, this is Jaime, she is an aide for one of the companies i represent," he nodded, leaving out the fact that she was also the fiance of one of the partners. "She's having a girl's night out with her friends and when she told me, I thought that I'd go the extra mile for a client and make it a great night for them all," he quipped.
Jaime and her friends giggled, a few of them clearly eying up Brandon - some looking for a ring, others not quite caring if he had one at all. He leaned into Jaime's ear and muttered. "Why don't you and the girls go dance for a bit, Brandon and I need to talk shop, very boring talk," he assured her, grinning when she nodded with a bright smile and hopped off of his lap. He smirked at her as she sauntered off with her already intoxicated friends. He gestured to them and explained to Brandon, "Jaime's engaged to one of the partners at an oil company we're representing. I also have the privilege of writing up his prenup in a few months, I'll be sure to make that fidelity clause iron clad," he chuckled. Taking a sip of his drink, he eyed Brandon for a moment. "I'm glad you could come out tonight, Finn. I picked up the Post the other week and saw that you've been making new friends, wasn't sure you'd be joining me."
He was, of course, kidding. He'd known Finn now through three engagements since he became the outside counsel on retainer for Finn Industries, and no matter what woman Brandon had at home, he would always come out and join Eliot for a good old fashioned boy's night.
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Post by Brandon Finn on Aug 18, 2015 2:21:56 GMT
It was almost amusing how easy it would have been to make a charming comment to one of the women in the group and spend the rest of the night flirting with her until finally he showed her to the door of the Penthouse. The thought of it caused him to smirk as Eliot had dismissed them, urging them to the dance floor. The smirk lingered on his lips as the other man explained the connection between himself and the girl on his lip. "Never one to play it safe, are you?"
He couldn't say that he had always been either. As this was the first time since forging his new relationship with Amber that he had gone out, he kept having to remind himself that things were different now. It wasn't that he was disappointed that he couldn't flirt and charm one of these women to his side, it was more peculiar that he simply didn't want to. The reminder that once this night was said and done that Amber would be there was enough to keep him perfectly content to sit back and have a couple of drinks, without any illicit activity.
"New friends?" he questioned, knowing that he was talking about the fact that he and Amber were being spotted together again. "I wouldn't necessarily call her that - we had a thing in high school."
It was probably ridiculous to assume that everyone in the city had known exactly what had happened between Brandon and Amber, but it seemed strange to have to explain it. Or rather, to leave it mostly unexplained. It wasn't like Quinn really needed to know all of the torrid details.
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Post by Eliot Quinn on Aug 18, 2015 2:42:12 GMT
Eliot grinned at Brandon. "One of my specialties is risk and liability assessment, I play it just as safe as I have to, Finn, no more no less." He knocked back his drink easily, pouring himself another one. He was vaguely aware of other women who'd become interested in him, as many single women in clubs did when men had table service. A low cut blouse and short skirt and a few playful touches and they knew they could get a few drinks and maybe even someone to take them home. But he ignored them, focusing instead on Brandon and the newest development in his life.
When Brandon explained the girl in question was just an old friend from high school, Eliot grinned. "Ah, I see. I trip down memory lane. You did just have your reunion didn't you? Should've realized you'd be able to make some sport out of that."
"You know, I was almost worried you'd found someone who was going to keep you on a short leash. It seems more and more than any acceptable drinking buddy I have has become...too boring to come out with me anymore. And it's such a shame, when the city scenery is so beautiful," he said, gesturing around the club and speaking loudly enough that a few nearby women overheard. He winked at them and smirked as they dissolved into giggles. "Frankly, I haven't decided if I want to take Jaime home, one of them, or that cute little cocktail waitress," he joked.
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Post by Brandon Finn on Aug 18, 2015 2:57:03 GMT
He shook his head, knowing that his definition of playing it safe and Eliot's were two very different things. As he paid attention to some of the women around them he had to laugh. "It's such a shame to have to choose," he mused, swirling the scotch around in his glass.
There wasn't an easy way to explain his relationship with Amber, he realized. Not only was it a difficult history to summarize but it had recently become incredibly drama-free - something that he knew Quinn wouldn't appreciate quite the same way he had when they had both made it a game to see who could get a woman in the bar to come home with them first. "Yes, ten year high school reunion," he commented. "It had been a long time since I had seen her - Amber is her name."
It might have been the remark about short leashes that kept him from sharing any further information about her, but he did look around the bar at the women that Quinn had seemed to gesture at. "Well, I'm here for a drink - so hopefully that excludes me from your list of boring drinking buddies."
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Post by Eliot Quinn on Aug 18, 2015 3:08:17 GMT
Eliot grinned a bit, "Maybe I shouldn't choose. Think they're opposed to sharing?" he laughed.
Eliot had never been one to engage in serious relationships. The longest affairs he'd ever had were trysts on trips abroad with beautiful and exotic women he would never really see again. He knew that Brandon was a bit different, for a while Brandon had seemed to be of the belief that getting engaged was a sign of maturity he was compelled to display. He was glad to hear that his friend and business associate was past that. "Amber," he echoed, finding the name vaguely familiar and then he shrugged. "Well, I hope it was a real blast from the past, man," he teased.
"You're here for a drink, but what else are you in the mood for, is the real question," he pointed out. "I'm still convinced that you never actually won our last bet and feel like we should absolutely go two out of three. Any woman here."
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Post by Brandon Finn on Aug 18, 2015 3:21:51 GMT
He chuckled thinking back to the last time they had gone out for a drink. "I'll make it easy on you -" Brandon began, trying to find the best way to get himself out of another one of their bets. Now, if Eliot wanted to see who could drink the other under the table, or who could help their girlfriends come up with the answer to five down the fastest tomorrow morning, then he was in. That realization made him cringe inwardly. He was becoming awfully domestic, and for the group of friends he had always kept, domestic was boring. The question was really what was more important to him - being boring, or having Amber there in the morning. It wasn't a difficult decision to make, but he wished for a moment that there was a compromise. Maybe, he thought, he could eventually get Amber to join him on nights like tonight. It had the potential of even being like it was years ago when they used to toy with each other in bars and nightclubs across the city.
"How about I let you just have this one?" He wasn't convinced the idea was going to go over well, but it seemed a lot safer to upset Quinn than it did to upset Amber at the moment.
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Post by Eliot Quinn on Aug 18, 2015 3:43:43 GMT
Eliot had flagged down a cocktail waitress and requested to send a round of shots over to a nearby table of women, he'd also asked her when she herself got off work. He liked to keep his options open. He was so intent on that, he almost hadn't caught what Brandon had said and when he did, he laughed. He was about to make some cocky joke about Brandon being too afraid of losing, but then it clicked. The look on his friends face. He chuckled for a moment in disbelief. Even when Brandon had previously been engaged, he had always been somewhat open to the idea of their little games.
"This Amber must be something else," he muttered. "I'll be damned." Rather than allow himself to be effected by this new development, he just nodded. "More for me then," he joked. In the back of his head, he still had a feeling that this wouldn't last if he new Brandon Finn well at all. "Let's at least get good and drunk then."
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Post by Brandon Finn on Aug 18, 2015 3:49:12 GMT
Polishing off the rest of the scotch in his glass, he reached over and poured himself another glass full. "She certainly is," he agreed. Smirking at Eliot's suggestion to get good and drunk he nodded and held up his glass in a small salute. "Now that I can do."
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